The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps with Harrison Hill

The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps with Harrison Hill

Author: Sarah Steel May 12, 2026 Duration: 54:28

The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, or ACMTC, is a hardline fringe religious cult that was led by a former hippie who went by the name Deborah Green. In The Oracle’s Daughter, author Harrison Hill tells the story of the group through the experiences of three women: Deborah, the self-proclaimed oracle; Maura, who nursed Deborah’s ailing brother and became one of her first followers; and Sarah, the oracle’s daughter of the title.


The group’s practices included harsh punishments of children and extreme forms of exorcism, and its crimes included kidnapping and abuse. Through his book, Harrison examines the dwindling gap between the fringe and the mainstream in the United States, and shows how we may be much more vulnerable to extremism than we think.


Links


Credits:

Produced by Sarah Steel

Music by Joe Gould


You can support Let's Talk About Sects here. If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com). Find Sarah's audiobook Do As I Say here.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Each month on Let's Talk About Sects, host Sarah Steel selects a different group for a thorough and thoughtful examination. The approach is narrative, building the story of each organization from the ground up. You’ll hear about the origins and the figures who founded these movements, the specific methods used to draw people in, and the lived realities of those who joined. Steel delves into the psychological frameworks at play and recounts the significant, often troubling events that defined each group's timeline. This award-winning documentary series fits within broader conversations about society, culture, and belief, but its strength is in the specific, human details. The tone is engaged and curious, avoiding sensationalism in favor of a clear-eyed look at complex histories. For those who find this podcast compelling, there are additional ways to engage with the work beyond listening. Sarah Steel has also authored a related book, *Do As I Say*, which expands on these themes. The monthly format allows for deep research into each subject, making every episode a comprehensive portrait rather than a superficial overview. It’s a resource for anyone interested in the mechanics of belief and control, presented through careful storytelling.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Let's Talk About Sects
Podcast Episodes
The Welcomed Consensus + OneTaste – Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:21
Natasha Tiku wrote for Gawker in 2013, “Everyone is interested in doing fun things with their bodies. But the impulse to systematize, replicate, package, sell, and build an ideology around it is uniquely Silicon Valley.”…
The Welcomed Consensus + OneTaste – Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:28:00
Natasha Tiku wrote for Gawker in 2013, “Everyone is interested in doing fun things with their bodies. But the impulse to systematize, replicate, package, sell, and build an ideology around it is uniquely Silicon Valley.”…
Two by Twos / The Truth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:47
Laura McConnell was born into a fundamentalist Christian sect that claims it has no name. Former member Elizabeth Coleman told Nathan Jolly for news.com.au earlier this year that, “It is of utmost importance to them that…
Zendik Farm [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:52:32
Helen Zuman describes herself as “a tree-hugging dirt worshipper devoted to turning waste into food and the stinky guck of experience into fertile, fragrant prose.” Her memoir ‘Mating in Captivity’ details her experience…
Interview Episode: Posadism with A.M. Gittlitz [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:00
Journalist A.M. Gittlitz released his book I Want to Believe: Posadism, UFOs and Apocalypse Communism earlier this year. In it, he explores the fascinating world of the Posadists – a Latin American Trotskyist group who a…
Children of God – Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:32
The Children of God, later known as The Family, became notorious for their practise called “flirty fishing”. They believed in bringing up their children to have no inhibitions around sex, but the ramifications of their a…
Children of God – Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:39
The Children of God, later known as The Family, became notorious for their practise called “flirty fishing”. They believed in bringing up their children to have no inhibitions around sex, but the ramifications of their a…
The Living Word Fellowship [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:24:50
John Robert Stevens wrote when he was just 14 years old: “My joy must be in doing His will, in being His slave, in the confidence that whatever comes to me, when following Him, is His doing. In a real sense, I make Him r…
The New Kadampa Tradition [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:33:16
In 1996, journalist Madeleine Bunting wrote for The Guardian UK: “Most of the 130,000 Buddhists in this country are in the caring professions, or are academics, or are part of an ex-hippy culture; they are trusting, idea…
The Garden Ashram [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:52
Hare Krishnas are often seen as joyous, harmless people, dancing their way through the streets, chanting to bells in their colourful robes. But in one particular Australian offshoot, a young woman named Lina told me abou…