“GODS, GRIFTERS, AND ARMAGEDDON: Lies and Lures of Cult Leaders”
Weird Darkness: Stories of the Paranormal, True Crime, Legends, Lore, Mysterious, Macabre, Unsolved
Darren Marlar
4.6 • 4K Ratings
🗓️ 29 March 2025
⏱️ 59 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Darkness Syndicate members get the ad-free version. https://weirddarkness.com/syndicate
IN THIS #WeirdDarkness EPISODE: From alien creators to doomsday cults hiding in plain sight, we pull back the curtain on the world’s strangest belief systems — and the chilling truths behind them.
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Disclaimer and Lead-In
00:02:18.248 = Show Open
00:03:18.994 = About Cults
00:05:04.052 = Congregation of Light
00:08:45.183 = The Raëlian Movement
00:10:45.318 = The Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.)
00:15:17.072 = The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS)
00:18:04.813 = Ching Hai
00:20:48.211 = Happy Science (Kōfuku-no-Kagaku)
00:23:17.758 = Eckankar
00:25:10.055 = The Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT)
00:27:57.211 = The Twelve Tribes (Vine Christian Community Church)
00:33:08.644 = The Apostles of Infinite Love
00:35:59.058 = The Brethren (The Body of Christ / Brothers and Sisters / The Garbage Eaters)
00:38:09.026 = The House of Yahweh
00:40:59.328 = The United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors (The Nuwaubian Nation)
00:43:33.076 = The Church of Bible Understanding
00:47:44.784 = What Attracts People to Cults?
00:49:33.190 = Christianity
00:52:18.138 = Show Close, Verse, and Final Thought
00:53:54.511 = Additional Cult Entry I Forgot To Include
SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
Music: Midnight Syndicate
Weird Darkness them: Alibi Music
New York Post - “Inside Manhattan’s secret ‘cult’”. *** News.com.au - “Congregation for the Light: Inside New York’s ‘cult next door’” *** Sinisterhood Podcast - Episode 16: “Congregation for the Light” *** The Commentator - “The Cult Around the Corner” *** Brooklyn Magazine - “Murray Hill Has A Secret Homophobic Aryan Doomsday Cult” *** https://yucommentator.org/2018/10/cult-stern-35th-the-light *** https://nypost.com/2014/11/02/the-secret-society-cult-that-operates-out-of-murray-hill/ ***https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381978851_Raelism_An_Unconventional_Religious_Pathway_to_Transhumanism*** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%ABlism *** https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/religion-and-philosophy/raelism *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonaid *** https://www.bota.org/ ***https://www.botaineurope.org/ *** https://articles.skeptics.nz/2023/04/24/builders-of-the-adytum-the-tarot-cards-and-qabalah-in-naenae *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Builders_of_the_Adytum *** https://ilovehistory.utah.gov/1847-1904-lds-practice-of-polygamy/ *** https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/fldsprofile.pdf ***https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalist_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-Day_Saints *** https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Hai ***https://www.godsdirectcontact.org/spiritualpractice/Master_Ching_Hai.htm *** https://suprememastertv.com/en1/v/211271952624.html *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Hai *** https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Hai *** https://nypost.com/2018/01/11/the-cult-leader-behind-the-worlds-fast-growing-vegan-chain/ ***https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubccommunityandpartnerspublicati/52387/items/1.0385823 *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Science *** https://eng.the-liberty.com/2016/6323/ *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness_Realization_Party *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryuho_Okawa *** https://www.cdamm.org/articles/cut-tsl *** https://summitlighthouse.org/aboutus/church-universal-and-triumphant/ *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Universal_and_Triumphant ***https://articles1.icsahome.com/articles/denouement-of-the-prophets--cult-the-church-universal-and-triumphant-in-decline *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Clare_Prophet *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Tribes_communities *** https://people.com/adam-arthur-rosenthal-twelve-tribes-religious-sect-accused-murder-8753907 *** https://nypost.com/2018/06/05/religious-cult-probed-for-child-labor-after-factory-expose/ *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostles_of_Infinite_Love *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Gaston_Tremblay *** https://ktxs.com/news/big-country/ktxs-special-report-mystery-still-surrounds-house-of-yahweh-*** https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/houseofyahwehprofile.pdf ***https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfulfilled_Watch_Tower_Society_predictions *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Yahweh *** https://www.apologeticsindex.org/316-house-of-yahweh *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuwaubian_Nation *** https://people.com/crime/story-behind-united-nuwaubian-nation-moors-georgia-cult *** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_York *** https://www.adl.org/resources/news/leader-anti-government-sect-sentenced-135-years *** https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/nuwaubian-nation-moors/ *** https://billygraham.org/answers/how-is-christianity-different-from-other-religions
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.
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Originally aired: March 28, 2025
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/cults
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | When Salem Roanoke took a job near his family's new home as a hired hand in the Texas |
| 0:05.7 | Hill country, he anticipated learning the ranchers' trade, but a series of strange events, shocking |
| 0:11.6 | murders and unholy revelations divert him down another path. |
| 0:17.0 | This terrifying trajectory puts him directly into the middle of a struggle between monsters, |
| 0:21.9 | magic and men. |
| 0:23.9 | Armed and backed by a militia of ranchers, Salem attempts to combat the creeping tide |
| 0:28.6 | of evil that threatens to engulf his new home and destroy the people most important to |
| 0:33.5 | him. |
| 0:34.5 | Will Salem manage to save his home, or have his actions condemn everyone he hopes |
| 0:39.1 | to save? The Witch Trials. A Summer of Wolves and Season of the Witch by S. R. Ruanoke. Available |
| 0:45.6 | in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. Look for The Witch Trials by S.R. Rowanoke |
| 0:51.2 | on Amazon, or find it on the audiobooks page at weirddarkness.com. |
| 0:55.2 | That's weirddarkness.com slash audiobooks. |
| 1:01.2 | In a world where stubble strikes without mercy, where anarchy reigns on the jaw lines of men, |
| 1:08.8 | one razor stands between order and absolute chaos. |
| 1:14.0 | Duty and Dapper presents the last line of defense in the War on Whiskers. |
| 1:20.1 | Sergeant Smooth. |
| 1:23.2 | Expertly crafted, battle tested, and armed with five blades of glory, these ain't your grandpappy's razor blades. |
| 1:33.3 | Forged from brass and steel in the fires of duty, Sergeant Smooth isn't just a razor. It's your weapon in the fight for smooth supremacy. |
| 1:44.7 | Join the fight. |
| 1:46.2 | Join the grooming corps. |
| 1:47.8 | Support the Wounded Warrior Project. |
... |
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