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News about cults, sects, alternative religions... |
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Religion Items In The NewsApril 24, 1999 (Vol. 3, Issue 81)
![]() NOTE: Unlike the edition posted to the AR-talk list, items in the archived newsletters will, time-permitting, link back to entries in the Apologetics Index.
If links have not yet been provided, check the Apologetics Index for further information.
=== Main
1. Sect members charged with assault (Infinite Love) 2. 9 children removed from Quebec cult returned to U.S. (Inf. Love) 3. SA Senator alleges bizarre food cult harming families ("VIP") 4. Health fears as food cult spreads ("VIP") 5. We're not a cult, say diet duo ("VIP") 6. Pregnant women cult 'target' ("VIP") 7. Cult welcomes investigation ("VIP") 8. Alleged cult renting public schools (ICC) 9. Cult’ enlists members for fee to build ark 10. Camp draws children from all walks of life 11. Grand Jury indicts man in federal witness protection program 12. Believer In Satanism Charged In More Church Fires 13. Waco (Branch Davidians) 14. States bar sales on detergent alternatives (linked to Scientology) 15. The Moral Compass: A Plea for Plaintiff Protection (Scientology) 16. Reformed Klan member now preaches against hate 17. Buddhist sect, computer maker share acronym, karma (Soka Gakkai) 18. Trinity's minority station a sham, FCC rules 19. FCC chastens Trinity for flouting rules 20. Prominent polygamist pleads no contest to beating daughter 21. Does Main Street Sale Mean the Vaticanization of Downtown? (LDS) 22. Judge orders treatment for girl (Amish) 23. Mayor proclaims Alabama town as `City of Prayer' 24. German Court Orders Crucifix Removed 25. Pagans ponder their bruising encounter with notoriety 26. Wicca in Detroit 27. Indian women fall prey to the witch-hunters 28. Fears Of Witchcraft After Six Pupils Die In Four Months 29. 'Too old to be sacrificed' (Witchcraft) 30. Reformed witch hunters act out the error of their ways 31. Forced to go to AA, he wins a dollar in damages 32. American Atheists Choose Garden State for New Home 33. Botanica combines faith, health (Alternative Medicine) 34. White House Statement on Imprisonment of Baha'is in Iran 35. ... Thurman makes the Tibetan path accessible ... (Buddhism) 36. 300th anniversary of Sikhism celebrated === Noted 37. Lucas: Star Wars Awakens Kids' Spirituality 38. Religion Becoming A Big Deal On Campus 39. Campus Bible studies are booming... 40. Psychology Research Rarely Recognizes Religion 41. An Old Testament 'minimalist' attacks Bible history === Main 1. Sect members charged with assault Canoe News (Canada), Apr. 23, 1999 http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.CRIME-Religious.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
Two members of the Apostles of Infinite Love appeared in court Friday,nine days after police issued arrest warrants for them. Lise Garand, 57, and Ruth-Ann Guzal, 47, were each arraigned on four assault charges and were then set free, pending another court appearance May 28. (...) Youth protection officials removed 14 children, ranging from four years old to 15, from the sprawling compound for an evaluation on whether they had been abused. Police are still seeking Jean-Gaston Tremblay, the sect's 70-year-old leader whose followers believe he's the real pope, and Reynard Huot, alias Pere Andre. The charges against Tremblay and Huot arise from alleged sexual abuse of children between 1966 and 1985. [...more...] 2. 9 children removed from Quebec cult returned to U.S. National Post (Canada), Apr, 22, 1999 (Story no longer online? Read this)
http://www.nationalpost.com/news.asp?f=990422/2508907&s2=national(...) The children are part of a group of 20 minors removed last Wednesday after provincial police raided the compound seeking to arrest four members on charges of physically and sexually abusing children between 1966 and 1985. (...) It was later found that the parents of the nine American children -- all from two families -- were in Quebec illegally. (...) The immigration officials assured them they will alert U.S. youth-protection authorities, Mr. Gagnon said. But he said there is nothing Quebec youth-protection officials can do to stop the parents from sending the children back to the cult's compound. [...more...] 3. SA Senator alleges bizarre food cult harming families Australian Broadcasting Corp., Apr. 23, 1999 http://www.abc.net.au/news/newslink/weekly/newsnat-23apr1999-1.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
A South Liberal Australian Senator has told parliament a bizarre foodcult operating in his state has harmed more than 450 families. Grant Chapman says the cult operates under the guise of the "Vibrational Individuation Program" which is based on the use and control of food. (...) Senator Chapman says the cult has been operating for at least ten years. "As the person gets more involved in the program, every time they want to do something, anything, the body must be asked if it is okay," he said. "Every facet of the person's life is controlled by how the body's muscles respond to the question and in turn how that response is interpreted by Joan Phillips and Maree Stenky. (...) "Children born into the cult are fed the most bizarre food from birth and reports have come to my attention of undernourished underweight babies," Senator Chapman said. [...more...] 4. Health fears as food cult spreads Herald Sun (Australia), Apr. 24, 1999 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/state/4407012.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
A BIZARRE cult forcing members to eat offal and wear pink and whiteunderwear has spread to Victoria. Pregnant women are a key target of the South Australian-based group, which promotes an anti-medical philosophy, including refusing ultrasound testing, immunisations and baby health checks. The cult leaders develop diets for followers – some consisting of steamed liver to be eaten hourly for days or boiled tommy ruff fish six times a day for eight weeks. (...) But Mrs Stienke last night said the program, which had been operating for 10 years, had never engaged in cult-like activity and they were a group of Christians who cared for the sick and needy. [...more...] 5. We're not a cult, say diet duo The Advertiser (Australia), Apr. 24, 1999 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/state/4409415.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
TWO leaders of an Adelaide organisation accused in the Senate of beinga cult promoting bizarre diets have "rigorously denied" the allegations. (...) The Vibrational Individuation Program (VIP) issued a statement yesterday in response to the allegations made by SA Liberal Senator Grant Chapman in Parliament on Thursday night. (...) One former member of the group, who does not want to be named, gave The Advertiser a copy of one of her food programs. It included items such as drinking 756 glasses of water a day and eating brains and tongue 30 times a day. (...) The statement issued by Mrs Phillips and Mrs Steinke yesterday said VIP was a "registered self-help group based on Christian principles". "It is not a cult targeted at pregnant women," the statement said. [...more...] 6. Pregnant women cult 'target' The Advertiser, Apr. 23, 1999 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/state/4377318.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
PREGNANT women were the prime target of a cult operating in theAdelaide Hills, SA Liberal Senator Grant Chapman told Federal Parliament last night. Calling on federal and State ministers to launch an investigation, Senator Chapman said the group had an anti-medical philosophy and advocated families break up if a follower's spouse resisted the program. And the organisers were making up to $25,000 a month from their followers, Senator Chapman said in Parliament. "The Vibrational Individuation Program is a personality cult operated by Joan Phillips, of Inglewood, and Marie Steinke, of Upper Sturt, South Australia," he said. [...more...] 7. Cult welcomes investigation Australian Broadcasting Corp., Apr. 23, 1999 http://www.abc.net.au/news/newslink/weekly/newsnat-23apr1999-75.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
An Adelaide-based organisation, Vibrational Individuation ProgramIncorported, named in the Senate last night as a bizarre food cult, says it welcomes any investigation into its activities. [...more...] 8. Alleged cult renting public schools Cambridge Town Online, Apr. 15, 1999 http://www.townonline.com/cambridge/news/topstories/general /009584_2_alleged_041599_988093a774.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
News that a group considered a cult by many and banned from mostcollege campuses is holding services at three Cambridge public schools has prompted the City Council to order an inquiry into the school department's screening practices. "They are a very destructive religious group," said Robert Watts Thornburg, dean at Boston University's Marsh Chapel, speaking of the Boston Church of Christ, which rents space at the Harrington and Tobin schools, as well as at the high school. "They lie and cheat and they really destroy kids," he went on. "Mind control is the methodology and they do mind control by the way they recruit and the way they hold on to kids and the way they turn them into zombies." (...) Because of his experience with the Boston Church of Christ at BU, Thornburg said, he has "tragically" become an expert on their activities. He has published papers on the subject and is often used as a source for news stories on the organization. "Dean Thornburg has been a very vocal opponent of the church for a long time," said a BCC official who wanted to remain anonymous. "I don't know that Dean Thornburg has ever been to one of our services, yet he is constantly quoted talking about us. I don't know how you become an expert on something you've never seen." [...more...] 9. Cult’ enlists members for fee to build ark Sun Star Daily (Philippines), Apr. 21, 1999 http://www2.sunstar.com.ph/21local.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
A RELIGIOUS cult, which allegedly asks new recruits for a substantialamount of money, is reportedly operating in Danao city. However, local officials have yet to determine whether the solicitation is a scam since the money (P20,000) allegedly serves as a membership fee. (...) A source said the cult is said to be raising a huge sum to build an ark, as it believes Judgement Day will come this June. (...) Sun Star Daily learned from another source that the cult is allegedly ran by an American nun and priest. [...more...] 10. Camp draws children from all walks of life Bangkok Post, Apr. 19, 1999 http://www.bangkokpost.com/today/190499_News10.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
The popular religious cult Pathom Asoke is attracting increasingnumbers of students to its children's camp, which is free of charge. (...) "Children of farmers, businessmen, lawyers and doctors are all treated equally here. The main objective is to enable them to adhere to the five precepts of Buddhism and to spend their holidays doing constructive work without having to spend any money," said Samana Thirajitto. [...more...] 11. Grand Jury indicts man in federal witness protection program San Francisco Chronicle, Apr. 17, 1999 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/1999/04/17/national1748EDT0032.DTL (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) Rozier had pleaded guilty to four murders and confessed to threeothers in Florida in a plea bargain for testifying against a Miami cult leader, Yahweh Ben Yahweh, and a religious sect blamed for at least 23 killings and a series of firebombings in the 1980s. With his identity revealed after he allegedly bounced numerous checks for pizza, brake shoes and his bar tab at a Coloma tavern, Rozier faces a new murder charge -- from a 15-year-old case in New Jersey. (...) Rozier, who is being held in lieu of $10 million bail on the bad check charge, has said he believes the El Dorado prosecution has put his life in danger from former associates who want him dead for his testimony against the Yahweh Ben Yahweh sect. [...more...] 12. Believer In Satanism Charged In More Church Fires Yahoo/Reuters, Apr. 21, 1999 http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/ts/story.html?s=v/nm/19990421/ts/crime_arson_4.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
A believer in Satanism, already charged
with setting fire to sevenIndiana churches, could face the death penalty after being indicted Tuesday for allegedly burning three Georgia churches, federal officials said. (...) In the New Year's Eve fire at the New Salem Baptist Church in Commerce, Georgia, a volunteer firefighter died when the ceiling caved in on him. Three other firefighters were injured. (...) Asked at a Justice Department news conference whether Ballinger hated organized religion and practiced devil worship, Lee noted that federal agents did find Satanic materials where be lived. [...more...] 13. Waco Detroit Free Press, Apr. 19, 1999 http://www.freep.com/news/nw/qwaco19.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) Clive Doyle survived the fire by jumping through a hole in thechapel made by a government tank comes almost daily to the site to drop of his mother, Edna, who works in the visitors center. "I've walked around here and seen all the dead," says Doyle, 49, stepping gingerly through debris while other visitors stroll the grounds reading the plaques. "It's still my home." [...more...] * Note: Doyle is pastor and spokesman of the largest of the Branch Davidian factions. Unlike the late David Koresh, or Renos Avraam, leader of another faction, Doyle does not call himself a prophet - AWH 14. States bar sales on detergent alternatives Boston Globe, Apr. 23, 1999 http://www.boston.com/dailynews2/112/region/States_bar_sales_on_detergent_:.shtml (Story no longer online? Read this)
New York and 10 other states have barred the sale of plastic ballsmarketed as an alternative to laundry detergent. The states claim two Dunedin, Fla., companies involved in the sale and marketing of ''The Laundry Solution'' and ''The Super Globe'' failed to substantiate their claims of selling an environmentally-superior alternative to detergent. The states also alleged the companies failed to tell consumers of reports that refuted the makers' claims, New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said Thursday. The two companies, TradeNet Marketing Inc., and Top Marketing Business Consulting Inc., admitted to no wrongdoing in the mutli-state settlement. [...more...] * Note: TradeNet has been linked to Scientology. See: http://www.xenu-city.net/tradenet.html 15. The Moral Compass: A Plea for Plaintiff Protection American Lawyer Media, Apr. 23, 1999 http://www.lawnewsnetwork.com/opencourt/stories/A842-1999Apr22.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) So-called SLAPPs, Strategic Lawsuits Against PublicParticipation, are designed to intimidate people from seeking their day in court, requesting relief from a government agency or simply protesting and speaking out publicly about their concerns. In those few states like California with strong anti-SLAPP laws, SLAPP victims can bring a motion early in the case, before expenses go through the roof, to force the "SLAPPer" to present evidence that it has a reasonable chance to win. (...) Surprisingly, the Pacific Legal Foundation's Zumbrun, a Sacramento attorney, cites Church of Scientology of California v. Wollersheim, 42 Cal.App. 4th 628, as the main source of trouble in California. But if there was ever a SLAPP suit, Wollersheim is it. The case began when Wollersheim, a former member of the Church of Scientology, sued the church in 1980. He claimed that the church inflicted severe emotional distress on him through its "auditing" procedures and other church practices. His five-month trial in 1986 resulted in a verdict of $5 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages, which was reduced by a California appeals court to a total of $2.5 million. But Wollersheim didn't finally prevail until 1994, fourteen years after he had begun -- after trial, appeal, reversal by the United States Supreme Court, reinstatement of the judgment by a second appeals court, the granting and subsequent vacating of a hearing by the California Supreme Court and, ultimately, the denial of a second petition for certiorari. (...) In 1993, while the church's final appeal was still pending in the state supreme court, the church sued Wollersheim in a new action, seeking to set aside the original judgment based on "newly discovered evidence." The court of appeal ruled that the suit "clearly" fell within the anti-SLAPP statute: Given "the entire litigation history between the parties," the church had acted "in retaliation, ... to punish [Wollersheim] economically, ... and to obliterate the value of [his] victories...." [...more...] 16. Reformed Klan member now preaches against hate Philadelpha Daily News, Apr. 22, 1999 http://www.phillynews.com/daily_news/99/Apr/22/local/NAZI22.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) Today, Cochran, who lives in the central Pennsylvania town ofMoshannon, is a reformed hate-group member who works full-time preaching against the organizations. He travels to high schools across Pennsylvania and beyond to prevent kids from becoming trapped in groups like the Klan. (...) Cochran's transformation from Klan member to national spokesman for the Aryan Nations to anti-hate group preacher took three decades and an inner strength that he now wants to share. (...) He became a spokesman for the Aryan Nation. Then, on July 9, 1992, his life swerved. His collegues discovered Cochran's 4-year-old son had a cleft lip. "They told me my son would have to be euthanized because he was a genetic defect," Cochran said. It took him three months to gather the courage to leave the compound. He never looked back. "I remembered that's what Hitler did to people with physical disabilities," Cochran said. "How could I justify it being wrong to kill my son but OK to kill Jewish people . . .without being a hypocrite?" [...more...] 17. Buddhist sect, computer maker share acronym, karma Arizona Daily Star, Apr. 24, 1999 http://www.azstarnet.com/public/dnews/lf0060.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
More than 700 years after Nichiren Daishonin, the son of a fisherman inAwa, Japan, established a new sect of Buddhism, his disciples are suddenly being deluged with phone calls. That's because last week, Silicon Graphics Inc., a computer maker in Mountain View, Calif., officially changed its name to SGI, trumpeting the shift in a series of newspaper ads. The problem is, that acronym already belongs to Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhist organization that promulgates Daishonin's teachings. Both SGIs are global organizations. Soka Gakkai, Japanese for ``value-creation society,'' was founded in Tokyo in 1930 and has 65 branches in the United States. Silicon Graphics was founded in California in 1982 and boasts offices in more than 60 countries. [...more...] 18. Trinity's minority station a sham, FCC rules Orange County Register, Apr. 16, 1999 http://www.ocregister.com/community/religion/tbn016w1.shtml (Story no longer online? Read this)
The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday deemed TrinityBroadcasting Network unfit to hold a license for a Miami television station because the Tustin-based TBN created a "sham" minority-controlled company to skirt FCC ownership limits. The decision scuttled a $57 million settlement deal that would have allowed TBN affiliate National Minority Television Inc. to renew its operating license. The good news for the world's largest religious broadcaster is that Thursday's ruling affects only the Miami license but not others in TBN's worldwide network of 800 broadcast and cable outlets. "The bad news is that the network must continue to litigate and to vindicate itself, and eventually win the renewal of its Miami station," said TBN lawyer Colby May. [...more...] 19. FCC chastens Trinity for flouting rules Orange County Register, Apr. 16, 1999 http://www.ocregister.com/community/religion/tbns16w2.shtml (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) But FCC commissioners ruled 3-2 on Thursday that TBN and itsFlorida affiliate are not fit to operate WHFT-TV. (...) The FCC's subsequent inquiry focused in part on whether Phil Aguilar, then pastor of Set Free Christian Fellowship in Anaheim, had played an active role in National Minority. TBN contended that Aguilar had participated in corporate goal-setting and in decision-making. However, in a 1991 interview with The Orange County Register, Aguilar said he was just "a figurehead" in the corporation and received no compensation. [...more...] 20. Prominent polygamist pleads no contest to beating daughter CNN, Apr. 21, 1999 http://cnn.com/US/9904/21/AM-Polygamy-Trial.ap/index.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
A man accused of beating his daughter after she ran away from anarranged marriage to his brother pleaded no contest Wednesday in a trial that had many calling for a crackdown on Utah polygamy. (...) The case had generated enormous interest in a state with an estimated 25,000 polygamists. Although plural marriage was abandoned by the predominant Mormon church in 1890, numerous sects with Mormon roots continue the practice in defiance of a state bigamy law that prosecutors say is nearly impossible to enforce. (...) The clan led by patriarch Merlin Kingston goes by the name of the "Latter-day Church of Christ" and has about 1,000 members. The brothers are the sons of the clan's leader, who died in 1987. Though not the largest polygamous group, the Kingstons are the most affluent, with assets estimated around $150 million. [...more...] 21. Does Main Street Sale Mean the Vaticanization of Downtown? Salt Lake City, Apr. 18, 1999 (Opinion) http://www.sltrib.com/1999/apr/04181999/utah/98971.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
The Salt Lake City Council on a 5-2 vote has changed forever thecomplexion, access and configuration of downtown Salt Lake City by its approval of the sale of a section of Main Street, between North and South Temple, to the LDS Church. (...) Now we find out that this "city park" will be patrolled by LDS Church security with full authority to eject anyone who violates a narrow and nebulous set of rules that seems to mirror conduct permitted inside the confines of Temple Square. You will be ejected for smoking, assembling, picketing, sunbathing, engaging in illegal, offensive, indecent, obscene, vulgar, lewd or disorderly speech, dress or conduct or if you have a boombox on. (...) This isn't a religious issue. It is an issue of public policy by the City Council and how the policy will benefit the residents of Utah. The LDS Church maintains its goal is to add to the beautification of downtown Salt Lake City. In fact, it looks more like the Vaticanization of downtown. [...more...] 22. Judge orders treatment for girl Michigan Live, Apr. 21, 1999 http://fl.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/21amis$01.frm (Story no longer online? Read this)
An Amish couple is trying to block Hurley Medical Center fromcontinuing chemotherapy treatments on their leukemia-stricken daughter, contending it goes against their religious beliefs. In the past week, Hurley has received permission from a local judge to perform a bone marrow test on Mary Stutzman, 3, and to do a spinal tap on her and begin chemotherapy. Genesee Circuit Judge Bruce A. Newman, in a decision Monday, cited testimony that the child had a 65 percent chance of long-term survival with standard treatment. But in the meantime, he said, the family can seek a second opinion from a homeopathic doctor in Indiana. [...more...] 23. Mayor proclaims Alabama town as `City of Prayer' AP, Apr. 21, 1999 http://flash.al.com/cgi-bin/al_nview.pl?/home1/wire/AP/Stream-Parsed/BAMA_NEWS/j4745_PM_AL--CityofPrayer (Story no longer online? Read this)
A town already at the heart of a dispute over the role of religion ingovernment has a new nickname, courtesy of the Christian mayor: "The City of Prayer." Mayor Steve Means issued a proclamation naming the northeast Alabama community "The City of Prayer" and stating Gadsden and Etowah County are "consecrated grounds for the fulfilling of God's purpose, working through the Holy Spirit" and "prayer warriors." [...more...] 24. German Court Orders Crucifix Removed Waco Tribune, Apr. 21, 1999 http://www.accesswaco.com/shared-cgi/stories/show.cgi?id=aponline-menus-data/Intl.AP.V0785.AP-Germany-School-.story&menu=Intl.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
A federal court ordered a Bavarian school to remove a classroomcrucifix Wednesday after a couple charged it violated their 10-year-old daughter's rights. But the Federal Administrative Court also upheld as constitutional a 1995 Bavarian law that requires the Roman Catholic symbol in classrooms unless a parent raises ``serious and reasonable'' objections. (...) The complaint was filed by a German-Chinese couple living in overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Bavaria. The father had argued that Jesus on the cross was a male symbol degrading to his daughter. [...more...] 25. Pagans ponder their bruising encounter with notoriety News & Observer, Apr. 18, 1999 http://www.news-observer.com/daily/1999/04/18/nc05.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) Last week, days before the state's largest pagan festival, theYMCA of Greater Durham backed out of an agreement to lease its Wake Forest campground to the group. Although the pagans were able to reserve the old boarding school grounds called Shelter Neck in Pender County, news accounts of the incident -- some critical, others comical -- left many feeling vulnerable. (...) Many pagans said they came to their newfound faith on college campuses, in occult bookstores or while cruising the Internet. But almost all said discovering it was a kind of homecoming -- an opportunity to be themselves. (...) But some pagans said it will take years to convince people that their religion is worthwhile. [...more...] 26. Wicca in Detroit Akron Beacon, Apr. 21, 1999 http://www.ohio.com/bj/news/ohio/docs/017062.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) ``There are thousands and thousands (of pagans) in the Detroitarea. I know, I've met them,'' said John Adelmann, an engineer from Ann Arbor who also heads the largest North American group of Druids -- followers of the ancient Irish tradition of the same name. Religious experts estimate there are about 400,000 people nationwide who identify themselves as followers of one of the neopagan faiths, predominantly Wiccans. [...more...] 27. Indian women fall prey to the witch-hunters The Telegraph (England), Apr. 18, 1999 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000219779955060&rtmo=lSbvulQt&atmo=99999999&pg=/et/99/4/18/wind18.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
IN SCENES reminiscent of medieval Europe, hundreds of women are beinghunted down as witches and then persecuted, tortured or killed in remote tribal areas of eastern India. More than 400 alleged witches have been stoned, strangled or hacked to death in Bihar, the country's poorest state, in the past six years, a conference aimed at eradicating witch-hunting was told last week. (...) With no hospitals and little health care, most villagers in Bihar turn to the local witchdoctor for cures. These priests-cum-exorcists may sacrifice an animal or sometimes even a child. When these measures fail, the ojha will often point to a lone woman in the village, branding her as the witch who has caused a family's problems. [...more...] 28. Fears Of Witchcraft After Six Pupils Die In Four Months African Eye News Service, Apr. 19, 1999 http://www.africanews.org/south/southafrica/stories/19990419_feat17.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
Pupils at a rural high school in Mpumalanga are threatening to hire awitch sniffer after six of their fellow classmates died in the past four months. Secretary of the Learner's Representative Council at KaMhola Secondary School, Glen Hlophe, said on Monday that the surviving school children had become frightened for their lives. "So we are preparing to go a sangoma to sniff out the witches," he said. (...) Mpumalanga education department spokesperson, Pat Zwane, urged the pupils not to jump to conclusions and go on a witch hunt. "My advice is that we should not point fingers, accusing people of witchcraft, but understand that this has been divined by God," he explained. [...more...] 29. 'Too old to be sacrificed' Zimbabwe Standard, Apr. 18, 1999 http://www.africanews.org/south/zimbabwe/stories/19990418_feat7.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
An Epworth man who was kidnapped to be used in a witchcraft ritual waslucky to escape with his life after he was declared "too old" to be killed for his body parts, and was dumped in the bush. [...more...] 30. Reformed witch hunters act out the error of their ways Sunday Times (South Africa), Apr. 18, 1999 http://www.suntimes.co.za/1999/04/18/news/gauteng/njhb15.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
SIX young men who helped burn an old woman's home at Zangoma villagenear Tzaneen last year because they suspected she was a witch are now putting on a play discouraging others from doing the same. (...) The young men joined creative forces with another nine youths after a conference on witchcraft at Thohoyandou in the Northern Province in September. They formed the Zangoma Youth Development Group and the result was a play, Witchcraft and Violence, which has been performed several times at Zangoma. The provincial Commission for Gender Equality is supporting the initiative to reconcile surviving victims and their attackers. The play portrays the way the men helped others burn the woman's house. (...) She said that since the play began in December there had not been any incidents related to witchcraft in the village. The commission's statistics show that 24 people in the Northern Province were murdered for being suspected of witchcraft in 1995, 17 were murdered in 1996 and 18 in 1997. Two-thirds were women aged between 50 and 60 years. [...more...] 31. Forced to go to AA, he wins a dollar in damages Philadelphia Daily News, Apr. 20, 1999 http://www.phillynews.com/daily_news/99/Apr/20/national/BUCK20.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
A federal appeals court agreed yesterday that an atheist cannot beforced to attend meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, but said a $1 damages award was "just about right." [...more...] 32. American Atheists Choose Garden State for New Home Salt Lake Tribune, Apr. 18, 1999 http://www.sltrib.com/1999/apr/04181999/nation_w/98875.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
On Easter Sunday, as FBI agents searched a Texas cattle ranch for cluesin the disappearance of atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the organization she founded was celebrating the opening of its new headquarters in North Jersey. (...) Political Activism: Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists and a resident of Morris County, said the group hopes soon to have an office in Washington, D.C. "We're trying to establish a beachhead on the Potomac," said Johnson, who said the group needed to become a more active political presence. "We're not going to sit back and talk to ourselves and pat ourselves on the back for being atheists." [...more...] 33. Botanica combines faith, health (Story no longer online? Read this)
Chicago Sun-Times, Apr. 18, 1999http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/bot18i.html (...) Rodriguez and the Quizhpes are patrons of a Humboldt Park herbalist called Botanica Victoria. The store at 2510 W. Division is one of many botanicas in Chicago where customers can buy natural remedies and religious articles, feeding both their health and spiritual needs. ``Hispanics do not separate their world in material and spiritual; it is all one world for them,'' said the Rev. William Spine of Loyola University's Instituto Hispano. (...) The importance of training doctors and medical students in the field of cultural competence is growing in acceptance, said Dr. Elena Rios, president of the National Hispanic Medical Association. The National Institutes of Health have created the first center for alternative medicine. ``Botanicas are just going to be more critically looked at in the bigger picture of the health system, because the federal government recognizes that it needs to understand the spiritual role of the folklore-type remedies,'' Rios said. [...more...] 34. White House Statement on Imprisonment of Baha'is in Iran U.S. Newswire, Apr. 20, 1999 http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/0420-152.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
(... ) Imprisoning people for the practice of their religious faith iscontrary to the most fundamental international human rights principles. We condemn the Iranian government's persecution of the followers of the Baha'i faith, and we urge President Khatemi to ensure the immediate release of all Baha'is who have been imprisoned for the observance and expression of their religion. We will continue to monitor closely the treatment of all minority religions in Iran. [...more...] 35. Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman makes the Tibetan path accessible to Westerners Star-Telegram, Apr. 21, 1999 http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:RELIGION42/1:RELIGION42042199.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) To get a hint of Buddhism's new stardom, one need look no furtherthan the best-seller lists: The Dalai Lama himself, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and Thurman's longtime friend, is jockeying for position in the nonfiction ranks with the inspirational likes of Suze Orman. (Caveat emptor: Although the cover of the Dalai Lama's book, "The Art of Happiness," is dominated by a portrait of His Holiness, it actually was written by his co-author, a Phoenix psychiatrist named Howard C. Cutler.) (...) In his long teaching career -- he is currently professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University -- and in earlier books such as Essential Tibetan Buddhism, an anthology of important texts, Thurman became one of those responsible for raising the profile of Tibetan Buddhism in America. (...) Yet much of Buddhism's appeal in America's fast-paced culture stems from its flexibility, its anti-authoritarian tradition and its lack of insistence on institutions and membership. ("People jokingly call me the Billy Graham of Buddhism," Thurman said, "but I'm not, because I'm not trying to sign up people.") (...) "You know, Jesus was a buddha, as far as I'm concerned. So you might as well do Buddhism as Christianity. . . . Buddhism wants to be useful, and it doesn't insist on wanting to be Buddhism." [...more...] 36. 300th anniversary of Sikhism celebrated Sun Sentinel, Apr. 18, 1999 http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/daily/detail/0,1136,11000000000070696,00.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) Although Sikhism was founded in the 15th century, this monthmarks the 300th anniversary of the time Sikhs swore to uphold the values set to them by Guru Gobind Singh. (...) Across the world they celebrated on Sunday, noting that while they are a minority in their native India, there are substantial numbers in England; in the United States, particularly in California and New York; and in Canada. [...more...] === Noted 37. Lucas: Star Wars Awakens Kids' Spirituality Mr. Showbiz, Apr. 19, 1999 http://mrshowbiz.go.com/news/Todays_Stories/990419/Menacespiritual041999.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
The Star Wars series has inspired something akin to religious devotion;however, director George Lucas tells the April 26 issue of Time that he really intends for Star Wars and its imminent prequel The Phantom Menace to make kids think about God. "I put the Force into the movie to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people," Lucas says, "more a belief in God than a belief in any particular religious system." [...more...] 38. Religion Becoming A Big Deal On Campus Washington Post, Apr. 22, 1999 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-04/22/039l-042299-idx.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
[Note: additional items on religion in America](...) Campus religious groups are multiplying. Enrollment in religion classes has mushroomed. And as interest in Eastern religions grows, meditation groups are thriving. For the children of baby boomer parents, many of whom were raised in secular households, religion has become something exotic and, in some cases, may even be a form of rebellion, according to campus religious officials. (...) Students on spiritual quests have more options than ever on most campuses. At American University, the number of religious groups has almost doubled during the last five years, adding eight new groups. Recent additions have included everything from a Bahai group to the California-based Blue Mountain Center for Meditation Group. Although cultural diversity accounts for some of the new organizations, many students with Western backgrounds also are attracted to New Age and Eastern religions. Still others subscribe to a spirituality that defies labeling. [...more...] 39. Higher education - Campus Bible studies are booming, allowing students to leave behind the pressures of school - and to pursue Christian maturity Dallas Morning News, Apr. 17, 1999 http://www.dallasnews.com/religion-nf/rel11.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
[Note: additional items on religion in America](...) Tonight they're here for Breakaway, a nondenominational Bible study that's packing in 3,500 students a week. (...) At least six Texas colleges have large Bible studies such as this one - including Baylor, Texas Tech and Southwest Texas State universities, the University of Texas and Abilene's three universities. Several more are starting up. Unlike other groups, these Bible studies are not affiliated with denominations or with traditional college ministries such as Campus Crusade for Christ or Intervarsity. (...) Dr. Phil Briggs, distinguished professor of student and youth ministries at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, says: "In Generation X, denominationalism is pretty much dead. Kids aren't unaware of controversies that have taken place in nearly every denomination the last 10 years." Hardin-Simmons graduate student Steve Bezner says Gen-Xers "want to go somewhere that the institution is de-emphasized and the bigger concept - God - is emphasized." (...) But Chris Seay of Waco's University Baptist Church warns against an overly optimistic view. "When you look at statistics in terms of numbers of students involved in campus ministries or churches, it's overwhelmingly devastating to the church," he says. "There are some pockets of health, like these Bibles studies, but we're seeing that college campuses are increasingly post-Christian." These "pockets of health" are spreading. Younger, smaller studies, such as the Gathering at the University of Texas, Paradigm at Texas Tech University and a new study at Paul Quinn College, operate with a similar vision, as do ministries on the campuses of Kansas State, Iowa State and Nebraska universities. New ministries are being planned for Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and the University of Texas at Arlington. Denton Bible Church has planted one at the University of North Texas. [...more...] 40. Psychology Research Rarely Recognizes Religion U.S. Newswire, Apr. 21, 1999 http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/0421-122.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
While Gallup polls show at least 85 percent of Americans rank religionas important in their lives, many researchers of the human mind appear unmindful of this fact. Recent reviews found both psychologists and psychiatrists include religion in less than 3 percent of their fields' research. [...more...] 41. An Old Testament 'minimalist' attacks Bible history Star Democrat, Apr. 16, 1999 http://www.stardem.com/ap/0416bible.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) One minimalist leader is Thomas L. Thompson, a Detroit-bornCatholic who began as a true believer but developed radical doubts during graduate study in Germany. (...) Those interested in the scriptural squabble should take a look at Thompson's "The Mythic Past" (Basic, $30). He writes that the Bible may have "occasional tidbits of history here and there," but it's a big mistake to read it as depicting actual events. He treats it as an inspirational work that Jews devised around the third century B.C. to buttress their national identity. (...) Thompson not only erases as mythological the biblical characters of the dim past (Adam, Noah, Abraham) but also Moses, Joshua, Saul, David, Solomon and the later kings and prophets. What next, the King David Seminar? Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review magazine in Washington, thinks archaeology raises problems for a literal, Fundamentalist view of Old Testament history. But he says Thompson builds his opinions "not on the basis of the archaeological evidence, which really contradicts them, but on anthropological and sociological theories." University of Arizona archaeologist William Dever, no biblical right-winger either, gives Thompson's book harsh treatment in a forthcoming issue of Shanks' magazine. Dever complains that the book fails to offer "reasoned and well-documented conclusions." He says Thompson and his radical allies assert that the Old Testament was written very late but "significantly, they never give any data to support this claim." [...more...]
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