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News about cults, sects, alternative religions... |
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Religion Items In The NewsMay 20, 1999 (Vol. 3, Issue 86)
![]() 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.
1. Cult awareness conference courts protest, debate 2. Prosecutor defends Scientology charges 3. Amazon Drops Controversial Book (Scientology) 4. Celebrity Scientologists protest use of psychiatric drugs on youths 5. Scientology very weak 6. Japanese cult buildings raided (6 - 11: Aum Shinrikyo) 7. Police search Aum facilities, seize forgery-related items 8. Police swoop on Japanese cult 9. Japan Says It May Try To Outlaw Doomsday Cult 10. The Asahara Trial: Endo 'shocked' that sarin killed people 11. Murder cases highlight odd feature of Japan system 12. Cult kids won't be returned to facility (Apostles of Infinite Love) 13. Liver transplant for Jehovah's witness 14. Liver Transplant Performed Without Blood Transfusion 15. 'Bloodless' surgery: New techniques mean peace of mind... 16. U.S. Doctors Urged to Study Alternative Therapies 17. Fed. Court Doesn't Buy Into Plaintiff's Repressed Memory Claim 18. Delegates to attend sect's anniversary celebration (Falun Gong) 19. Hare Krishnas denied charter school 20. [New Bethany] 21. Soap Operas Promote Sects And Magic In Brazil 22. Nations of Islam at War 23. SLC to ACLU: Block Is LDS Church's 24. Witches get US Army behind them (Wicca) 25. Barr blasts Army for allowing Wiccan celebration at Texas base 26. Students 'degraded' for 'spells' (Wicca) 27. Caught up in the craft (Wicca) 28. When teens venture to the Dark Side (Wicca; Satanic Cults) 29. Judge Tosses P&G's Lawsuit 30. Peyote distributors dwindling 31. Adherents from across globe mark birthday of Buddha 32. Unholy row over Thai Buddhist sect 33. Los Angeles emerges as second center of U.S. Judaism 34. A Town Whose Charter Would Be the King James Bible === Noted 35. "I smell the presence of Satan" (Columbine aftermath) 36. All God's Children (Racism) 37. Lawlessness threatens Russian mission work 38. Why east German teens seek secular rite of passage === Books 39. Rebel theologian: It's hardly retirement for John Crossan 40. A Buddhist copes with the workplace 41. `Wounded healer' grows in popularity 3 years after death (Nauwen) 42. Profits of doom (Y2K) === Internet 43. Hatemongers of every kind find a ready forum on the Internet === The Church Around The Corner 44. Sacred Oxen Are Bullish === Main 1. Cult awareness conference courts protest, debate Minnesota Daily, May 18, 1999 http://www.daily.umn.edu/daily/1999/05/18/news/cult/ (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) Meanwhile, inside the student center, about 150 people convenedfor the weekend-long American Family Foundation Cult Awareness Conference, where prominent psychologists, sociologists and writers from all over the world discussed issues of mind control. (...) A public contact secretary for the Church of Scientology, Dickerson and a handful of cohorts came to decry the conference's stance on freedom of religion. The small protest was a microcosm of a bigger war between the Church of Scientology and cult awareness groups such as the AFF. Scientology wages war on cult-watchers. Two days before the conference, scientologists released literature denouncing the AFF and discrediting many of the speakers. The release, however, did not contain the word "Scientology." Instead, the writers of the release referred to themselves as the Cult Awareness Network. [NOTE: This is the fake, Scientology-operated "Cult Awareness Network," not the real CAN - (AWH).] Speaker Ron Enroth, professor of sociology at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif., said the letter was a product of the church's legal strategy to combat anti-cult groups. "These guys have unlimited funds," Enroth said. "And they use them to pay good lawyers to wage war on groups they hate." (...) According to the release, the conference was held at the University solely to "borrow the University's standing in the community, and for no other reason." (...) The conference provided information on how families of cult members can hire psychologists affiliated with the American Family Foundation to reclaim their loved ones through a psychological process called "thought reform" - a concept that has spawned animosity among groups like the Church of Scientology. But the protesters didn't refer to the concept as "thought reform." Instead, they used the word "deprogramming." [Story no longer online? Read this] (...) Enroth said Bible-based fundamentalist groups like The Apostles of Infinite Love are on the rise. "In fact, one of the most controversial groups in the U.S. is the International Church of Christ, which has a Minneapolis location," he said. (...) In 1993, Free Minds examined the Minneapolis-St. Paul Church of Christ and deemed it a cult because of the deception it employs to attract members. The Church's tendency to minimize the importance of the individual is another one of the Church's cult-like attributions, Enroth said. [...more...] * About the Scientology-run "Cult Awareness Network" http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c19.html [Story no longer online? Read this] About the real Cult Awareness Network: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c00.html#realcan [Story no longer online? Read this] 2. Prosecutor defends Scientology charges St. Petersburg Times, May 14, 1999 http://www.sptimes.com/News/51499/TampaBay/Prosecutor_defends_Sc.shtml (Story no longer online? Read this)
Filing criminal charges against the Church of Scientology in Clearwaterwas an unusual step, a top Pinellas prosecutor conceded Thursday. But he added the charges were made necessary by the unique circumstances surrounding the 1995 death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson while in the care of church staffers. "This is the first time in my 23 years that I've seen anything quite as bizarre or disturbing as the way this decedent was treated," Pinellas-Pasco Assistant State Attorney Doug Crow said. His remarks came during the first of many hearings in a case that began Nov. 13, when the Church of Scientology's Clearwater branch was charged with abuse of a disabled person and practicing medicine without a license. A trial has been set for March 6 next year, and is expected to last two to five weeks. Crow was responding to statements by Scientology lawyer Sandy Weinberg, who suggested to Chief Judge Susan F. Schaeffer that the charges by Clearwater police were "religiously motivated." The department has investigated Scientology off and on since the church made Clearwater its spiritual headquarters in 1975. [...more...] 3. Amazon Drops Controversial Book Wired, May 20, 1999 (Story no longer online? Read this)
Amazon.com has removed a controversial book from its listings, a bookwell known for angering the Church of Scientology. A Piece of Blue Sky, by UK writer Jon Atack, is an exposé of the Scientology movement from its creation in 1959 until the death of founder L. Ron Hubbard in 1986. The book disappeared from Amazon's site only recently. [NOTE: The book has returned... See this follow-up news item] (...) Amazon spokeswoman Lizzie Allen would only say that "under certain circumstances, for legal reasons, we need to stop selling a book. I really just can't comment any further." Publishers of the book, Carol Publishing Group, were similarly tight-lipped about the removal of A Piece of Blue Sky from Amazon.com, declining to provide any details about matter. A Piece of Blue Sky has raised the ire of Scientologists since before it was published in 1990. The religious group, notoriously litigious, sued Atack for reprinting portions of church principles in his book. Scientologists claimed that since the church had published the principles, Atack was violating its copyright. (...) Officials at the Church of Scientology said they have had nothing to do with the removal of the book from Amazon's site. One woman told Wired News that the book was illegal to sell in the United Kingdom, and that was why Amazon had removed the book. "It was declared defamatory because it contained false statements," said church spokeswoman Linda Peters. "Amazon didn't know about it. We don't really know who alerted them. There are a lot of Scientologists around the planet." Peters said the ruling took place "four or five years ago." According to scientology newsgroups, the church won a 1995 lawsuit against Atack in the United Kingdom. A court ruled that no copies of the book containing a certain paragraph could be distributed in Britain. That order does not stretch to the United States, however, and only one paragraph in the book was declared defamatory. (...) Amazon's Allen said she was surprised that the church would speak for Amazon, but she still couldn't say what had prompted the bookseller to remove the book. But the "legal reasons" can't be very far-reaching, since both barnesandnoble.com and Books.com still offer it for sale. [...more...] * For more info about John Atack, see: http://www.religio.de/atack/atack.html 4. Celebrity Scientologists protest use of psychiatric drugs on youths Nando Times, May 15, 1999 http://www.nando.com/noframes/story/0,2107,49205-79274-562452-0,00.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
About 1,000 protesters, dressed in black and many carrying blackballoons, picketed a convention of psychiatrists Saturday calling on the profession to stop prescribing mind-altering medications to young people. (...) The demonstration, organized by the Church of Scientology's Citizens Commission on Human Rights, targeted the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in downtown Washington. [...more...] 5. Scientology very weak Trierischer Volksfreund (Germany), May 15, 1999 Translation: German Scientology News http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/990515c.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
Sects and new religious movements present a challenge for the churches. So states the 1998 activities report presented by the speaker on sects and weltanschauung issues of the Trier diocese. (...) The advertisement for unprofessional forms of practical life assistance in psychological and medical areas is also expanding and can hardly be overlooked. In contrast, the German division of Scientology has been greatly weakened by departures and a decrease of course participants and sales of materials, but Scientologists continue to be active in commerce. The Trier diocesan speaker on sects and weltanschauung issues reacted to the challenges by sectarian groups with an extensive offering of information and advice on all media, and enjoyed plenty of feedback in the past year. [...more...] * Referat für Weltanschauungs und Sektenfragen im Bistum Trier http://www.sekten.dioezese-trier.de/ (German language only) 6. Japanese cult buildings raided Australian Broadcasting Corporation, May 18, 1999 http://www.abc.net.au/news/newslink/weekly/newsnat-18may1999-103.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
Japanese police today raided two buildings occupied by members of theAum Supreme Truth Sect. (...) Police raided the buildings at Kawakami in central Japan to gather evidence in relation to a forgery investigation. It is alleged a long standing member of the Aum Supreme Truth Cult used forged documents to buy land. The cult described the raid as a carefully engineered act of religious suppression. [...more...] 7. Police search Aum facilities, seize forgery-related items Daily Yomiuri (Japan), May 19, 1999 http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/index-e.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) The facilities, including two prefabricated houses inKawakamimura in Nagano Prefecture, were searched. Police suspect that one 39-year-old cult member contracted to purchase land in a mountain forest near the village using forged documents. (...) According to police, the cult member purchased the 17.6-hectare mountain forest land for 17 million yen from a resident of the Nagano Prefecture village in September 1996, falsely representing himself as the president of a Tokyo campsite management firm. Before making the purchase, the cult member allegedly obtained a Tokyo man's seal impression registration certificate and registered himself as the firm's president. The cult member obtained the certificate from a 35-year-old company president, who police arrested later in the day on suspicion of fraudulently obtaining the certificate. Passing himself off as the president, the cult member used an illegally made seal and the certificate to conclude the contract, according to police. In addition, the cult member allegedly used the same seal on documents submitted to the village office regarding the purchase of the forest land. (...) Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka on Tuesday said he would consider new legislation to restrict the activities of the Aum Supreme Truth [Story no longer online? Read this] cult, as the group has caused many problems nationwide. "I want to carefully discuss new legislation and laws with concerned authorities," Nonaka said. "I have instructed them to carefully examine what legal measures would be possible." [...more...] 8. Police swoop on Japanese cult BBC, May 18, 1999 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_346000/346813.stm (Story no longer online? Read this)
Japanese police have raided facilities belonging to the Aum Shrini Kyo[Story no longer online? Read this] [sic] cult - the group which released Sarin gas on the Tokyo underground in 1995, killing 12 and injuring 5,000. (...) Members of the cult, including the leader, Shoko Asahara, are still on trial for murder, in connection with the gas attack on Tokyo commuter trains in 1995 and other crimes. (...) On Tuesday, the Home Affairs Minister, Takeshi Noda, said he regretted that the cult had not been outlawed. Aum issued a statement following the raids, saying it was only seeking a place to live and that its members were victims of religious suppression. [...more...] * The BBC web site provides a link to: Japan Times Aum Chronology http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/news4-96/chrono4-24.html 9. Japan Says It May Try To Outlaw Doomsday Cult Fox News, May 18, 1999 http://www.foxnews.com/news/international/0518/i_rt_0518_16.sml (Story no longer online? Read this)
Japan's Home Affairs Minister Takeshi Noda said Tuesday that thegovernment should consider invoking a draconian subversion law to outlaw the doomsday cult accused of the 1995 deadly nerve gas attack on Tokyo subways. "At the time when the decision was made not to apply the Antisubversive Activities Law, we decided to wait and see for a little while whether there remained fears that the cult could commit more crimes,'' Noda told a news conference. "But since then they have insisted that they remain the same as before. Therefore, it is worth seriously considering this issue again,'' he said. The harsh law, promulgated during Japan's labor and leftist turmoil after World War Two, was considered so controversial that it has never been applied to a group. [...more...] 10. The Asahara Trial: Endo 'shocked' that sarin killed people Japan Times, May 14, 1999 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/news5-99/news.html#story6 (Story no longer online? Read this)
Former senior Aum Shinrikyo member Seiichi Endo claimed Friday that hedid not know sarin could kill people when he and several other cultists released the nerve gas in 1994 in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, killing seven locals. "I was shocked when I heard that people died from the attack," said Endo, a biologist, at a hearing in the trial of cult founder Shoko Asahara before the Tokyo District Court. (...) Endo added that he was shocked that Masami Tsuchiya, Aum's chemical chief who produced the sarin, seemed glad to learn that the gas attack succeeded when Endo returned to a cult facility in Kamikuishiki, Yamanashi Prefecture, after the attack. "Tsuchiya said he was sure everything would turn out well when he learned that several people died from the attack," Endo said. [...more...] 11. Murder cases highlight odd feature of Japan system CNN, May 18, 1999 http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9905/17/BC-JAPAN-JUSTICE.reut/index.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
Two high-profile murder trials that seem likely to drag on for yearshighlight a curious aspect of Japan's justice system -- the heavy reliance on confessions to solve crimes. The cases, stemming from the Tokyo subway gassing and a mass poisoning at a village festival, appear to be stuck simply because the defendants have refused to say: "I did it." (...) The problem facing the legal system is that the main tactic used by Japanese police and prosecutors to earn convictions in criminal cases is to pressure suspects during lengthy detention sessions to confess to crimes. Human rights group Amnesty International and the U.N. Human Rights Commission have criticised Japan's detention system and have called for reforms to allow state-appointed counsel to be present at questioning. (...) Aum Shinri Kyo cult leader Asahara marked the start of his fourth year in court last week involved in 17 cases, including charges of being the mastermind of a March 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system that killed 12 and sickened more than 5,300 others. He did not offer a confession, but for 16 of the 17 cases against Asahara, courts have handed down guilty verdicts against other cult members and alleged accomplices. [...more...] 12. Cult kids won't be returned to facility National Post (Canada), May 18, 1999 http://www.nationalpost.com/news.asp?f=990518/2610786&s2=national (Story no longer online? Read this)
A dozen children who were removed from a cult headquarters during amassive police raid last month will not be returned to the St. Jerome monastery. (...) Yesterday's court order ensures that all 20 children who were found at the Apostles' orphanage during the police raid will now be raised outside cult headquarters. In April, Quebec's provincial police swept down on the Apostles' St. Jerome compound, seeking to arrest four members on charges of abusing children at the monastery between 1966 and 1985. [...more...] 13. Liver transplant for Jehovah's witness BBC, May 14, 1999 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_342000/342927.stm (Story no longer online? Read this)
Doctors have performed a liver transplant on a Jehovah's witness[Story no longer online? Read this] without the use of any blood products. (...) Dr Olivier Detry and co-workers, from the University of Liege in Belgium, report in the medical journal The Lancet how they successfully performed the procedure. (...) Paul Gillies, national press officer for the Jehovah's witnesses, said representatives from the church worked closely with the medical profession to find alternatives to blood transfusion. [...more...] 14. Liver Transplant Performed Without Blood Transfusion Fox News, May 17, 1999 http://www.foxnews.com/health/051799/livertransplant.sml (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) The new transplant procedure "may allow successful livertransplantation in Jehovah's witnesses who should not necessarily be excluded from this life-saving procedure," write Dr. Olivier Detry of the University of Lige, Belgium, and colleagues, including Drs. P. Honor, N. Jacquet, and M. Meurisse. (...) The Belgian researcher cautioned that "this patient was very well selected and prepared. Liver transplantation without blood products is, and will be, an exception to a rule." [...more...] 15. 'Bloodless' surgery: New techniques mean peace of mind to many patients Lincoln Journal Star, May 11, 1999 http://www.journalstar.com/archives/051199/lif/stox (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) Thorpe, chief of vascular-interventional radiology andendovascular surgery, is part of a growing team of physicians at Saint Joseph who do "bloodless" surgery for patients who refuse transfusions. Following Pieper's successful operation, the hospital worked with Creighton University Medical School to establish a Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Program. It was the 24th such program started in the United States. Today, more than 80 transfusion-free surgery programs nationwide receive research assistance from the Hospital Information Services, an organization supported by the Jehovah's Witnesses in Brooklyn, N.Y. (...) Bloodless surgery programs have helped reduce legal hassles for Jehovah's Witnesses and others who refuse transfusions. In the past, doctors often obtained court orders to transfuse patients against their will, Kurth said. "Now many judges refuse to mandate transfusions until all bloodless approaches have been exhausted." (...) Hospital Liaison Committees, made up of volunteer Jehovah's Witnesses, advocate for church members seeking transfusion-free medical care. There are more than 130 Hospital Liaison Committees in the United States and Canada and more than 1,000 worldwide. More than 30,000 physicians in the United States and more than 70,000 worldwide now perform transfusion-free medicine, largely due to the efforts of Jehovah's Witnesses. [...more...] 16. U.S. Doctors Urged to Study Alternative Therapies Fox News, May 17, 1999 http://www.foxnews.com/health/051799/alternativemed.sml (Story no longer online? Read this)
Americans are flocking to alternative and complementary therapies forcancer and doctors had better catch up on what they are and whether they work, cancer specialists believe. From Chinese medicine to "quartz crystal singing bowls," the U.S. public has become enamored of alternative therapies, experts on Friday told a session at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Atlanta. "Physicians ought to make some effort to find out what their patients are using and learn something about the treatments," said Dr. Arnold Relman, a retired professor of medicine at Harvard University and a former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine. Although there is still a wide range of opinion about the value of such treatments -- one doctor calls them "bizarre" while another thinks they are promising -- all the specialists agreed that it is imperative to find out what does work and what does not. [...more...] * RIN's suggested resource: Quakwatch - Your Guide to Health Fraud, Quackery, and Intelligent Decisions http://www.quackwatch.com/index.html 17. Fed. Court Doesn't Buy Into Plaintiff's Repressed Memory Claim Law News Network, May 14, 1999 http://www.lawnewsnetwork.com/stories/A1463-1999May14.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
The 3rd Circuit has essentially told a plaintiff to forget aboutpursuing her 20-year-old claim against the psychiatrist she said abused her in therapy sessions for 19 years. The plaintiff claimed the discovery rule applied to toll the statute of limitations because she did not remember that the doctor sexually abused her until years later, nor did she realize until after she left the doctor's care how inappropriate his treatment was. But the court said it did not believe that argument because the plaintiff openly admitted through the years that the doctor was hurting her and many other people the woman had contact with alerted her to the same problem. (...) Just last year, the Supreme Court stepped back from its harsh view on repressed memories and ruled that a man's testimony about his repressed memory of a murder was admissible. The justices in Commonwealth v. Crawford allowed the evidence in a criminal case because the Commonwealth didn't try to persuade the jury that the "phenomenon of revived repressed memory" was accepted by the scientific community but instead allowed the testimony to stand on its own. (...) Based on his evaluation, Himmelhoch said Reed's memory was unreliable. Most repressed memories from more than 10 years in the past are wrong, he said. [...more...] 18. Delegates to attend sect's anniversary celebration South China Morning News, May 17, 1999 http://www.scmp.com/news/template/HK-Template.idc? artid=19990517030605019&top=hk&template=Default.htx&maxfieldsize=1425 (Story no longer online? Read this)
A group of Falun Gong followers will represent the SAR chapter and meetthe elusive founder of the controversial worldwide qi gong movement at the seventh anniversary of the movement's founding in Toronto. Founder Li Hongzhi is expected to attend the event next Saturday which will include mass exercises by about 1,000 practitioners. (...) The large-scale celebration in the Canadian city is part of a series of worldwide campaigns to counter negative publicity in the press following a mass rally by 15,000 followers in Beijing last month. [...more...] 19. Hare Krishnas denied charter school Florida Time-Union, May 17, 1999 http://www.Jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/051799/met_2a1hare_.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
Tom Allin doesn't have a shaven head, he doesn't wear long robes towork and he doesn't ask people for money at airports. Make no mistake, Allin, 49, is a practicing member of the Hare Krishna faith. But Allin says he and members of the other 200 Krishna families that live in and around this small town 15 miles north of Gainesville aren't trapped in stereotypical images of a religion that few Americans understand. And now, Allin and a handful of other Krishnas want to open an 80-student public charter school, one with low student-teacher ratios, mandatory parental involvement and other ideas they believe will help kids learn. But the proposed school - the Alachua Learning Center - was denied recently by the Alachua County School Board, which Allin and his lawyer claim has been influenced by ''religious scare tactics'' perpetuated by people who don't understand the Krishna religion. [...more...] 20. [New Bethany] Yahoo/Reuters, May 13, 1999 http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/ap/ap_us/story.html?s=v/ap/19990513/us/religion_today_1.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
For almost 30 years, parents have sent their teen-agers to a Baptistboarding school ringed by razor-wire-topped fences in the rugged hill country of north Louisiana. Students at the New Bethany school spend much of their time praying and memorizing Scripture. Their monthly contact with the outside world is a single, monitored five-minute call to their parents, say former students. They tell of being struck with wooden paddles if they swear or talk about running away. Even so, youths sometimes flee four miles through pine forests and brambles to the local sheriff's department, where deputies let them call their parents and plead to come home. Some escapees allege abuse or neglect by their keepers or beatings by fellow students in the name of God. But the Rev. Mack Ford, a former missionary who founded New Bethany in 1971, has repeatedly tried to keep child abuse investigators and fire inspectors away, saying state officials oppose the school's fundamentalist religious approach and want to shut it down. Now Ford is trying to further insulate the school by seeking a federal court order that would make it more difficult for state social workers to make unannounced school visits. Ford also is seeking at least $250,000 in damages. (...) Kimberly Birch, who was at New Bethany from 1994 to 1996 and is now a 20-year-old nursing student at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, said in an interview that she was among students encouraged to beat other young women who disobeyed rules. ``When one girl said she didn't believe in God, we smashed her face into a wall,'' Birch said. One teen who tried to escape was forced to wear a dog collar and was led on a leash by another student, Birch said. She also read students' outgoing mail, discarding pages that complained of mistreatment. [...more...] 21. Soap Operas Promote Sects And Magic In Brazil EWTN, May 14, 1999 http://www.ewtn.com/ewtn/news/getstory.asp?number=15700 (Story no longer online? Read this)
A book has just been published by EMI in Italy entitled 'Mission andCommunication,' which brings to light the connection between soap-operas and sects. Father Claudio Pighin, author of the book, is an Italian missionary and media expert, who has worked for fifteen years in Amazonas, Brazil. Father Pighin dedicates one of the chapters of his book to an study he conducted in 1992 with a group of 30 young people from the diocese of Macapa in Brazil. (...) "We have evidence that very often, when the Catholic Church was referred to, the shots were from above. Whereas, when the discussion focused on the different evangelical sects, the takes were from below. It is a way of highlighting the new religious movements and minimizing the role of the Church." [...more...] 22. Nations of Islam at War Village Voice, May 19-25, 1999 http://www.villagevoice.com/features/9920/noel.shtml (Story no longer online? Read this)
When firebombers lobbed an arsenal of molotov cocktails into a tinymosque in Washington, D.C., last month, officials in the Atlanta-based Lost-Found Nation Of Islam-- a splinter group vying for control of the black Muslim movement-- feared the worst. A battle over a newspaper route between followers of Lost-Found leader Silis Muhammad and members of the rival and more powerful Nation of Islam led by Minister Louis Farrakhan had erupted in all-out war. (...) Black Muslim insiders, however, speculate that Silis, the reclusive 59-year-old publisher of Muhammad Speaks, the Lost-Found's official organ, has been attempting to boost sales in black neighborhoods since it was rumored two months ago that the cancer-stricken Farrakhan-- who publishes the more popular Final Call newspaper-- was dying. Farrakhan's failing health has reignited a power struggle among splinter groups such as the one led by Silis. But the roots of the current conflict are much deeper. A controversy surrounding an extraordinary meeting 20 years ago between Silis and Farrakhan still rages. Some say a defeated Silis left a faceoff in disgrace. And that, in addition to Silis's relentless quest for political rehabilitation, remains the catalyst for tension between the two sects. [...more...] 23. SLC to ACLU: Block Is LDS Church's Salt Lake Tribune, May 18, 1999 http://www.sltrib.com/05181999/utah/106362.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
You can't carry a boombox blaring rap onto the LDS Church's new MainStreet pedestrian plaza. But the church can send conference speeches and Mormon Tabernacle Choir performances wafting over the block. You won't be able to pass out fliers with pictures of your lost dog, notice of a yard sale or even vegetarian propaganda. But The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can distribute copies of The Book of Mormon and brochures on the Word of Wisdom. And before you get any ideas of protesting those rules with a public rally -- don't. Church security guards will take your signs and send you packing. If you come back, you can be banned for life from the plaza. But church signs and groups are just fine. That's the deal Salt Lake City attorneys worked out with LDS Church officials. And they are sticking by it. On Monday, City Attorney Roger Cutler answered the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah's challenge of city-sanctioned restrictions of free speech on the block. [...more...] 24. Witches get US Army behind them Sydney Morning Herald, May 15, 1999 http://www.smh.com.au/news/9905/15/text/world23.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
The United States Army has recognised white witchcraft as a religionand has appointed chaplains to oversee pagan ceremonies on at least five bases. (...) So respectful has the army become of the pagan rites that security was increased at Fort Hood's Boy Scout camp, where covens are held. The move is to deter members of Christian groups from intimidating the group. The pagans, called Wiccans, are accorded the same privileges as practitioners of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. (...) Lieutenant-Colonel Donald Troyer, the Seventh Day Adventist army chaplain who has been given responsibility for Fort Hood's coven, admitted he was not overjoyed with his job because fellow Christian pastors disapproved and had been "cool" towards him. "It's such a volatile subject," he said. "It just sparks a fury." But the Pentagon said: "We are obliged by the Constitution to respect and make provisions for the religious needs of members of the military and not to pass judgments on their beliefs." [...more...] 25. Barr blasts Army for allowing Wiccan celebration at Texas base CNN, May 18, 1999 http://cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/05/18/barr.wiccan.ap/ (Story no longer online? Read this)
Georgia Rep. Bob Barr asked top Army officials Tuesday to stopsanctioning the practice of witchcraft on military bases by contending it's a religion for some soldiers. The Smyrna Republican fired off letters to Army Secretary Louis Caldera and Lt. Gen. Leon S. LaPorte, commander of Fort Hood, Texas, after seeing a newspaper report about a Wiccan celebration of the vernal equinox by soldiers at Fort Hood. Barr said allowing such celebrations sets "a dangerous precedent" that could lead to "all sorts of bizarre practices being supported by the military under the rubic of religion." "If military personnel who consider themselves witches want to practice such nonsense outside of their military service, the Constitution may be construed to allow them to do so," he said. "The military, however, does not operate under the same restrictions as society in general and it is difficult, if not impossible, to make the case that encouraging the practice of bizarre rituals makes a positive contribution to combat readiness," he said. [...entire item...] 26. Students 'degraded' for 'spells' Denver Rocky Mountain News, May 15, 1999 http://insidedenver.com/news/0515witc5.shtml (Story no longer online? Read this)
Parents of sixth-graders disciplined for casting imaginary spells onclassmates say a school official verbally abused and intimidated the girls. "They were degraded for their grades, which are A's and B's," said Heidi Hazlett, whose daughter, Ashley Pederson, was one of the nine girls involved. "They were called trash and garbage. They were crying. (...) Problems began after one girl checked out a book about two months ago from the library at Panorama Middle School in Colorado Springs about the 1692 Salem witch trials. She became enthralled and began reading the book to her friends. Ashley said other students began teasing the girls about being witches, and they responded by casting pretend spells on them. Some of the students became frightened, so on May 4, vice principal Joan Abrahamsen twice talked to them about the spells. [...more...] 27. Caught up in the craft Bergen Record, May 13, 1999 http://www.bergen.com/news/witchteen199905131.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
It used to be that when girls watched "The Wizard of Oz," they wantedto be Dorothy. Now they want to be the witch. (...) "It's not a fad. It's a social movement," said Phyllis Curott, a 44-year-old Manhattanite and nationally known high priestess of Wicca. An Ivy League-educated lawyer, Curott is a lecturer and author whose 1998 memoir of her journey to Wicca, "Book of Shadows," is already in its fifth printing. Other omens of Wicca's popularity among girls abound. Sales of witchcraft books and paraphernalia have skyrocketed. Llewellyn International, a St. Paul-based publishing house that specializes in titles on topics such as astrology and neo-paganism, has seen sales of a book called "Teen Witch" take flight. "In places where witchcraft had not been hot, suddenly it's hot," said Von Braschler, Llewellyn's director of trade sales. The chief market for the book, which may sell 125,000 copies by year's end, are 12- to 15-year-old girls, he said. "They found us. We didn't go looking for them." In fact, a poll of the top 60 interests of teenage girls showed witchcraft at No. 1. ABC's "Sabrina" is the second-rated show on television among youngsters 12 to 17, with young girls making up the bulk of the audience. (...) For all of this mainstreaming, however, girls who follow Wicca can face tough times. (...) Apart from the social stigma, Wicca practitioners say the churches remain their biggest foes. (...) The animus toward witches, they say, is the result of age-old stereotypes perpetrated by Christianity and propagated by the media. Wicca, they say, is an ancient, earth-based religion, one of the neo-pagan religions based on the natural cycles of life. (...) In truth, contemporary witchcraft is an amalgam of many pre-Christian practices, a modern-day reinterpretation of older myths, beliefs, and rituals that today takes many different forms. [...more...] 28. When teens venture to the Dark Side CNews (Canada), May 16, 1999 http://www.canoe.com/CNEWSFeatures9905/16_satan.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) Sociologists say teen rebellion is a part of what draws someteenagers to satanic cults. "Some are experimenters looking for something different. They're bored or they want to do something to get their parents' attention, and this certainly shakes up people," says Linda Maxwell, a Toronto social worker with experience investigating satanic ritual abuse of children. (...) "You've got alienated kids who don't fit in with teen peer groups. And sometimes it turns into violence and revenge," says Stephen Kent, a sociologist at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. "Peer groups have enormous influence over kids. We must be careful about blaming parents." (...) "One study reported 3% of young adults involved in satanism. In another study of Utah social workers, 20% reported cases of teenage satanic activity," says Dr. Michael Langone, a psychologist and executive director of the American Family Foundation, which provides information on religions and cults. (...) People have been turning away from mainstream religion since the '60s and the Death of God movement, says David Reed, professor of theology at Wycliffe College/U of T. Through the whole New Age movement of the last three decades, people have searched for alternative religions to fill the spiritual void and gain more control over their lives. (...) To help clear up confusion parents might have about another controversial religion, Wicca, Reed says it's essentially a benign earth-based religion which is attractive to young women because of its focus on a feminine deity. "While white Wicca is okay, people can open up to a dimension of the spiritual that is demonic. There is black magic alongside white magic. There is a concern that some teens, particularly males, will go from one to the other to feel the power they don't have in the social area," he warns. The whole notion of satanism as a philosophy, a practice or a religion is highly debatable. Bruce Robinson of the Centre for Religious Tolerance, which is an information resource on religions and cults, divides satanism into four categories: [...more...] * Note: The article then lists *five* categories. About the "Centre for Religious Tolerance": http://www.apologeticsindex.org/o00.html#ocrt [Story no longer online? Read this] 29. Judge Tosses P&G's Lawsuit ABC News, May 16, 1999 http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/business/DailyNews/amway990516.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
Procter & Gamble said its lawsuit charging Amway Corp. with fomentingsatanic rumors about P&G, costing it millions of dollars in lost sales, was dismissed Saturday on a legal technicality. (...) P&G will appeal the ruling, she said, and hopes for a new trial. The dismissal was surprising, Plummer said, because U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore ruled Thursday that P&G had presented sufficient evidence of Amway's liability and that the case could go to the jury. [...more...] 30. Peyote distributors dwindling Arizona Republic, May 17, 1999 http://www.azcentral.com/news/0517peyote.shtml (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) The visitors come to buy peyote - a drug that could cost themyears in prison if they were non-Indian or if they were not members of the Native American Church. (...) But now leaders of the church say that times are changing. The number of distributors has been decreasing and the recent Texas droughts have reduced the number of cactuses from which the sacred peyote buttons are harvested. In addition, Texas officials are considering changing the law - a move that some church supporters welcome, but which others fear may drive even more of the remaining distributors out of business. "We're not trying to make it harder for NAC members to purchase the buttons," said Tracie Svehlak, supervisor in the Texas registration office. "We want to make sure that members do not have problems with law enforcement officials when they are returning home or purchasing the buttons through the mail." [...more...] 31. Adherents from across globe mark birthday of Buddha Orange County Register, May 17, 1999 http://www.ocregister.com/community/budd017w.shtml Buddha couldn't have fielded a more global audience for his 2,543rd birthday than the one assembled Sunday at Santa Ana College. At least 20,000 people of various ethnicities gathered at the daylong event, the largest of its kind in Orange County. (...) They championed two goals: to celebrate Buddha's birth and to solemnly call for religious freedom in nations like Vietnam. [...more...] 32. Unholy row over Thai Buddhist sect Sydney Morning Herald, May 15, 1999 http://www.smh.com.au/news/9905/15/text/world20.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) Not only is there an unholy row over attempts to disrobe the headof a dubious Buddhist sect, but the ethics of the mainstream clergy are facing increasing public criticism. Problems range from so-called "naughty monks" indulging in alcohol, drugs, gambling and fornication, to downright rotten monks convicted of extortion, rape and murder. Monks have been convicted of molesting children. Abbots have paid bribes to be transferred to more profitable temples. There has even been over-charging for funeral rites. (...) It is against this backdrop that Buddhist leaders are struggling with the largest of many new cults. The Dhammakaya Foundation employs modern marketing techniques, including direct-mail soliciting, to promote Buddhism as a revamped product. Rather than emphasising self-enlightenment and detachment, Dhammakaya backs self-interest all the way. Miracles and prosperity are promised in return for big donations, and there are theatrical religious events attended by tens of thousands of people at the Dhammakaya Temple on the outskirts of Bangkok. Abbot Phra Dhammachayo is the 53-year-old head of what many see as the moral equivalent of the tackiest empires created by United States Christian "television evangelists". [...more...] 33. Los Angeles emerges as second center of U.S. Judaism [Story no longer online? Read this] Sacramento Bee, May 18, 1999 http://www.sacbee.com/news/calreport/calrep_story.cgi?N235.HTML (Story no longer online? Read this)
For the first time, students from a West Coast rabbinical schoolaffiliated with the Conservative movement will be ordained in Los Angeles, signifying that another center of Jewish influence has emerged in America. [...more...] 34. A Town Whose Charter Would Be the King James Bible Washington Post, May 17, 1999 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-05/17/044r-051799-idx.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) The Rev. James Henderson looked up at that same patch of earthand saw a Promised Land, a chance to create a shining city on a hill. To make his vision real, Henderson and about 200 of his neighbors will submit to an Alabama court next month a petition to incorporate the community of Brooksville as an official town run solely on Christian principles. Their plan is so simple it barely needs writing down: The town charter will be the King James Bible, its ordinances the Ten Commandments. "It is our intent to conduct the community's business according to the teachings of Jesus Christ," reads the charter, typed in all capitals. The rest of its rules follow naturally. For example: Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, you shall not murder, and you shall not steal. (...) In his most hopeful estimate, the dream is only a few weeks away. In April a local probate judge rejected the petition to incorporate on technical grounds: There were too few signatures--160--for the proposed boundaries. After the hearing, the petitioners redrew the boundaries to a third their original size, collected about 80 more signatures and hired a lawyer. When they go back to the judge next month, though, the objections will not be so technical. The first time around, the judge never got to the question of whether a town could incorporate on Christian principles. Already the local American Civil Liberties Union, the mayor of Priceville and the Alabama League of Municipalities have let it be known that if the effort gets any further, they have a legal lesson prepared on the separation of church and state. [...more...] === Noted 35. "I smell the presence of Satan" http://www.salonmagazine.com/news/feature/1999/05/15/evangelicals/index.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
Is Littleton's evangelical subculture a solution to the youthalienation that played a role in the Columbine killings, or a reflection of it? (...) While that strong Christian faith proved invaluable in comforting this community after the killings, it also ignited simmering tensions in Littleton. Those tensions briefly rose to a boil after the memorial ceremony on April 25, which drew Vice President Al Gore and 70,000 mourners, packed in more witnessing for Jesus than any Sunday sermon at the local evangelical churches. The Rev. Don Marxhausen, pastor of St. Philip Lutheran Church in Littleton, was quoted by the Denver Post as feeling "offended," and "hit over the head with Jesus." Marxhausen serves as de facto leader of local Protestant churches, and officiated over the small, private funeral for Dylan Klebold. Non-Christians felt excluded, too, and the memorial's lily-white lineup offended many non-whites. (...) In the first days after the Columbine shootings, local religious leaders were a model of civility, setting aside differences and welcoming one another into their services. (...) But early rumblings of a conflict began to emerge with within hours of the tragedy, playing out far from public view. (...) Perhaps less foreseeable was the instinct of the politicians to grab ahold of God with both hands while the grabbing seemed good. Al Gore suddenly found his Southern Baptist roots, quoting the Scripture more than any clergy on the panel. (...) Watching the memorial at home on TV, Rev. Schrom gasped when Nelson began proselytizing. (...) Schrom described Nelson's choice as the moral dilemma evangelicals face every day: the conflict between respect for others' beliefs and the moral obligation of "standing up for a belief in Jesus Christ as the only way." He said he would have tried to be more sensitive to a diverse audience, but he too, would have had to use that valuable opportunity "to witness to what I believe." Yet he bristled at some "spiritual headhunters" less interested in spreading love than "just racking up another scalp. The Bible was never meant to be a club," he said. "If I'm using it as a weapon, that's really sad." He said he tries to keep one thought in mind as he struggles with that dilemma: "Jesus never said 'I came to make you more religious.' He said 'I came to give you life; that your joy may be full.'" (...) But the remarkable youth ministry among evangelicals in and around Littleton is part of a national story, with repercussions beyond the Columbine tragedy. The transformation of Cassie Bernall represents, perhaps, the best these churches have to offer teens. Two years ago she was strung out on drugs, deeply involved in witchcraft, and began writing hateful letters to her parents. "She said she wanted to kill them," said Pastor Kirsten. "She was going down the road of Dylan and Eric." Youth pastor Dave McPherson described her then as "lifeless, callused and cold." (...) Then something mysterious happened on a weekend youth ministry, where she converted overnight. "She left an angry, vengeful, bitter young girl, and came back brand new," Kirsten said. (...) In the weeks since the Columbine killings I've haunted these churches, and I've been moved by their love and their spirit, and the genuine kindness shown to me, a stranger. But as a gay man raised Catholic, I find it hard to believe that for all their talk about love -- and the true warmth they've shown me -- they'd extend that same warm welcome if they knew the real me. [...more...] 36. All God's Children Salon, May 14, 1999 http://www.salonmag.com/books/it/1999/05/14/baptist/index.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
One fine Sunday in the Deep South, a black divinity student shows up onthe steps of a white church to worship and praise the Lord. When he tries to come inside to take part in the service, however, a group of white men converge at the entrance to tell him that he's not welcome. It sounds like a snapshot from Selma, Ala., circa 1965, or a melodramatic scene from the movie "Mississippi Burning." But it's not. It happened last month to an African student from Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. The student was participating in a program in which divinity students preparing to become Baptist ministers are sent out to preach at local Baptist churches. When the student showed up to deliver his sermon to a predominantly white congregation, he was not allowed to enter the church. This isn't the first time this type of confrontation has occurred. "There have been several incidents reported over a period of time," said Dr. Thomas E. Corts, president of Samford University. "It's not widespread. Some of our African students have had wonderful experiences in rural churches around the state. But there are some pockets of concern." [...more...] 37. Lawlessness threatens Russian mission work Star-Telegram, May 17, 1999 http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:RELIGION22/1:RELIGION22051799.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
When it comes to religious freedom in Russia, the world's attention isusually focused on government restrictions on minority faiths. But in volatile and lawless southern Russia, threats to religious freedom take the much more brutal form of murder and kidnapping. In the Russian Caucasus, for example, Baptist presbyter Alexander Samoshkin said he has essentially given up one congregation where in the space of six months one pastor was beheaded and another kidnapped. (...) Although Chechnya is by far the most chaotic and lawless part of the Russian Caucasus, other regions, too, are dangerous for religious workers whose families are sometimes perceived as reliable ransom payers. [...more...] 38. Why east German teens seek secular rite of passage Christian Science Monitor, May 12, 1999 http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/05/12/p8s2.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) This Jugendfeier, or youth celebration, is a huge success,ushering en masse another batch of 14-year-olds into adulthood. A record 11,000 young Berliners will take part in similar ceremonies this spring, and the Humanistic Association, which organized the event in eastern Berlin's Friedrichstadtpalast, is initiating some 100,000 young people nationwide. The secular equivalent of a church confirmation - the Christian ceremony bestowing full church membership - the youth celebration is widely popular in the former East Germany with an estimated half of all teenagers here choosing the alternative rite of passage. Less than 10 percent of young eastern Germans confirm their faith in church. (...) No more than 25 percent of eastern Germans consider themselves religious, while more than three-quarters of western Germans are churchgoers, mainly Catholic or Protestant. [...more...] === Books 39. Rebel theologian: It's hardly retirement for John Crossan Star-Telegram, May 12, 1999 http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:RELIGION43/1:RELIGION43051299.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
John Dominic Crossan, a scholarly guerrilla, has settled deep behindenemy lines. Scorned by some conservative theologians as an academic antichrist for his controversial views on the "historical Jesus," Crossan is quietly ensconced in Central Florida, an evangelical stronghold. (...) Crossan, 65, first achieved notoriety as co-chairman of "The Jesus Seminar," whose research called into question much interpretation of biblical Christianity. He is the author of 18 books, several of which became best sellers. His latest book recently was released in paperback. (...) Crossan's latest book is The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened in The Years Immediately After the Execution of Jesus (Harper Collins San Francisco). It focuses on what are known as the "lost" years of early Christianity, because there is no written record of the decades following Jesus' crucifixion but before the letters of the Apostle Paul and the emergence of the Gospels. (...) "The problem I have with fundamentalists is that they're not willing to accept the word of God," he said. "I accept the Gospel as saying what it says. . . . They take the Bible wrong, as far as I'm concerned, by taking it literally where it should not be taken literally." (...) "He's not a scholar," said R.C. Sproul, a professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Oviedo. "He's so radically ignorant of sober historical research I don't understand why anyone takes him seriously. I don't take the guy seriously as a thinker." [...more...] 40. A Buddhist copes with the workplace Charlotte Observer, May 15, 1999 http://www.charlotte.com/observer/faith/docs/046130.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) Centuries-old Eastern thought and relaxation techniques may bethe answers to the various ills of the working life, where stress, jealousy, greed and various deadly sins often abound. That's according to Massachusetts author Llama Surya Das, who says the workplace is one of the most rewarding places to practice Tibetan Buddhism. Das is busy promoting his newest book, ``Awakening to the Sacred, Creating a Spiritual Life From Scratch'' (Broadway Books, $26). If the mantra sounds a little familiar, it's because the author hit the religion charts in 1997 with ``Awakening the Buddha Within, Eight Steps to Enlightenment'' (Broadway, $26). [...more...] 41. 'Wounded healer' grows in popularity 3 years after death Charlotte Observer, May 15, 1999 http://www.charlotte.com/observer/faith/docs/034949.htm (Story no longer online? Read this)
Most religious leaders dispense wisdom. Henri Nouwen did more -- hegave his tears. When the Dutch Catholic priest died on Sept. 21, 1996, he left a legacy that many compare to such spiritual giants as C.S. Lewis and Thomas Merton. Nouwen proved that a spiritual mentor could be vulnerable. He wrote some of the most moving and confessional passages in Christian literature, including one searing book that detailed his recovery from a midlife breakdown. Nouwen was, as the title of one of his books suggested, ``The Wounded Healer'' (Doubleday, $10.95 paperback). (...) Even more than two years after his death, there are signs that his popularity is soaring. Three major publishers have released a collection of Nouwen's writings within the past year. Sales of Nouwen's books have increased by about 10 percent since his death, his publishers report. In a poll cited by Christianity Today magazine, a majority of North American pastors reported that Nouwen was their most influential theologian. Bob Byrns, an editor with Crossroad Publishing, said Nouwen was a bridge between Roman Catholics and other religious traditions. [...more...] 42. Profits of doom Times of London, May 15, 1999 http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/Times/timbooboo02018.html?2488675 (Story no longer online? Read this)
If I were a publisher, I would be over the moon if we adopted the Azteccalendar. Apparently, this ancient civilisation celebrated their millennium every 52 years. Publishers have had to wait far longer than that for one of the best marketing wheezes in the history of Western civilisation. And what a marketing ploy it is: there are now more than 1,000 published books on the coming millennium, with one about the first - The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium by Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger (Little, Brown, £12.99) - currently out-selling everything else on the subject. [...more...] === Internet 43. Hatemongers of every kind find a ready forum on the Internet Star-Telegram, May 13, 1999 http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:COMP53/1:COMP53051399.html (Story no longer online? Read this)
(...) In the past, hate was promoted through crude graffiti andmimeographed pamphlets. These days, slick Web sites devoted to hate are available day and night for a potential audience of millions. (...) Mark Potok, editor of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report, a quarterly journal covering the Radical Right, said, "There's no question that the Net has been very important to hate groups in this country. (...) Those who monitor hate-group activity said that such groups first used computer bulletin boards, a forerunner of the Internet. Stormfront, a white-supremacist Web site established by former Klansman Don Black in March 1995, is considered the first hate site. Internet hate sites grew to 254 at the end of 1998 from 163 in 1997, according to a recent report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, based in Montgomery, Ala. The Wiesenthal Center recently released Digital Hate 2000, an interactive report on CD-ROM that characterized 1,426 sites as "problematic," meaning that they were either hate sites or sites that linked to hate sites. The Southern Poverty Law Center also counted 537 hate groups and group chapters engaging in racist behavior in 1998, up from 474 in 1997. Of the 537 groups active in 1998, 163 were Klan organizations and their chapters, up from 127 the year before; 151 were neo-Nazi, up from 100; 48 were racist Skinhead, up from 94; 29 were black separatist, up from 12; and 84 followed "a hodge-podge of hate-based doctrines." The number of congregations of Christian Identity theology, "a virulently racist and anti-Semitic doctrine" dropped from 81 to 62, but the Law Center report said that Identity groups are difficult to detect and probably are undercounted. (...) David Goldman, founder and director of HateWatch, a Web-based educational resource organization to combat on-line bigotry based in Cambridge, Mass., said that according to a very strict definition of "hate site," the number of sites actually has reached a plateau, numbering about 225. [...more...] === The Church Around The Corner 44. Sacred Oxen Are Bullish Fox News, May 16, 1999 http://www.foxnews.com/etcetera/051699/oxen.sml (Story no longer online? Read this)
Two sacred oxen made a bullish forecast Friday for Thailand's 1999harvest before government officials, royalty and farmers at a ceremony televised live across the nation. Religious officials at the annual Brahmanic Royal Ploughing ceremony presented the oxen with offerings including grass, corn, beans, sesame, liquor and water, and interpreted their behavior to divine the farming outlook. When the oxen chose grains from the selection, the officials declared it a good omen, prompting a round of applause from assembled farmers and dignitaries. [...more...]
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