I introduced Racquel and Ashley to Cynthia Jeub (now known as Artemis Stardust) shortly before they left their church, the First United Pentecostal Church of Colorado Springs. We had both been homeschooled and raised in a Christian fundamentalist, Quiverfull environment. We went to college together and were both editors for our college’s newspaper. Here is theirContinueContinue reading “The UnBoxing Project: Cynthia Jeub’s story”
Tag Archives: faith
Cult-like control is subtle, some not encouraged to think independently
This article was originally published in The Scribe, UCCS’s student newspaper, on March 9, 2015. By Eleanor SkeltonNews Editor One of the first friends I met at UCCS believed her hair was under angelic protection. If she cut it, she thought her body and soul would be open to demonic attack. My friend attended an Apostolic Pentecostal churchContinueContinue reading “Cult-like control is subtle, some not encouraged to think independently”
The UnBoxing Project: Ashley’s story
Editorial note: Although Ashley is a survivor of a Christian fundamentalist cult, unfortunately she became abusive herself. She has been reported to several law enforcement agencies for human trafficking others from 2017-2019. She is the abusive partner mentioned in this post from 2022. I keep Ashley’s story on the blog as a reminder that thoseContinueContinue reading “The UnBoxing Project: Ashley’s story”
The UnBoxing Project: Defecting from a cult
Liz was part of our network that helped Racquel and Ashley as they left the cult environment of the First United Pentecostal Church of Colorado Springs. Here is her perspective. Photo: Wil C. Fry, creative commons license. Image links to source. Nearly two years ago, I received text messages from Eleanor about a friendship betweenContinueContinue reading “The UnBoxing Project: Defecting from a cult”
The UnBoxing Project: Racquel’s story
Eleanor and Racquel hiking the Incline near Colorado Springs in fall 2013. | Photo: Eleanor Skelton Content note: religious manipulation, forced starvation Racquel grew up attending the First United Pentecostal Church of Colorado Springs, now known as Heritage Pentecostal Church. This is Racquel’s story, in her own words. Somehow I never imagined that the innerContinueContinue reading “The UnBoxing Project: Racquel’s story”
Eleanor Skelton 