John Collins Discusses Harm, Stigma, and Healing After Leaving William Branham's Message Movement in In-Sight Journal Interview

John Collins, founder of William Branham Historical Research, was interviewed by Scott Douglas Jacobsen for In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal in a wide-ranging discussion of emotional abuse, social stigma, shunning, remarriage, misogyny, anti-gay rhetoric, and recovery from William Marrion Branham's Message movement.

The interview, published on March 22, 2020, appeared as Part Five in Jacobsen's interview series with Collins. The discussion focused on the emotional and social consequences faced by current and former members of The Message, especially those targeted by Branham's teachings on sexuality, women, remarriage after divorce, and rejection of claimed revelations.

Collins explained that emotional abuse in high-control religious systems is often deeply personal and recurring. Unlike physical abuse, emotional abuse can affect a person's memories, relationships, self-perception, and sense of safety. In the Message movement, Collins described verbal attacks, shame, intimidation, fear, and ridicule as tools used to enforce conformity and isolate those who question Branham's authority.

A significant portion of the interview addressed anti-gay rhetoric in Message communities. Collins noted that the harm is not limited to members who may personally struggle with sexual identity or attraction. When a congregation is trained to approve of verbal abuse, participate in it, or affirm it through silence, the entire group is conditioned into submission. Collins stated that destructive religious groups differ from healthier churches by training members to discriminate and emotionally abuse rather than offering support, counseling, and human dignity.

The interview also examined misogyny within Message theology. Collins explained that Branham's teachings often elevated male authority while ignoring or minimizing biblical themes of equality. He pointed to Branham's claims that women were inferior, secondary, or morally dangerous by design, and described how those teachings contributed to verbal, emotional, and sometimes physical abuse of women and girls.

Collins argued that Branham's teachings about women went far beyond ordinary conservative gender roles. In Message communities, women and girls could be taught that their bodies were sources of temptation, that abuse could be framed as correction, and that male authority in the home or church should not be questioned. Collins warned that such teachings can train women to accept harm as righteousness and men to view control as spiritual leadership.

The discussion also covered remarriage after divorce, a subject Collins described as especially damaging in Message circles. While many Christian communities treat divorce and remarriage as complex pastoral issues requiring care, Collins stated that destructive churches often turn remarried people into targets for shame, ridicule, and exclusion. In Branham's movement, remarriage after divorce became a frequent basis for condemnation, even though Collins noted that Branham's own conduct and later teachings were inconsistent.

Collins explained that Branham strongly condemned remarriage in many sermons while also performing marriage ceremonies for divorced family members and later creating an exception for men, but not women. In a 1965 sermon, Branham taught that a man could remarry after divorce while a woman could not. Collins described that teaching as an example of Branham's shifting stage personas and inconsistent doctrinal positions.

The interview further explored the social stigma attached to rejecting Branham's claimed revelations. Collins stated that members who question Branham's supernatural claims, prophecies, or authority often become targets of indirect emotional abuse. Rather than openly address documented problems, some Message pastors shame critics, ridicule former members, or imply that those who reject Branham are spiritually doomed.

Collins described how this stigma can become psychologically crippling. In communities where salvation is tied to acceptance of Branham's authority, questioning a false claim may feel like risking eternal damnation. For former members, leaving may not simply mean changing churches; it can mean losing family, friends, identity, and the entire framework through which they were taught to understand God, scripture, and the world.

The interview also addressed how Message communities may react when a member is perceived to have lost salvation. Collins explained that destructive doomsday cults often create a sharp division between insiders who will survive divine judgment and outsiders who will not. When a member leaves, current members may grieve the separation as though the person has spiritually died, eventually leading to emotional or physical shunning.

Collins emphasized that healing after leaving The Message is possible, but often slow and painful. Former members may need to rebuild social networks, establish new support systems, find healthier communities, and replace painful memories with new experiences. He encouraged former members to seek support from people who energize rather than drain them, and to recognize that some relationships with current members may remain unstable or painful.

For those seeking a way out of The Message, Collins recommended building a support network before leaving when possible. He encouraged former members to seek counseling or therapy, especially from professionals familiar with destructive religious groups. He also noted that anxiety and depression treatment may be appropriate for some people recovering from the trauma of separation, fear, shunning, and indoctrination.

Collins also stressed the importance of research. Because Branham's sermon transcripts are publicly searchable, former members can examine conflicting statements, failed prophecies, harmful doctrines, and historical inconsistencies for themselves. Collins stated that access to newspaper archives, government records, historical sources, and critical research can help members understand the structure of destructive cults and identify patterns within their own experience.

The interview positioned William Branham Historical Research as a resource for those examining The Message, Branham's history, and the many subgroups that formed after his death. Collins argued that careful historical investigation is essential because sympathetic histories have often presented Branham as doctrinally consistent while omitting contradictory evidence from different phases of his ministry.

By addressing anti-gay rhetoric, misogyny, remarriage stigma, shunning, fear of lost salvation, and the recovery process, Collins presented The Message as more than a set of religious doctrines. The interview described a high-control religious system in which theological claims can shape emotional abuse, social isolation, and long-term trauma. Collins's comments called for compassion toward former members, accountability for leaders, and greater public awareness of the harms caused by destructive religious movements.