------------------------------------------------------------------- F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. (Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network, Incorporated) a non-profit computer bulletin board and electronic library 601 16th St. #C-217 Golden, Colorado 80401 USA BBS 303 530-1942 FAX 303 530-2950 Office 303 473-0111 This document is part of an electronic lending library and preservational electronic archive. F.A.C.T.Net does not sell documents, it only lends them according to the terms of your library cardholder agreement with F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. ===================================================================== In the Courts. International. Sweden-- A Totalistic Swedish Church From "Livets Ord from the Inside," Expressen, Stockholm, Sw4eden, November 2-6, 1991, by Sophie Aleman. The fast-growing Swedish fundamentalist church Livets Ord [Word of Life] recruits followers into a totalitarian system that takes away their indi-viduality and leads to serious psychological problems, even suicides, among many who leave the group, according to the account of a Swedish journalist who attended the groupÕs Bible school, undercover, for part of a term. The Leader The charismatic preacher Ulf Ekman, founder and leader of Livets Ord, was a 1960s radical-left activist who turned to religion in the 1970s after a personal experience of God. In theology school after college he joined the Navigators [an evangelical, mostly student group based in the U.S.] and began to develop a philosophy strongly influenced by American ÒprosperityÓ theology and the principles of faith healing. He studied with fundamentalist leader Ken Hagin in Oklahoma for a year; EkmanÕs home is called ÒLil Tulsa.Ó Out of this background came one of Livets OrdÕs fundamental teachings: ÒEverything is possible for the one who believes.Ó If you pray hard enough you will get your wishes: money, love, work, house, health. Eckman and Livets Ord have also developed an avowedly political bias: capitalism is the way to achieving the good life, and socialism Ñ Òthe devilÕs own inventionÓ Ñ is anathema. Eckman rails against Swedish social democracy and calls the European Community the spirit of the anti-Christ. Livets Ord now claims over 50 affiliated groups in Sweden and Norway and burgeoning support for its message in Eastern Europe, including Russia, where it carries on extensive missionary work. Life as a member in Livets Ord is very puritanical. Members, most of whom are between 20 and 30, dress for success, like ÒBarbie DollsÒ and ÒYuppies,Ó according to the report. Men cannot wear long hair or earrings. WomenÕs skirts must come below the knee and they must wear bras. Sex, tobacco, drugs, and alcohol are not permitted, and one cannot sleep away from home in the same place as a member of the opposite sex. Nor are members allowed to be with persons who have not found salvation, who watch TV and read newspapers, or who listen to rock music, although popular music and modern slang are very important to the revivalist atmosphere of Livets Ord religious services and prayer groups, which encourages speaking in tongues and ecstatic religious experiences. There is clearly an attempt to appeal to certain aspects of the youth culture, in contrast to the stiff and ÒchurchyÓ feel of mainline denominations. Meetings, then, are highly emotional, even frenzied at times, as members come to grips with the demons of this or that vice and try to exorcize them. The very strong controls placed on membersÕ social intercourse are paralleled by an insistence that followers obey the leaders without question in all matters, great and small. EkmanÕs teaching here is clear. ÒThe devil says that you can do everything yourself. You are so smart. So do it: worship your intellect, read something, go into therapy, read psychology, so you end up totally confused. There is nothing that makes a person so conceited as much as knowledge. University graduates have nothing.Ó The aim, and often the result, is to create an army of tin soldiers without any individualism, and to ensure this, Livets Ord has developed a system by which members are encouraged to inform on others who do not conform to the rules. Indeed, prayer group leaders report to their superiors weekly on heretical thoughts and actions of their charges. Officials watch the meetings in the big hall behind one-way mirrors. They are in radio contact with people in the hall who remove undesirables and warn if journalists and critics are in the audience. All are encouraged to spot newcomers in the meeting and to work on them. The Price of Membership According to a study by occupational therapist Gudrun Swartling and her husband, Per, a chief physician in Tierps, 93% of former Livets Ord members they surveyed (43 persons, 80% of whom were under 25 years of age) had some kind of psychiatric problem when they left. One fourth got psychiatric care and half were still seeing a psychiatrist. Some 85% had worse relations with family and friends, and one in four had made a serious attempt to commit suicide. The researchers say they know of 16 cases in Sweden where relatives and friends think that the deceased personsÕ contact with the movement drove them to take their lives. ost of the Bible school pupils are upset when they learn about demons. They also learn that depression, fatigue, and doubts come from the devil and that they themselves are responsible for keeping the demons away. For many, it becomes a permanent war against their own feelings. Examples are often given of bad things that happen to those who criticize the movement and for those who leave it. Such persons can suddenly meet with illness, accident, or sudden death. Livets Ord defenders say the psychological problems of ex-members stem from preexisting problems. But the Swartling study shows that only 7 of the 43 studied had previously been in contact with a psychiatrist. After attending the Livets Ord Bible school, 27 sought psychiatric help. Said one, of his experience: ÒMy own self was totally demolished and the pieces were scattered.Ó Those who manage best are the ones who got help to leave, says Eva Pehrsson, an exit counselor who has helped several leave Livets Ord. One young woman got depressed when praying did not make her successful, even though she prayed for hours and gave her last money to the collection. When she went to a special conversation group with second year girls to help her out of the funk, they read questions from a form and gave answers to her questions from the same form. They told her to shout to get rid of her Òresistance.Ó The schoolÕs headmaster finally told her: ÒIf you commit suicide youÕll give Livets Ord an even worse reputation. It would be a pity if the movement had to suffer because of your selfishness.Ó He told her to break with her best friend, who he said was a witch. When she left the group, shortly thereafter, she wrote a letter of explanation. He replied, blessing her. She took an overdose of sleeping pills because Òhe made me feel like a real traitor.Ó According to Jarmila Hallman, chief physician at the Academic Hospital Psychiatric Clinic, many who leave LO come in with serious identity disturbances and suicidal thoughts, often ending up in an emotionally empty space because they have lost the support system of the group. Outside, they are entirely alone, having given up old values, family, and friends. ÒThe worst thing is that their personal responsibility, willpower, and the power to control their own lives have been taken away from them. They have been taught that they are entirely controlled by two outside powers, the devil and God. Most of them donÕt look depressed. They smile the whole time because they have learned to wear a mask. But there are often difficult problems hidden behind it. Many have psychotic symptoms. They see demons and believe that they really exist. Intensive help from support groups and anti-depressant medicine help them get enough sleep and avoid excessive anxiety. As to finances, members must tithe every month plus faith offerings and love offerings. ÒThe more money you give, the more you receive. If you hold back, youÕll get nothing. Everything you give shows how much you love God,Ó says a Livets Ord preacher. An ex- member reports that the main church collects $2,500 to $15,000 each service (not counting the tithe), and more during conferences, which sometimes produce several hundred thousand dollars. Livets Ord wanted to be tax-exempt, but in a recent case they were declared to be taxable for 1985 and 1986 because they were judged to be profit making. The organization, which also gains great revenue from cassette sales, is said to have a $5 million annual turnover. And all of the finances are controlled directly by Ulf Ekman and his immediate family from a headquarters staffed, without compensation, by 100 followers, and numerous employees working for very low wages. ================================================================= If this is a copyrighted work, you are acknowledging by receipt of this document from FACTNet that on the basis of reasonable investigation, you have not been to obtain a copy elsewhere at a fair price, and that you are and will abide by the following copyright warning. WARNING CONCERNING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS: The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photo copies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified by law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. 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