The recent FLDS polygamist-sect scandal has reminded me of my own personal experience with cult religions.
I had a roommate in college for two years who claimed to be a born-again, Pentecostal, religious zealot, whatever. She carried a Bible with her every where she went. She prayed at her desk before every class. She swore she had been slain in the spirit many, many times. She claimed she could speak in tongues. One time I let her lay hands on me. (Nothing happened.) She encouraged me to read her books on satanism. She also encouraged me to open the Bible randomly and pick a passage, which would have a certain special meaning, just for me at that particular moment. At one time, she had me pretty convinced she was for real.
While the dorm room that I shared with this girl was not of considerable size, we did each have our own closets. She would, on occasion, sit on a stool in her closet and quietly murmur to herself. I honestly couldn't say for sure what she was doing. Praying? I don't know.
I do know that she had a boyfriend. I know that she would lock me out of the dorm room while she was in there with this boyfriend. I know that eventually the boyfriend, who also claimed to be a born-again, was arrested and prosecuted on child pornography charges.
So where is Crazy-girl Roommate now? Unknown. The last I heard, she married a marine she met at a gas station after only a few weeks of courtship.
Interesting.
