Skip to main content.
Religion News Blog is a non-profit service providing academics, religion professionals and other researchers with religion & cult news
ReligionNewsBlog

Religion news articles about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues

Navigation:
A Random Image


Related

More news articles & news archive on Feroze Golwalla


Translate



Advertisements *

What is a cult: Cult Definition
Simple steps to financial health and a good credit score


Elsewhere



Feroze Golwalla:

‘Monstrous’ fanatic lures ordinary folks

Boston Herald, USA
Mar. 21, 2004
Dave Wedge
news.bostonherald.com

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 6519 • Posted: Monday March 22, 2004  

  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark
Click here... More articles on this topic: Feroze Golwalla

Andrew Wolfe graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 2001 with a degree in linguistics and a minor in biblical translation.

Carrie Andreson was a standout student at Concord-Carlisle High School who had her pick of colleges and settled on Wheaton College in Illinois – widely viewed as the nation’s best Christian liberal arts college.

Feroze Golwalla

See also “Bob Pardon to the Rescue” (an earlier item, in which pseudonyms are used for the people involved)

So how did both wind up mental and physical slaves to a power-hungry, egomaniacal cult leader?

“Nobody joins a cult. You join an interesting organization and over time it changes,” Wolfe, 24, explains.

Wolfe said he joined Feroze Golwalla’s Parsee Ministry Team – also known as Baruch Ha Shem – because he felt Golwalla was a “very earnest, zealous man of prayer.”

“I know now that it was all a show,” he says.

Andreson said she was initially attracted to Golwalla “in a spiritual, intellectual way” but quickly became brainwashed.

“I wanted to be around him. I wanted to be close to him,” says Andreson, who fled the group in 2002.

Wolfe met Golwalla in October 2000 while visiting twin brother Benjamin at Wheaton College. An academic wiz fascinated with religion and ancient languages, Wolfe fell under Golwalla’s spell, praying with him for hours on end starting at 5 a.m. every day. Soon though, the intense prayer turned into a brutal “boot camp” as the group, cut off from all outside contact, prepared for a missionary trip to Pakistan.

“The physical abuse, there were justifications for it. He used scripture to justify it,” Wolfe explains. “Your mind in that kind of a situation, there’s confusion.”

The twin brothers and other male followers allegedly were whipped, beaten, molested and tortured by Golwalla, who is wanted on assault charges in Maryland. They were also made to abuse each other, Wolfe says.

Despite the violence, Wolfe remained because Golwalla had shattered his self-esteem and stolen his ability to think independently. He finally fled in May 2003 and helped his brother get out a month later.

“Within a few months, I realized it was monstrous, but I thought this was where God wanted us to be,” he says. “I thought my whole life would be down the tubes if I left.”

  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark


What You Can Do From Here

Read More Articles On These Topics
more cult news articlemore religion news Categories: Feroze Golwalla
more religion news aboutmore Religion News Blog articles about
Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article
Subscribe
Follow Religion News Blog on Twitter


Read Another Article
Find Related Information
cult research search enginecountercult information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults
Find Related Books


Most Popular Today


Share This Article

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:





Counter Cult Search

Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- CounterCultSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.


Apologetics Search

Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- ApologeticsSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.

About Religion News Blog
Religion News Blog (RNB), published by Apologetics Index, highlights news items and other resources on world religions, cults, religious sects, alternative religions and related issues. RNB's non-profit news clipping service is used by - among others - Christian apologists, countercult professionals, anticult organizations, cult experts, teachers, religion professionals, reporters and other researchers.

Home
Latest Headlines
RSS news feed [?]
Headlines by Email
News Trackers
Free content for your site
About RNB
Privacy Policy
Contact RNB
Link to RNB
Advertise on RNB
Apologetics Index
Cult FAQ
Apologetics Search Engine
CounterCult Search Engine