"Path to 9-11" Director's Cult Ties (Youth With a Mission)

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

I am not an expert on religious cults, but my interest in them began in the 70's when my family was thrown into chaos by one member's recruitment into a bizarre and ostensibly Christian cult.

That's why my interest was piqued when I searched "Path to 9-11" director David Cunningham's name and discovered that he is the son of Loren Cunningham, founder of the worldwide, evangelical missonary group Youth With a Mission (YWAM).
http://www.christiancinema.com/catalog/newsdesk_info.php?newsdesk_id=250&src=hp200609

Started in 1960, YWAM is an "international, inter-denominational, non-profit Christian missionary organization whose motto is 'To know God and to make Him known.'" They claim to have more than 16,000 full-time workers in nearly 1,100 operation locations in 149 countries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_With_A_Mission

The Wikipedia entry limits YWAM criticism to theological sticking points brought up by Calvinists and fundamentalists regarding the doctrine of original sin and the extent of free will (yawn), but I was not surprised to find a link to Rick Ross Institute at the end of the article. Rickross.com is an invaluable resource for information about hundreds, if not thousands, of cults and other controversial groups. Some are relatively benign; some are very destructive.

The Rick Ross YWAM page is pretty lightweight, with far fewer entries than for groups like the Unification Church, Scientology or the FLDS. And even critics and unhappy former members of YWAM acknowledge its good works.
http://www.rickross.com/groups/youth.html

But as Ross notes, the ends do not justify the means. And any group that initiates/brainwashes members through a prolonged and painful "confessional," takes members' money (through training fees and "love offerings") and then controls all aspects of their lives is a cult. The best that can be said is that YWAM doesn't hold members captive or discourage their leaving the group - but if you're stationed in a tiny country halfway around the world where you're being paid $7.00 a week - which is what YWAM pays - you'd better have friends or family willing to pay your way home.

But wait, there's more.

Also disturbing is Loren Cunningham's association with other controversial religious groups and movements, among them Promise Keepers, Campus Crusaders and Benny Hinn. The first two endorse YWAM on its site, and Cunningham has appeared on Hinn broadcasts.

Rick Ross claims that, according to Gary North, Cunningham has been studing Christian Reconstructionism since 1988. (North is R.J. Rushdoony's son-in-law - a writer, publisher and regular contributor to Lew Rockwell's poisonous website).

Finally, there is Rod Parsley, named by American Prospect magazine as a key figure in the 2004 Ohio election results. According to a November 2005 article,

"...Parsley has deliberately reached out to young people. His purpose was plain when he announced the planned formation of a new nonprofit organization, Reformation Ohio, in August. Reformation Ohio’s goals include, among other things, registering 400,000 new voters through its member churches and preaching to 1 million Ohioans over the next four years in an effort to convert 100,000. Many of these sought-after converts will be teenagers, through a $10 million campaign by Youth With a Mission, a nonprofit group that aggressively evangelizes through extreme sports, Christian rock concerts, dance, and performance art."

(Read the whole article about Parsley - very informative)
http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=10473

Sooo...

What's all this got to do with David Cunningham?

Well, his familial association raises a few questions, like - why was he chosen to direct it? His only other big credit is a film entitled "To End All Wars," another "true-life" story about a WWII POW's Christian strength and forgiveness of his Japanese tormentors. You'll find it praised on a number of sites like this:

http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2002/toendallwars.html

But even more, it raises these question: Who funded this movie? What is their agenda? Who is really responsible for this rightwing bilge?