I believe it is when scripture memorization is coupled with blind obedience to an unquestioned authority. Then, it becomes an indoctrination tool to get you to short circuit your own good judgment, a tool that controls your life by controlling your very thoughts. A tool they get you to use on yourself. It is my opinion that in The Way Ministry, scripture retemories are a very important tool NOT primarily for the benefit of the people, but to keep them in control. The Word of God truly is a Sword. It can be used to sever ties of bondage, Or it can be used to gut your conscience.

Defeating  The Adversary is a class taught by Loy Craig Martindale, as a remake of the Dealing With The Adversary class originally taught by Walter Cummins. I believe this class is one in which the major indoctrination tools used by The Way Ministry are introduced and implemented in a big way. Basic truths are utilized but then subtly bent toward The Way Ministry's own ends.

To what ends? The destruction of Self. In this class, and others that are part of the curriculum of The Way International, Martindale effectively teaches the students to dismantle their own independence and undermine their confidence in their own ability to make decisions. The "Adversary" that is truly defeated in this class, is that of the Self.

Techniques taught in this class encourage the students to ignore and, in some cases, silence their consciences. In utilizing the techniques taught in this class, students begin to dismantle their own intuition, ignore their own common sense, and destroy their sense of Self. How? By identifying information coming to them via those avenues as "fronts" of the devil, as "fiery darts" from the enemy.

The follower of The Way begins to identify his conscience as a "fiery dart", and his own common sense and intuition as a "front" of "The Adversary". In I John 3:8b, the foundational scripture for the class, Martindale teaches them that these things in their lives are "the works of the devil" that they are commissioned to "destroy". The first place they are to "destroy the works of the devil" is IN THEIR OWN MINDS.

As the followers of The Way employ these devices in their lives, they beat their intuition into submission with verses of scripture. Common sense is overruled by strict adherence to the company line. They become dependent upon information from the organization, because they learn all other information is suspect. The follower begins to identify any opposing information coming from himSELF as a fiery dart from one of the adversary’s fronts.

Utilizing techniques taught in these classes, followers chip away at any internal information from their own conscience, intuition, and common sense, until literally THEY begin to disappear. What is left is simply a "ditto" to whatever is fed to them by the organization. THEY no longer have a voice or a choice. I believe it to be a systematic and intentional dismantling and destruction of Self.

By the time a follower is allowed into this class, he has learned to equate "The Ministry" with "The Word", and anything his leadership teach or tell him as "The Word". Getting to that point is extremely important before a recruit is allowed in any of The Way’s classes.