Exactly, Ben. There are at least two big differences:

1) That martial arts group certainly has well-known and well-defined rules and code of conduct. If you join the group, you know what it’s about. Whereas in UBF, you learn their rules and their claim to power only slowly in the same pace as your are indoctrinated. In the beginning, they just invite you to “read the Bible together”. Only step by step, you learn that your Bible teacher is reall your “shepherd” and spiritual master (not because his knowledge or capabilities, but just because he claims to have authority from God), and you learn the more secret unspoken rules like “marriage by faith”. This is the element of deception that is common to all cults. Life in a monastary or martial arts group may be regulated, too, but the rules here are well-defined and well-known beforehand, you know what you get involved with.

2) The martial arts group does not claim to determine your eternal fate, or being a mediator between you and God or giving your life an eternal and exclusive meaning. In a group like UBF, if you are shunned or rebuked or expelled, this has a spiritual and eternal dimension. Leaving UBF is like leaving God and is like losing the meaning of life and salvation. Not obeying Samuel Lee could evoke the wrath of God and get you crippled or killed in an accident and on top of that lose eternal life (this is what Samuel Lee preached, and this is why I consider him a cult leader). The martial arts group does not claim to define and provide your universal meaning and purpose of life. They cannot tell you to do something “absolutely” as UBF is doing, because they do not claim to be mediators between you and the holy God who must be obeyed “absolutely” as UBF leaders say.

But clearly this also means that, as soon as your martial arts groups starts to comprise deceptive elements and claim absolute, spiritual truth that determines your fate, it will become close to being a cult, too. And yes, there are martial arts groups which resemble cults very much (see also http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/cults.htm).

“Because God loves us, he oftentimes tests us out of his love for us. But no man should presume to be like God, or to be in the place of God, to test another fellow human being, and claiming or implying that such a test is from God, when it is clearly from a man, whoever that man may be.”

Because I have had discussions with you outside this forum, I know the martial arts group you speak of. And yes, it is strikingly similar to ubf ideology groups. And both groups bear remarkable similarities to the cults Steve discussed in his book. Neither ubf nor your martial arts group are labeled as cults in Steve’s book, but both groups suffer from the cult label.

The question of whether to applythe cult label isn’t really helpful. We can find arguments and experiences both ways. What matters is your self identity. Are you able to think critically? Can you make your own decisions that contradict the group’s decisions? Do you have to ask permission for basic life choices, such as visiting parents or non-members? Have you reached out to at least 12 former members of each group?

In regard to ubf, you’ve experienced the “typical ubf” (usually run by 1st generation) and the “reformed ubf” (usually with high 2nd gen involvement) versions, since you have been involved with 2 ubf chapters.

Have you visited Ben in Westloop and experienced “redeemed ubf”?

I have seen similar behavior in my martial arts group, which is of Brazilian origin. Disrespect to a teacher or mestre can lead to exile from the group, and the expectation is that you do what your teacher tells you because they have imparted to you a great gift. One time I drove 2 hours to St. Louis and then back to Springfield at 3 am only to drive mestre back to St. Louis to catch a plane and got home around 6 to have class at 8am. Is my martial arts group a cult? I don’t think so, but they share similar traits. People are renamed for example. New members are doted on to keep them coming, and obedience is expected from older members. At some point there is an expectation that you will teach. At one point I planned a trip to Brazil to do capoeira, but my mestre told me not to go without him. I obeyed and my mother was beside herself.
“How could you let someone tell you what to do like that.”
“Because he is my mestre. That is the only reason I need.”

And I think you are correct, in that those who don’t conform are “marginalized, shamed, or treated with condescension until they conform to the expectations of the group, or are forced out.” But again Steve’s book here doesn’t really discuss the mass conformity that we find in ubf. I think perhaps the conformity problems are part of the Korean cultural layer of problems. And such cultural issues seem ok to Steve (based just on this book). In other words, Steve’s book shows respect for different cultures and ways of doing ministry.

Yes, that is true.

When members apparently alter their personalities to resemble their shepherds and leaders, they become disconnected from their true selves. It is a sign of real trauma. The effects of this are serious.

Did Hassan ever use the word “clones” in his book?

Specifically I now vividly recall two events:

1) During one leader’s bible study in Toledo ubf, we were all discussing deprogrammers. This topic came up becuase we had heard about a deprogramming event someplace in ubf. No one knew the details however (or didn’t share the details). For several hours after the study, we discussed how we would each react if someone approached us to deprogram us. I remember visualizing being locked a room, and envisioned how I would remain absolutely silent and confess my “faith in Jesus” and life-long dedication to ubf no matter what any deprogrammer said.

2) The July 2003 regional ubf conference held at Wheaton College in Illinois. I attended a lecture in the Billy Graham hall. MV/RW then gave us the strangest announcements ever. He said some former members, who might not be mentally well, were waiting outside the hall to talk to us. He said no one could leave, but that we all had to wait in the hall and leave all together as one group. We were instructed to leave in a single file line, holding our bibles and program binders over our heads, and to run all together. We were told to not speak to them at all. Even then however, I was rebellious :) I walked by myself and did not hold my bible over my head. I even started talking to one of the former members until someone ran over and intercepted them.