1|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990911.html#1">Document shows FBI knew of tear gas projectiles at Waco in 1993</a>|Nando Times|Branch Davidians, Waco, FBI|1999/09/10|A lab document that wasn't given to Congress during its investigations discloses that the FBI knew within eight months of the fiery end of the Branch Davidian siege that military-style tear gas projectiles were used, The Associated Press has learned.|
2|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990305.html#15">The Love Bombers</a>|Philadelphia City Paper|international churches of christ, ICC, ICOC, campus|1999/02/25|The devout crusaders of the International Churches of Christ have made inroads on some local campuses, but they've been banned on others. Is the ICC a cult?|
3|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990305.html#14">New Malibu church: cult or not?</a>|The Graphic Online (Pepperdine University)|international churches of christ, ICC, campus, ICOC|1999/02/18|They're here, they're recruiting, and they're confusing people. The Malibu Hills Christian Fellowship, a new church in Malibu, is actively evangelizing in this seaside community.|
4|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990911.html#2">Evidence delay angers siege judge</a>|Dallas Morning News|branch davidians, waco, FBI|1999/09/10|U.S. District Judge Walter Smith ordered the seizure Thursday morning and was "infuriated" after the chief U.S. marshal for his district spent hours consulting with his agency's headquarters in Washington and the U.S. attorney's office in San Antonio before executing the raid on the Waco office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, officials said.|
5|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990911.html#7">The Waco controversy, then and now</a>|San Francisco Gate/AP|branch davidians, waco, FBI|1999/09/10|The FBI's grudging acknowledgment that it was less than candid about its role in the final hours of the 51-day standoff with the Branch Davidian sect near Waco, Texas, has raised new questions and prompted yet another investigation into the tragic events of April 19, 1993.|
6|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990911.html#9">Scientology faces French ban</a>|BBC|scientology, france|1999/09/09|France might consider banning the Church of Scientology, which it regards as a sect rather than a religion. The Justice Minister, Elisabeth Guigou, made it clear that the future of the organisation in France was under close scrutiny.|
7|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990911.html#15">House where 39 Heaven's Gate cultists took their lives is sold</a>|San Diego Union-Tribune|heaven's gate, _ufo_, san diego|1999/09/10|The house that served as the headquarters for Heaven's Gate cult members has been sold. The sprawling seven-bedroom, five-bath Mediterranean-style villa was purchased for $668,000 by a man who lives nearby.|
8|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990911.html#16">Asahara's wife given shorter prison term</a>|Japan Times|aum shinrikyo, asahara, japan|1999/09/09|Overturning a lower court ruling, the Tokyo High Court on Thursday reduced the prison sentence of the wife of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara to six from seven years for her part in the lynching of a former cult member in January 1994.|
9|<A HREF="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990920.html#1">Branch Davidian church rising at Mount Carmel</A>|Star-Telegram|branch davidians, waco, FBI|1999/09/19|As grasshoppers flitted in 90-degree heat, workers as young as 4 and as old as 71 broke ground yesterday for a new Branch Davidian church at Mount Carmel.|
10|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990920.html#2">Nation changing views on siege</A>|San Antonio Express-News|branch davidians, waco, FBI|1999/09/19|In certain political and legal realms, Koresh already has returned. Public attention is again focusing on an episode in American history that, to those distrustful of the federal government, represents Big Brother at his brutal worst.|
11|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990920.html#3">FBI revelations inspire skeptics</A>|San Antonio Express-News|branch davidians, waco, FBI|1999/09/19|But old doubts die hard among militia members, conspiracy theorists and other skeptics. Among the incredulous, the possibility of renewed scrutiny yielding long-awaited vindication inspires hope, satisfaction and mostly, suspicion.|
12|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990920.html#4">Tucson lawyer waco presses for truth about Waco</A>|The Arizona Republic|branch davidians, waco, FBI|1999/09/20|As for Waco, Tucson attorney Hardy said his own experience as a federal bureaucrat helped him conclude that the real villains at Waco were what he calls the &quot;Omnipotent Peons.&quot;|
13|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990920.html#5">Danforth seeks 30-day delay in depositions in Waco civil suit</a>|San Francisco Gate/AP|branch davidians, waco, FBI|1999/09/17|The special counsel investigating the possibility of an official cover-up after the 1993 Branch Davidian siege has asked a Texas judge to delay lawyers' fact-finding in the civil lawsuit filed against the government by Davidian survivors and relatives of the dead.|
14|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990920.html#6">Jailed Branch Davidians wait, hope as Waco probe reopened</a>|CNN|branch davidians, waco, FBI|1999/09/17|While Congress and a special investigator prepare to take another look at what happened at Waco, there is little talk about the Davidians who remain behind bars. &quot;I want to know what they're going to do about innocent people who are convicted and are spending 40 years in federal prison,&quot; says Rocket Rosen, an attorney for the Davidians.|
15|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#1">New anti-Aum bill emphasizes speed in controlling cult</a>|Asahi News (Japan)|aum shinrikyo|1999/10/23|A new bill to regulate the Aum Shinrikyo cult will allow authorities to take swift measures to monitor and control the organization, Justice Ministry sources said Friday.|
16|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#2">Anticult bill to restrict activities of ex-convicts</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|aum shinrikyo|1999/10/24|The Justice Ministry plans to include a clause that would in effect prohibit activities of former Aum Supreme Truth cult executives, even after they have served prison sentences, in a bill targeting cults, according to ministry officials.  The bill is targeted at organizations that have committed indiscriminate mass murder, such as Aum.|
17|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#3">Tough anti-subversion bill targets AUM</a>|Mainichi Daily News|aum shinrikyo|1999/10/25|The ministry drafted the bill partly because crimebusters have been  frustrated by the reams of red tape that have hindered attempts to regulate AUM's activities|
18|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#4">AUM stakeout continues</a>|Mainichi Daily News|aum shinrikyo|1999/10/24|Three weeks have passed since residents of Ikebukuro in Tokyo's Toshima-ku  started their round-the-clock surveillance in front of an apartment complex  in an effort to block the AUM Shinrikyo cult from relocating its headquarters  to the building.  The move was prompted by an announcement by the cult on  Sept. 29 that it will move its headquarters out of an Adachi-ku facility in  compliance with the demand by its bankruptcy receiver.|
19|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#5">Report: Congress panel may test Waco bullets</a>|Excite/Reuters|branch davidians, waco, FBI|1999/10/24|One of the congressional committees investigating the assault on the Branch  Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, may order ballistic tests on some bullet  casings found at an FBI sniper position, according to a New Yorker magazine  story to be published Monday.|
20|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#6">No-nonsense style defines Waco judge</a>|Dallas Morning News|branch davidians, waco, FBI|1999/10/25|Three floors up sits the judge who forced every agency of the U.S.  government to surrender what he terms a &quot;mountain of sealed documents:&quot; U.S.  District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. In a rare interview, Judge Smith said he  acted to protect the evidence for a wrongful-death case filed by surviving  Branch Davidians - a lawsuit set for trial next May.|
21|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#7">Punitive damages allowed in Scientology case</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology, lisa mcpherson|1999/10/23|The family of Lisa McPherson can seek punitive damages if the Church of Scientology is found to have caused her death, a judge ruled Friday.The ruling came after a five-hour hearing in which church lawyers vigorously argued that the family had no grounds to seek a windfall from Scientology.|
22|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#8">Germany using leadership role to spread religious discrimination: US lawmakers</a>|Yahoo! Asia|scientology, germany|1999/10/21|US lawmakers, flanked by Hollywood actress Anne Archer, on Thursday ripped  Germany for allegedly using its leadership role in Europe to spread  discrimination against the Church of Scientology and other minority groups. &quot;Germany is a nation that should be a leader with regard to tolerance, but  unfortunately it isn't ... and other European countries are following the German example,&quot; said Republican Representative Ben Gilman, chairman of the  House International Relations Committee.|
23|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#9">Doug Frantz, National Correspondent for The New York Times</a>|The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University|doug frantz, scientology|1999/10/25|He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for a series of articles on the Church of  Scientology in 1997 and for articles in 1992 about American relations with Iraq before the Gulf War.|
24|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#10">Judgment may Boomerang</a>|Tages Anzeiger (Switzerland)|scientology|1999/10/23|In a surprising turn of events, two Scientologists have been exonerated in a legal proceeding in Basel. The judgment, however, could turn out to be a boomerang.|
25|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#11">China accuses Falun Gong of leaking state secrets</a>|Nando Times|falun gong|1999/10/25|China's communist government on Monday accused the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong of stealing state secrets. The government is also seeking to  tighten laws to quash Falun Gong and other quasi-religious organizations.|
26|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#12">Leaders Of Banned China Sect Face Prosecution</a>|CNN|falun gong|1999/10/25|China accused at least 13 leaders of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement  Monday of stealing and leaking state secrets on an unprecedented scale.|
27|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#13">New York Protest Swamps Ku Klux Klan Demonstration</a>|Excite/Reuters|ku klux klan, hate groups, racism|1999/10/24|A Ku Klux Klan group staged a small, silent demonstration in New York  Saturday, surrounded by thousands of angry protesters chanting their  contempt.  Sixteen men and women wore Klan robes and hoods but not face masks, and they did not use a sound system, respecting limits set by the  administration of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.|
28|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#14">Insults, fists greet KKK members at New York rally</a>|CNN|kkk, ku klux klan, hate groups, racism|1999/10/23|More than a thousand anti-Ku Klux Klan protesters gathered in New York on  Saturday afternoon, hurling insults and in at least one case swift punches at  Klan members, dressed in white gowns and hoods and flanked by heavily  equipped police officers.|
29|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#15">UN: Third Committee hears of dangers of modern racism and hatred found on Internet web sites</a>|Northern Light|hate groups, racism|1999/10/25|A code of conduct should be instituted to regulate the relationship between the Internet and free speech to serve as a curb on rampant racism, the representative of Pakistan told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and  Cultural) this morning, as it met to continue its consideration of issues  related to the elimination of racism, racial discrimination and the right of  peoples to self-determination.|
30|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#16">Experts warn of cult danger</a>|News Wire|cult, cults, FAIR, england|1999/10/23|A seminar warning about the potential danger of cults which suck in or harm  young and vulnerable people was being held today. Politicians from across Europe were meeting at the Royal Society of Medicine in west London to  discuss how best to tackle the problem of extremist sects.|
31|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#17">Government 'must warn public against cults</a>|News Wire|cults, england, James Hanratty, Dennis Bathelemy|1999/10/23|Conservative former Home Office minister Tom Sackville told a seminar  at the Royal Society of Medicine in west London that the Government should  issue publicity warnings about potentially harmful cults.|
32|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#18">Cult numbers rise as millennium nears</a>|News Wire|cults, england|1999/10/23|By the beginning of the 1990s the number of cults in Britain stood at  about 500. Numbers of people joining cults is thought to be increasing as the  millennium approaches.|
33|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#19">Israel To Expel 20 Members Of Christian Groups</a>|Excite/Reuters|israel, brother david, brother solomon, house of prayer, temple group, apocalyptic|1999/10/25|Israeli officials said Monday they had detained 20 people, 13 of them  Americans, from apocalyptic Christian groups who would be deported for posing  a threat to public safety.  (...)    Police spokesman Rafi Yaffe said the people detained Monday belonged to organizations he called the &quot;Temple group&quot; and the &quot;House of Prayer group,&quot; both of which believe in the imminent Second Coming of Jesus.|
34|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#20">Character First! Volunteers With Links to Religion Teach Traditional</a>|Northern Light/Wall Street Journal Abstracts|bill gothard, character first, character-based education|1999/10/25|The problem that worries some educators and parents is that the Character First! Program was developed by a Christian organization, led by conservative minister <a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/g00.html#gothard">Bill Gothard</a>|
35|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#21">Moslem children stay home in Norway in protest</a>|AOL/Reuters|islam, muslims, norway|1999/10/22|Muslims in Norway kept their children at home Friday, saying that school  textbooks violate religious freedom by focusing too much on Christianty.|
36|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#22">India Tribal Christians To Counter Hindu Zealots</a>|AOL/Reuters|hinduism, evangelism, persecution, india|1999/10/23|Thousands of Christian tribesmen will gather in Calcutta next month to tell  hard-line Hindu groups that they were not lured or coerced by missionaries to  adopt the faith, Christian leaders said Saturday.|
37|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#23">Ex-S. Baptist Leader Chides Church</a>|Northern Light/AP|baptists, hinduism, islam, judaism, evangelism, Keith Parks|1999/10/23|The Southern Baptist Convention's targeting of Hindus, Jews, and Muslims for conversion on their holiest days is deliberately aggressive and runs counter to the spirit of the Gospel, a former convention official said Friday.|
38|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#24">Dutch propose right-to-die for 12 year olds; doctors opposed</a>|Detroit News/Reuters|euthanasia, netherlands, holland|1999/10/24|The Dutch Royal College of Physicians (KNMG) said on Friday it was unhappy with draft legislation allowing doctors to perform euthanasia on children as young as 12 against their parents' will.|
39|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#25">Just who is guilty here?</a>|Boston Globe|fells acres, false memory syndrome, fms, abuse, ritual abuse|1999/10/22|We still don't have truth, and that may be the biggest shame, as well as sham, in the gut-wrenching child sexual abuse case known with painful  simplicity as Fells Acres. |
40|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#26">Long chapter in Fells Acres case ends, but nobody wins</a>|Boston Globe|fells acres, false memory syndrome, fms, abuse, ritual abuse|1999/10/22|But by the early 1990s, similar day care sexual abuse cases around the  country slowly began to collapse. Wild claims by the children were questioned and scrutinized. And techniques used to investigate those claims were  discredited.|
41|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#27">LeFave granted freedom</a>|Boston Globe|fells acres, false memory syndrome, fms, abuse, ritual abuse|1999/10/22|Popular opinion and courtroom verdicts shifted away from the  once-unchallenged belief that children always tell the truth - even when  coaxed by investigators or when their claims seem truly unbelievable. The  Fells Acres case became a flashpoint for those who think investigators pushed  too hard and accepted too much.|
42|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#28">Illinois Erases Evolution Theory In Schools-Paper</a>|Excite/Reuters|science, evolution, creationism|1999/10/23|The Illinois Board of Education has quietly eliminated the term &quot;evolution&quot;  from state school standards adopted two years ago, the Chicago Tribune  reported in its Sunday edition, available Saturday.|
43|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#29">Feel good about your feng shui consultant</a>|Philadelphia Daily News|feng shui|1999/10/22|Practicing feng shui falls into two categories: the do-it-yourselfers and  those who hire help. The more than 200 books in print can help if you want to  go the self-taught route, but choosing a feng shui consultant is a little  trickier, especially now that it's trendy, says Nancilee Wydra, founder of  the Feng Shui Institute of America near Vero Beach, Fla., and a feng shui  consultant since 1974.|
44|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#30">His, hers or ours?</a>|Dallas Morning News|gender spirituality, gender issues|1999/10/23|This is gender spirituality in the '90s. Across the country, thousands of  women and men are reading books and magazines, crowding conferences and  worshiping in small groups that target their gender.|
45|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991025.html#31">Success of Harry Potter bowls author over</a>|CNN|harry potter, rowling, witchcraft, wicca, occult|1999/10/21|&quot;I have met thousands of children now, and not even one time has a child come  up to me and said, 'Ms. Rowling, I'm so glad I've read these books because  now I want to be a witch.' They see it for what it is,&quot; she emphasized. &quot;It  is a fantasy world and they understand that completely.  &quot;I don't believe in  magic, either,&quot; she said.|
46|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#1">China Vows No Mercy For Falun Gong</a>|Excite/Reuters|falun gong, china|1999/10/28|China declared the Falun Gong movement a cult Thursday and vowed to show no mercy in crushing it, but members kept up their extraordinary campaign of passive resistance in Tiananmen Square for a fourth day.|
47|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#2">Falun Gong Devotees Converge on Beijing in Bid to End Government Ban</a>|New York Times|falun gong, china|1999/10/28|But a far wider and more profound confrontation appears to be building between clearly unnerved authorities and an uncrushed movement that with astonishing speed drew in millions of ordinary, seemingly nonpolitical Chinese, creating an unexpected challenge to Communist authority.|
48|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#3">Adherents Of Banned China Sect Ask For Help</a>|Excite/Reuters|falun gong, china|1999/10/28|&quot;We call on the United Nations, various governments, human rights groups, Amnesty International and people with conscience at home and abroad to condemn and stop the Chinese government's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners,&quot; Jiang said|
49|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#4">Adherent of banned China sect dies in custody</a>|Yahoo! UK|falun gong, china|1999/10/28|An 18-year-old adherent of the Falun Gong spiritual movement banned by China has died in custody, police said on Wednesday in the first official confirmation of a death of a sect member in custody|
50|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#5">Chinese Sect Protests Spying Charges Against Leaders</a>|Washington Post|falun gong, china|1999/10/27|Members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement gathered in Tiananmen Square for the second straight day today in quiet civil disobedience meant to show Chinese leaders, and others around the world, that they have no plans to bend under a renewed campaign of government pressure|
51|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#6">U.S. criticizes latest steps against Falun Gong</a>|AOL/Reuters|falun gong, china|1999/10/26|A State Department official said the detention of more Falun Gong demonstrators Monday appeared to be a clear violation of their rights of assembly and expression|
52|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#7">Chinese skeptic crusades to debunk meditation mystics</a>|Nando Times|falun gong, china, sima nan|1999/10/25|For years, Sima watched qigong masters perform. Then, in 1990, before an audience of 200 top officials and journalists at Beijing's Friendship Hotel,he gave a performance of his own. &quot;I wanted to expose them,&quot; he says.&quotTo show that it's all fakery.&quot;|
53|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#8">Woman faked AUM kidnap story</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/10/26|&quot;The anniversary of my brother's death was approaching and I couldn't handle the thought of AUM making a comeback,&quot; police quoted the girl as saying.|
54|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#9">Aum abduction fake, says student</a>|Asahi Daily News (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/10/26|She told police she felt badly that while her parents were fighting against Aum, she was unable to do anything for her deceased brother.|
55|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#10">Drafts for Aum control bills unveiled</a>|Japan Times (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/10/27|The government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday unveiled drafts of two bills designed to tighten control of Aum Shinrikyo and facilitate redress to its victims.|
56|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#11">Church members, critic spar over name</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology, lisa mcpherson, lisa mcpherson trust, bob minton, bennetta slaughter|1999/10/26|What would Lisa McPherson have wanted? That question burns at the center of yet another battle between the Church of Scientology and its critics. Both sides say they have McPherson's best interests at heart, yet each is using her name to oppose the other.|
57|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#12">The Navy's Scientology Connection</a>|Washington Post|scientology, navy, SSPORTS, tone scale; morler|1999/10/27|Did the U.S. Navy spend $25,000 in taxpayer money to teach Scientology to its civilian employees? &quot;It inadvertently did,&quot; says Roger Helbig, a retired Navy purchasing manager who lives in Richmond, Calif.|
58|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#13">Stoiber: Scientology is no longer a trans-Atlantic problem</a>|AFP|scientology, germany, usa|1999/10/21|The treatment of Scientology, in the opinion of Bavarian Minister President Edmund Stoiber (CSU), is no longer a problem in trans-Atlantic relations. In any case, the people he spoke with on his trip to Washington did not mention it, said Stoiber on Wednesday (local time) in front of journalists in the U.S. capitol.|
59|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#14">Scientology alarm in Telekom</a>|Kurier (Austria)|scientology, austria|1999/10/25|Commotion in the Army and Ministry of the Interior about an EDP [electronic data processing] technician who controls the Republic's secret telephone network|
60|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#15">Building on Dom Street becomes &quot;new home in the heart of Hamburg&quot;</a>|Hamburger Morningpost|scientology, germany, hamburg|1999/10/26|Anybody who had hoped that the Scientologists would withdraw from Hamburg is bound to be disappointed: the sect is moving into a new building on the corner of Dom Street and Alter Fischmarkt.|
61|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#16">Outrage at Scientology recruitment in the city</a>|Die Welt (Germany)|scientology, hamburg, germany|1999/10/26|Scientology was not a church, but a psycho-concern which exploited people. &quot;The organization's goals and ideology are directed against our liberal democratic basic order.&quot;|
62|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an990910.html#32">Mississippi preacher devotes life to birthing red heifer in Israel</a>|Jewish telegraph agency|red heifer, israel, clyde lott|1999/09/02|The cows, the first of what Lott hopes will be 50,000 sent to the Jewish state, are part of his plan to fulfill a biblical prophecy that a red heifer be born in Israel to bring about the &quot;Second Coming&quot; of Jesus. The return of Jesus is part of a Christian apocalyptic vision of the end of time, which includes the slaughter of those who don't accept the Christian messiah as their savior.|
63|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#18">Only information helps against sect disorder</a>|Die Welt|scientology, germany, hamburg|1999/10/26|Americans who stridently sneer at Germany because Scientologists are alleged to be oppressed there should have been at the Hamburg Alster yesterday. There they would have experienced just the opposite.|
64|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#19">Fresh-air dietician fails TV show's challenge</a>|Yahoo! UK|jasmuheen, ellen greve, breatharianism|1999/10/25|A dietician who claims it is possible to live off fresh air has failed in a television documentary to practise what she preaches.|
65|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#20">Fresh Air Diet Guru's Deadly Lies Exposed</a>|Yahoo! UK|jasmuheen, ellen greve, breatharianism|1999/10/24|Carlton told viewers: &quot;You might dismiss Jasmuheen as merely the latest in a colourful line of New Age carpet baggers. Except her message is dangerous. And she is deluded.&quot;|
66|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#21">Davidian Plaintiffs' Gun Test Nixed</a>|AOL/AP|branch davidiands, waco, fbi|1999/10/26|The Justice Department has brushed aside a challenge by lawyers for survivors of the 1993 Branch Davidian siege to participate in a demonstration that the lawyers contend would prove federal agents fired shots during the standoff's final hours.|
67|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#22">Magazines: Getting at the truth about Waco</a>|Pittsburg Post-Gazette|branch davidians, waco, fbi|1999/10/28|The New Yorker is careful to make it absolutely clear that it has no sympathy for or empathy with the armies of Waco critics beyond the Hudson.|
68|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#23">Are these successful Texas companies cults?</a>|Northern Light/PRNewswire|cults, corporate cults, dave arnott|1999/10/26|Dr. Arnott further accuses CEOs of using the same techniques to gain employee commitment and loyalty that are used by traditional cult leaders.|
69|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#24">Witches spin some of their magic over young women</a>|Journal-Sentinel|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism|1999/10/25|Hollywood and book publishers have noted the interest in witchcraft among those between the ages of 11 and 23.|
70|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#25">Pagan students: Halloween is a time to educate non-believers</a>|College Press Network|wicca, paganism, neo-paganism, pagan academic network|1999/10/25|In preparation for Samhain, PAN is inviting the public to an educational discussion about the religion.|
71|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#26">Who drives Halloween worries? Could it be ... Satan?</a>|Journal/Capital News Service|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism, satanism|1999/10/26|Some Christians worry about Halloween because it is the most important religious day for Wiccans, a neo-pagan religion that is often mistaken for a satanic religion, said Ingrid Shafer, a professor of philosophy and religion at the University of Arts and Sciences in Oklahoma.|
72|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#27">Christians challenge Israel expulsion - officials</a>|AOL/Reuters|israel, brother david, brother solomon, temple group, house of prayer|1999/10/27|Members of apocalyptic Christian groups being held in jail awaiting deportation from Israel are appealing against expulsion, officials said Wednesday.|
73|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#28">Detained 'end-time' Christians insist they are nonviolent</a>|Star-Telegram/Religion News Service|israel, brother david, brother solomon, temple group, house of prayer, end time|1999/10/26|In their repeated interviews with journalists, both Brother David and Brother Solomon denounced violence as a means to bring about the return of the messiah -- and sought to distinguish themselves from groups that had attempted violence or committed mass suicides in the name of divine will.|
74|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#29">Israel Struggling to Tell Pious Pilgrims From Dangerous Cults</a>|San Francisco Chronicle|israel, brother david, brother solomon, temple group, house of prayer, Center for Millennial Studies, james tabor, gordon melton|1999/10/27|Christian doomsday groups heading to the Holy Land have put Israeli authorities in an awkward spot -- trying to attract pious pilgrims while scaring away &quot;dangerous cults.&quot;|
75|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#30">Westerners Drawn to Divine Light</a>|Los Angeles Times|divine light organization, Sekai Mahikari Bunmei Kyoda, shintoism|1999/10/23|Many of okiyome practitioners say the Divine Light ceremony is merely an addition to their spiritual life, not a substitute for a more traditional faith.|
76|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#31">Dalai Lama backs Pope</a>|The Times (England)|dalai lama, catholicism, buddhism|1999/10/27|The Dalai Lama criticised Westerners who embrace Buddhism &quot;for the wrong reasons&quot; yesterday and urged Roman Catholics and other Christians to stay faithful to their own religious traditions ...|
77|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#32">Renegade Orthodox group targets minority faiths in former Soviet republic</a>|Star-Telegram/AP|jehovah's witnesses|1999/10/23|According to witnesses and television footage, about 200 Orthodox Christians arrived Sunday on foot and in two buses, blocked exits to the three-story building and attacked the 124 Witnesses inside with wooden clubs and foot-long iron crucifixes.|
78|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#33">Georgian protestants targeted</a>|Compass Direct|georgia|1999/10/15|Public meetings by four evangelical Protestant congregations were brought to a halt in the Georgian capital Tbilisi at the end of August against a backdrop of hostility from the police and radical Orthodox activists. Public services have not restarted yet, one of the pastors told Compass on October12, though small-scale services have been held in private apartments.|
79|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#34">James Colthurst, the homoeopath who was Princess Diana's confidant, is launching a radical device.</a>|The Times (England)|kosmed, james colthurst, alternative|1999/10/26|The biofeedback device is said to trigger the body's natural and potent healing powers by setting up what is described as a "dialogue" between the brain and whichever part of the body or system needs healing.|
80|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#35">Sally Morris on the world's oldest medical system, Ayurveda</a>|The Times (England)|ayurveda, alternative healing|1999/10/26|Ayurveda is the oldest medical system in the world and its name derives from two Sanskrit words - ayus, meaning life, and veda, meaning knowledge. Its principles are based on the Hindu religion and philosophy, and its application, say followers, can bring marked physical improvements.|
81|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#36">Poll indicates a haunted nation</a>|Nando Times|opinion poll, ghosts, wicca, witchcraft|1999/10/27|Nearly half of the nation's population gives credence to the possibility that ghosts might exist, and more than a quarter of Americans suspect modern-day witches might have mystical powers, according to a survey of 1,015 adults conducted by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University.|
82|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#37">Search for life beyond Earth: Many religions open to idea that God created other intelligent species</a>|Detroit News|aliens|1999/10/26|Religious leaders say most faiths would not crumble or even change appreciably if science offered proof of another intelligent species in the universe.|
83|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#38">Interfaith peace conferences to explore role of religion in promoting peace in millennium</a>|Northern Light|interfaith, millennium|1999/10/27|The Jubillenium Foundation announced today that the first annual Interfaith Conference for World Peace will be held on November 21-23 in Beit Gavriel, Israel to explore the role of religion in pursuing conflict resolution and peace.|
84|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#39">Millennium Madness</a>|Newsweek|millennium, end time|1999/10/24|For millions of Americans the prophecies found in Revelation are not literary allegories but a blueprint of the events to come—if not in 2000, then soon enough. According to a new NEWSWEEK Poll, about 18 percent of Americans expect the endtimes to come within their lifetime. This translates to roughly 36 million people—not just fringe extremists but your office mate, mail carrier or soccer coach.|
85|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#40">Workplace greeting makes religion in the workplace an issue</a>|Star-Telegram|religious intolerance, usa, workplace|1999/10/26|It was Liz Anderson's habit to wish everyone a blessed day -- until her bosses ordered her to stop spreading her faith-tinged brand of sunshine. USF Logistics of Indianapolis reprimanded the office worker this summer for continuing to offer the blessing after she was repeatedly instructed to knock it off.|
86|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#41">Deciphering the success of 'Omega Code'</a>|CNN|omega code, tbn, trinity broadcasting network|1999/10/26|"The Omega Code" is one of the most unlikely success stories in the movie industry. This "millennium thriller," as some have called it, boasts mystery,action, special effects, and a $4.5 million take after just 10 days in release. Compared to a big studio release, its earnings are nothing special. But it's impressive when you consider that it was produced by a religious broadcaster.|
87|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#42">Shops get teeth into 'veg shui'</a>|The Times (England)|feng shui, offbeat|1999/10/24|Coming to a store near you - the cheery carrot, the smiley strawberry and the beaming banana. Supermarkets are employing spiritual advisers to make their fruit and vegetables "happy" so they last longer on the shelves, write John Harlow and Senay Boztas. Somerfield, Tesco and Marks & Spencer are quietly recruiting self-proclaimed experts who combine feng shui, the Chinese art of harmonious building, with hard chemistry.|
88|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#43">Children Confuse Prime Minister With God</a>|Excite/Reuters|offbeat|1999/10/28|British children confuse Prime Minister Tony Blair with God and believe that Queen Elizabeth "sits around drinking wine all day," researchers said on Tuesday.|
89|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991028.html#17">In Hamburg, Scientology is advertising for tolerance of itself - and storms their critics' information booths</a>|taz|scientology, germany|1999/10/26|They [Scientologists] tore information leaflets from the book table, and one even spit at somebody who was distributing the leaflets.|
90|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#1">China Approves Anti-Cult Law</a>|Washington Post/AP|falun gong, china|1999/10/30|As Falun Gong followers quietly protested for a sixth defiant day on its doorstep, China's legislature approved an anti-cult law today to quash the banned spiritual movement and punish group leaders.|
91|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#2">Text of Chinese parliament resolution banning &quot;heretic cults&quot;</a>|BBC|falun gong, china,|1999/10/30|The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress - or parliament - on Saturday passed a legislative resolution banning what it described as "heretic cult organizations".|
92|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#3">China parliament passes cult law amid protests</a>|Yahoo|falun gong, china|1999/10/30|Xinhua said the law differentiated between leaders and followers. &quot;Local governments are asked to take necessary measures to educate those deceived while punishing a small number of cult leaders and those who have committed crimes,&quot; it said.|
93|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#4">China passes draconian law to punish Falun Gong</a>|Nando Times|falun gong, china|1999/10/30|By tightening the law on cults, the communist government sped up the trials of principal members already in custody. But the need for new measures shows how threatened Chinese leaders feel by Falun Gong and how undaunted its followers remain more than three months into a ban on the widely popular group.|
94|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#5">Falun Gong States Its Case to the World</a>|Herald Tribune|falun gong, china|1999/10/29|In the face of an official crackdown nationwide, members of the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement held a daring, clandestine press conference here Thursday for a handful of foreign journalists.|
95|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#6">Falun Gong Changes Tactics, Cops Get Rough</a>|AOL/Reuters|falun gong, china|1999/10/29|Chinese police dragged members of the outlawed Falun Gong movement out of Tiananmen Square by the hair Friday, kicking and beating adherents as they escalated their civil disobedience campaign against a government crackdown.|
96|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#7">China Confronts a Silent Threat</a>|Washington Post|falun gong, china|1999/10/30|The protests are a clear sign that, despite its ban and a subsequent crackdown, the Communist Party has failed to crush Falun Gong, which is reputed to have a strong but flexible organization and about 10 million adherents throughout China. The protests also underscore the willingness of many followers to endure jail sentences and rough treatment at the hands of police to further their cause.|
97|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#8">Banned in China, Thriving in New York</a>|New York Times|falun gong, china|1999/10/29|But even as the Chinese Government continues its campaign to eradicate Falun Gong from Chinese society because of fears that it has gained cult status, the movement's popularity in the New York area has continued to grow among immigrants and Westerners alike.|
98|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#10">Anti-Scientology Foundation Created</a>|Los Angeles Times|lisa mcpherson, lisa foundation, lisa mcpherson foundation, lisa mcpherson educational foundation, lisa mcpherson trust, scientology, bob minton, exit counseling|1999/10/30|A critic of the Church of Scientology said he is financing a new foundation named after Lisa McPherson, a Scientologist who died in 1995 while in the care of the church. Robert S. Minton said he would incorporate the Lisa McPherson Educational Foundation.|
99|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#11">The Octopus: the trail leads to America</a>|Hamburger Morgenpost (Germany)|scientology, germany|1999/10/29|The money- and psycho-sect of Scientology celebrated the acquisition of its new center on Dom Street by city hall on Monday with many Scientologists who were flown in for the occasion. The MoPo [this newspaper] has now found out: the trail of the Scientology Octopus leads across the Atlantic towards the USA, to Washington.|
100|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#12">Advertisement situation: Mid-city district office steps in The cross has to go</a>|Hamburger Morgenpost (Germany)|scientology, germany|1999/10/29|The Scientology symbol can be seen all the way from the corners of Moenckberg and Berg streets: their big, self-styled cross hangs many meters tall on the new sect center on Dom Street, adorned with the controversial label &quot;Scientology Kirche&quot;. The mid-city district office does not intend to put up with that.|
101|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#13">The broker: &quot;For God's Sake!&quot;</a>|Hamburger Morgenpost (Germany)|scientology, germany, waterfront|1999/10/28|&quot;We have the policy of not doing business with Scientologists. We do not sell to them.&quot;|
102|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#14">Scientology - &quot;One can defend oneself&quot;</a>|Hamburger Morgenpost (Germany)|scientology, germany, waterfront|1999/10/27|It was a secret affair, carried out undercover. From November 27, the Scientologists are operating out of a new center - in the vicinity of city hall, of all places. MOPO [this newspaper] learned that the owner of the sect temple on Dom Street is the &quot;Waterfront Grundstuecksverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH.&quot; Ursula Caberta, Scientology commissioner in the Hamburg Interior agency, warns of a new offensive by the U.S. organization, which has been accused of brainwashing and avarice. She reports on opposition to it in an interview.|
103|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#15">Concerto for dude and orchestra</a>|The Independent (England)|scientology, chick corea|1999/10/29|Chick Corea's association with Scientology stretches back to 1968 and is well-known. In America there are high-profile Scientologists in most aspects of arts and entertainment. In Europe, Corea's religious beliefs have been treated with suspicion, and so the fact that his own piano concerto is &quot;dedicated to the spirit of religious freedom&quot; probably won't go unnoticed.|
104|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#16">Orange County's 31 Scariest People</a>|Orange County Weekly|scientology, usa, cchr, citizens commission on human rights, jackie panzik|1999/10/29|One of the many mysterious arms of the Church of Scientology, the Citizen's Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) takes out ads in the Pennysaver, rents a room on the bottom floor of Garden Grove Medical Center, and periodically breaks loose with a slide presentation extolling the evils of the corrupt andconspiratorial psychiatry industry.|
105|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#17">Austrian police uncover Neo-Nazi group planning a &quot;political coup&quot;</a>|Trib.com|hate groups, neo-nazi, austria|1999/10/29|A neo-Nazi group planning a &quot;political coup&quot; in Austria was uncovered in the province where Adolf Hitler was born, police said today.|
106|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#18">Government rejects attorney's effort to test if agents used guns at Waco</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/10/27|Government lawyers have rejected a Texas attorney's challenge to join a scientific field test that he has said would prove that federal agents fired at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco just before it burned in 1993.|
107|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#19">The FBI's sniper under fire</a>|US News & World Report|waco, branch davidians, fbi, lon tomohisa horiuchi|1999/11/01|The man in the Sierra 1 sniper post at Waco and the Sierra 4 post at Ruby Ridge was FBI marksman Lon Tomohisa Horiuchi. Over the past seven years, he has become the most controversial law enforcement officer in America.|
108|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#20">Witchcraft Problem in South Africa</a>|Northern Light/AP|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism|1999/10/30|Such ideas are not new in this society, where belief in &quo;muti&quot; -- the power of magic -- is strong and traditional healers are a respected and established group. Hundreds of witchcraft accusations are reported every year and police have recorded about 600 killings in Northern Province since 1990.|
109|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#21">Witch Exhibition Reveals Dutch Past</a>|Northern Light/AP|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism|1999/10/29|And although Holland doesn't celebrate Halloween, the museum's latest exhibition also chronicles the resurgence of witchcraft in modern society.|
110|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#22">Spelling class: Teen witches are in the movies, on TV -- and at local high schools</a>|Sacramento Bee|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism|1999/10/29|Hana and other teens say they're drawn to Wicca's morals and spirituality, because it gives them a voice.|
111|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#23">Be Witched</a>|San Francisco Chronicle|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism, warlock, asatru|1999/10/29|They have come out of the broom closet, so to speak, to teach the uninitiated and the curious all about the enchanting world of witchcraft, Wicca, paganism and other forms of goddess worship.|
112|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#24">Pagans say they're not all that different; conclaves brewing in Macomb and nation</a>|Detroit Free Press|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism, celtic|1999/10/28|Just in time for Halloween, thousands of real witches, shamans, druids and other devotees of ancient Earth-based religions are staging a nationwide &quot;coming out&quot; demonstration.|
113|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#25">Witches connect on the Web</a>|USA Today|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism, witches' voice|1999/10/27|Real witches -- neo-pagans who practice earth-based religions, including Wicca -- are using the Internet to dispel Halloween stereotypes and myths about their practices.|
114|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#26">Halloween is only one of many pagan holidays</a>|Excite/u-wire|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism|1999/10/27|Pike said the recent upstart of paganism, called neopaganism, combines vague Celtic rituals with modern inventions such as social awareness and counterculture ideals. Pike said neopaganism has only been around since the 1960s but its following is rapidly increasing.|
115|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#27">Halloween: harmless fun or wicked influence?</a>|Bergen Record|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism|1999/10/28|The contemporary celebration of Halloween has its roots in Samhain, the Celtic harvest festival and New Year celebration. On this day, the ancient Celts believed that the souls of those who had died during the year were allowed to enter the land of the dead. During Samhain eve, considered the night of the wandering dead, the Celts left food and drink for masked revelers and lit bonfires. Modern-day Wiccans and other neo-Pagans continue to celebrate this ancient feast.|
116|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#28">Christian doomsday cult members were planning attack on Temple Mount</a>|Israel wire|house of prayer, temple group, brother david, brother solomon, israel, end time|1999/10/29|The police stated that the cultists arrested this week are not the sameas the &quot;concerned Christian&quot; cult members arrested and deported last year, who wanted to commit suicide in Israel. The police received intelligence reports that the recent group of Christian cult members planned provocations.|
117|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#29">Israel deports 20 over suspected 'doomsday' plotting</a>|Bergen Record|house of prayer, temple group, brother david, brother solomon, israel, end time|1999/10/29|In its third operation against Christian doomsday groups in a year, Israel on Thursday began deporting 20 foreigners suspected of planning violent acts for the millennium year.|
118|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#30">Israel deports suspected doomsday Christians</a>|AOL/Reuters|house of prayer, temple group, brother david, brother solomon, israel, end time|1999/10/28|Police said those slated for deportation included Brother David, leader of the House of Prayer group, and another man named Brother Solomon, head of the Temple group|
119|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#31">New Age leaders call for millennium wave of prayer</a>|Excite/Reuters|james redfield, levar burton, marrianne williamson|1999/10/29|Leaders of the "New Age" spiritual development movement are calling for &quot;wave&quot; of prayer around the world on New Year's Eve -- with prayers spoken, sung, chanted or even typed into the electronic realm of Cyberspace. Best-selling author James Redfield, whose &quot;Celestine Prophesy&quot; series created numerous spiritual support groups, says the aim of the mass prayer is to do nothing less than &quot;heal the world.&quot;|
120|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#32">New Age book club</a>|Birmingham News|james redfield, salle merrill redfield|1999/10/29|With 10 million copies of The Celestine Prophecy in print and 6 million of its sequel, The Tenth Insight, spiritual novelist James Redfield has become an international celebrity.|
121|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#33">A date with death</a>|The Guardian (England)|cults, doomsday, end time, militia groups, house of prayer, temple group, waco, branch davidians, concerned christians|1999/10/27|While most people will be partying in the new millennium, some will be preparing for doomsday.|
122|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#34">FBI Warns Of Millennial Violence Risk</a>|Washington Post|fbi, cults, militia groups, hate groups, end time, odinism, christian identity, project megiddo, aryan nation, black hebrew israelites, richard butler, israel|1999/10/31|The FBI is warning police chiefs across the country that it has discovered evidence of religious extremists, racists, cults and other groups preparing for violence as New Year's Eve approaches and is urging law enforcement agencies to view the dawn of the next millennium as a catalyst for criminal activities.|
123|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#35">Muslim death sentence on playwright</a>|The Guardian|islam|1999/10/30|A fatwa has been issued on a playwright whose work portrays Jesus Christ as a homosexual crucified as the King of Queers. Terrence McNally, author of the controversial play Corpus Christi, which opened in London on Thursday night, was sentenced to death by a Muslim cleric.|
124|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#36">Caught in community furor, mayor gives up on proclamations</a>|Star-Telegram|religious tolerance, paganism, church and state|1999/10/28|Mayor Leni Sitnick says she will no longer issue proclamations honoring people or groups after her recent recognition of pagan religions sparked protest and anger in the community.|
125|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#37">Seekers feel Marys power</a>|Orange County Register|mariology, medjugorje|1999/10/25|Marilyn Kwee says she saw the sun dance in spirals as the healing presence of the Virgin Mary came over her on a hillside in Medjugorje 15 years ago.|
126|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#38">Pilgrims still flock to Medjugorje</a>|Orange County Register|mariology, medjugorje, gold phenomena|1999/10/25|Millions of pilgrims who have visited the site say they have had &quot;miraculous&quot; experiences -- both physical and spiritual -- and return to their everyday lives with renewed faith. Many, including Orange County believers, have said their rosaries changed from silver to gold while visiting the shrine. And from the Medjugorje hilltop, some say, the sun seems to spin on its axis.|
127|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#39">Pope, Dalai Lama Denounce Extremism</a>|AOL/AP|pope, catholicism, dalai lama, religious pluralism, interfaith|1999/10/28|With Pope John Paul II presiding next to the Dalai Lama, representatives of 20 of the world's faiths closed a millennium-ending gathering Thursday with a forceful denunciation of religious extremism.|
128|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#40">Churches pull together in secular age</a>|Christian Science Monitor|catholicism, lutherans, justification, joint declaration on justification|1999/10/29|After three decades of dialogue and reading the Bible together in several countries, the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church will sign a joint declaration on the essential issue that sparked Luther's revolt: how one obtains salvation or finds a right relationship with God.|
129|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#41">Ex-TV evangelist Jim Bakker wants back on the air</a>|Charisma News|jim bakker, televangelists|1999/10/28|Former TV evangelist Jim Bakker wants to get back on the tube. The one-time PTL network head caught in a sex scandal and jailed for 45 years followingthe financial collapse of the ministry and his Heritage USA theme park says he has an important message from God to share--and the best way to do it is on television.|
130|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#42">Lord launches bid to outlaw religious discrimination</a>|News Wire (England)|religious freedom|1999/10/28|A new bid to outlaw religious discrimination was being launched in the House of Lords today. Labour peer Lord Ahmed will call for racial and sexual discrimination to be extended to religion.|
131|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#43">Rites and wrongs</a>|The Guardian|religious freedom, cults|1999/10/31|Above all Lord Ahmed's formulation reveals the bizarre irrationality of protecting any religions in a multicultural society. If you believe the one true god uniquely revealed the only truth to your particular prophet, why sanction anyone else's false god?|
132|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#44">Author Plans Mystery Park Attraction</a>|Excite/Reuters|erich von daeniken, _ufo_|1999/10/29|unveiled a down-to-earth plan for investors to buy shares in his new Mystery Park attraction in Switzerland.|
133|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#45">Religion in the Workplace</a>|Business Week|religious pluralism, workplace, shamanism, lgats, scientology, dalai lama, new age|1999/11/01|But today, a spiritual revival is sweeping across Corporate America as executives of all stripes are mixing mysticism into their management, importing into office corridors the lessons usually doled out in churches, temples, and mosques.|
134|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#46">The Way the World ends</a>|Newsweek|end time, armageddon, apocalypse|1999/11/01|The third millennium approaches, bringing with it visions of peace, apocalyptic terror and a stream of new books about the last days. What the Bible says about the end of time, and how prophecy has shaped our world.|
135|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#47">Proselytizing: Christian critics call for limits on Southern Baptist tactics</a>|Star-Telegram|evangelism, proselytizing, baptists, religious intolerance|1999/10/29|Take away a Southern Baptist's right to evangelize and you've taken away his faith, says Kammerdiener, executive vice president of the mission board. Still, he proposes rules of engagement.|
136|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#48">More Hispanics drawn to evangelical faiths</a>|Star-Telegram|evangelical, baptists|1999/10/29|But it's not just Baptists who are gaining in numbers of Hispanic worshippers, Coy said. It's evangelical Christianity as a whole.|
137|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#49">US admits torture concerns </a>|BBC (England)|torture, death penalty, usa, human rights, usa human rights violations, united nations convention against torture|1999/10/16|The United States Government has conceded that there are instances of torturein the country, despite strenuous preventative measures. (...) It also defended the legality and use of the death penalty.|
138|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#50">At War With Doubt</a>|Washington Post/AP|lincoln|1999/10/30|Ever since, religionists have portrayed Lincoln as an exemplar of Christian faith. But he wasn't, not in any conventional sense.|
139|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#51">The shifting shapes of belief: New books survey the religious landscape</a>|Star-Telegram/Religion News Service|new religious movements, religion trends, wade clark roof, george gallup|1999/10/30|&quot;It would appear that news of God's death will always be premature,&quot; writes Michael Shermer in &quot;How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science&quot; (Freeman), one of three new books describing the shifting shapes of contemporary American belief.|
140|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#52">Free Them! Breaking The Chains Of Cult Mind Control</a>|Freedom of Mind|mind control, steve hassan, brainwashing, exit counseling, deprogramming, strategic interaction approach|1999/10/31|Steven Hassan presents THE state of the art guide on how to help someone involved with cult mind control. Hassan's newest book reveals a much more refined method to help family and friends called the Strategic Interaction Approach. This non-coercive and totally legal approach is far better than deprogramming and even exit counseling.|
141|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991031.html#53">Corporate Cults: The Insidious Lure of the All-Consuming Organization</a>|Dave Arnott|corporate cults|1999/10/31|This eye-opening book provides a fascinating--if startling--expos of the unhealthy, all-consuming power that cultish organizations wield over their employees. And it includes behind-the-scenes profiles of cultish cultures, including those from many well-known and celebrated companies.|
142|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#1">China demands arrest, extradition of Falungong leader from US</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|falun gong, china, hongzhi|1999/11/02|A senior Chinese official demanded here Tuesday that the leader of the banned Falungong spiritual movement be arrested and sent to China from his US home. &quot;Li Hongzhi should be arrested and sent back to face trial in a Chinese court,&quot; Yu Shuning, minister counselor and spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said.|
143|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#2">Diplomat Defends Falun Gong Ban</a>|AOL/AP|falun gong, china, hongzhi|1999/11/02|As a group of Falun Gong demonstrators protested nearby, a Chinese Embassy diplomat said Tuesday that China decided to ban the spiritual movement after its leaders caused the deaths of 1,400 followers by brainwashing them into refusing medical treatment.|
144|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#3">4 Falun Gong leaders charged in China</a>|Nando Times|falun gong, china|1999/10/31|Four leaders of the Falun Gong spiritual movement have been charged with crimes including organizing a cult, the government said Sunday, a day after the legislature tightened the nation's laws on cults.|
145|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#4">China Charges 4 Sect Leaders</a>|Washington Post|falun gong, china|1999/11/01|The Chinese government said today that it had brought criminal charges against four &quot;principal&quot; Falun Gong members, setting the stage for the first trial in Beijing in the three-month-old crackdown on the popular meditation and self-discipline movement.|
146|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#5">Falun Gong Has Irrefutable Cult Features (1)</a>|Northern Light/Xinhua|falun gong, china, hongzhi|1999/11/01|Chinese social science scholars today said that Falun Gong has all the features of heretical cults which endanger all of society. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), China's top think-tank, today organized a special symposium for criticizing the Falun Gong sect and its founder Li Hongzhi.|
147|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#6">Falun Gong Has Irrefutable Cult Features (2)</a>|Northern Light/Xinhua|falun gong, china, hongzhi|1999/11/01|Hao Zhiqing, a researcher also from the Institute of History, said that the Falun Gong sect idolized its founder, organized secret congregations, and illegally collected money. The crackdown on the cult will not change the existing policy of religious freedom in China, said Hao, who specializes in religious history.|
148|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#7">Despite a crackdown in China, group is making many believers</a>|Philadelphia Inquirer|falun gong, china|1999/11/01|At a time when the party's ideological pull has evaporated, Falun Gong has emerged with a message that seems just right for the times.|
149|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#8">Falun Gong Reminds China of Past</a>|AOL/AP|falun gong, china|1999/11/01|&quot;The discipline and dedication of the Falun Gong in some sense takes page from the early history of the&quot; Communist Party, said Dali L. Yang, a China specialist at the University of Chicago.|
150|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#9">ANALYSIS-Cult scares Chinese communist party</a>|AOL/AP|falun gong, china|1999/11/01|Analysts say it is this emptiness of modern Chinese Communism, and failed attempts by the government to define a new legitimacy, which lie behind an explosion of new cults and religions, and explain the ferocity of the crackdown.|
151|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#10">The gentle cult that has got China on the run</a>|The Express (England)|falun gong, china, england, usa, hongzhi|1999/11/03|Since it was first introduced into Britain three years ago, Falun Gong has attracted hundreds of followers, most of whom have learned about the movement from the Internet. Websites are numerous, with easy to access details of meetings. At the moment, around 22 towns from Glasgow to Southampton host weekly "Gong get togethers". Most are exercise sessions in community halls, others host talks on the teachings of Master Li.|
152|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#11">China's spiritual healing groups fear widening crackdown</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|falun gong, china qigong|1999/11/03|A crackdown on a defiant Falungong spiritual group is trying the nerves of thousands of other sects in China touting meditation and relaxation techniques. Groups performing Qigong and other ancient forms of Chinese exercises fear they too may lose the freedom restored to them after a period of rigid communist bans.|
153|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#13">Diet gets fast-track bill to curb Aum</a>|Japan Times|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/11/02|The government submitted a bill to the Diet on Tuesday that will clamp down on Aum Shinrikyo by allowing the Public Security Investigation Agency to regularly supervise and restrict the activities of the cult's followers.|
154|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#14">Bill submitted to Diet for crackdown on Aum</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/11/03|The government drew up the bill after Aum ended a relatively inactive period following members' arrests, and began to expand its presence nationwide, prompting some local authorities to launch campaigns to expel the cult from their comm unities.|
155|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#15">Diet urged to tread carefully on AUM bills</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/11/03|However, legal experts are warning legislators against taking advantage of the public support to open the way for the authorities to restrict fundamental rights of those who would be subject to the laws.|
156|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#16">Anti-cult bills elicit mixed response</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/11/03|The victims of AUM Shinrikyo's deadly gas attacks gave a restrained welcome because it is hoped that the bills will open the way to broader financial compensation for them, while people living in close vicinity of AUM facilities said they would still be sleeping with one eye open until they manage to oust the cult from their locality.|
157|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#17">Japan Drafts Bill to Control Some Cults by Year's End</a>|Japan Times|aum shinrikyo, japan, cults|1999/11/03|But human rights activists and legal groups criticized the bill, saying that it impinges on personal freedoms and violates the constitution.|
158|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#18">Gov't will help cultists quit AUM</a>|Mainichi Daily News|aum shinrikyo, japan, ex-cult|1999/11/02|The measures are aimed at correcting cultists' brainwashed minds by counseling and helping them go back into normal social life.|
159|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#19">Gov't Wants Delay in Waco Evidence</a>|Washington Post|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/11/02|Government officials have asked a federal judge for more time to turn over all materials relating to the 1993 Branch Davidian siege, saying they were unable to meet their court-ordered deadline.|
160|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#20">U.S. warned to release Waco siege documents</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/11/03|A Waco federal judge angrily warned Tuesday that the government faces contempt proceedings within two weeks if its lawyers do not surrender every federal document relating to the Branch Davidian standoff.|
161|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#21">Protester of Scientology accused of hitting member</a>|Tampa Tribune|scientology, cos harassment, bob minton, lisa mcpherson|1999/11/02|The researcher, Richard Howd, 33, of Clearwater, had been following and videotaping Minton, as often happens to protesters outside its headquarters and hotel at 210 S. Fort Harrison Ave. According to a jail affidavit, Minton turned and shouted at Howd to stop following him. Then Minton shoved the sign into Howd's face, slightly cutting him above the left eye and leaving an abrasion below it, the affidavit states. Howd was treated at Morton Plant Hospital and released.|
162|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#22">Scientology opponent accused of hitting man</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology, cos harassment, bob minton, lisa mcpherson|1999/11/02|A New England millionaire leading a campaign against the Church of Scientology was arrested late Sunday and accused of striking a Scientologist who he said had followed him most of the day with a video camera.|
163|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#23">George Magazine article on Greta Van Susteren</a>|alt.religion.scientology|scientology, susteren|1999/11/03|In the November 1999 issue of GEORGE magazine, there is a very revealing article on Greta Van Susteren and her husband John Coale, her work as a CNN commentator, the legal problems they have encountered in their practice, Coale's work with Hugh Rodham, Hillary Clinton's brother, and Coales financial contributions to the Democratic Party.|
164|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#24">Israel Expels Another two Suspected Christian Millennialists</a>|ABC News/AP|israel, house of prayer, temple group|1999/11/03|Israel today deported two American Christian women who police suspected of planning violent acts to hasten the Second Coming of Christ during the millennium year. The women -- identified as Sister Karen and Sharon Peterson -- were put aboard an El Al flight bound for New York, police spokeswoman Linda Menuhin said.|
165|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#25">ADL Report on Y2K Made Available to Meeting of International Association of Chiefs of Police</a>|Northren Light/US Newswire|hate groups, militia groups, _adl_, patriot movement, cults, y2k|1999/11/01|The ADL report, &quot;Y2K Paranoia: Extremists Confront the Millennium,&quot; examines the varied reactions and expectations of elements on the fringes of society and warns of the potential for violence. The report focuses on anti-government militia and &quot;Patriot&quot; groups with theories of a government conspiracy, certain religious fundamentalists and cults predicting an apocalypse with Jews playing a conspiratorial or Satanic role, and far-right extremists seeking to blame the so-called Y2K bug on Jews and the federal government.|
166|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#26">Jehovah's Witness recalls Nazi, communist oppression</a>|San Antonio Express-News|jehovah's witnesses|1999/11/01|Nazi and communist efforts to intimidate Jehovah's Witnesses by jailing them only made them stronger, a survivor of prisons under both regimes in his native Germany says.|
167|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#27">Son of Unification church leader dies</a>|MSNBC|unification church, moon, suicide, Younjin Phillip Moon, steve hassan|1999/11/01|The son of Unification church leader Reverend Sun Myung Moon leaped to his death from the 17th floor of Harrah's last week. (...) Hassan also says that the church doesn't publicly condone suicide but he says some followers have said that the church does teach that suicide is preferable to betraying Reverend Moon.|
168|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#28">Pop goes paganism</a>|Dallas Morning News|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism, gordon melton, starhawk|1999/10/30|A flood of recent Hollywood offerings has borrowed images, themes and stories from alternative spiritualities - Wicca, paganism, New Age practices and the occult among them.|
169|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#29">Wiccan groups gaining popularity</a>|Lexington Herald-Leader|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism,fritz jung, wren walker, witches voice, Pagan Pride Days|1999/10/31|Encouraged by federal court rulings recognizing witchcraft as a legal religion, an increasing number of books related to the subject and the continuing cultural concern for the environment, Wicca as one form of contemporary witchcraft is often called has been growing in the United States and abroad. It is a major element in an expanding &quot;neo-pagan&quot; movement whose members regard nature as charged with divinity.|
170|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#30">Spreading a Down-to-Earth Message</a>|Washington Post|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism Ecumenicon Fellowship|1999/10/31|One purpose for gatherings such as this weekend's, several pagans said, is to give private Pagans the courage to &quot;come out of the broom closet.&quot;|
171|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#31">Pagans stripped of charity status</a>|The Times (England)|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism, odin, druids, odinhof|1999/10/31|For British pagans, it is a Halloween horror. The country's fastest-growing religion has been stripped of its charitable status by the Charity Commission and has consequently lost lucrative tax perks.|
172|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#32">Huston Smith to focus on Native Americans at Cape Town Parliament of World Religions</a>|Northern Light/PR Newswire|interfaith, Parliament of World Religions, huston smith, religious pluralism, native americans|1999/11/02|Huston Smith, an authority on comparative religions, will lead a six-day symposium during next month's Parliament of the World's Religions in Cape Town, South Africa. The author of the classic &quot;The World's Religions,&quot; that expounds primarily on the wisdom of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam, will focus solely on Native American beliefs and causes at the Dec. 1-8 meeting.|
173|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#33">Interfaith meeting to promote justice and peace</a>|Star-Telegram|interfaith, parliament of world religions, religious pluralism|1999/11/01|Adherents of major world faiths -- and many smaller faiths -- will travel to Cape Town, near the southern tip of the African continent, for the third Parliament of World Religions, one of a host of current interfaithefforts to promote tolerance and religious understanding if not agreement.|
174|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#34">Catholics and Lutherans Explore Common Ground</a>|New York Times|interdenominational, catholicism, lutherans, justification, joint declaration on justification|1999/10/30|But this Sunday, Lutheran and Catholic officials will declare that, after four and a half centuries, they can affirm a consensus on the basic truths about justification, and that the solemn condemnations of one another's positions issued in the 16th century no longer apply to the teachings of the churches as currently understood.|
175|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#35">Evangelist Hinn shares plans for healing center</a>|Dallas Morning News|benny hinn, offbeat, televangelism, world healing center, word-faith, ole anthony, trinity foundation, robert tilton, w.v. grant|1999/10/30|Flamboyant television evangelist Benny Hinn offered a packed Reunion Arena his ambitious vision for Dallas on Friday: a $30 million spiritual healing theme park near Texas Stadium. &quot;Our generation does not really know who the great healing evangelists are,&quot; he said. &quot;You will, you will.&quot;|
176|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#36">Punks rock to a bleak new religion</a>|The Express (England)|straight edge, gangs|1999/10/31|This was a night out with Straight Edge, a movement that demands to be known not as a cult but a lifestyle. It stands for the rejection of everything youth cultures normally build their churches on - drink, drugs and casual sex. (...) The Straight Edgers in Utah insist everyone should embrace their puritanical creed. To &quot;persuade&quot; non-believers, they arm themselves with chains, razors, knuckledusters, pepper sprays and clubs.|
177|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#37">Nigeria Troubled By Sharia Controversy</a>|Northern Light/ANS|islam, sharia, nigeria|1999/11/02|The introduction of controversial Islamic Sharia law in Nigeria's Zamfara state last week has continued to elicit a sharp reaction from non- Muslims with legislators in one state in the south threatening to adopt Christianity as its own religion.|
178|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#38">Song Prompts Controversy in Lebanon</a>|Northern Light/AP|islam, lebanon, religious intolerance, koran|1999/11/01|By putting a Koranic verse to music, a Christian with communist views has landed in a legal battle over blasphemy. Some Muslims consider singing star Marcel Khalifa's ``I am Yussef, oh Father,'' offensive because it borrows lyrics from their holy book. Politicians, lawyers and intellectuals have rallied to his defense, saying he broke no law.|
179|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#39">Human Rights Watch appeals on behalf of Lebanese singer</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|islam, lebanon, religious intolerance, koran|1999/11/02|The international human rights body Human Rights Watch (HRW) Tuesday joined the chorus of appeals to the Lebanese authorities in favour of singer Marcel Khalife, who faces prosecution Wednesday for &quot;insulting religious values&quot; in one of his songs. &quot;This case is a direct legal challenge to the right to freedom of expression in Lebanon,&quot; said HRW in a statement received here.|
180|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#40">[Religion in School]</a>|Washington Post/AP|religious intolerance, religious discrimination, political correctness|1999/10/28|A New Jersey school did nothing wrong in refusing to let a 6-year-old read a Bible story out loud in class, an appeals court has ruled.|
181|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#41">Tibetan Medicine</a>|Los Angeles Times|dorjee wangchuk, buddhism, mandala|1999/10/30|Dressed in flowing robes of rich red and saturated yellow, Tibetan monks of the Gaden Jangste Monastery have returned to Orange County. Over the course of a six-month cross-country tour they will ask for donations--and, for the first time, offer a unique form of physical and spiritual healing to Americans.|
182|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#42">Making a Case for Skepticism in a Culture of Crystals</a>|Los Angeles Times|michael shermer, skeptic society, skepticism|1999/10/31|The 7-year-old quarterly magazine has a circulation of 40,000. The Skeptic Society, which maintains a Web page at http://www.skeptic.com, sponsors monthly Caltech lectures, and Shermer, afloat from the success of his book, &quot;Why People Believe Weird Things,&quot; now has &quot;How We Believe: the Search for God in an Age of Science,&quot; on the nature of American religion.|
183|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991103.html#43">Diana Kunde: Great place to work or a cult?</a>|Dallas Morning News|cults, corporate cults, dave arnott|1999/11/03|Mr. Arnott outlines his theories in a new book titled Corporate Cults: The Insidious Lure of the All-Consuming Organization, recently released by Amacom, the publishing arm of the American Management Association. Comparing modern workplaces to religious cults - with their devotion to a charismatic leader and cause and their separation from community - Mr. Arnott critiques Americans' end-of-millennium tendency to be consumed by work.|
184|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#1">15 years sought for Aum lawyer in sarin gassing</a>|Japan Times|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/11/08|Prosecutors on Monday demanded 15 years in prison for a former Aum Shinrikyo lawyer accused of conspiring to kill anticult lawyer Taro Takimoto in May 1994 by releasing sarin gas. Takimoto suffered minor injuries at the time.|
185|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#2">The Asahara Trial: Aum member explains VX attack</a>|Japan Times|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/11/04|A former Aum Shinrikyo follower testifying in cult founder Shoko Asahara's trial Thursday explained how he sprayed deadly VX gas on victims without their realization.|
186|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#3">Film sequel continues charge of Waco cover-up</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/11/04|Your typical movie premiere doesn't include allegations of homicide by the federal government. But that was the theme of Waco: A New Revelation, unveiled Wednesday to reporters and researchers of the 1993 siege that ended in the fiery deaths of more than 80 Branch Davidians.|
187|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#4">China Reportedly Sends 500 in Sect to Camps</a>|Los Angeles Times|china, falun gong|1999/11/08|Authorities have sentenced more than 500 people to labor camps in the latest crackdown on the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, a human rights group reported Sunday.|
188|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#5">111 Falun Gong Members Arrested</a>|AOL/AP|china, falun gong|1999/11/09|Chinese police have formally arrested 111 Falun Gong members in their 3 1/2-month crackdown against the banned spiritual group, and at least two other followers died while in custody, a government spokesman said today.|
189|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#6">China Says Its Future Depends on Routing Banned Spiritual Movement</a>|New York Times|china, falun gong|1999/11/06|Just when it seemed that official invective against Falun Gong could grow no harsher, Friday's issue of the People's Daily has suggested that the very fate of China hangs on the struggle against the banned spiritual movement. |
190|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#7">China Seizes Documents From 5 Western Reporters Over Sect News Conference</a>|New York Times|china, falun gong|1999/11/06|The police called in at least five Western reporters on Wednesday for questioning about a clandestine Falun Gong news conference that they attended on Oct. 28 and seized the reporters' accreditation cards and residence permits.|
191|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#8">Expert: Cult Crimes Must Be Punished</a>|Northern Light/Xinhua News Agency|china, falun gong|1999/11/05|It has been revealed that the Falun Gong group has a organizational structure, with 39 centers, 1,900 coaching centers, and 28,000 practice sites across the country, controlling at one time over 2.1 million followers.|
192|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#9">Cult draws Chinese upset by changes, official says</a>|Seattle Post-Intelligencer|china, falun gong, li hongzhi|1999/11/05|Acknowledging a spiritual vacuum amid China's stunning economic growth, the government's top religious official said yesterday that the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement attracted people lost in the unsettling changes.|
193|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#10">While Defending Crackdown, China Admits Appeal of Sect</a>|New York Times|china, falun gong, li hongzhi|1999/11/05|The government continued to lash out at the Falun Gong spiritual movement Thursday, comparing it to &quot;organized crime&quot; and predicting it would soon &quot;vanish.&quot;|
194|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#12">Police no longer monitoring Scientology</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology|1999/11/06|The Clearwater Police Department no longer assigns an officer to gather intelligence about the Church of Scientology, a major policy shift ending 20 years of vigilance against the controversial group.|
195|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#13">Questions about Scientology - Recognition as Religion?</a>|Neue Zuercher Zeitung|scientology|1999/11/05|The Federal Court is apparently having difficulty with the question of whether Scientology should be recognized as a religious denomination or not. This deliberation arises from a written basis for a court decision which says that the new regulation in Basel-City Canton conforms to the Constitution in that it says that pedestrians may not be recruited on public land in an unfair manner.|
196|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#14">Israel Deports Christian Predicting Second Coming</a>|AOL/Reuters|house of prayer, brother david, temple group, israel|1999/11/05|Police spokeswoman Linda Menuhin said Brother David, who moved to Israel 20 years ago and headed the "House of Prayer" group, was put on an El Al Israel Airlines flight to New York's Kennedy Airport.|
197|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#15">Israel Deports Christian to N.Y.</a>|AOL/Reuters|house of prayer, brother david, temple group, israel|1999/11/05|Israel deported this morning the last Christian from a group of 21 detained last month on suspicion of planning violence during the millennium year, police said. An American who calls himself Brother David and lived in Jerusalem for two decades was put aboard a plane bound for New York early today.|
198|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#16">Project Megiddo</a>|FBI|FBI, usa, israel, project megiddo, cults, hate groups, white supremacy, black hebrew israelites, christian identity, millennium, armageddon|1999/10/31|The FBI released a report yesterday entitled &quot;Project Megiddo.&quot; It is intended to analyze the potential for extremist criminal activity in the U.S. by individuals or domestic extremist groups who profess an apocalyptic view of the millennium or attach special significance to the year 2000.|
199|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#17">Sect information center &quot;too academic&quot;</a>|Berner Zeitung (Switzerland)|cults, sects, switzerland, hugo stamm|1999/11/08|Even though sects are hardly a danger to the state, they can exert considerable force on individual members. Or, said Alexander Tschaeppaet, Social Democrat of the Bern National Assembly: assimilative religious movements are turning more and more into catch basins for people who suffer from social isolation. An active sect politic is needed for their protection, Tschaeppaet stated the day before yesterday at the meeting of the Reformed Church of Bern-Jura on the theme of sects.|
200|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#18">Is Religion more than just a private matter in the final analysis?</a>|eBund (Switzerland)|cults sects, switzerland, hugo stamm, scientology, evangelische informationsstelle kirchen-sekten-religionen|1999/11/08|At long last the feathers flew at a podium discussion: at a meeting in Bern on the theme &quot;Do sects endanger our state?&quot; sect critics on the one side and representatives of independent churches (&quot;Freikirchen&quot;) and special groups on the other side demonstrated that consensus will probably never be reached on the issue: while the critics demand the state take action, the critics of the critics plead for reserve. &quot;One does not have to immediately call for help from the state.&quot;|
201|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#19">Probe Into Moonie Son Death Plunge</a>|Yahoo! UK|unification church, moon, suicide, Younjin Phillip Moon|1999/11/06|POLICE are probing the death of the son of cult founder the Rev Sun Myung Moon. Young Jin Moon, 21, fell to his death from a 17th-floor hotel window. His body was found on the roof of a ground-floor canopy at Harrah's hotel in the gambling resort of Reno, Nevada, last week.|
202|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#20">Mother complains about Jehovah's Witness daughter</a>|Rossiiskaia gazeta|russia, jehovah's witnesses|1999/10/21/|Here in our city there exist the circumstances for the spiritual expansion of the Jehovah's Witness totalitarian sect because of the patronage for it on the part of the city government and the indifference and inaction of the governor.|
203|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#21">Youths' White Power Views Stir Concern</a>|Los Angeles Times|hate groups, white supremacy, racism|1999/11/07|Stadler, who tracks white power gangs for the Ventura Police Department, said gang activity died down about 1997, when several leaders went to prison. But recently there has been a resurgence of white supremacy, he said.|
204|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#22">'Disgusting pamphlet' on Jews getting new shelf-life in Hungary</a>|Jewish Bulletin of Northern California|protocols of the elders of zion, anti-semitism, hungary, hoax|1999/11/05|Hungary is the newest battlefield in a century-old war against a pamphletthat has incited anti-Semitic hatred the world over. &quot;The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,&quot; first penned in the 1890s to expose a supposed Jewish conspiracy to dominate the world, is viewed by most as a great hoax.|
205|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#23">National Hate Crimes Legal Resource Information for Consumers Now Online</a>|Boston Globe/AP/US Newswire|hate groups|1999/11/04|A comprehensive new 250 page publication summarizing civil and criminalremedies for hate motivated violence has been posted on the internet by TheEqual Rights Center, a Washington, D.C. based civil rights organization.|
206|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#24">Colonia Dignidad: a Hamburg man hunts sect founder Schaefer</a>|Hamburger Abendblatt (Germany)|colonia dignidad, Paul Schaefer|1999/11/03|For almost 40 years, Wolfgang Kneese's life has been revolving around the same focal point. It turns around what the 54 year old calls &quot;simple evil.&quot; This evil wears a human face and has a Germanic name: Paul Schaefer. For nine years as a child, Kneese was struck, tortured and sexually abused by the sect leader - four of those years in the "Colonia Dignidad" in the mountains of southern Chile. That is where Schaefer brought him and other German children in 1961. When Schaefer was sought in Germany for abuse, he, with 200 Germans, built a colony in Chile - and refined his perversions.|
207|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#25">Catholics extend hand to Hindus</a>|FLoridaTimes-Union|catholicism, hinduism, interfaith, proselytizing, evangelism, religious intolerance|1999/11/04|While Baptist leaders have called for their faithful to pray that Hindus will abandon the "hopeless darkness" of their religion, Catholic leaders have adopted a very different strategy to mark the coming Hindu holiday of Divali.|
208|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#26">Evangelism efforts creating hard feelings among non-Christians, Christians</a>|Star-Telegram|proselytizing, evangelism, hinduism, baptists, religious intolerance|1999/11/04|For most Christians, spreading the Gospel -- the &quot;good news&quot; of Jesus -- is The Great Commission. But, in an increasingly multicultural society, that imperative doesn't always sit well with those targeted for such attention.|
209|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#27">Pope: Religious Freedom a Right</a>|AOL/AP|catholicism, hinduism, religious freedom, proselytizing, evangelism, religious intolerance|1999/11/08|With his minority church under fire by some Hindus for its missionary work, Pope John Paul II said Sunday that freedom to practice or change one's religion must be considered a basic human right.|
210|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#28">Hindus, others picket Baptist church over prayer booklet </a>|CNN|hinduism, religious freedom, proselytizing, evangelism, baptists, religious intolerance|1999/11/07|More than 100 people protested outside one of the nation's largest Baptist churches Sunday over a booklet that urges Southern Baptists to pray for Hindus' deliverance from the &quot;power of Satan.&quot; |
211|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#29">Tolerant Baha'is battle misconceptions</a>|Toledo Blade|baha'i|1999/11/06|Despite its high level not only of tolerance, but acceptance of other religions and a policy against proselytizing, the world's 6 million Baha'is are regarded with suspicion by many people because of their unusual name and foreign roots.|
212|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#30">Secrets and lies</a>|The Guardian (England)|binjamin wilkomirski , lauren stratford, hoax, holocaust|1999/11/01|Binjamin Wilkomirski was caught faking reminiscences of a childhood in a Nazi death camp. Now a documentary about the incident is itself playing games with the concept of factual reporting|
213|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#31">Court test for Russian law restricting religions</a>|EWTN/Keston|russia, religious freedom, jehovah's witnesses|1999/11/03|On October 21, a preliminary hearing on the constitutionality of Article 27 Point 3 of the 1997 law on religion took place at Russia's Constitutional Court. The challenge to the law was brought by the Jehovah's Witness congregation in Yaroslavl and the Glorification Pentecostal Church in Khakassia|
214|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#32">Americans as protectors of religion: a fox guarding the hen-house?</a>|Rediff on the Net|religious freedom, usa, india|1999/11/03|First, there are far more instances of religious intolerance in the US than in India. Second, it is no business of America's what India does to Indian Christians (or Australians for that matter). Third, America has no locus standi in matters religious -- as, say, the Pope might. Fourth, the Americans are curiously silent about certain cases of religious oppression. Fifth, their definition of religious tolerance is, shall we say, quirky?|
215|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#33">Boy sues upstate school for expelling Jesus</a>|New York Post|religious intolerance, usa, religious|1999/11/05|As presidential candidates battle over whether religion belongs in the classroom, one 7-year-old upstate boy has entered the fray - with crayons and a lawsuit. Little Antonio Peck of Syracuse drew a poster of Jesus for a classroom assignment, but his teacher told him it wouldn't be displayed because of its religious content.|
216|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#34">A&E goes gaga over polygamy in Utah</a>|Philadelphia Inquirer|cults, polygamy|1999/11/08|Fascinating sometimes despite itself, Kurtis' Investigative Reports never seems satisfied with the simple truth, even though it often visits weird places where the truth can boggle the mind. |
217|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#35">He's a guru of 'practical spirituality'</a>|Philadelphia Inquirer|dan millman, new age, human potential|1999/11/07|The 53-year-old Californian is the author of 10 books, including the best-selling Way of the Peaceful Warrior, that have ministered to the human-potential movement's body-mind-spirit trinity for nearly 20 years. His specialty, translating guru-talk and ephemera into &quot;practical spirituality,&quot; has resulted in more than one million books sold and a roster of celebrity fans including Paul Newman, Michael Douglas, Billie Jean King and Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson.|
218|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#36">Court to Review Student's Objection to Activity Fees</a>|Washington Post|activity fees, liberalism, University of Wisconsin at Madison|1999/11/07|The dispute concerns whether the University of Wisconsin at Madison--or any other state school--can force students to pay &quot;activity fees&quot; that go, in part, to groups engaging in political advocacy the students may oppose, on topics such as abortion or environmentalism. |
219|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#37">Adventists grapple with embracing diversity</a>|Chicago Tribune|sda, seventh-day adventists, diversity|1999/11/07|As it becomes an increasingly diverse religious body, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has begun grappling with how to address the opportunities--and sometimes tensions--its various cultures pose for the denomination.|
220|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#38">A Friendlier Face for Islam</a>|Washington Post|islam|1999/11/06|In response to news reports about violence in Chechnya, where Islamic militants have been fighting Russian troops for independence, or the threats of a militant minority in Egypt, Ragab said he felt it important to counterpose Islam's acceptance of Christian and Jewish prophets and its advances in music, calligraphy, textile arts and architecture.|
221|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#39">Convert Faces Hatred, Threats in Middle East</a>|Los Angeles Times|evangelism, islam|1999/11/06|He had always known that trying to make converts out of devout Muslims in the Holy Land would be tough and potentially dangerous. But he wasn't prepared for the intensity of the attacks--both verbal and physical--against him.|
222|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991109.html#40">Monsters Among Us</a>|FOX/AP|offbeat, pokemon, barney|1999/11/03|A North Carolina minister who called Barney the dinosaur an agent of Satan has taken aim at another childhood fixture. The Reverend Joe Chambers of Charlotte says Pokemon (POH'-kee-mahn) has lined up with the devil as well.|
223|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#1">The Asahara Trial: Guru ordered cult to make guns</a>|Japan Times|aum shinrikygo, asahara, japan|1999/11/10|Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara on Wednesday told the Tokyo District Court that he ordered cult members to manufacture 1,000 automatic rifles. Asahara was testifying during a session of the murder trial for former senior cult members Toru Toyoda and Shigeo Sugimoto.|
224|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#2">Sect leader's wife pleads for apology</a>|South China Morning Post/AFP|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/11/10|The Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth) sect should apologise for the crimes committed under its leader, Shoko Asahara, his imprisoned wife said in a letter to a magazine published yesterday. &quot;The responsibility for many serious crimes committed during our time rests with us,&quot; Tomoko Matsumoto, 41, said in a letter carried in the latest edition of the monthly Tsukuru magazine.|
225|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#3">15 years sought for Aum's Aoyama</a>|Asahi Daily News (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/11/09|Prosecutors on Monday demanded a 15-year prison term for a senior member of Aum Shinrikyo accused of trying to murder a lawyer who counseled cult victims. Noting that the defendant, Yoshinobu Aoyama, was a trained lawyer, prosecutors told Tokyo District Court that he played an &quot;extremely important&quot; role in cult affairs.|
226|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#4">Investigator: Examine Waco Video</a>|AOL/AP|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/11/09|An investigator wants a federal judge to order an impartial simulation of the FBI's infrared videotaping in the waning hours of the 1993 Waco siege to determine whether bursts of light in the original tapes were made by gunfire from federal agents.|
227|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#5">US asylum offer for Falun Gong member infuriates Beijing</a>|South China Morning Post|falun gong, usa, china|1999/11/10|Beijing criticised the US yesterday for granting asylum to a Falun Gong practitioner from the mainland. Xinhua quoted Foreign Ministry official Zhang Qiyue as saying China had &quot;voiced its indignation and opposition&quot; over the move, adding that it had made &quot;representations&quot; to the United States about the issue.|
228|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#6">China warns U.S. of new difficulties over sect</a>|AOL/Reuters|falun gong, china|1999/11/09|China warned the United States on Tuesday of &quot;new difficulties&quot;' in their shaky ties unless Washington stopped criticising Beijing's crackdown on the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement|
229|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#7">Canada slams China over Falun Gong arrests</a>|AOL/Reuters|falun gong, china, canada|1999/11/09|The Canadian government Tuesday condemned China's arrest of members of the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement and its repression of freedom of belief.|
230|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#8">Banned Chinese group screens documentary video</a>|AOL/Reuters|falun gong, china, usa|1999/11/08|New York-based practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which has been officially banned in China, screened a video Monday to counter what they called China's &quot;`vicious&quot;' campaign against the movement.|
231|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#9">Chinese Religious Leaders Slam Falun Gong Cult (1)</a>|Northern Light/Xinhua|falun gong, china|1999/11/10|Leaders of major Chinese religious groups have been hailing the government ban on Falun Gong and all agreed that cults must not be tolerated since they imperil the society.|
232|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#10">Chinese Religious Leaders Slam Falun Gong Cult (2)</a>|Northern Light/Xinhua|falun gong, china|1999/11/10|These Chinese religious leaders have ridiculed Falun Gong for calling itself a religion, noting that a cult can never be a religion, though it often steals religious terms while debasing religion by terming itself the supreme religion.|
233|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#11">Scientologists file complaint against Belgium</a>|AOL/Reuters|scientology, belgium|1999/11/09|The Church of Scientology said Tuesday it had filed a complaint with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) against Belgium for alleged discrimination against religious minorities. The complaint, filed ahead of an OSCE security conference in Istanbul next week, follows a raid last month by Belgian police on 25 offices and homes of Scientology members throughout the country. Belgian court officials said then the raids were part of an investigation into alleged racketeering and fraud.|
234|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#12">Scientology accuses foe in lawsuit of fraud</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology, lisa mcpherson, usa|1999/11/10|The Church of Scientology contends in a court filing that fraudulent paperwork preceded a 1997 wrongful death lawsuit against the church.|
235|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#13">Lisa McPherson Trust</a>|A.r.s. Week in Review|scientology, bob minton, lisa mcpherson, lisa mcpherson trust|1999/11/07|Bob Minton announced the formation of the Lisa McPherson Trust this week.|
236|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#14">Drugs for unruly kids attacked</a>|Denver Post|scientology, cchr, Citizens Commission on Human Rights|1999/11/10|A parade of experts appeared before a group of legislators Tuesday to point accusatory fingers at psychotropic medications, such as Ritalin and Luvox, claiming a connection between the drugs and an epidemic of school shootings.|
237|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#15">Hearing more like a circus</a>|Denver Post|scientology, cchr, Citizens Commission on Human Rights|1999/11/10|They were summoned not only by the talented ringmaster, but also by the mysteriously whacko Church of Scientology, which seems to have captured Pfiffner's rich imagination. The hearing room was seeded with enthusiastic scientologists, and an adjacent room resembled a library abundantly stocked with scientology literature.|
238|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#16">Judge to issue another order in LDS Church copyright case</a>|Denver Post|mormonism, pseudo-christian, tanners, church handbook, lds, sandra tanner, utah lighthouse ministry|1999/11/10|A federal judge said Wednesday it appears LDS Church critics Jerald and Sandra Tanner are violating copyright laws by using their Web site to direct others to Internet locations where copyrighted church manuals are posted. &quot;My look at this case now is that they are contributory infringing,&quot; U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell said.|
239|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#17">Moon's son dies in fall from hotel</a>|Las Vegas Review-Journal|unification church, sun myung moon|1999/11/04|The son of controversial religious leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon fell to his death from a Reno hotel room window, and the young man's family doesn't believe it was suicide.|
240|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#18">Further Report on Suicide</a>|Steve Hassan|unification church, sun myung moon, |1999/11/12|I have received some further information about the death of Moon's son from the NBC reporter, Victoria Campbell, who originally reported the story. |
241|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#20">Pagans join Interfaith Council</a>|Boston Globe|paganism, neo-paganism, wicca, interfaith, celtic fairy|1999/11/08|Ted Tarr, a Wiccan priest, and his wife, Mary Colleen MacDougall, a priestess trained in the Celtic Fairy tradition, said they decided to join the mainstream council, in part, to promote recognition for their religion.|
242|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#21">Two die in suicide pact by cultists</a>|South China Morning Post|doomsday, china, chinese dragon buddha|1999/11/10|Two members of a doomsday cult are reported to have committed suicide, prompting officials to repeat warnings about the sect and raising fears of a return to tighter controls on unauthorised religious activity.|
243|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#22">Nokia Dismisses Swiss Subsidiary's Chairman on Cult Membership</a>|AOL/Bloomberg|nokia, switzerland, racism|1999/11/10|Nokia Oyj, the world's largest maker of cellular phones, dismissed the chairman of Nokia International, its Swiss subsidiary, because he allegedly was a member of a religious sect, Swiss daily newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported.|
244|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#23">Parole hearing postponed for Manson follower</a>|San Francisco Gate|manson|1999/11/05|A parole hearing for Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten was abruptly postponed after her new lawyer asked for more time to study the case.|
245|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#24">U.S. fugitive Ira Einhorn not worried about extradition</a>|CNN/AP|ira einhorn, france|1999/11/10|Fugitive killer Ira Einhorn is counting on support from the French people to keep him from being brought to justice for the 1977 slaying of his girlfriend and having to pay a $907 million wrongful death judgment against him.|
246|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#25">Texas Baptists vote to reject dictum of wifely submission</a>|CNN/AP|women, baptists, submission|1999/11/09|Texas' Southern Baptists on Tuesday repudiated the denomination's call for women to "submit graciously" to their husbands.|
247|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#26">Spiritualist Camp Lures the Living Who Long to Reach the Dead</a>|Los Angeles Times|spiritualism|1999/11/09|But every day, bereaved relatives, paranormal pioneers and curious tourists arrive--sometimes by the busload--to consult one or more of the 50 mediums, psychics and healers who have made this central Florida town a mecca for those hungry for a word from the great beyond.|
248|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#27">The most dangerous man in the world</a>|The Guardian (England)|peter singer, abortion, euthanasia, utalitarianism|1999/11/06|That's quite a description for an academic philosopher from an obscure university, Monash, in Western Australia. But Singer's appointment to Princeton University's Professorship of Bioethics has detonated an academic bomb right in the quad of one of America's most prestigious Ivy League universities, provoking a thousand hostile editorials and a firestorm of rage in the American establishment. |
249|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#28">Religion Fair Finds Unity in Difference</a>|Los Angeles Times|interfaith, religious pluralism|1999/11/08|&quot;Roots and Visions&quot; was the theme Sunday of a Religious Diversity Faire at UC Irvine that featured representatives of two dozen faiths from all over the world and drew almost 500 participants from Orange County.|
250|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#29">At age 50, troubles bedevil the National Council of Churches</a>|Akron Beacon Journal|national council of churches, interdenominational|1999/11/07|On paper, it's one of America's grandest religious alliances, representing 35 denominations with 50 million members and styling itself as &quot;the primary national expression of the movement for Christian unity.&quot;' If so, Christian unity is in trouble. For the National Council of Churches has reached a historical low point as it celebrates its 50th anniversary at a meeting starting Tuesday in Cleveland.|
251|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#30">Papal Call for Christian Unity Gets Cool Reception</a>|Los Angeles Times|catholicism, orthodox church|1999/11/09|Pope John Paul II arrived in Georgia on Monday calling for &quot;new bridges&quot; between the long-estranged Eastern and Western branches of Christianity. But he met a wall of silence from the country's Orthodox Christian patriarch.|
252|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#31">India Religious Leaders Trade Ideas With Pope</a>|Los Angeles Times|catholicism, hinduism, christianity, religious dialogue|1999/11/08|John Paul had called on Asian Catholic leaders Saturday to heed the Christian &quot;call to conversion&quot; and work harder in the next millennium to &quot;penetrate the hearts of Asian peoples&quot; with the belief that Jesus Christ is mankind's only savior. On Sunday, he took pains to distinguish between his church's twin missions of reaching out to the leaders of other religions and seeking converts among their flocks.|
253|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#32">UN: Social Committee, continuing review, is told prevention strategy needed on religious intolerance</a>|Northern Light/M2 Communications|religious intolerance, religious dialogue, religious freedom|1999/11/10|A strategy of prevention was urgently needed to curb religious intolerance, the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this morning as the Committee met to continue considering human rights issues. The Committee is reviewing questions related to alternative approaches for improving human rights; human rights situations; follow-up to the Vienna Declaration; and the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.|
254|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#33">Romania moves to curtail religious liberty</a>|Newsroom|romania, religious freedom|1999/11/10|Romania is planning a new law that will curb Christian outreach and discriminate against small Christian groups outside mainstream denominations.|
255|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#34">Religious Sign Off Complaint Filed</a>|Washington Post|religious freedom, religious intolerance, usa, offbeat|1999/11/10|A woman has filed a federal complaint against her employer after she was ordered to stop saying &quot;have a blessed day&quot; at work. Liz Anderson, an office coordinator at USF Logistics, lodged a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission on Tuesday, saying it was the only way to protect her religious freedom.|
256|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#1">Testing ordered to see if agents fired on Davidian compound </a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/11/16|Turning aside prolonged federal objections, a U.S. district judge on Monday ordered independent field testing to help determine whether government agents fired at the Branch Davidian compound in the last hours of a 1993 siege.|
257|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#2">Court asked to supervise Waco tests</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/11/11|Throwing its weight behind lawyers for the Branch Davidians, the Waco special counsel's office is asking for court-supervised tests to determine if flashes recorded by FBI infrared cameras in the last hours of the 1993 siege came from government gunfire.|
258|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#3">. Asahara OK'd cremation of cultist</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/11/11|Shoko Asahara, guru of the AUM Shinrikyo doomsday cult, on trial for murder in the 1995 Tokyo nerve gas attack, testified at court on Wednesday that he had ordered that one of cult members, who had been killed, be cremated in 1988.|
259|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#4">AUM cultist gets life</a>|Mainichi Daily News|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/11/13|A senior AUM Shinrikyo cultist was given a life prison term Friday for dropping off a cultist - who later released deadly sarin gas on a subway train - at a Tokyo station|
260|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#5">Aum follower gets life for role in sarin attack</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/11/13|Kimura said that Kitamura participated in the crime knowing that sarin was a deadly poison and he clearly intended to kill others.|
261|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#6">Members of banned sect in China send appeals to visiting U.N. secretary-general</a>|San Francisco Gate|falun gong, china, kofi annan|1999/11/15|Members of the banned Falun Gong sect have appealed to visiting U.N.Secretary-General Kofi Annan to organize a U.N. team to make an independent study of the group, a Hong Kong-based human rights monitor said Monday.|
262|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#7">Sect hunger-strikers</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AP|falun gong, china|1999/11/14|Prosecutors have indicted seven hunger-striking members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement as part of a government plan to put an estimated 300 group leaders on trial by month's end, a Hong Kong-based rights group reported yesterday.|
263|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#8">Sect's Low-Level Officials Get Long Prison Terms</a>|San Francisco Chronicle|falun gong, china|1999/11/13|In the first trial singling out the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement, China sentenced four of its lower-level officials to prison terms of up to 12 years yesterday.|
264|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#9">Sole qigong [web site closed]</a>|Yahoo! Asia|qigong, falun gong, xiang gong, china|1999/11/15|The mainland's sole official qigong website was closed down days ago, indicating the authorities' determination to wipe out qigong organisations across the country.|
265|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#10">Scientology leader jailed for fraud</a>|The Guardian (England)|scientology, fraud, france, purification rundown|1999/11/16|In another blow to the controversial Church of Scientology's battle to be recognised as a religion rather than a sect, a French court yesterday found one of its former leaders guilty of fraud and sentenced him to six months in prison.|
266|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#11">Court finds French scientologists guilty of fraud</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|scientology, france, fraud, purification rundown|1999/11/15|Five French scientologists were found guilty Monday of fraud and attempted fraud and one of them was sentenced to six months in prison and fined 100,000 francs (16,000 dollars) for swindling people on behalf of the sect.|
267|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#12">French scientologists guilty of fraud</a>|BBC|scientology, fraud, france, purification rundown|1999/11/15|The charges against the seven defendants - who are alleged to have obtained large sums of money from fellow sect-members by fraudulent means - date back to the late 1980s.|
268|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#13">Scientologists Convicted in France</a>|AOL/AP|scientology, fraud, france, purification rundown, ocec|1999/11/15|The Scientologists were accused of allegedly accepting money for sham &quot;purification&quot;' treatments that included going to a sauna, running races and being given massive doses of vitamins. The treatment proposed by the Scientologists cost between $2,000 and $25,000.|
269|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#14">France warns Denmark about Scn</a>|Ritzau (Denmark)|scientology, france, denmark, alain vivien|1999/11/13|The government and parliament of France warns Denmark against recognizing Scientology as an official congregation of faith, according to an article in 'Kristeligt Dagblad' Saturday.|
270|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#15">Board to soften drug resolution</a>|Denver Post|Scientology, drugs, psychiaty, adhd, cchr, citizens commission on human rights, |1999/11/11|Mental-health advocates appeared before the board Wednesday to counter a presentation last month by people who claim use of psychotropic drugs causes school violence. On Tuesday, similar allegations about the medications were voiced before an informal gathering of state senators and representatives. Mental-health advocates see the latest developments as a new phase in a long-standing assault on psychiatry with strong ties to the Church of Scientology.|
271|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#17">Years after he left, Scientology still has not worn off</a>|Mannheimer Morgen (Germany)|scientology, germany, jesse prince|1999/11/11|The 16 wasted years are past, but their effect lingers on. In order to save others from something similar, Jesse Prince told of his time in Scientology management. &quot;I did not just lose my personality there,&quot; ran his statement describing that which outsiders can understand only with difficulty: how someone can stay with the organization. For two days Prince spoke with Cologne Constitutional Security, which had invited him to Germany. Now he has told his story to our newspaper.|
272|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#18">Suggestive Questions from Littauerberg</a>|Neue Luzerner Zeitung (Switzerland)|scientology, switzerland|1999/11/10|So who are the people united in the Littau parents' committee? The person who answered the phone to the number given on the survey's cover letter was Konrad Meile, Scientology member, official renter of the Berg school building and father of three children who are being instructed by Sandra Planzer|
273|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#19">A problem with Scientology in the house of Luschkov</a>|BerlinOnline (Germany)|scientology, russia, aum shinrikyo, galina krylova, alexander dvorkin, cchr, citizens commission on human rights, unification church, hare krishna, jehovah's witnesses|1999/11/11|Once more, sect experts are warning of possible Scientology influence upon Russian politics.|
274|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#20">Caution, rat catchers at work</a>|Amberger Nachrichten (Germany)|scientology, germany, |1999/11/09|What Scientology's friend Michael Kent said in his presentation in the smoky basement room of a tavern was not just blooming nonsense. It was, above everything else, massive propaganda for the totalitarian system of Scientology and an instigation against our state. |
275|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#21">Air Cult Couple On Death Charge</a>|Yahoo! UK/The Daily Record|breatharianism, jasmuheen, australia|1999/11/11|A couple who promoted a cult which claims people can live on air are facing manslaughter charges after a woman died in their care. Jim Pesnak, 60, and wife Eugenia, 63, were helping Lani Morris with an initiation into the New Age breatharian cult in Australia.|
276|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#22">Japanese cultist insists mummified dad is alive</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/11/15|A Japanese disciple of the little-known &quot;Life Space&quot; cult on Monday insisted his father was alive, despite the mummified body being found quite dead at an airport hotel.|
277|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#23">Cops unwrap mummy mystery</a>|Mainichic Daily News (Japan)|Koji Takahashi, japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, sathya sai baba|1999/11/14|Life Space, which is based in the city of Suita, Osaka Prefecture, originally started out as a self-enlightenment group, but in May this year, the group changed its purpose to organize seminars based on the teachings of an &quot;Indian educational philosopher,&quot; Sathya Sai Baba, who is revered as a spiritual leader in some circles.|
278|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#24">Body of Rev. Moon's son to be taken to Korea</a>|Reno Gazette-Journal|unification church, young jin moon, suicide|1999/11/10|The remains of the youngest son of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon will be exhumed from a Reno cemetery and taken to South Korea for services and reburial.|
279|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#25">Racist Enters Boulder County, Colo., Debate over Hate-Crime Prosecution</a>|NewsEdge/Denver Post|david duke, hate groups, stormfront, hatewatch.org, white supremacy|1999/11/09|As Boulder County prosecutors pursued the case of a 20-year-old woman allegedly raped by five Asians in August, white supremacist David Duke entered the debate -- through his Web site.|
280|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#26">Court Rejects White Supremacist</a>|AOL/AP|matt hale, hate groups, world church of the creator, white supremacy|1999/11/12|White supremacist Matt Hale vowed to take his quest for a law license to the nation's highest court after the Illinois Supreme Court refused to consider the case.|
281|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#27">Religious Group Lashes Out at FBI Report: Cites Violation of First Amendment Rights</a>|Asatru/Odinic Alliance (Press Release)|fbi, project megiddo, odinism, asatru|1999/11/10|Spokesmen for a religious group today charged the FBI with violating its First Amendment rights to freedom of religion, free speech, and peaceful assembly. The group also says the FBI and federal government are engaging in religious persecution, setting a dangerous precedent with ominous implications for all Americans.|
282|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#28">Church gifts to Georgia policeofficers raise questions</a>|Charisma Daily News|creflo dollar, word-faith|1999/11/15|A church's gift of $1,000 to each of the 100 police officers in its district have caused confusion and concern in the Atlanta suburb of College Park, Ga. Fulton County officials want an ethics board to determine whether the checks are legitimate awards for public service or inappropriate gifts, reported the Associated Press.|
283|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#29">Bloody Event Relics To Be Auctioned</a>|AOL/AP|heaven's gate, _ufo_|1999/11/15|The couple, owners of a bizarre shrine known as the Museum of Death, say they will be among the expected hundreds at a Nov. 20 auction of property belonging to 39 Heaven's Gate cult members who committed suicide at a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe.|
284|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#30">A Sect's Political Rise Creates Uneasiness in Japan</a>|New York Times|soka gakkai, japan, buddhism|1999/11/14|Using simple themes of self-help and compassion, and building a disciplined nationwide organization through small neighborhood groups, Soka Gakkai -- which means Values Creation Society -- has repeatedly confounded political observers in Japan. Since its founding in 1930, it has risen from a small persecuted sect to one of the countless &quot;new religions&quot; that blossomed in the postwar era, becoming the most powerful religious movement here.|
285|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#31">Nidwalden: controversial sect meets on the &quot;Buergenstock&quot;</a>|Neue Luzerner Zeitung (Switzerland)|gordron fraser, association for health and personal development, switzerland|1999/11/09|85-year-old Gordon Freeman Fraser and his esoteric-occultic group by the name of &quot;Association for Health and Personality Development&quot; are both widely unknown. That is amazing insofar as Fraser, according to what Hansjoerg Hemminger, Commissioner for Issues of Worldview of the Wuerttemberg Evangelical State Church, sees himself as the incarnation of the Holy Ghost.|
286|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#32">Guilty Plea in Church Arsons</a>|NewsEdge/AP|satanism, church arson|1999/11/11|The two were satanists who believed setting churches on fire would created a &quot;new world order,&quot;' prosecutors said in court documents.|
287|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#33">Refugees of polygamy band together for action</a>|Deseret News|polygamy, lds, mormonism, pseudo-christian, tapestry of polygamy, kingston clan|1999/11/13|Now, after months of relative quiet, a television documentary, more &quot;refugees&quot; from polygamy seeking help and legislation proposed by a state lawmaker have retrained the spotlight on plural marriage in Utah, where it is illegal under the state's constitution but practiced by an estimated 30,000 residents.|
288|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#34">N.Y. County Loses Battle to Atheist</a>|Northern Light/AP|atheism, alcoholics anonymous|1999/11/15|The Supreme Court today refused to free government officials from having to pay a symbolic $1 for requiring an atheist to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings that involved prayers and other religious content.|
289|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#35">Mexicans, Americans flocking to late faith healer's town</a>|CNN/AP|el nino fidencio, faith healing, mexico|1999/11/15|They come to this desert village from across Mexico, from Dallas, from Chicago, from Indianapolis, crawling on their knees, calling on the spirit of &quot;El Nino Fidencio.&quot; The unemployed, the disabled, the troubled touch his photograph or caress his tomb, then rub their hands over their bodies to bathe themselves in his magic.|
290|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#36">Bible Belt has nation's worst divorce rate</a>|CNN/AP|bible belt, divorce|1999/11/12|Aside from the quickie-divorce mecca of Nevada, no region of the United States has a higher divorce rate than the Bible Belt.|
291|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#37">Muslim neighbourhoods proposed to revive rundown city suburbs</a>|The Guardian (England)|england, islam, interfaith|1999/11/12|Neighbourhoods based on Islamic principles could be set up in some of Britain's inner cities in a radical proposal being considered by the government.|
292|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#38">That's not faith, that's provocation</a>|The Guardian (England)|interfaith|1999/11/12|There was a time when dialogue between religions had a goal of international peace and understanding. In the past decade, however, a new and potentially dangerous form of interfaith collaboration has emerged.|
293|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#39">U.S. Christians Urged to Get Involved With Other Faiths</a>|World Faith News/National Council of Churches (Press Release)|ncc, national council of churches, interfaith|1999/11/11|Church members were challenged to think about how to be true to their faith while reaching out to work on humanity's common problems with their neighbors of other faiths. The call came at the 50th anniversary celebration of the National Council of Churches meeting here.|
294|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#40">Crackdown on churches planned, claims Vatican</a>|South China Morning Post (China)|catholicism, china, religious freedom, underground church, persecution|1999/11/12|Beijing is looking ahead to establishing relations with the Vatican but it will be followed by a full-scale crackdown on underground Catholic churches, a policy paper by the Communist Party's Central Committee has been quoted as saying.|
295|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#41">Guide explains how to teach Bible legally</a>|Detroit News|bible, education|1999/11/12|Yes, you can teach students about the Bible in public schools without breaking the law. There's even a guide to tell you how. Endorsed by everyone from Christian educators and Jewish groups to school boards and unions, &quot;The Bible and Public Schools: A First Amendment Guide,&quot; was released Thursday in New York.|
296|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#42">Evolution Questioned in Okla.</a>|ABC News/AP|evolution, creationism|1999/11/10|An obscure state committee has voted to require that all new biology textbooks carry a disclaimer saying evolution is a &quot;controversial theory&quot; after one member said not enough attention is paid to alternate explanations of how life began.|
297|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#43">Tracking Down What Jesus Said</a>|Los Angeles Times|marvin meyer, jesus seminar, gospel of thomas|1999/11/13|What did Jesus say? This question is not as straightforward as it might sound, because it is not just a matter of picking up the New Testament gospels and reading whatever is attributed to Jesus there.|
298|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#44">The heal thing</a>|The Guardian (England)|iyanla vanzant, new age|1999/11/11|The House of Commons is an unlikely location for spiritualism, but last week it opened its doors to a woman who has touched many in ways secular intervention has not. Diane Abbott MP held a welcome reception for the American spiritual counsellor, lecturer and bestselling author Iyanla Vanzant.|
299|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#45">Y2K revelations: Many Christian leaders back off from 'doomsday hysteria'</a>|Star-Telegram|y2k, hank hanegraaff, christian research institute|1999/11/11|As the appointed hour rapidly approaches, however, many of these same voices have now traded fundamentalist conviction about the near certainty of global disruption for agnostic equivocation about the millennium bug's real impact. Instead of the Bible, they've taken to quoting government and industry assurances of Y2K readiness.|
300|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#46">Apocalypse Now</a>|Los Angeles Times (Book Review)|book review, robert jay. lifton, walter laquer, aum shinrikyo, terrorism|1999/11/14|The ultimate horror would be the appearance of a nuclear weapon in the hands of any group wishing ill to the world, whether a political group or a cult. Both Laqueur and Lifton's books sound somber warning bells.|
301|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#47">Edgar Cayce's story, and troubles, in his own words</a>|Philadelphia Inquirer|edgar cayce, book review|1999/11/14|Poor Edgar Cayce. You wonder why one of the most documented psychic minds of our century couldn't have foreseen the need for a lawyer, an agent, and especially a good accountant.|
302|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#48">The Martha Mantra</a>|Washington Post|martha stewart, offbeat|1999/11/11|WWMD--What Would Martha Do--is becoming the new mantra for the over-stressed and under-talented trying to keep it together on the domestic scene while aspiring to the high standards dictated by Martha Stewart. Veteran trend watchers know this phrase as a variation of WWJD (What Would Jesus Do), seen in recent years on bracelets and T-shirts worn by Christian teenagers.|
303|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991116.html#16">Not Being CAN-did</a>|New Times LA|can, cult awareness network, rick ross, scientology, george robertson, hate group|1999/11/11|It has been said that for people like Mr. Robertson to now be seemingly in charge of the Cult Awareness Network is analogous to &quot;Operation Rescue&quot; taking over Planned Parenthood, or perhaps as perverse as the Ku Klux Klan reorganizing the Anti-Defamation League.|
304|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#1">Waco test impossible, officials say</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, fbi, branch davidians|1999/11/18|Tests to find the cause of flashes on FBI infrared videotape shot in the final hours of the Branch Davidian siege will probably be meaningless because the camera used at Waco no longer exists, federal officials said Wednesday.Authorities have refused to release anything about the make or capabilities of the FBI's infrared camera used to record the fiery end of the 1993 Davidian standoff. They cited national security and law enforcement secrecy rules.|
305|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#2">Investigators to begin review of siege evidence</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, fbi, branch davidians|1999/11/17|Texas Rangers and investigators from the office of special counsel John Danforth will begin sifting through 12 tons of Branch Davidian evidence in Waco on Wednesday, searching for a missing tear-gas projectile and other items that may shed new light on the 1993 standoff.|
306|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#3">Senate Panel Backs Waco, Spying Subpoenas Plan</a>|AOL/ Reuters|waco, fbi, branch davidians|1999/11/18|A Senate panel approved a plan on Wednesday for issuing dozens of subpoenas as part of a broad congressional inquiry of the Justice Department's handling of the Waco, campaign finance and China spying investigations.|
307|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#4">Waco Prober Seeks FBI Firearms</a>|AOL/AP|waco, fbi, branch davidians|1999/11/15|The special counsel re-investigating the 1993 Branch Davidian siege has asked the FBI to turn over the firearms carried by its on-scene personnel to determine whether federal agents fired shots during the standoff's final hours.|
308|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#5">Waco woven into Idaho couple's lives</a>|Spokane.net|waco, fbi, branch davidians, Henry McMahon, Karen Kilpatrick, |1999/11/14|Former gun dealers Henry McMahon and Karen Kilpatrick live in a small apartment in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, in the shadow of Ruby Ridge. But their lives are occupied by another symbolic location in the anti-government movement: Waco, Texas.|
309|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#6">Lower House panel approves bills to crack down on Aum</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/11/17|The Lower House Judicial Committee approved two bills Wednesday designed to tighten control of Aum Shinrikyo and facilitate redress to the cult's victims.|
310|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#7">Highlights of the legislation</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/11/17|The first of two bills aimed at curbing the activities of Aum Shinrikyo imposes controls on groups whose members have carried out or attempted indiscriminate mass murder. The following conditions apply to the bill:|
311|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#8">Mass trials of Falun gong members expected after UN chief's departure</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|china, falun gong|1999/11/18|Hundreds of believers of the banned Falungong spiritual group will be prosecuted following UN chief Kofi Annan's visit to China, with the trial of a key member expected Sunday, a rights group said.|
312|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#9">China to try Falun Gong leaders, frees HK members</a>|AOL/Reuters|china, falun gong|1999/11/18|China is to begin trying about 300 leaders of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement just days after a visit by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Beijing, a Hong Kong human rights group said on Thursday.|
313|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#10">Falun Gong adherent gets aylum in S.F.</a>|San Francisco Chronicle|china, falun gong, usa|1999/11/17|Zhung, an attractive, earnest, spirited woman in her 30s, is believed to be the first adherent of the banned Chinese Buddhist sect Falun Gong to be granted political asylum by a San Francisco immigration judge.|
314|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#11">Falun Gong</a>|San Francisco Chronicle (Letter to the Editor)|china, usa, falun gong|1999/11/17|Editor -- The recent editorial "True-to-Form China'' (Chronicle, November 10) irresponsibly accused the Chinese government of cracking down on Falun Gong illegal activities and a continuing history of &quot;oppression and brutality.&quot;' The facts speak otherwise.|
315|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#12">Beijing reassures UN leader about sect</a>|Chicago Sun-Times|china, falun gong, annan|1999/11/17|UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday that China's explanation of its prohibition of the Falun Gong sect gave him a &quot;better understanding&quot; of the government crackdown.|
316|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#13">Members of banned sect protest, arrests reported in China</a>|San Francisco Gate|china, falun gong|1999/11/17|Gathering furtively before police could catch them, several members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement staged a brief protest today in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.|
317|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#14">Foe of Scientology plans move to area</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology, bob minton, lisa mcpherson educational foundation, lisa mcpherson trust|1999/11/16|The Church of Scientology came to court Monday hoping its No. 1 enemy, Robert S. Minton, would never again be allowed near church properties in Clearwater. Instead, church officials learned that Minton, a 53-year-old New England millionaire, plans to be much too close for their comfort.|
318|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#15">State vs. Scientology</a>|Sindelfinger Zeitung (Germany)|scientology, germany, stuttgat|1999/11/17|This Wednesday the conflict between the administrative presidium and a Scientology organization will begin anew before the Stuttgart Administrative Court. The Stuttgart Dianetics sect branch is to lose its association status.|
319|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#16">Pastor Who Takes Pride in Hate Traces the Emotion to Bible</a>|Los Angeles Times|fred phelps, hate groups, westboro baptist church|1999/11/16|From his perch on a cracked sidewalk, the Rev. Fred Phelps looked upon his handiwork and found it was good.(...) The 69-year-old Baptist pastor from Topeka said little, but the placards he eld aloft succinctly conveyed the three-word credo of his ministry: &quot;God hates fags.&quot;|
320|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#17">Supremacist testifies for L.A. shootings grand jury</a>|Seattle Post-Intelligencer|hate groups, white supremacy, aryan nations, richard butler, bufford furrow|1999/11/18|Richard Butler, 81, founder and head of the Aryan Nations church in Hayden Lake, Idaho, was ordered to travel to Los Angeles at taxpayers' expense to testify behind close doors on Nov. 10, The Spokesman-Review reported.|
321|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#18">Amazon.com Stops German Mein Kampf Sales</a>|Excit/Reuters|hate groups, neo-nazi, germany, amazon.com|1999/11/18|Online retail pioneer Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN.O) said on Thursday it will stop selling Adolf Hitler's prison-penned manifesto &quot;Mein Kampf&quot; in Germany, but two major rivals said they had no plans to follow suit.|
322|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#19">Cultists say mummified man still lives</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/11/16|Police on Monday began an autopsy on a 66-year-old man who was found mummified last week in a hotel here, despite adamant protests to call off the examination from cultists who insist the man is still alive.|
323|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#20">Breatharians found guilty of manslaughter</a>|Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australia)|jasmuheen, ellen greve, breatharianism|1999/11/19|A husband and wife on trial for the manslaughter of a woman under their care during a 21-day meditation diet have been found guilty in the Supreme Court in Brisbane.|
324|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#21">Couple want LDS suit dismissed</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|mormonism, pseudo-christian, tanners, church handbook, lds, sandra tanner, utah lighthouse ministry|1999/11/16|LDS Church critics Jerald and Sandra Tanner are asking a federal court judge to dismiss a lawsuit claiming they violated copyright laws by posting parts of a Mormon Church handbook on the Internet.|
325|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#22">Family Conference Stumbles Over LDS Participation</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|mormonism|1999/11/15|Behind the scenes, however, organizers have had to defend the participation of some of its partners -- particularly members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.|
326|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#23">Popular LDS Genealogy Web Site Is Adding 240 Million More Names</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|mormonsm, genealogy|1999/11/16|Already the world's most extensive online genealogical collection, the LDS Church's 6-month-old, runaway Internet hit "FamilySearch" is about to get much bigger.|
327|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#24">Freemasons Set to Reveal Secrets on Internet</a>|Excite/Reuters|freemasons|1999/11/19|A group of British freemasons -- a secretive society famed for its men-only membership and behind-the-scenes influence -- is set to reveal the world of the secret handshake on the Internet.|
328|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#25">Patriarch Accuses Missionaries</a>|AOL/AP|russia, russian orthodox church, sects, cults|1999/11/15|Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Alexy II accused foreign missionaries on Wednesday of feeding psychedelic drugs to young people as a tool for winning converts, a news agency reported.|
329|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#26">Massachusetts high court throws out abuse finding against minister</a>|CNN/AP|spanking, corporal punishment|1999/11/17|The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court dismissed a child abuse charge against a minister who spanked his son, ruling Wednesday that child welfare officials provided inadequate evidence.|
330|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#27">Evangelist says Y2K isn't a big problem</a>|Alabama Live|garner ted armstrong, y2k, worldwide church of god, intercontinental church of god|1999/11/14|TV evangelist Garner Ted Armstrong assured about 200 followers Saturday that Y2K is nothing to be worried about, unless people panic.|
331|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#28">New score just in: Organized religion 9, Others 1</a>|Detroit News|statistics, atheism, organized religion, william murray, madalyn murray o'hair, american atheists|1999/11/17|People who answer "none" when asked their religious preference tend to be male, young, urban and single, according to a four-year study of the religious orientation of adult residents of the United States conducted by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University.|
332|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#29">Catholic bishops vote to certify theologians</a>|San Jose Mercury News|catholicism|1999/11/18|The nation's Roman Catholic bishops voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to require theology professors at Catholic colleges and universities to obtain certification from their bishops declaring that what they teach is &quot;authentic Catholic doctrine.&quot;|
333|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#30">A Question of Right and Wrong</a>|Los Angeles Times|character-based education|1999/11/17|A growing number of the country's school districts--including Los Angeles Unified--have decided that topics such as ethics and character development deserve a place in the curriculum alongside English and math.|
334|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#31">Cal Thomas: Faith and persecution</a>|Nando Times|cal thomas, persecution|1999/11/18|There has been a lot of talk like this lately. Christians and their &quot;values&quot; aren't getting the respect they deserve from non-Christians. In fact, say many on what the press calls the Religious Right, they are being persecuted for their beliefs.|
335|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#32">Leaders debate the changes that religious diversity brings to the millennium</a>|Star-Telegram|diversity, religous pluralism, interfaith, interdenominational, national council of churches, ncc|1999/11/14|On the eve of the third millennium of Christianity, 1,000 church leaders from dozens of denominations are meeting this week in Cleveland to wrestle with America's growing religious diversity and to explore how Americans' spiritual yearnings may change their churches.|
336|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#33">Film Review: 'Omega Code' a mega disaster</a>|Excite/U-wire|tbn, omega code, trinity broadcating network|1999/11/17|&quot;The Omega Code&quot; is a disaster. The only reason this movie ever made it to the big screen is because the Trinity Broadcasting Network funded millions of dollars.|
337|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991119.html#34">'Jesus in love' film backed by Vatican</a>|The Times (England)|film, jesus, vatican, catholicism, Ettore Bernabei|1999/11/18|An Italian film that shows Jesus in love has won the surprise backing of the Vatican. Alarmed officials had asked for an advance viewing of the film, to be broadcast on Italian television in the run up to Christmas. But yesterday Cardinal Poupard, the Vatican's head of culture, said it would be shown as part of a two-week Vatican film festival starting next weekend. He said the films had been chosen because they dealt with &quot;moral and spiritual values&quot;.|
338|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#1">Crushing the Cult of Doom</a>|Newsweek International|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/11/22|Four years after the subway gas attack, Japan prepares police and citizens alike for war on Aum Shinrikyo. Is this overkill?|
339|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#2">Police: Firm rented property to Aum</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/11/20|A real estate company in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, whose former president was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of obstructing public auctions, had served as a mediator for Aum Supreme Truth cult members to find accommodation, the Metropolitan Police Department said Friday.|
340|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#3">A Star Turn for China's Cult Buster</a>|New York Times|falun gong, china, sima nan, zhong gong, yuan ji gong and wang gong|1999/11/20|The animosity between Sima Nan and the Falun Gong spiritual movement goes back a few years, ever since Sima, China's one-man cult-bashing machine, denounced the group as a fraud in 1995, and the group's leader predicted that Sima would go blind and be crippled, Sima says.|
341|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#5">China Regrets Congress's Resolution on Falun Gong</a>|AOL/Reuters|falun gong, china, usa|1999/11/19|China said on Friday that it deeply regretted a U.S. congressional resolution on the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement and added that U.S. government criticism of a crackdown on the group could damage relations.|
342|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#6">Falun gong crackdown spreads to homes</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|china, falun gong|1999/11/19|Eight followers of the mystical Falungong sect have been sentenced to forced labour in China for practising the banned group's meditation exercises at home, a human rights group said Friday.|
343|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#7">Woman Falls Victim to Banned Evil Cult in Vancouver</a>|Northern Ligh/Xinhua|falun gong, china, canada|1999/11/19|Falun Gong, the evil cult banned in China, has claimed its first victim in Canada's Pacific city of Vancouver. Ms. Chen Xiaolin, 29, has been hospitalized for schizophrenia as a result of practicing Falun Gong, her mother told local television this week.|
344|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#8">Guilty finding for air diet pair</a>|The Courier Mail (Australia)|breatharianism, jasmuheen, lani morris|1999/11/20|A COUPLE who believe it is possible to live on air alone were found guilty of killing a fellow believer yesterday. A Supreme Court jury in Brisbane took three hours to find Jim Vadim Pesnak, 61, and his wife Eugenia, 63, responsible for the manslaughter of Lani Marsha Rosalind Morris.|
345|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#9">Breatharian couple convicted of killing fasting woman</a>|The Sunday Mail/AAP (Australia)|breatharianism, jasmuheen, lani morris|1999/11/21|The Pesnaks are followers of the breatharian philosophy and believe humans do not need food to survive and can live on air alone. Ms Morris travelled from her Melbourne home to undertake a 21-day initiation process into breatharianism which involved seven days without any nourishment at all including water, and then a further 14 days on limited liquids. After a week, Ms Morris appeared to be paralysed down one side, could not talk, was vomiting a black tar-like substance and eventually was so ill she had trouble breathing.|
346|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#10">Quest for inner peace led Lani to a cruel death</a>|The Australian (Australia)|breatharianism, jasmuheen, lani morris|1999/11/20|No one will ever know the suffering Lani Morris must have endured as she lay alone in a caravan, paralysed down her right side, delirious and coughing black liquid. Certainly not Jim or Eugenia Pesnak. They were convinced Morris, 53, was suffering a spiritual crisis, not a medical one, after going seven days without food or water as part of a 21-day initiation into the new-age cult of breatharianism.|
347|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#11">Association status just</a>|Stuttgarter Nachrichten (Germany)|scientology, germany|1999/11/19|The Scientology Organization has attained a victory in the dispute with the Stuttgart administrative presidium. According to a decision which has just been released by the administrative court of Stuttgart, the sect branch of Dianetics Stuttgart may retain its association status. The administrative presidium had revoked the status of an association with legal rights from the group in August 1994.|
348|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#12">Battle over mummified body revives cult concerns in Japan</a>|Nando Times|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/11/19|When police entered the hotel room, they found a dead man's wife and son keeping vigil over the man's partially mummified body on the bed. But when authorities tried to remove the body, the wife and son protested - saying he was still alive.|
349|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#13">Anti-Semitic Book Seized in Hungary</a>|Northern Light/AP|anti-semitism, hate groups, hungary, protocol of the elders of zion|1999/11/19|Police raided bookstores in three Hungarian towns, confiscating copies of a banned anti-Semitic work written a hundred years ago, state-run radio reported Friday.|
350|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#14">FBI: Race Motivates Hate Crimes</a>|AOL/AP|fbi, racism, religion, hate groups, hate crimes|1999/11/18|Racial prejudice motivated more than half the 7,755 hate crimes committed in 1998 that were reported to the FBI, the bureau said Thursday. As in 1997 and 1996, racial prejudice was the most common motivation for hate crimes, accounting for 4,321 incidents in 1998.|
351|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#15">34 'Witches' Killed</a>|News Wire (England)|witchcraft, tanzania|1999/11/20|At least 34 people, mostly elderly women, have been killed in westernTanzania as suspected witches this year, according to local authorities.|
352|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#16">Orkney Farmer Finds Forgotten Pagan Temple</a>|Fox News/The Times|paganism|1999/11/19|On an island already rich in prehistoric monuments, the most famous being the coastal Stone Age village of Skara Brae, his find has emerged as unique in Europe and could be of huge importance in understanding the pagan ceremonies of early human beings.|
353|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#17">Officials stymied in search for 2 children</a>|Boston Globe|sect, boston, attleboro cult, faith healing|1999/11/19|A source close to the investigation said that one of the boys may have died after being &quot;more or less starved to death after being fed the wrong foods&quot; because of the sect's fundamental religious beliefs.(...)The district attorney also issued a poster with pictures of the four men believed to have buried the bodies. The men have not been charged with any crime, but Walsh identified them as David Corneau, 32, Mark Daneau, 25, Timothy Daneau, 22, and Jacques Robidoux, 26, all members of the religious sect that has property in Seekonk and Attleboro.|
354|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#18">Explorer who found Titanic says Black Sea formed by ancient flood</a>|CNN|science, flood, robert ballard|1999/11/19|The man who tracked down the Titanic and other undersea mysteries has found evidence that the Black Sea was inundated in a giant flood about 7,000 years ago -- perhaps the biblical flood of Noah.|
355|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#19">Church approves new prayer to God the mother</a>|The Times (England)|church of england, inclusive language|1999/11/19|God will be described as a mother in a prayer overwhelming approved by the Church of England General Synod yesterday, as bishops vehemently denied that they were victims of modern feminist fashions.|
356|<a 20href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#20">British churches offer more than millennium hangover</a>|Charisma Daily News|alpha course, holy trinity brompton, millennium|1999/11/19|Churches in Britain have joined forces to challenge people to mark the millennium celebrations with more than a hangover. They are distributing party packs that contain everything needed for a New Year's bash--plus an invitation to find out more about Jesus.|
357|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#21">Benny Hinn</a>|KDFW/Fox 4 Investigates|benny hinn, ole anthony, trinity foundation, richard fisher|1999/11/01|He takes his ministry across the country and around the world, and thousands upon thousands flock to see him. But he's also attracting a growing army of critics, who challenge his somewhat unorthodox theology, his lavish lifestyle, and his claims of miraculous healings.|
358|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#22">Jews and Baptists May Meet on Evangelism Dispute</a>|New York Times|jews, baptists, evangelism, proselytizing, religious intolerance|1999/11/20|Ever since late September, just after the Jewish High Holy Days, a rather pointed exchange of letters has flowed between officials of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the Rev. Paige Patterson, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination.|
359|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#23">&quot;Come to me&quot; incense and &quot;catch a man&quot; powder sold in Botanica</a>|Northern Light/Agencia EFE|santeria, voodoo, |1999/11/19|In New Orleans' F&F Botanica store, devotees of the spiritual world encompassing African, Caribbean, Iberian and American lore find more than 6,000 products to whet or calm their faith, their worries, their loves and fortunes.|
360|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#24">Bible Literacy: Knowledge withers away when fewer read the Good Book</a>|Star-Telegram|bible, george barna, index of leading spiritual indicators|1999/11/18|National studies show a decline in biblical literacy -- a fact that affects both American and the understanding of American culture.|
361|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#25">Many people believe in the devil but don't blame him for evil in the world</a>|Star-Telegram|devil, evil, satan, left behind, omega code|1999/11/18|Yet, some show that the number of people who believe in the existence of the devil is declining. The most recent Gallup Poll in 1996 found that 56 percent of people surveyed said they believe in the existence of the devil, down from 65 percent in 1994.|
362|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#26">UC-Davis prof uses statistics to test psychic claims</a>|Excite/U-wire|psychic, parapsychology, jessica utts|1999/11/17|If you ever thought you could visualize a distant place or could telecommunicate with others, you may not be as crazy as you thought. Jessica Utts, a UC-Davis statistics professor, has raised many eyebrows with claims like this one, which she has defended on major network shows like CNN's &quot;Morning News&quot; and &quot;Larry King Live,&quot; ABC's &quot;20/20&quot; and &quot;Nightline.&quot; She said she believes that through the use of scientific analysis and statistics, she has found conclusive evidence for parapsychological activity.|
363|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#27">Boomers' concept of religion still changing, 'more mature,' author says</a>|Star-Telegram|wade clark roof, generation of seekers, new age, religious pluralism, cults, relativism, metaphysics|1999/11/19|When Wade Clark Roof published his influential book on baby boomers and religion six years ago, he found that the post-World War II generation was not just looking to change the way it worships, but was changing the way worship looks.|
364|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#1">U.S. fights gunfire test in siege case</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, fbi, branch davidians|1999/11/23|day of the Branch Davidian siege and instead proposed that a judge commission studies of what gunfire might look like - or if would show up at all - on the infrared camera the FBI used that day.|
365|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#2">Cop 'guns down' AUM poster suspects</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/11/22|Unfortunately for the unnamed 50-year-old officer, though, the shot he fired from his pistol earlier this month struck a wanted poster for three doomsday cultists who've been on the run since the gassing. The real fugitives were unhurt.|
366|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#3">Life Space guru denies suggesting man leave hospital</a>|Japan Times|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/11/22|The founder of the Life Space self-enlightenment group on Monday denied responsibility for moving a member of the group from a hospital in Hyogo Prefecture to a hotel in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, where the man's mummified corpse was found earlier this month.|
367|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#4">Police search cult facilities</a>|Asahi Daily News (Japan)|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/11/24|Investigators this morning searched the facilities of a self-enlightenment cult that kept the mummified body of a follower at a hotel near Narita airport, Chiba police said.|
368|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#7">12 more Falun Gong members reportedly put in labor camps</a>|Nando Times|china, falun gong|1999/11/23|Chinese authorities have sent 12 more members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement to labor camps, a human rights group said Tuesday.|
369|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#8">Scientology prompts review of death case</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology, lisa mcpherson|1999/11/24|In an unusual step, Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Joan Wood has agreed to reconsider her conclusions in the 1995 death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson. Lawyers for the Church of Scientology have given Wood new evidence that, they say, casts doubt on Wood's original opinion: that McPherson was severely dehydrated when she died while in the care of Scientology staffers.|
370|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#9">NOTs temporarily protected</a>|Dagens Nyheter (Sweden)|scientology, sweden, copyright|1999/11/22|The legislative council [who prepares laws] has accepted the change in The Official Secrets Act that was proposed by the government. However, this is to be viewed as a temporary measure, and in the long-term view a simple change should be made in The Freedom of the Press Act.|
371|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#10">Judge believes Tanners will lose</a>|Deseret News|mormonism, pseudo-christian, tanners, church handbook, lds, sandra tanner, utah lighthouse ministry|1999/11/20|U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell has continued a restraining order that prevents LDS Church critics Jerald and Sandra Tanner from posting on their Internet site transcripts of a church handbook or directing others to Web sites where the material was posted.|
372|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#11">Moon youth group wins case</a>|Stetson University|carp, russia, sun myung moon, unification church, religious freedom|1999/11/12|On Nov. 5, 1999 the final hearing took place in the St. Petersburg City Court of two separate suits to liquidate the Collegiate Association for Research of the Principle (CARP), a public student organization founded by Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Judge Svetlana Masolova rejected the claims of the City Prosecutor and the St. Petersburg Justice Department.|
373|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#12">United Pagan Allied Network reaches out to conquer negative stereotypes</a>|Excite/U-wire|paganism, neo-paganism, wicca|1999/11/19|UPAN was formed at USF to fight such stereotypes and to teach others of the ways of paganism.|
374|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#13">Neo-nazi group banned from poll</a>|News Wire (England)|neo-nazi, hate groups, russia|1999/11/24|A Moscow court has barred a neo-Nazi movement from competing in next month's parliamentary elections.|
375|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#14">Cops snare bat-attack cultists for bashing</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, cult|1999/11/21|Eight followers of a Shizuoka-based cult have been arrested after abducting a woman from her home to make her attend the cult's seminars and assaulting and injuring three men in the process, police said on Saturday.|
376|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#15">Pala cult member convicted of 17 counts in crime spree</a>|San Diego Union-Tribune|the gatekeepers, pala|1999/11/23|A Superior Court jury that convicted a 26-year-old man yesterday of numerous charges, including an attempt to murder a police officer, is now being asked to decide whether he was sane when the crimes occurred.|
377|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#16">Buyers Snap Up Heaven's Gate Goods</a>|Los Angeles Times|heaven's gate|1999/11/21|Just another Saturday and just another estate sale--except that the stuff in this estate was left by the 39 Heaven's Gate cultists who committed suicide in March 1997.|
378|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#17">Police Raid Another Tutsi Cult Camp</a>|Northern Light/ANS|nabassa-gwajwa, world message last warning church, africa, tutsi, wilson bushara, uganda|1999/11/21|On September 18, 250 - heavily-armed policemen invaded the camp of a self-styled prophet Wilson Bushara of the World Message Last Warning Church. The camp at Bukoto in Nakasongola accommodated over 1,000 followers who had to surrender their wealth to Bushara for places in heaven.|
379|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#18">Despite protests, Muslims lay mosque cornerstone in Nazareth</a>|CNN|islam, israel, religious freedom, religious intolerance|1999/11/23|Undeterred by Christian protests that shuttered key holy sites for a second day, Muslims in the town of Jesus' boyhood on Tuesday unveiled the massive cornerstone for a mosque to be built in the shadow of a major Christian shrine.|
380|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#19">Israel Religious Leaders Seek Peace</a>|Northern Light/AP|interfaith, israel, dalai lama|1999/11/22|From the same Sea of Galilee shores where Jesus preached his message of peace, religious leaders have appealed to their followers to stop making religion a source of conflict in the next millennium.|
381|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#20">Muslim Mom Says Group Prejudiced</a>|Washington Post|islam, interfaith|1999/11/21|But instead of help, Muhammad said, she got a dose of discrimination after telling a worker at Prince William Interfaith Caregivers that she is Muslim. Muhammad alleges that the group denied her request because it does not serve Muslims, leaving her stranded without transportation for her son.|
382|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#21">In Russia, Court Eases Curb in Law On Religion</a>|International Herald Tribune|russia, religious freedom, jehovah's witnesses|1999/11/24|The Russian Constitutional Court eased a restriction in a controversial 1997 religion law Tuesday, but at the same time upheld the overall right of the government to limit the activity of religious faiths, which has been widely criticized in the West.|
383|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#22">Russian court loosens bonds on religious groups</a>|CNN/Reuters|russia, religious freedom, jehovah's witnesses|1999/11/23|Russia's Constitutional Court loosened the bonds restricting religious groups in the former Soviet state on Tuesday, a move the Jehovah's Witnesses hailed as a step forward for human rights.|
384|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#23">Proselytizing Criticized in Nepal</a>|AOL/AP|proselytizing, evangelism, nepal|1999/11/22|Three weeks after the pope called for missionaries to spread Catholicism throughout Asia, Hindu and Buddhist priests Sunday passed a resolution to stay united against proselytizing.|
385|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#24">Hindus picket Baptist church in Boston over prayer book</a>|Star-telegram|proselytizing, evangelism, hinduism, religious intolerance|1999/11/21|Nearly four dozen Hindus picketed outside a church Sunday to protest a Southern Baptist Convention prayer booklet that said Hindus have &quot;darkness in their hearts that no lamp can dispel.&quot;|
386|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#25">Out of This World</a>|Washington Post|capture by aliens, joel achenbach, book review, _ufo_|1999/11/21|And when Achenbach meets with alien true believers, such as Roswell aficionado Philip Corso, he is confronted with an uncomfortable choice:&quot;Either he saw an alien corpse, and later became engaged in a massive program to reverse-engineer UFO technology, which in turn helped win the Cold War and stave off the full-bore alien invasion -- or his tale is a lie.|
387|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#5">Man wins battle for Life Space kid</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/11/24|A man received custody of his granddaughter from a family court in Hokkaido because her parents, members of the controversial cult Life Space, had not been taking sufficient care of her, court sources have revealed.|
388|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991124.html#6">Life Space puts legal experts in holy confusion</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/11/23|Life Space members are quick to dismiss charges of wrongdoing, but legal experts aren't so sure.|
389|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991120.html#4">China: $15m supernatural test</a>|Yahoo! Asia|china, falun gong, sima nan, james randi|1999/11/20|A reward worth more than US$2 million (HK$15.5 million) is being offered to anyone who can prove, under strict scientific conditions, that they have supernatural powers.|
390|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/an991111.html#19">Barr's Witch Project: Lawmaker Wants to Ban Witches from the Military</a>|Law Street|wicca, witchraft, occult|1999/11/01|It is considered one of the fastest growing religions in the country, drawing everyone from teenage girls to retired businessmen.|
391|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#1">Couple sent to jail over breatharian-fast death</a>|The Australian (Australia)|breatharians, jasmuheen, lani morris|1999/11/27|A couple who claimed people could live on air were sentenced to prison yesterday for allowing a woman to become critically ill during a &quot;spiritual cleansing&quot; process from which she died.|
392|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#2">Prison for air cult disciples</a>|The Courier Mail (Australia)|breatharianism, jasmuheen, lani morris|1999/11/27|Justice Wilson said it was important &quot;that other members of the community be deterred from such dangerous, cruel and inhumane conduct, albeit in the pursuit of spiritual beliefs&quot;.|
393|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#3">Life Space sites raided; children taken into custody</a>|Japan Times|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/11/24|During the raids, authorities said they found nine children inside some of the Life Space facilities and took them in to protective custody under the Child Welfare Law because they were determined to be receiving &quot;inappropriate care.&quot;|
394|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#4">Cult raided</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/11/25|Many Life Space cultists are reportedly not letting their children attend schools, and police are probing the children's cases carefully to see whether child welfare laws have been breached.|
395|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#5">Japan's police remove children from bizarre Life Space cult</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP (Japan)|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/11/24|The Life Space leader's strange declarations have caught the headlines in Japanese tabloid television. In one interview, Takahashi pointed to the veins in his hands and claimed, &quot;Air is running through here.&quot;|
396|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#6">Police raid Life Space facilities, take kids into protective custody</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/11/25|There were reports of trouble when family members belonging to the group asked for permission to take their children out of the group's facilities.|
397|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#7">Cultists protest loss of children</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/11/27|Members of a cult visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Office on Friday and presented a letter demanding an explanation as to why police took the children of some of its members into protective care.|
398|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#8">Stayin' alive</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/11/21|Cross AUM Shinrikyo with the Unification Church, suggests Focus (11/24), and behold a new mystery called Life Space.|
399|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#9">China expells Aussies for involvement in sect</a>|Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australia)|china, falun gong|1999/11/27|Four Australian members of a spiritual group have been expelled from China two days after their arrest.|
400|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#10">Detained in China</a>|ABC News/AP|china, falun gong|1999/11/26|Police detained an American, two Australians and a Swedish student in southern China at a gathering of the banned sect Falun Gong, a human rightsgroup and diplomats said today.|
401|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#11">China imposes new laws for mass meetings</a>|Detroit News|china, falun gong|1999/11/24|China has set tough new rules for public gatherings that require groups of more than 200 people to first get government approval, the official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday.|
402|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#12">China 'reeducates' its government workers</a>|Philadelphia Inquirer|china, falun gong|1999/11/25|China is moving to purge half of its 33 million government workers through a &quot;reeducation&quot; program designed to reassert the dominance of the Communist Party.|
403|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#13">China Puts Four From Sect on Trial</a>|Northern Light/AP|china, falun gong|1999/11/25|Four followers of Falun Gong went on trial Thursday on charges of illegally publishing 50,000 books for the banned Chinese sect, a human rights group said.|
404|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#14">Waco Investigator Gets Shell Casings </a>|AOL/AP|waco, fbi, branch davidians|1999/11/24|A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the FBI to turn over a dozen bullet shell casings to the special counsel re-investigating the Branch-Davidian siege, but did not respond to a request for the FBI guns.|
405|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#15">Years After Davidian Cult Fire, Legal Battles Gather Force</a>|New York Times|waco, fbi, branch davidians|1999/11/26|Six years after David Koresh's strange ministry of God and guns ended in flames at the Branch Davidians' compound near Waco, more questions than answers continue to rise out of the ashes.|
406|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#16">L. Ron Speaks!</a>|LA Weekly|scientology, l. ron hubbard|1999/11/26|Don’t go looking for this maxim in your Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations — but you just might find it in your local newspaper, courtesy of Scientology. The IRS-designated religion — ministry to the stars (John Travolta, Jenna Elfman, Tom Cruise), owner of vast worldwide holdings and co-sponsor of this year’s Hollywood Christmas Parade — has been mailing out this and other pearls from the lips of founder L. Ron Hubbard to newspaper &quot;Quote of the Week&quot; sections.|
407|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#17">Planning Office has its eye on Scientology</a>|Sueddeutsche Zeitung (Germany)|scientology, germany, munich|1999/11/24|Is Scientology a religion or a cut-and-dried business operation? A legal proceeding between the Scientology Church Germany, Inc, and the Municipal Planning Office has been reduced to this question in the Munich Administrative Court.|
408|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#18">Scientology moves into the city</a>|Hamburger Abendblatt (Germany)|scientology, germany, hamburg|1999/11/24|The sale was managed allegedly through an attorney's office in Washington. The sale price was said to have been set at 20 million marks, which was paid for by the American Scientology center. The appearance of the Americans as buyers emphasizes, in the opinion of Reinhard Wagner, Hamburg Constitutional Security President, &quot;the high importance which the Hamburg organization holds in the USA.&quot;|
409|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#19">U.S. judge weighing online restrictions in LDS copyright case</a>|Desert News|mormonism, pseudo-christian, tanners, church handbook, lds, sandra tanner, utah lighthouse ministry|1999/11/24|A federal judge is deciding whether to keep in place restrictions against LDS Church critics Jerald and Sandra Tanner until a suit filed against them by the copyright holder of church manuals is resolved.|
410|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#20">Mormons' property buy challenged</a>|USA Today|lds, mormonism, pseudo-christian, utah|1999/11/23|On the streets downtown, it can be hard to know where the Mormon church ends and secular commerce begins.|
411|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#21">Mormon church flourishes in the South</a>|CNN/AP|lds, mormonism|1999/11/26|The church is now working to increase the number of temples in areas with growing membership. Some Southern states have seen their Mormon population grow by 80 percent to 100 percent since 1980, according to statistics in a church-sponsored almanac.|
412|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#22">'Prophet' Relies More On Faith Than on Fact</a>|Washington Post|lds, mormonism, pseudo-christian, joseph smith|1999/11/26|&quot;In all these affidavits, indictments, it is all of the Devil--all corruption. Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All Hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had.&quot; That quote speaks volumes about the man, but unfortunately you won't find it in &quot;American Prophet.&quot;|
413|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#23">End may be nigh for cult members</a>|AOL/Reuters|cults, england, _inform_, cult information centre, _fair_|1999/11/24|As millions across Britain party the night away this millennium New Year, for some it may be that the end of the world is really nigh.|
414|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#24">Vietnam has 31 illegal religious cults - media</a>|AOL/Reuters|vietnam, cults|1999/11/23|Communist Vietnam has 31 illegal religious cults that mainly exist in rural areas, official media reported.|
415|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#25">New Buddhist sect worries traditionalists</a>|Seattle Post-Intelligencer|thailand, buddhism, dhammakaya|1999/11/25|The movement calls itself Dhammakaya (pronounced tah-mah-guy), and the circular shape of its main temple is meant to represent the universe, a fitting symbol: Its leaders intend it to become the central landmark of world Buddhism, a sort of Vatican or Mecca for their faith, whether the established hierarchy likes it or not.|
416|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#26">Doctors in Jerusalem Bracing for a Surge of 'Saviors'</a>|New York Times|israel, jerusalem syndrome|1999/11/26|The clinic is currently treating three foreigners affected by what is known here as Jerusalem Syndrome, Dr. Katz said, including a woman convinced she is a prophet.|
417|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#27">British Mother Can Stop Son's Circumcision - Court</a>|Excite/Reuters|circumcision, islam, england|1999/11/26|A British mother won a landmark legal victory Thursday to stop her five-year-old son undergoing ritual circumcision at the wishes of his Muslim father.|
418|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#28">Judge strikes down fortune telling ban</a>|Boston Globe|fortune telling, psychic|1999/11/24|After a 17-year ban, fortune tellers may be back in business in New Iberia, La. A federal judge on Tuesday struck down New Iberia's 1982 ban on palm reading and fortune telling saying the southern Louisiana town of 31,800 went too far to protect its residents and had created a threat to their First Amendment rights.|
419|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#29">Healer lets fly at Clinton over feather</a>|Sunday Times (South Africa)|roy little sun|1999/11/21|Roy Little Sun, a &quot;peace messenger&quot; from Arizona, has taken his two-year campaign to retrieve the feather right to the top - the White House. The humble spiritual healer believes the feather - from an endangered American spotted eagle - is a vital symbol for reconciliation, the healing of Africa and, ultimately, global peace.|
420|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#30">Scroll fragments tell professor an amazing story</a>|Nando Times|bible, dead sea scrolls, science|1999/11/25|&quot;In particular, the vast amount of data about first-century Judaism found in the scrolls has confirmed the trustworthiness of the portrait of Jesus found in the four canonical gospels,&quot; he said. &quot;This is just one reason why I believe the Bible we have is truly the word of God.&quot;|
421|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#31">Site of Goliath's home town unearthed.</a>|Northern Light/M2 Communications Ltd.|archeology, science|1999/11/25|Tel Gath, the site of Goliath's home town, is one of the largest tels (ancient ruin mounds) in Israel and was settled almost continuously from the fifth century BC until modern times.|
422|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991127.html#32">May the 'life force' be with you</a>|The Telegraph (England)|plants, new age|1999/11/24|The plants, flowers, herbs and roots are gathered by hand immediately before sunrise, when the &quot;life force&quot; is believed to be at its strongest.|
423|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#1">Waco reignited</a>|St. Petersburg Times|waco, branch davidians, fbi, mike mcnulty, rick van vleet, david hardy, rules of engagement, a new revelation, southern poverty law center|1999/11/28|What McNulty found became grim accusation in a documentary, Waco: A New Revelation, to be released this week, and evidence in a wrongful-death suit against the government slated for trial next year.(...)McNulty hosted a radio talk show on KHNC in nearby Johnstown, a station the Southern Poverty Law Center labeled anti-Semitic and racist. He was already hip-deep in his work on Waco. McNulty, a congressional aide once observed, is No. 1 in the &quot;nut-case crowd.&quot;|
424|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#2">China Said to Detain 35,000 in Sect</a>|Washington Post|china, falun gong|1999/11/30|Chinese police detained more than 35,000 practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual movement in Beijing alone between July 22--the day the group was banned--and Oct. 30, a human rights organization reported today.|
425|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#3">China state-run publisher hit for Falun Gong books</a>|AOL/Reuters|china, falun gong|1999/11/29|Although the books were published months before Communist authorities banned Falun Gong in July, SPPA officials told Xinhua the publisher had seriously violated China's laws.|
426|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#4">John Travolta, Out on the 'Battlefield'</a>|Washington Post|scientology, battlefield earth, john travolta|1999/11/28|But maybe this has everything to do with a cult: a paranoid, insular group that refuses to answer further questions from the press because it hopes to wring as much money from the public as possible and doesn't believe in giving away its secrets for free. It's about a hierarchy that hopes to dominate the world with its propaganda and turn us all into robotic supplicants. (...)Church policy letters show that Scientology wants to eradicate psychiatry and psychology, as well as gain control, or the allegiance, of &quot;key political figures&quot; and the proprietors of &quot;all news media.&quot; Its avowed goal is to &quot;Clear the Planet&quot; – that is, to turn everyone into a Scientologist who has achieved the level of &quot;Clear&quot; through Hubbard's books, drills and E-meter.|
427|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#5">Ruling delayed on critic of church</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology, clearwater, bob minton, cosharassment|1999/11/30|After a nine-hour hearing Monday, a judge said he needed more time to decide whether one of the the Church of Scientology's most vocal critics can continue to picket in front of church properties in downtown Clearwater.|
428|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#6">Scientology feud 'concerns' judge</a>|Tampa Tribune|Scientology, bob minton, clearwater, cosharassment|1999/11/30|&quot;I'm concerned that both sides seem to have a fetish with getting within two feet of one another,&quot;' Judge Thomas Penick said. &quot;I saw in video after video that you couldn't get a piece of paper between these people ... the whole situation concerns me, quite frankly,&quot; the judge said in Pinellas Circuit Court.|
429|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#7">Suspicion Follows Rev. Moon to South America</a>|New York Times|unification church, sun myung moon, jardim, brazil, uruguay, south america, project hope|1999/11/28|But increasingly, Moon's visible presence here is generating the same sort of opposition and suspicion that has followed him elsewhere around the world during a long career as the self-proclaimed &quot;true father&quot; and successor to Jesus Christ. &quot;No one knows what he's up to out there, what are the objectives of his investments or the origins of his money,&quot; the governor, Jose Orcirio Miranda dos Santos, said in an interview. &quot;This has become an issue of national security, and I think an investigation is needed.&quot;(...)In October, local Roman Catholic and Protestant churches jointly issued an open letter accusing Moon of 10 forms of heresy, urging &quot;the people of God to keep their distance from the Unification sect,&quot; and calling on local officials to &quot;have the courage to remove this danger.&quot;|
430|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#8">Witnesses face more shut doors</a>|Dallas Morning News|jehovah's witnesses|1999/11/27|Witnesses have broadened their strategy, maneuvering around the boundaries of closed communities by writing letters or phoning prospects, but only on a small scale.|
431|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#9">Public inquiry into cult follower's death ruled out</a>|News Wire (England)|jasmuheen, ellen greve, breatharianism, verity linn|1999/11/29|The death of a woman who followed a cult which encourages &quot;living on light&quot; will not be the subject of a fatal accident inquiry, it was confirmed today. Alasdair MacDonald, procurator fiscal for Dornoch, north east Scotland, said the decision had been taken in conjunction with the family of Verity Linn.|
432|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#10">Lyric From the Koran Is Off-Key in Lebanon</a>|International Herald Tribune|lebanon, islam, koran, marcel khalife|1999/11/30|When he goes on trial for blasphemy in Lebanon this week, Marcel Khalife, one of the Arab world's best-loved singer-songwriters, is prepared to give the court an earful - whether or not he is sentenced to prison.|
433|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#11">Missing child believed starved to death, official says</a>|Boston Globe|sect, boston, samuel robidoux, attleboro cult, faith healing|1999/11/28|One of two children missing from an Attleboro religious community and feared dead is believed to have been starved to death, because a member of the community had a vision in which God told the mother to switch the child from solid food to breast milk.|
434|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#12">New religious cult under fire for fraud</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/11/30|Ho No Hana is being sued by people demanding the return of exorbitant fees they paid to take part in religious rites that were supposed to relieve them from earthly troubles.|
435|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#13">EBay Nixes Heaven's Gate Auctions</a>|APB Online|heaven's gate|1999/11/29|Citing legal concerns, the Internet auction Web site eBay has temporarily banned sales of possessions formerly owned by the Heaven's Gate cult.|
436|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#14">Millennium sect heads for the hills</a>|BBC|millennium, doomsday, philippines|1999/11/19|A religious sect in the Philippines believes that the new millennium will mean the end of the world, so it has gone to the lengths of constructing a warren of caverns where its followers can shelter from a rain of fire that they believe will destroy the earth.|
437|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#15">Hospital deal creates religion questions</a>|St. Petersburg Times|seventh-day adventists|1999/11/29|Adventist Health System is &quot;very much a Christian health care organization,&quot;said spokeswoman Christine To. Conflict can arise when one denomination's beliefs begin to influence health care in a public hospital that serves people of many religious traditions.|
438|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#16">Battle won as Sikh school joins state sector</a>|The Guardian (England)|sikhism|1999/11/29|Britain's first state-funded Sikh school will be officially opened this week, marking the successful end of a two-year local campaign.|
439|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#17">'Apostle' of prosperity puts Cleveland church in crisis</a>|Cleveland Plain Dealer|prosperity teaching, matthew ferguson|1999/11/28|He was God's apostle to Middle America, he told them, one of Jesus' modern-day 12. He talked of making Full Gospel the mother church of a religious empire that would grow to 2.5 million within five years. He told church leaders he would make them millionaires within a year, and free members from their personal debts.|
440|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#18">The celebrity way of yoga</a>|The Times (England)|yoga, asantra|1999/11/30|Astanga - pronounced ashtanga - was almost unheard of in the West ten years ago. Today there are 10 million practitioners in America and hundreds more here. It has become the fastest-growing yoga school outside India and is the one that also explains Sting's incredible equipoise.|
441|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#19">Alpha to The Rescue</a>|TIME International|alpha course, holy trinity brompton|1999/11/22|So many people were searching, and so appealing did they find Gumbel's recipe, that the five Alpha courses available at htb in 1992 have now swelled to more than 13,000 around the world.|
442|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#20">Southern Baptists warned; Chicago religious leaders question mission plan</a>|Star-Telegram|interfaith, proselytizing, evangelism, religious intolerance|1999/11/28|Religious leaders are asking Southern Baptists to reconsider sending thousands of missionaries to Chicago next summer as part of the church's plan to expand outside its southern stronghold. Members of an interdenominational coalition say they fear that the missionaries' presence could spark violence against Jews, Hindus and Muslims, whom the Southern Baptists have said they want to convert to Christianity.|
443|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#21">Conference to focus on religious unity</a>|Star-Telegram|parliament of world religions, council for a parliament of the world's religions, interfaith, religious pluralism|1999/11/26|The first Parliament of the World's Religions was held in 1893 in Chicago, and a century later the Parliament again convened there. At the 1993 conference, participants wore buttons declaring: &quot;There is One God. We Are All One.&quot;|
444|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#22">Idaho Christians Rally Round a Cross on a Hill</a>|New York Times|american atheists, religious intolerance, religious freedom, rob sherman|1999/11/29|Two weeks ago Rob Sherman, a Chicago talk-radio host and an atheist, ignited a passionate debate here in a speech to Idaho atheists by suggesting that the land transaction was rigged and that a federal lawsuit should be filed to bring down the cross.|
445|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#23">President of Christian Research Institute Takes on His Peers In Controversial New Book About Y2K </a>|Excite/PR Newswire|christian research institute, hank hanegraaff, y2k, james dobson, jerry falwell, james kennedy, millennium|1999/11/24|Author, radio show host and president of the Christian Research Institute, Hank Hanegraaff, questions the credibility and accuracy of some of the top religious leaders in America on their views of the Y2K bug in his new book, &quot;The Millennium Bug Debugged.&quot;|
446|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991201.html#24">'A Pecular People' - The Mystical and Pragmatic Appeal of Mormonism</a>|Los Angeles Times|lds, mormonism, pseudo-christian, mormon america, ostling|1999/11/28|If opponents of Mormonism have often asked, &quot;Can't we stop the Mormons from being Mormon?&quot;, ostensible admirers of Mormons as people have often asked, at least by implication, &quot;Can't we have Mormons--but without Mormonism?&quot;|
447|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#1">Aum admits cultists' link to subway sarin attack</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/12/02|The Aum Supreme Truth cult on Wednesday admitted for the first time that some of its members were involved in a series of crimes, including the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.|
448|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#2">Japan Doomsday Cult Apologizes For Sarin Gas Attack</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AP|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/12/01|&quot;We now offer our sincere apology for the victims and their family members,&quot; acting leader Tatsuko Muraoka said in a statement, adding that Aum will make &quot;as much compensation as possible.&quot;|
449|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#3">Japan sect apologises for gas attack</a>|BBC|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/12/01|The move comes two weeks after the Japanese parliament passed strict legislation against the sect. But Ms Muraoka denied the apology was an attempt to protect the cult from being targeted under the new law.|
450|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#4">Aum member gets suspended sentence</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/12/02|The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday handed down a sentence of six months, suspended for three years, to a member of the Aum Supreme Truth cult who illegally entered condominium complexes to distribute fliers defending the cult.|
451|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#5">Religious group searched over fraud</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/02|Police on Wednesday searched for evidence 74 offices and facilities linked to the Ho-no-Hana Sampogyo religious group on suspicion that its leader and senior members have defrauded at least three housewives of about 22 million yen by falsely claiming to cure their illnesses through training and purchases of ornaments from the group.|
452|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#6">Foot-reading cult raided over scam to fleece flock</a>|Japan Times|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/01|Police raided offices and gathering spots Wednesday linked to Honohana Sanpogyo over allegations that the religious sect duped thousands of people into paying large sums to cure serious illnesses it diagnosed through reading the soles of their feet.|
453|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#7">Police search religious group</a>|Asahi Daily News (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/01|Since 1996, 1,100 people have sued Ho no Hana Sanpogyo and its leader, Hogen Fukunaga, 54, in 10 district courts, including those in Tokyo and Shizuoka.|
454|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#8">Cult manual resembles scare tactic bible</a>|Japan Times|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/01|The document, &quot;A training manual for foot diagnosticians,&quot; instructs the diagnosticians to instill fear in the people whose soles they are &quot;reading&quot; by claiming they may commit suicide or suffer cancer if they do not take the sect's training sessions, which cost more than 2 million yen to join, the sources alleged.|
455|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#9">Religious group disturbing neighbors, authorities alike</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/02|The number of followers of the Ho-no-Hana Sampogyo religious group, founded in 1980, has increased rapidly due to the group's aggressive use of media, including television and magazines. But there have been many problems between the group and its former followers as well as residents in communities where its offices and meeting halls are located.|
456|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#10">German official gets suspended sentence for Scientology probe</a>|Nando Times|germany, switzerland, scientology|1999/11/30|A Swiss court gave a German official a 30-day suspended jail sentence Tuesday for attempting to spy on the Church of Scientology for German intelligence.|
457|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#11">Freiburg official did not know Swiss law</a>|Sindelfinger Zeitung (Switzerland)|germany, switzerland, scientology|1999/12/01|The officer asserted in court that he had not known that mere contact with Swiss citizens was prohibited foreign activity. That sort of thing is legal in Germany.|
458|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#12">Scientology work limits protesters</a>|St. Petersburg Times|usa, scientology, clearwater, lisa mcpherson|1999/12/01|And, now, a newer tradition: the annual game of cat and mouse between the Church of Scientology and about two dozen of its most vocal critics, who for three years have gathered in Clearwater to stage protests on the anniversary of the Dec. 5, 1995, death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson.|
459|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#13">Alternate Waco test suggested</a>|Deseret News|waco, fbi, branch davidians|1999/11/28|In lieu of a gunfire-and-videotape simulation proposed by survivors of the 1993 Waco siege, the government is suggesting a test of its own to put to rest a nagging question: Did federal agents fire any shots at the Branch Davidians?|
460|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#14">Leader faces 10 years' jail for sect tapes</a>|South China Morning Post/AFP|china, falun gong|1999/11/26|A Falun Gong leader who allegedly amassed one of the largest collections of video and audio cassettes promoting the spiritual sect's teachings has been formally charged, a human rights group reported yesterday. Xu Jinliang, a manager in Shandong province, is facing at least 10 years in jail for allegedly creating 4.3 million cassette tapes, the Hong Kong-based Information Centre of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said.|
461|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#15">Falun Gong organiser's appeals dismissed</a>|BBC|china, falun gong|1999/11/30|It estimated that 2,000 Falun Gong members have been sent to labour camps and said the number was growing. Police in China have the authority to send criminal suspects to labour camps for up to three years without trial.|
462|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991202.html#16">Falun Gong organiser's appeals dismissed</a>|BBC|china, falun gong|1999/12/01|Four prominent members of the Falun Gong sect, which has been outlawed in China, have lost their appeals against jail sentences of up to twelve years.|
463|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#1">Anti-cult bill passes</a>|Asahi News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo, legislation|1999/12/03|The Upper House passed anti-Aum Shinrikyo legislation today, which means authorities could start monitoring the cult's activities by the end of January.|
464|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html2#">2 bills enacted to tighten grip on AUM</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/04|Doomsday cult AUM Shinrikyo took a step toward oblivion Friday after the House of Councillors passed into law two controversial bills aimed at hobbling the religious group.|
465|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#3">Diet passes 2 bills to crack down on cults</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/04|In the process of drawing up the bills, House of Representatives members of the Liberal Democratic Party, Jiyuto (Liberal Party), New Komeito and Minshuto included amendments to ensure that the laws are reviewed every five years, thus making it possible to revoke them at a later date.|
466|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#4">Japanese Parliament Passes Bills to Limit Aum Cult Activities</a>|AOL/Bloomberg|japan, aum shinrikyo, life space, ho no hana sanpogyo|1999/12/02|The legislation comes as Japanese authorities are investigating the activities of two other religious organizations. Earlier this week police searched the more than 70 facilities nationwide of the Honohana Sanpogyo cult for allegedly defrauding members through high fees. Police last month took into custody nine children belonging to members of the Life Space cult, following raids on the group's office and other facilities. Investigators said the children were being kept from school, in violation of the law.|
467|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#5">Anti-Aum bills' passage expedited to allay fears</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/04|The bills' quick passage resulted from an urgent need to calm anxious residents living near Aum facilities, and both ruling and opposition parties agreed that the cult's activities should be regulated.|
468|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#6">Aum admits role in crimes</a>|Asahi News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/02|Aum Shinrikyo admitted Wednesday for the first time its involvement in a series of crimes its members committed or were involved in, adding it will apologize to its victims and offer them &quot;as much compensation as possible.&quot;|
469|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#7">Crocodile tears from AUM?</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/04|The AUM Shinrikyo cult has kept a low profile since announcing a halt of religious activities in September, but it's still organizing meetings and maintains most of its practice halls across the nation, public-safety officials said on Friday.|
470|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#8">Cult feeling the heat as crackdown laws debut</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/03|Friday's enactment of two laws specifically targeting Aum Shinrikyo may give investigative authorities new ammunition with which to battle the cult, and Aum's leadership will have to perform a balancing act between self-preservation and public acceptance.|
471|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#9">Apology not enough as PM moves on sect</a>|South China Morning News|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/03|Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi yesterday vowed to crack down on the Aum Shinri Kyo cult, despite the sect's apology for spreading lethal sarin gas in Tokyo's subway system in 1995.|
472|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#10">Local residents say laws not enough</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/04|A resident in Fujioka, Gunma Prefecture, who keeps watch on a former printing facility that is currently inhabited by about 100 Aum followers, said that simply passing the anti-Aum laws will not ease public anxiety.|
473|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#12">Police raid foot-reading cult</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/02|Investigators from the Metropolitan Police Department and the Shizuoka Prefectural Police conducted the crackdown on 70 cult facilities in Tokyo and eight other prefectures, police said. They were searched on suspicion that the cult swindled three housewives out of 22 million yen between November 1994 and the following June.|
474|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#13">Sole man gladhanded rich and famous</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/03|Ho no Hana Sanpogyo leader Hogen Fukunaga, who allegedly defrauded thousands of people through his dodgy foot-readings, had set up meetings with international celebrities, including Pope John Paul II, in an attempt to add some luster to the cult's image, the Mainichi has learned.|
475|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#14">Guru lured members by chasing celebrities</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/03|The leader of the Ho-no-Hana Sanpogyo religious group, whose offices and facilities were searched by police Wednesday on suspicion of fraud, publicized his meetings with prominent figures such as U.S. President Bill Clinton and former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev to attract followers, it was learned Thursday.|
476|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#15">Ho-no-Hana head 'told group to lie to recruits'</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/05|Hogen Fukunaga, leader of the Ho-no-Hana Sanpogyo religious group, who is under suspicion of committing fraud, told his staff to lure participants to special training sessions by any means, including lying, sources close to the group said Saturday.|
477|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#16">Cult leader set tough goals for followers</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/04|The leader of the Ho-no-Hana Sanpogyo religious group, whose offices and facilities were searched by police Wednesday on suspicion of fraud, set cult members strict recruitment goals in a bid to swell the group's ranks, a source said Friday.|
478|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#17">ASIA: Police raid sect that preyed on female soles</a>|Yahoo! Asia|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/02|Separately, about 1,100 former followers are suing the cult for a total of 5.4 billion yen in damages. Cult leader Teruyoshi Fukunaga and his disciples do not have licences to practise medicine. But they say they can diagnose people's health and predict their future by examining their feet.|
479|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#19">Church of Scientology settles tax debt, claims victory</a>|AP Worldstream|scientology, sweden, tax|1999/12/03|The church of Scientology has settled a decade-old tax debt with Sweden.|
480|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#20">Church staffer, foe told to stay apart</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology, harassment, clearwater, bob minton|1999/12/03|A judge has called for an end to &quot;picket chicken&quot; in Clearwater, the taunting, red-faced, nose-to-nose encounters that have flared in recent months between Church of Scientology staffers and their nemesis, New England millionaire Robert Minton.|
481|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#21">Scientology foes gather for 5th annual meeting</a>|Tampa Tribune|scientology, harassment, clearwater, bob minton|1999/12/04|The vigil honors church member Lisa McPherson, who died Dec. 5, 1995, after 17 days in the care of church staffers in their headquarters hotel. The church is facing charges of aggravated abuse of a disabled adult and practicing medicine without a license in McPherson's death.|
482|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#22">Church draws line for critics</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology, harassment, clearwater, bob minton|1999/12/04|The painting was done in response to a judge's order Thursday that Scientology critic Robert Minton stay at least 10 feet away from 17 church buildings in Clearwater. By Friday morning the orange markings appeared like an overnight snow, showing lines of demarcation 10 feet from each property.(...) Minton's attorney, Denis deVlaming, compared the spray-painted markings to graffiti. Police Chief Sid Klein said the markings were &quot;defacing public property.&quot; A short time later, Scientology officials told Klein they would remove the markings.|
483|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#23">Six to split $150,000 in Arlington veterinary clinic bias case agreement</a>|Star-Telegram|scientology, cosfront-wise|1999/12/03|An Arlington veterinary clinic has agreed to end a federal job discrimination lawsuit by splitting a $150,000 settlement among six former employees who said that their advancement was linked to participation in Church of Scientology training sessions.|
484|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#24">Windows 2000 in Danger of beeing Banned</a>|Heise Online/C't (Germany)|scientololgy, germany, microsoft, windows 2000|1999/12/03|An integrated component of Windows 2000 is made by a Scientology company. The connection between the psycho sect and the software giant is annoying representatives of the major churches in Germany. Microsoft risks a boycott of its flagship product by churches and government agencies.|
485|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#26">The Corpse and the Cult</a>|Newsweek International|japan, shakty pat guru foundation, life space, Koji Takahashi|1999/12/06|There the Life Space guru, 61-year-old Koji Takahashi, began treating Kobayashi with gentle touches called &quot;shakty pats.&quot; Police say the old man died soon thereafter, but the Life Space leader claims his patient was alive until the coroner performed the autopsy. &quot;I'm not as crazy as someone who would treat a dead man,&quot; Takahashi told NEWSWEEK during a rambling, three-hour interview. &quot;Do you think I'm that crazy?&quot;|
486|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#28">Official denies Falun Gong followers gathered outside court</a>|Yahoo! Asia|china, falun gong|1999/12/04|A major trial of the alleged ringleaders of the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual group here has been postponed as hundreds of group members gathered around the Beijing Intermediate People's Court. It was the second time authorities postponed the trial.|
487|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#29">Few Members of Large Sect to Face Trial, Beijing Says</a>|New York Times|china, falun gong|1999/12/02|But Qian Xiaoqian, an official with the news office of China's state council, dismissed as a "total fabrication" reports from a Hong Kong-based human rights group that 35,792 Falun Gong practitioners had been detained since the government banned the group in July.|
488|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#30">Falun Gong launches plea for dialogue with Beijing</a>|Yahoo! Asia|china, falun gong|1999/12/01|Members of the outlawed Falun Gong launched a global appeal in Seattle for dialogue with Beijing as Chinese officials were due to arrive for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial conference yesterday.|
489|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#32">Police Detain Alleged Cult Members</a>|New York Times/AP|china, falun gong|1999/12/03|Special security forces rounded up at least 16 suspected members of an alleged American doomsday cult Friday, as part of a larger crackdown on the group before the turn of the millennium.|
490|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#33">Klan Gets Its Wish, but Fight Over Project Continues</a>|New York Times|ku klux klan, hate groups, racism|1999/12/04|The K.K.K. has won a round in its five-year battle to pick up litter along highways in Missouri. Two small brown signs went up on Tuesday, implementing a federal district court ruling this spring that the First Amendment bars the Missouri Department of Transportation from excluding groups whose views it finds objectionable.|
491|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#34">Federal Charges Filed in LA Shooting</a>|New York Times/AP|buford furrow, hate groups, aryan nations, christian identity|1999/12/03|Federal charges against a white supremacist accused of killing a mail carrier and rampaging through a Jewish community center represent a strong statement against hate crimes from the government, experts say.|
492|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#35">FBI arrests militia members for alleged bomb plot</a>|CNN/AP|militia groups, |1999/12/04|Federal agents have arrested two anti-government militia members in connection with an alleged plan to blow up a huge propane storage facility, federal officials said Saturday.|
493|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#36">Terrorism bill to cover religious or ideological acts</a>|Yahoo! UK & Ireland|hate crimes, |1999/12/02|Government officials said the bill, to be passed next year, will include a more modern definition of terrorism which includes ideological and religious motivation for terrorist acts.|
494|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#37">Freed Detainee, Praising Imprisoned Sheik, Plans to Revive Mosque</a>|New|islam, |1999/12/01|After spending three years in detention on the basis of secret evidence, Nasser K. Ahmed said Tuesday that he planned to use his freedom to revive the Islamic movement that federal investigators say was a haven for the terrorists who carried out a bomb attack on the World Trade Center|
495|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#38">Y2K fears fuel LDS grounding</a>|Deseret News|y2k, mormonism, pseudo-christian, lds|1999/12/01|The LDS Church has effectively grounded all employees, missionaries and general authorities from any air travel between midnight Dec. 30 and midnight Jan. 5, citing Y2K uncertainties.|
496|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#40">Centre closed, leader watched</a>|Yahoo! Asia|china, zhong gong, falun gong, zhang hongbao|1999/12/05|Police in the mainland's northwestern Shaanxi province have shut down the largest base of Zhong Gong, a spiritual movement similar to the outlawed Falun Gong and dispersed around 2,000 practitioners, a Hong Kong-based rights group said yesterday.|
497|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#39">2 LDS men file discrimination suit</a>|Deseret News/AP|lds, mormonism|1999/12/03|Two workers at the U.S. Energy Department's Idaho Operations Office have filed a discrimination suit against their employer, arguing they were passed over for promotions because they are LDS men in their 50s.|
498|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#41">Couple faces charges in faith-healing death</a>|The Oregonian|faith healing, followers of christ church|1999/12/03|Prosecutors in Canada's Alberta province have charged a faith-healing couple in the death of their son because they failed to seek medical help, citing their religious objections to doctors.The parents, Steve Paul Shippy, 44, and Ruth Anne Shippy, 37, are members of the Followers of Christ Church, said Crown Prosecutor Ian Frazer of Wetaskiwin, 50 miles south of Edmonton.|
499|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#42">Man is guilty in death of tiny son</a>|San Diego Union-Tribune|san diego|1999/12/03|David Mayer, an El Cajon man who said God did not like fat children and sat idly by while his toddler son slowly starved to death, was convicted of first-degree murder yesterday.|
500|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#43">Healer gets his day in court</a>|San Diego Union-Tribune|deepak chopra|1999/12/01|It shapes up as one of San Diego's strangest lawsuits: a case that involves internationally known writer and mind-body healer Deepak Chopra and allegations of greed, illicit sex and stolen garbage. Chopra is suing a woman he alleges tried to blackmail him for $50,000 in return for not exposing allegations that Chopra had trysts with a prostitute, which Chopra denies.|
501|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#44">Mistrial declared in Chopra lawsuit; new jury sought</a>|San Diego Union-Tribune|deepak chopra|1999/12/02|A mistrial was declared yesterday in the second day of a civil trial involving New Age healer Deepak Chopra and a woman he contended tried to extort $50,000 from him.|
502|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#45">UFO sighting one for Shanghai's X-Files</a>|South China Morning Post|china, _ufo_|1999/12/04|The usually staid state media in Shanghai carried reports yesterday that an unidentified flying object had been sighted in the city. In a front-page story, with colour photographs of an object resembling a meteor, the Wenhui Daily said the UFO was spotted over western Shanghai on Thursday afternoon.|
503|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#46">Internet Will Spread Dalai Lama's Message of Love and Forgiveness</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|dalai lama, ed firmage, joe firmage|1999/11/27|His books are best-sellers in the West, his travels major media events. And yet the Dalai Lama's message and the cause of Tibetan freedom remain largely unheard in the country whose opinions matter the most: the People's Republic of China. That is about to change, says Ed Firmage, a University of Utah law professor who has enlisted son and Internet entrepreneur Joe Firmage in creating the Dalai Lama's official Web page. The Chinese-language site, expected to debut in mid-January, will finally give a quarter of the world's people a cyberspace portal to His Holiness' teachings -- and unsanitized Tibetan history.|
504|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#47">Mexico's Church Debates Juan Diego</a>|AOL/AP|juan diego, mexico, virgin of guadalupe, mariology, virgin mary|1999/12/04|Attempts to canonize Juan Diego, the Indian who reportedly saw the Virgin of Guadalupe, have led to a public spat inside Mexico's Roman Catholic church.|
505|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#48">Creationist Captain Sees Battle 'Hotting Up'</a>|New York Times|science, creationism, evolution, ken ham, answers in genesis, institute for creation research|1999/12/01|Since dedicating himself to creationism 20 years ago when he was a disillusioned science teacher in Australia, Ken Ham has found that progress can generally be slow, but hardly as slow as his evolutionist adversaries would have the world believe.|
506|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#49">Oklahoma's Divisive Disclaimer on Evolution</a>|Washington Post|evolution, science|1999/12/01|The brouhaha started last month when the Oklahoma State Textbook Committee mandated that publishers wishing to do business with the state place an unusual disclaimer on all new biology books, stating that evolution is a &quot;controversial theory&quot; that refers to the &quot;unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced a world of living things.&quot;|
507|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#50">Parliament of Religions Under Way</a>|ANC|interfaith, religious pluralism, parliament of world religions|1999/12/01|The Parliament of the World's Religions (PWR), which has drawn some 6000 delegates from across the globe, got under way in Cape Town on Wednesday amid tight security and protests from fundamentalist groups.|
508|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#51">Devotees lost for choice at religious parliament</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|interfaith, religious pluralism, parliament of world religions|1999/12/02|With more than 800 spirit-enriching events to choose from, devotees attending the Parliament of the World's Religions are relying on divine guidance to help them decide how best to use their time.|
509|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#52">And the walls come tumbling down</a>|Globe and Mail (Canada)|interfaith, religious pluralism, parliament of world religions, united religions initiative|1999/12/01|More than 10,000 people are expected to gather in Cape Town today for the Parliament of the World's Religions. The meeting marks the end of a century of increasing global interfaith co-operation and the promise of a new relationship among the world's religions.|
510|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#53">Interfaith meeting look to 'mainstreaming' interreligious dialogue</a>|Star-Telegram|interfaith, religious pluralism, world conference on religions and peace|1999/12/03|&quot;All of the religious communities are now very rapidly mainstreaming the issue of multireligious cooperation,&quot; said the Rev. William Vendley, secretary general of the World Conference on Religions and Peace, sponsors of the gathering which ended Monday (Nov. 29).|
511|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#54">Jordanian prince carves out role in world of interfaith dialogue</a>|Star-Telegram|interfaith, religious pluralism, world conference on religions and peace|1999/12/03|In the wake of Hassan's role as host of an international interreligious conference here last week, it now appears the prince, whose royal Hashemite family is descended from the 7th century prophet Mohammed, has decided to devote a considerable portion of his talents to religious peacemaking among contemporary adherents of Islam, Christianity and Judaism -- in the Middle East and elsewhere.|
512|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#55">Interfaith group's leader chides Southern Baptists for 'targeting' Jews</a>|CNN|evangelism, proselytizing, baptists, religious intolerance|1999/12/03|The head of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews called Friday for a break in relations with the Southern Baptist Convention over what he calls its growing commitment to converting Jews.|
513|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#56">Is Christianity a 'hate crime'</a>|WorldNetDaily|christianity, religious intolerance, evangelism, proselytizing, presecution, james dobson, canada|1999/12/03|Chicago's rebuff of the Southern Baptist Convention's plans to meet in the Windy City next summer, on the grounds that the large Christian group might foment "hate crimes" against minorities, is sounding alarm bells among Christians who fear that merely speaking openly about their core religious beliefs will soon be considered a crime.|
514|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991205.html#57">The Christian haters</a>|WorldNetDaily|christianity, religious intolerance, evangelism, proselytizing, persecution, homosexuality|1999/12/03|Standing inside your own church and saying, &quot;The Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin,&quot; is now considered a hate crime by some.|
515|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#1">Prosecutors demand death for cultists in subway attack</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/07|Prosecutors demanded the death penalty for two former Aum Shinrikyo followers Tuesday for carrying out the March 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.|
516|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#2">Two anti-Aum laws promulgated</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/07|Two laws aimed at cracking down on the activities of Aum Shinrikyo were promulgated Tuesday by the Justice Ministry.|
517|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#3">Ex-followers finger Fukunaga for false foot findings</a>|Japan Times|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/07|Five former followers of the Honohana Sampogyo religious sect Tuesday filed a criminal complaint against its guru, Hogen Fukunaga, and 12 other cult executives, their lawyers said.| 
518|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#4">Cult interested 'only in greed'</a>|Asahi News (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/07|The cult Ho no Hana Sanpogyo was so concerned with making money that followers felt compelled to slavishly borrow once they had given everything,according to a former member.|
519|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#5">Ho-no-Hana eyed existing members' cash</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/06|The Ho-no-Hana Sanpogyo religious group began offering new training sessions earlier this year for existing followers to raise funds because an increasing number of lawsuits filed against the group made it difficult to recruit new followers, according to sources close to the group.|
520|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#6">Cult cans huge fund-raiser</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/05|The Ho no Hana Sanpogyo foot-reading cult canceled its biggest event of the year to be held in Yokohama on Dec. 15 - pulling the plug just a day before police raided it on Wednesday, the Mainichi has learned.|
521|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#7">Ex-assemblyman raided over sole cult</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/05|The home of a former speaker of the Fuji Municipal Assembly in Shizuoka Prefecture and a resort hotel owned by the Ho no Hana Sampogyo cult were among the locations raided by police Saturday over the group's alleged fraud, investigators said.|
522|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#8">32 more cult facilities targeted by authorities</a>|Asahi News (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/05|The most recent searches included the group's branch offices in Akita, Nagano and Miyazaki prefectures, and a sanatorium in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture. A private company in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, that is affiliated with the religious organization, was also targeted by police investigators.|
523|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#9">Foot cult is sued over £500m 'to ward off strife'</a>|Electronic Telegraph (England)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/02|Police searched 74 facilities of Hono hana Sanpogyo in connection with more than 1,000 law suits brought by followers seeking £337 million in compensation because they say they were forced to give the cult money.The cult's name translates roughly as Flower of Law and the Three Law Practice but more people in Japan know it as Heavenly Energy, the slogan that shines out from huge red and white neon hoardings in key locations inJapanese cities.|
524|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#10">China blasts U.S. for stance on banned sect</a>|Nando Times|China, usa, Falun Gong|1999/12/10|China on Tuesday accused Washington of ignoring abuses by the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which communist Chinese leaders have banned as a menacing cult.|
525|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#11">China Against U.S. Double Standard on Falun Gong Cult</a>|Northern Light/Xinhua|china, usa, falun gong|1999/12/07|In reply to a question that U.S. President Bill Clinton expressed concern over China's stance on dealing with the Falun Gong cult yesterday, Zhang Qiyue said China urges the U.S. government to take back comments made on the sect that might place new obstacles to Sino-U.S. relations.|
526|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#12">Quick action</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AP|china, falun gong|1999/12/06|About 20 members of the banned group Falun Gong sat down together in aprotest at Tiananmen Square and were quickly whisked away by police.|
527|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#13">Falun Gong Members to Hold Conference in Hong Kong, SCMP Says</a>|AOL/Bloomberg|china, falun gong|1999/12/07|About 1,000 Falun Gong members from Hong Kong and overseas will hold a conference in Hong Kong and perform a mass exercise outside the Xinhua news agency headquarters on Saturday, the South China Morning Post reported. It will be the first significant Falun Gong gathering in the city since the Chinese government outlawed the sect in July and later branded it an &quot;evil cult.&quot;'|
528|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#14">Scientologists facing protest</a>|MSNBC|scientology, clearwater, lisa mcpherson|1999/12/04|Scientologists are keeping a low profile this year. One high ranking church leader says the community just wants to move beyond discussion fo Lisa McPherson’s death.|
529|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#15">Scientology foe moves in, digs in for a long fight</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology, clearwater, bob minton, lisa mcpherson trust|1999/12/05|An opposition group to the Church of Scientology said Saturday it is well-financed and &quot;here to stay&quot; with plans for a variety of activities, from speaking to school children and civic groups to counseling Scientologists about leaving their church. The group is called the Lisa McPherson Trust Inc., named for the 36-year-old Scientologist who died in 1995 while in the care of church staffers. Its intentions were made public during a &quot;Scientology/Clearwater Relations Conference&quot; at a local hotel.|
530|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#16">Scientology TV</a>|taz (Germany)|scientology, germany|1999/12/07|And Zuckerer does not at all like the Scientologists having public thoroughfares being under private surveillance. That could be an &quot;illicit encroachment of the personality rights of specific people,&quot; unsuspecting passersby, for example.|
531|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#17">City prevails over Scientology</a>|Sueddeutsche Zeitung (Germany)|scientology, germany, munich|1999/12/02|The provincial capitol of Munich prevailed against Scientology in court today. The city had prohibited Scientologists from accosting pedestrians on Leopold Street to talk them into taking a personality test so that they would buy courses and books.|
532|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#18">Scientology Bug in Windows 2000</a>|Der Spiegel (Germany)|scientology, diskkeeper, windows 2000, germany, craig jensen, executive software, cosfront-wise|1999/12/03|One of the software components integrated into Windows 2000 comes fromExecutive Software, a California company led by a Scientologist.|
533|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#19">Rev. Moon's followers turn Brazil swamp into paradise</a>|Detroit News|unification church, jardim, brazil, sun myung moon|1999/12/06|Several hundred church members from the United States, Japan and South Korea flock to this no-man's-land every month, paying a $1,000 fee to pray under the scorching sun and fish in &quot;sacred&quot; lakes once visited by their leader.|
534|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#20">More suspected American doomsday cult members deported from Greece</a>|Nando Times/AP|concerned christians, monte kim miller, doomsday cult|1999/12/07|Greek authorities deported two suspected members of an American doomsday cult on Tuesday, the second group expelled from Greece ahead of the millennium.|
535|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#21">Expelled Sect Members Make Way to New York</a>|New York Times|concerned christians|1999/12/07|Members of a doomsday sect, expelled from Israel this year, arrived at Kennedy International Airport on Sunday night after being expelled once again, this time from Greece.|
536|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#22">Deported cult members arrive in U.S.</a>|Denver Rocky Mountain News|concerned christians, monte kim miller, doomsday cult, mark roggeman|1999/12/06|Some Colorado relatives of the members of the group, Concerned Christians, waited in the New York airport in the hope of speaking with their loved ones. Group members severed their family ties, sold their homes and quit their jobs when they joined the group.|
537|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#23">Suspected American cult members deported to U.S.</a>|Denver Post/AP|concerned christians, monte kim miller, doomsday cult|1999/12/06|The suspects were living in towns near Athens, where the group is believed to have settled after 14 alleged members of the group were expelled from Israel in January.|
538|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#24">Greece expels 18 suspected members of millennium cult</a>|Nando Times/AFP|concerned christians, monte kim miller, doomsday cult|1999/12/05|Greece on Sunday expelled 18 U.S. citizens believed to be members of the controversial Concerned Christians sect, police said. The 18, including five children, were taken to Athens airport under police escort and put on a plane to New York, police said.|
539|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#25">Allure of cults hard to resist</a>|Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)|cults, japan, ho-no-hana sanpagyo, hogen fukunaga, aum shinrikyo, life space, kensho kai|1999/12/04|Some experts blame the apparent susceptibility of many Japanese to the charms of dubious cults on the country's World War II excesses, which prompted United States occupying forces to go to great lengths to rid the system of &quot;state Shintoism&quot;. The strict separation of church and state left Japan without a spiritual core, they say.|
540|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#26">Ho no ... this heel's after soles in cult-crazed Japan</a>|Australian Financial Review (Australia)|cults, japan, ho-no-hana sanpagyo, aum shinrikyo, life space, china falun, gong, soko gakkai|1999/12/06|There has been a surge in cult news in Japan recently, although it probably has little to do with the looming millennium as we are only in the 11th year of the Emperor's rule in Japan - the official measure of years.|
541|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#27">Alleged Calif. Bomb Plot Sought Revolution -FBI</a>|Excite/Reuters|militia groups, fbi|1999/12/06|Two suspected militia members arrested in connection with an alleged plot to blow up a California propane plant had been involved with a group that hoped to use violence to spark the overthrow of the U.S. government, court documents released on Monday said.|
542|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#28">LDS Church Donates to Polygamy Tapestry</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|mormonism, pseudo-christian, lds, polygamy, tapesty of polygamy|1999/12/04|The LDS Church has made a &quot;modest&quot; donation to Tapestry of Polygamy, a group devoted to helping women and children escape polygamous families.|
543|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#29">Michigan man charged with conspiring to kidnap atheist leader</a>|CNN/AP|american atheists, madalyn murray o'hair|1999/12/07|An ex-convict in custody in Detroit was indicted Tuesday on charges that he conspired to kidnap Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the atheist leader who has been missing since 1995.|
544|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#30">Sikh Cleric Knife Charge Dropped</a>|New York Times/AP|sikkhism, kirpan|1999/12/07|A charge of carrying a concealed weapon was dropped Monday against a Sikh cleric who carries a 6-inch knife as a sign of his religious faith.|
545|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#31">Navajo legislators stuggle with peyote issue</a>|Arizon Central/AP|peyote, native american church, navajo, native americans|1999/12/06|As illegal use of hallucinogenic peyote buttons rises, including Navajo teens who are smoking it, Navajo Nation legislators are looking for ways to restrict the drug's usage without obstructing those who use it for religious purposes.|
546|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#32">Attorney General Warns of Illegal Building on Temple Mount</a>|Israel Wire|israel, temple mount|1999/12/03|Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein charged Wednesday that the Moslem Wakf on Jerusalem's Temple Mount had &quot;trampled&quot; remnants of Jewish history by proceeding with illegal construction projects.|
547|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#33">Waqf works go on</a>|Arutz Sheva (Israel National Radio - offshore)|israel, temple mount|1999/12/06|Despite Jerusalem Affairs Minister Chaim Ramon's announcement today that the Waqf construction works on the Temple Mount have ceased, Knesset Members touring the site this morning learned that such is not the case.|
548|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#34">Trying to keep a sect going</a>|Philadelphia Inquirer|sufi islam|1999/12/03|Mohammed and Maher al-Jamal are members of a nearly 800-year-old branch of Sufi Islam, a mystical movement that uses poetry, singing and dancing to reach a trancelike state of communion with Allah.|
549|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#35">Reformation Top Religious Event</a>|Yahoo!/AP|religion news|1999/12/07|The nation's religion newswriters have selected the Protestant Reformation and the invention of the movable type printing press as the leading religious events of the second millennium.|
550|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#36">Spirits and cash raised at religious parliament</a>|Sunday Times (South Africa)|interfaith, parliament of world religions, religious pluralism|1999/12/05|As one delegate observed, the only person missing from a procession of gurus, swamis, priests, nuns, pharaohs, white witches and saffron devotees was God. In contrast, many delegates - Mndende included - said God was plainly visible in the spirit of tolerance and learning that prevailed at the event, which drew together thousands from diverse faiths.|
551|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#37">Dead Sea Scrolls Broke 19 Centuries of Silence</a>|Los Angeles Times|dead sea scrolls, science|1999/12/06|The ancient writings included more or less complete texts of almost every book of the Hebrew Bible--versions whose closeness to the modern texts demonstrate the amazing fidelity with which generations of scribes copied the Scriptures.|
552|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#38">The cult that sought to end our world</a>|Philadelphia Inquirer|book review, robert jay lifton, aum shinrikyo, destroying the world to save it|1999/12/05|Lifton's new book is a fascinating (if frightening) investigation into the psychology of the Aum cult and the dangers posed in the modern age by the accessibility of weapons of mass destruction.|
553|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991208.html#39">Judge Throws Out Suit Against Holiday</a>|Excite/Reuters|offbeat|1999/12/07|Ruling that Christmas is celebrated by non-Christians as well as Christians, a judge late on Monday threw out a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of observing Dec. 25 as a federal holiday.|
554|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#1">Sect loses battle to become a charity</a>|The Guardian (England)|scientology, england|1999/12/10|The controversial Church of Scientology had its application to be recognised as a religion turned down yesterday. After more than three years' deliberation, the Charity Commissioners rejected the organisation's claim saying that it did not qualify because it was not a religion and did not benefit the public.|
555|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#2">Church 'fails test' for charity status</a>|The Times (England)|scientology, england|1999/12/10|The Church of Scientology was yesterday barred from charitable status after the Charity Commission ruled that it failed to promote the &quot;moral and spiritual welfare&quot; of the community.|
556|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#3">Church ruled out for charity status</a>|The Scotsman (Scotland)|scientology, england|1999/12/10|A recent court ruling in Switzerland declared that scientology should be considered a business, not a religion. In Germany, where practising scientologists are barred from being civil servants or elected politicians, the group is legally deemed to be a commercial venture.|
557|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#4">Scientology Denied Charitable Status</a>|Washington Post|scientology, england|1999/12/10|Some 187,000 charities are registered with the commission – including many associated with religions, both mainstream and otherwise. Registered charities receive tax benefits.|
558|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#5">Scientologists are refused charitable status</a>|The Independent (England)|scientology, england|1999/12/10|The organisation's failure to achieve charity status follows a high-profile advertising campaign launched by the group in Britain this summer.|
559|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#6">Prosecutors argue to keep charges against Scientology</a>|Tampa Tribune|scientology, lisa mcpherson|1999/12/08|Freedom of religion should not protect the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization from facing criminal charges in the death of a parishioner after 17 days of isolation in the Fort Harrison Hotel, prosecutors contend.|
560|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#7">When can a church be accused of a crime?</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientoloyg, lisa mcpherson|1999/12/08|(...) Florida politicians, pay attention. This is your doing. This argument is based in part on the state Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1998, which the Legislature passed as a sop to the Christian Coalition. I'll bet nobody had the Scientologists in mind.|
561|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#8">Crisis Counseling</a>|Erlanger-Hoechstadt (Germany)|scientology, germany|1999/12/07|The Bavarian state administration has established a crisis counseling center for victims and people affected by the Scientology sect. That was announced by state assembly representative Christa Matschl.|
562|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#9">Japan Police Say Doomsday Cult Still Capable Of Terrorism</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Dow Jones|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/08|The doomsday cult that spewed deadly nerve gas into Tokyo's subways is still capable of terrorism, Japanese police have concluded, Kyodo News agency reported Wednesday.|
563|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#10">Italian government may sign agreement with Jehovah's Witnesses</a>|EWTN/Zenith|italy, jehovah's witnesses|1999/12/08|The Italian government is studying the possibility of signing an agreement with the Jehovah's Witnesses, the third largest religious group in the country. If nothing else, the decision is controversial, since many Witness doctrines tend to isolate members from society, such as the prohibition on blood transfusions, rejection of military service, and other legal dispositions.|
564|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#11">Chinese use split in media over sect</a>|The Times (England)|china, falun gong|1999/12/08|Chinese athorities are trying to exploit differences of opinion among foreign ournalists over how to report the Falun Gong crackdown to justify the arrest of members of the spiritual movement.|
565|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#12">Clinton lashes out at clamp on Falun Gong</a>|South China Morning Post|china, usa,  falun gong|1999/12/08|United States President Bill Clinton has criticised the mainland crackdown on the Falun Gong. The President called it a &quot;troubling example&quot; of the Government acting against those &quot;who test the limits of freedom&quot;.|
566|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#13">Clinton's defence of sect infuriates Beijing</a>|The Guardian (England)|china, usa, falun gong|1999/12/08|China accused the US government yesterday of ignoring the dangers it says are posed by the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, following criticism from President Bill Clinton.|
567|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#14">1,000 expected at 'sensitive' HK Falun Gong conference</a>|South China Morning Post|china, falun gong, hong kong|1999/12/08|Hong Kong members of the Falun Gong sect banned on the mainland are to host a high-profile in ternational conference for hundreds of overseas followers at the weekend. Organisers said last night that up to 1,000 local and overseas members would attend the meeting at the Convention Centre on Sunday.|
568|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#15">Hong Kong: Falun Gong conference 'slap in the face'</a>|Yahoo! Asia/South China Morning Post|china, hong kong, falun gong|1999/12/09|Pro-Beijing politicians yesterday criticised plans for an international Falun Gong conference in Hong Kong this weekend as &quot;inappropriate&quot; and a &quot;slap in the face for China&quot;.|
569|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#16">Banned Chinese group to gather for Hong Kong conference</a>|CNN/AP|china, hong kong, falun gong|1999/12/08|Falun Gong members from Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, the United States and possibly mainland China will attend the two-day Asia-Pacific conference, sect spokesman Tony Chan said Wednesday.|
570|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#17">China: 'Father of atomic bomb' backs Falun Gong ban</a>|Yahoo! Asia/South China Morning Post|china, falun gong|1999/12/09|China's most famous scientist was rolled out by the authorities yesterday to condemn the outlawed Falun Gong sect. Official media reported that President Jiang Zemin and Vice-Premier Li Lanqing visited Qian Xuesen at his home in Beijing. Professor Qian helped design and test China's nuclear bombs and missiles in the 1950s.|
571|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#18">Greece ousts total of 25 Colo. cult members</a>|Denver Rocky Mountain News/Scripps Howard News Service|greece, concerned christians, monte kim miller, fbi|1999/12/08|Still, authorities report having no hint as to the whereabouts of 45-year-old Monte Kim Miller, the leader of the group called Concerned Christians.|
572|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#19">Davidian lawyers start questioning FBI agents about cameras, bugging</a>|Dallas Morning News|branch davidians, waco, fbi|1999/12/09|Lawyers for the Branch Davidians began questioning FBI agents under oath in Washington Wednesday in the first of a series of depositions aimed at determining what happened on the tragic final day of the 1993 Waco siege.|
573|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#20">Four Nabbed in Nevada Temple Bombing</a>|APBonline|hate groups, anti-semitism, nevada|1999/12/07|Four people have been arrested in connection with last week's firebombing of a Jewish synagogue.|
574|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#21">KKK 'Adopt a Highway' Leader on the Lam</a>|APBonline|kkk, ku klux klan, hate groups, racism|1999/12/06|As a battle brews between the Ku Klux Klan and the vandals who keep removing its &quot;Adopt-a-Highway&quot; signs, authorities today said the KKK member who led the court fight to post the signs is now considered a fugitive.|
575|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#22">China Detains Non-Mainstream Christians, Targets 'Cults'</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Dow Jones|all scope, zhu shen, orient lightning, china, religious freedom, religious persecution|1999/12/10|Chinese authorities have detained 103 people who belong to non-mainstream Christian sects, expanding the state crackdown on groups it regards as cults, a human rights group said Thursday.|
576|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#23">103 Christians detained in China</a>|Nando Times/AP|all scope, zhu shen, orient lightning, china, religious freedom, religious persecution|1999/12/09|It said 75 members of one of the 10 groups, the All Scope sect, were detained Nov. 19 in southern Hunan province. In central Henan province, 15 members of the Orient Lightning sect were detained Nov. 23, and an additional 13 members of the Zhu Shen sect were detained in southern Guangdong province on Nov. 22, the group said.|
577|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#24">Three Sentenced to Death for Child Sacrifice</a>|Excite/Reuters|witchcraft, ethiopia|1999/12/08|An Ethiopian court sentenced a flour mill owner, a sorceress and her friend to death for murdering a seven-year-old girl in a witchcraft rite, the state-run Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported on Tuesday.|
578|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#25">Storm over Diana 'Madonna' statue</a>|BBC News|trends|1999/12/08|A controversial statue of Diana, Princess of Wales portrayed as the Virgin Mary is to go on show in Liverpool on Thursday.|
579|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#26">God and government</a>|Tampa Tribune|church and state|1999/12/08|The separation of church and state narrowed Tuesday as political and religious leaders from across Florida gathered in the historic Old Capitol to explore the role of God and spirituality in government.|
580|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#27">A Nigerian State Turns to the Koran for Law</a>|New York Times|nigeria, koran, sharia, islam, christianity|1999/12/08|In October, the state government announced it would introduce Shariah, the Islamic social and penal code, raising near-hysteria in a country already divided nearly evenly -- and uneasily -- between a Muslim north and a Christian south.|
581|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#28">Two Out of Three Americans Say God Is Very Important In Their Personal Lives In Global Millennium Survey </a>|Yahoo!/PR Newswire (Press Release)|trends ,surverys|1999/12/03|The final results of a global millennium study released today by Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch (TNS Intersearch) and GIA revealed that while 63 percent of Americans believe God is very important in their personal lives, 43 percent of the population attend religious services at least once a week.|
582|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#29">Millennium myths are made in America, Duke profs say</a>|Excite/U-Wire|millennium|1999/12/07|The sun will shine on New Year's Day. And while certain religious radicals hold up their Bibles to prove their conviction that the Day of Judgment is imminent, several Duke University professors say the Bible contains nothing of the sort.|
583|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#30">Modesty and Modernity</a>|Washington Post|islam, hijab|1999/12/09|Today, as an estimated 300,000 Washington area Muslims begin celebrating the holy fasting month of Ramadan, this debate illustrates the diversity of views within Islam--with some local Muslims concerned that there has been a misplaced emphasis on the scarf as an indicator of personal piety and communal identity.|
584|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#31">Philosophy of death</a>|Washington Post|peter singer, relativism|1999/12/09|Or consider--and this is what brought antiabortion demonstrators and members of the anti-euthanasia group Not Dead Yet to the Princeton campus--Singer's thoughts on when it may not be wrong to kill an innocent human being.|
585|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#32">Catholic, Jewish Leaders Target Death Penalty in National Effort</a>|Washington Post|death penalty, human rights abuses, usa|1999/12/06|Catholic and Jewish leaders today will jointly launch a national campaign to abolish the death penalty, in an effort to reignite what they see as a largely forgotten but urgent crusade.|
586|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#33">Human Rights report criticizes U.S. for police brutality, other alleged abuses</a>|CNN/AP|human rights abuses, usa, death penalty, human rights watch|1999/12/09|International human rights scrutiny: &quot;In 1999, the U.S. continued to exempt itself from many of its international human rights obligations ... in ratifying international human rights treaties it typically carved away added protections for those in the U.S. by adding reservations, declarations, and understandings.&quot;|
587|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#34">Parliament of World Religions told Defining Religions not Easy</a>|World Faith News|interfaith, religious pluralism, parliament of world religions, gordon melton, scientology|1999/12/07|How many religions are there in the world? How many are represented at the 1999 Parliament of the World's Religions? Those are difficult questions to answer, but particularly at the massive event here ending Dec.8.|
588|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#35">Religious extremism on the rise: UN</a>|DAWN/Inter Press Service (Pakistan)|religious freedom, religious intolerance, united nations, christianity, islam, hinduism, scientology, seventh-day adventists jehovah's witnesses., |1999/12/08|The United Nations says there is a significant rise in religious extremism and intolerance throughout the world. &quot;No religion is free from extremism,&quot; declares Abdelfattah Amor, the UN's Special Rapporteur n Religious Intolerance.|
589|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991210.html#36">Man wants his 'Christ is myth' sign part of Christmas display</a>|Detroit News|offbeat|1999/12/07|The Colorado leader of the Freedom from Religion Foundation says he will sue to allow his &quot;Christ child is a myth&quot; sign to be part of the annual Christmas lights display at a government building.|
590|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#1">Death sought for Aum suspect</a>|Asahi News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/11|Tokyo district prosecutors on Friday demanded the death sentence for Yasuo Hayashi, a former senior member of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, for his part in the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system which left 12 dead and 5,000 injured.|
591|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#3">AUM employs shady real estate firm </a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/14|Faced with public hostility to its presence in communities across the country, the AUM Shinrikyo religious cult turned to a real estate firm notorious for its tactics in obtaining land and buildings to help secure sites for its facilities and residences for its members, the Mainichi has learned.|
592|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#4">Hundreds of Falungong followers protest in Hong Kong</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Channel News Asia|hong kong, china, falun gong|1999/12/11|A day ahead of an international Falungong conference in Hong Kong, hundreds of the sect's followers from around the world gathered to demand an end to Beijing's crackdown on the movement.|
593|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#5">Falun Gong Followers Meet in HK, Appeal to China</a>|New York Times/Reuters|hong kong, china, falun gong|1999/12/11|Falun Gong followers are in Hong Kong, where the movement is legal, to share experiences with each other in a two-day gathering expected to test the territory's autonomy from Beijing.|
594|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#6">Hong Kong Falungong unbowed by warnings</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|hong kong, china, falun gong|1999/12/13|Hong Kong and overseas members Falungong practitioners marched through the streets here again Monday in the face of warnings from mainland officials.|
595|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#7">Meeting not political, claims sect</a>|Yahoo! Asia/South China Morning Post|hong kong, china, falun gong|1999/12/13|Falun Gong members denied they had any political motives yesterday as a mainland official warned them against using the SAR as a base for subversion. The warning from Foreign Ministry Commissioner Ma Yuzhen came during a three-day gathering by the sect which has attracted more than 900 followers from around the world.|
596|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#8">Group Banned Elsewhere in China Meets in Hong Kong</a>|New York Times|hong kong, china, falun kong|1999/12/13|China's senior representative here said in a radio interview that he believed the group was using Hong Kong as a base to expand its activities within China.|
597|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#9">Hong Kong's interests at stake if sect uses it as base says official</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Wise News|hong kong, china, falun gong|1999/12/13|Falun Gong activities cannot be banned under Hong Kong laws even if their protests get worse, a local deputy to the National People's Congress admits. But Dr Raymond Wu Wai-yung warned that excesses by the religious group could harm the SAR.|
598|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#10">Four Falungong arrested for revealing police beating: rights group</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|hong kong, china, falun gong|1999/12/13|Four members of the outlawed Falungong spiritual sect have been arrested for revealing information concerning the case of a group member beaten to death in police custody, a Hong Kong-based rights group said Monday.|
599|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#11">Outlawed sect fined $9.3m for evading tax</a>|Yahoo! Asia/South China Morning Post|china, falun gong|1999/12/11|The authorities dealt another blow to the outlawed Falun Gong yesterday by announcing the sect faced fines of more than 10 million yuan (HK$9.3 million) for evading tax.|
600|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#12">Falun Gong Honors Rescinded</a>|Washington Post|usa, falun gong|1999/12/11|American mayors and governors make proclamations all the time. It's not every day they take them back or apologize for them. But that's what Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening and the mayors of Seattle, Baltimore and San Francisco have done since the Chinese Embassy complained about proclamations honoring Li Hongzhi, exiled leader of the Falun Gong spiritual and exercise movement. Even the State Department got into the act, according to Glendening's office, by providing advice about how to word a letter of apology.|
601|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#13">Belief called irrelevant in death</a>|St Petersburg Times|scientology, lisa mcpherson|1999/12/07|The Church of Scientology in Clearwater cannot rely on religious grounds to escape prosecution in the death of one of its members, Pinellas-Pasco prosecutors argued in a strongly worded document filed Monday.|
602|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#14">Bob Minton: Will he rouse the gorilla?</a>|Tampa Tribune|scientology, clearwater, bob minton, lisa mcpherson trust|1999/12/10|Ah, but the newest taxpayer will soon be one Robert Minton of New Hampshire, Boston and London. He's buying a residence here as well as a building hard by Scientology headquarters for his Lisa McPherson Trust Inc.|
603|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#15">Here the books come</a>|Arkansas Democrat-Gazette|scientology , l. ron hubbard|1999/12/12|And did I ever get into trouble with the Church of Scientology for poking a bit of fun at the book and the church. The church doesn't have a sense of humor and never gives up on its critics, first writing a letter to the editor about me, then demanding a meeting with the boss. Even then, they had the last word (or do I?).|
604|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#16">A trick too far </a>|The Observer (England)|scientology, england|1999/12/12|However, there is still some good in the world. Last week the Charity Commissioners decided that Scientology is not a religion and can therefore not enjoy the status of a charity for tax purposes, as it does in America. It apparently took the Commissioners three years to come to this decision - something the rest of us could have told them after about five minutes. Still, never mind, no doubt they were under a lot of pressure to go the other way.|
605|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#17">Overprescribing?</a>|Education Week|scientology, front groups, drugs, U.S. Commission on Human Rights|1999/12/08|Among the witnesses Ms. Johnson brought in to corroborate her claims was Bruce Wiseman, the president of the U.S. Commission on Human Rights, a private organization founded by the Church of Scientology. He warned that the &quot;fraudulent labeling and drugging of our nation's youth with psychiatry's mind-altering drugs&quot; was leading to violence such as the shootings at Colorado's Columbine High School.|
606|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#18">Waco wounds are healed, ATF chief says</a>|The Columbus Dispatch|waco, branch davidians, fbi, atf|1999/12/13|As Magaw prepares to step down as ATF director at the end of the month, he believes he has succeeded. &quot;I'm very confident that a Waco would never occur again,&quot;' he said.|
607|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#2">Prosecutors seek death sentence for Hayashi</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/10|In a statement read before the Tokyo District Court, prosecutors said Hayashi played a key role in the &quot;indiscriminate mass murder&quot; of the 1995 gassing and accused him of &quot;cruel and merciless&quot; acts. Although the defendant may have been trained to blindly obey cult founder Shoko Asahara, that could not be accepted as an excuse, they said.|
608|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#19">Copyright Decision Threatens Freedom to Link</a>|New York Times|mormonism, pseudo-christian, tanners, church handbook, lds, sandra tanner, utah lighthouse ministry|1999/12/10|In a ruling that could undermine the freedom to create links on the Web, a federal judge in Utah has temporarily barred two critics of the Mormon Church from posting on their Web site the Internet addresses of other sites featuring pirated copies of a Mormon text.|
609|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#20">Pres. Hinckley, King on air again Dec. 24</a>|Deseret News|lds, mormonism|1999/12/08|LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley will do a live interview on Christmas Eve with talk show host Larry King.|
610|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#21">Friends and relatives of convicted sleepwalking murderer plead for his life</a>|Court TV|lds, mormonism|1999/12/10|As he did during the trial, Martinez suggested that the Falaters argued over religion and whether to have more children. Yarmila, he said, resented the Mormon Church and suggested she was considering a divorce at the time of her death.|
611|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#22">&quot;'Don't ask, don't tell&quot; policy suggested for care of Jehovah's Witnesses</a>|Yahoo!/Reuters|jehovah's witnesses|1999/12/09|A bioethicist in Oregon proposes that the Jehovah's Witnesses' church should adopt a ''don't ask, don't tell'' policy when church members face medical treatment decisions that go against the church's doctrine.|
612|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#23">Blood transfusion plan for Jehovah's Witnesses</a>|BBC|jehovah's witnesses|1999/12/07|Jehovah's Witnesses who want a blood transfusion should go ahead with the operation but not tell other members of their community, a doctor suggests.|
613|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#24">Recognition for Ramadan</a>|Los Angeles Times|islam|1999/12/11|Some in the Muslim community want to make Ramadan more visible.|
614|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#25">'Farrakhan Jews'</a>|The Village Voice|farrakhan, nation of islam, jews|1999/12/08|The banner head-line in the November 30 issue of The Final Call, the NOI's official weekly, is perhaps the most shocking in the publication's 20-year history. &quot;JEWISH RABBIS & FARRAKHAN MEET,&quot; it proclaims, adding, &quot;Dialogue opened; Distinction made between Orthodox Judaism and Zionism.&quot;|
615|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#26">Cross-Burner Gets 12-Year Sentence</a>|Deseret News|hate groups, white supremacy, racism|1999/12/11|Michael Brad Magleby was sentenced Friday to 12 years in federal prison for his role in the cross-burning at the home of an interracial Salt Lake City couple.|
616|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#27">NY Apocalypse Now: Doomsday Cult</a>|NY Post|concerned christians, monte kim miller, doomsday cult, hal mansfield, mark roggeman|1999/12/13|Armageddon begins Saturday. So say members of a doomsday cult who arrived in New York a week ago amid growing fears they could be planning a mass suicide -- or something worse.|
617|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#28">Keeping an Eye on Would-Be Y2K Terrorists</a>|Los Angeles Times|y2k, millennium, doomsday, terrorism, militia groups, ted gunderson, freeservers, james bo gritz, bo gritz, james gritz|1999/12/11|With the doomsday clock rapidly ticking down toward midnight on New Year's Eve, the nation's angriest government haters say that they are primed and ready for action. John Trochmann, the gray-bearded leader of the Militia of Montana, foresees terrorist attacks around the country if computers fail and utilities go dark. Ted Gunderson, former head of the FBI office in Los Angeles and now one of the country's leading far-right figures, predicts fire and chaos.|
618|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#29">Panel urges caution over doomsday fears</a>|Toronto Star (Canada)|y2k, millennium, doomsday, cults, Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, csicop|1999/12/13|In our cultish devotion to finding the right New Year's Eve party to attend, or to fixing the Y2K computer bug, we have forgotten about real cults, a symposium on millennial fear has warned.|
619|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#30">Millennium chaos feared in Holy City</a>|The Observer (England)|y2k, millennium, doomsday, project megiddo, jerusalem syndrome|1999/12/12|Israel's leading expert on the millennium is predicting that thousands of people will attempt to commit suicide in Jerusalem over the first few days of the new year as religious fervour, solar flares and computer glitches all combine to produce a chaos which many will interpret as the beginning of the end of the world.|
620|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#31">'The righteous will survive and the rest will perish'</a>|The Times (England)|y2k, millennium, doomsday, project megiddo, israel, temple mount faithful, clyde lott, white supremacy, christian identity, red heifer, gershon solomon bill hawkins, house of yahweh|1999/12/13|Supporters of the Temple Mount Faithful include Clyde Lott, a Texan farmer, who will bring red heifers to the Holy Land early next year. A fundamentalist Christian and farmer, Lott knows his Bible. Red heifers, burnt and mixed in with holy water, will be an essential part of the purification ceremony during the opening of a Third Temple.|
621|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#32">The End Is Near for Y2K Hucksters</a>|APBnews.com|y2k, doomsday, millennium, militia, don mcalvany|1999/12/08|These developments bring a wry smile to the face of Steve Hewitt, a quiet hero in the Y2K goofiness. Hewitt, editor-in-chief of the Missouri-based Christian Computing Magazine, has led an accountability campaign against media figures like Hyatt and Don McAlvany, a Colorado-based Y2K entrepreneur, who invoke God's name in selling millennium products.|
622|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#33">Doomsayers Are Batting Zero</a>|San Jose Mercury News|y2k, doomdsday, millenium|1999/12/13|And there is one common link to each and every one of the forecasts of global gloom and doom. &quot;They have all been wrong,&quot; said Professor Richard Landes, founder and director of the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University.|
623|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#34">Huge Throng Hails Virgin of Guadalupe</a>|Los Angeles Times|guadalupe, catholicism|1999/12/12|Bearing red roses, rosary beads and banners emblazoned with the image of the Virgin Mary, more than 50,000 people gathered Saturday in Los Angeles in an outpouring of faith and devotion to honor the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.|
624|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#35">Debate over Virgin of Guadalupe</a>|San Jose Mercury News|guadalupe, catholicism|1999/12/11|As green-and-red banners are unfurled and 6 million pilgrims make their way toward Mexico's holiest Roman Catholic shrine, three priests have caused a national stir by casting new doubt on the Virgin of Guadalupe de Tepeyac, Mexico's patron saint since 1737.|
625|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#36">Carlos Santana Claims Religious Vision</a>|Yahoo!/Reuters|guadalupe, catholicism|1999/12/09|Mexican-born rock star Carlos Santana said on Wednesday he had spoken to the country's most revered religious figure -- the Virgin of Guadalupe -- while praying.|
626|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#37">Southern Baptist Leader Predicts Split</a>|Los Angeles Times|baptists|1999/12/11|Paige Patterson, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has predicted that some kind of division is in the offing for the denomination--the nation's largest Protestant denomination--but he expects less than a tenth of the group's churches to depart.|
627|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#38">On eve of millennium, Orthodox struggle with unity</a>|Star-Telegram|orthodox church|1999/12/10|For the spiritual leader of the world's Christian Orthodox, unity across the faith's many nations and cultures remains a millennial theme, even as rifts persist.|
628|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991214.html#39">Globalization Applies to Religion, Too</a>|New York Times|interfaith, parliament of world religions, religious pluralism|1999/12/11|And that raises the issue of truth. To some people, genuine respect and tolerance are incompatible with claims that &quot;I have the truth and you don't.&quot; To others, the demand that &quot;I must abandon my claims to the truth in the name of tolerance&quot; is the very essence of intolerance.|
629|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#1">Japan Cult Leader To Be Released</a>|Yahoo!/AP|japan, aum shinrikyo, fumihiro joyu|1999/12/14|A charismatic leader of the doomsday cult accused of a deadly subway gassing in Tokyo will likely try to revive the group after his release from prison, a leading expert on the cult said today. Fumihiro Joyu, the top spokesman for Aum Shinri Kyo before his arrest on charges of trying to cover-up the group's activities, is scheduled to be set free on Dec. 29 after less than three years in jail.|
630|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#2">Court orders Aum assets seized for compensation</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/16|The Tokyo District Court has ordered the temporary seizure of 10.5 million yen due to be paid to the Aum Supreme Truth cult by the Minami Aikimura village government in Nagano Prefecture in exchange for a facility owned by the cult.|
631|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#3">Court ups heat on AUM</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/16|In a move that blocked AUM Shinrikyo from hiding its assets, the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday banned a local government in Nagano Prefecture from paying the cult in the purchase of a building and the surrounding land. In a provisional order sent to the Minamiaiki Municipal Government, the court seized 10.5 million yen that the municipality had intended to pay an AUM Shinrikyo follower to buy the property.|
632|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#4">Death sought for ex-cultist</a>|Asahi News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/16|Prosecutors sought the death penalty for former Aum Shinrikyo member Satoru Hashimoto on Wednesday for his role in the sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, and for the slaying of Yokohama lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family.|
633|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#5">Death penalty sought for Hashimoto</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/16|Hashimoto also became the sixth cult member to face a possible death sentence for the series of crimes involving Aum Supreme Truth.|
634|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#6">Six sect members</a>|Yahoo! Asia/ Wise News|china, falun gong|1999/12/16|SIX Falun Gong members have been detained in Shenzhen without being given any reason, according to the Information Centre on Human Rights and Democratic Movements In China.|
635|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#7">Beijing concerns surface</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Wise News|falun gong, china, hong kong|1999/12/14|Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa might be forced to alter the government's stance in dealing with the Falun Gong if its members continue to stage public protests and parades in Hong Kong, a source close to Beijing says. It said Mr Tung's statement last Saturday telling the sect to observe local laws signalled that he was very concerned about Beijing's reaction to the matter.|
636|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#8">'No plan' to make Hong Kong sect base</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Wise News|china, falun gong, hong kong|1999/12/15|A Falun Gong leader yesterday rejected any suggestion the group wanted to set up a base in Hong Kong, as a senior mainland official issued a second warning in two days that it should not try to do so.|
637|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#9">China to free local woman</a>|Denver Rocky Mountain News|china, falun gong|1999/12/15|Tang Jian, 38, a Highlands Ranch software engineer and a mother of a 10-year-old daughter, was arrested Nov. 25 in Guangzhou, China, for being a Falun Gong follower. She was released Dec. 9 and flies back to Denver today.|
638|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#10">Falun Gong Plans</a>|Fox News|china, falun gong, hong kong|1999/12/14|Some 500 members of China's banned Falun Gong sect plan to gather in Macau during the Portuguese enclave's return to Chinese rule next week, a Hong Kong-based human rights group said on Wednesday.|
639|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#11">Schell takes back proclamation of 'Falun Dafa Days'</a>|Seattle Post-Intelligencer|falun dafa, seattle, usa, baltimore, san francisco, falun gong, china, li hongzhi|1999/12/14|First, Mayor Paul Schell proclaimed the week of Nov. 29 &quot;Falun Dafa Days&quot; to honor a spiritual and exercise movement. Then he took it back. Schell and mayors from Baltimore and San Francisco have rescinded city proclamations celebrating Li Hongzhi, the exiled leader of Falun Dafa, or Falun Gong.|
640|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#12">Falun Dafa And Freedom Of Speech</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Dow Jones|falun dafa, china, falun gong|1999/12/15|Nonetheless, the authorities did not interfere last weekend, showing they still take seriously the concept of &quot;one country, two systems&quot; under which Hong Kong is allowed to maintain its own British system of law.|
641|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#13">Jail for 'illegal activities'</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Wise News|falun gong, china, macau|1999/12/16|Macau has warned it will crack down on illegal gatherings and demonstrations as hundreds of overseas followers of the Falun Gong sect prepare to converge on the enclave to co-incide with Monday's handover to Chinese rule.|
642|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#14">Scientology leader named defendant in suit</a>|St, Petersburg Times|scientology, clearwater, david miscavige, lisa mcpherson|1999/12/15|In a ruling Tuesday that stunned the Church of Scientology and its attorneys, a Hillsborough County judge allowed Scientology's worldwide leader, David Miscavige, to be named as a defendant in a lawsuit over the 1995 death of church member Lisa McPherson.|
643|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#15">Double Crossed</a>|New Times LA|scientology, graham berry, robert cipriano|1999/12/12|The Church of Scientology has a reputation for ruthlessly going after its enemies. Robert Cipriano claims Scientologists rewarded him for helping them do just that. Now he's turned on them|
644|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#16">Basel Scientology Espionage Case</a>|sda/FACTS|scientology, switzerland, germany|1999/12/13|Basel Greater Assemblywoman Susanne Haller has defended herself against accusations of having acting as an &quot;undercover woman&quot; for the state attorney's office. She has obtained a super-provisional order in the Basel civil court against the operator of an internet web page.|
645|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#17">An Assault on 'Battlefield Earth'?</a>|Washington Post|scientology, battlefield earth, hebert jentzsch|1999/12/12|It's silly to recite and refute the many falsehoods in Leiby's story, because more egregious and misleading are the omissions. Let me put it bluntly: The movie &quot;Battlefield Earth&quot; has nothing to do with the religion of Scientology. And frankly, there is no need for me to say any more.  [...carries on for 4 more paragraphs...]|
646|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#18">Web sites worship teen killers</a>|Denver Post|columbine, hate groups, hate crimes|1999/12/14|While authorities have always maintained that one of their primary goals was to keep Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold from attaining the cult-hero status the teenagers so desired, revelations this week defeated those efforts.|
647|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#19">Quake Forces Cult Out of Tunnels</a>|Excite/Reuters|offbeat, doomsday cult|1999/12/15|A quake on Wednesday forced out more than 2,000 followers of a Philippine cult hiding in tunnels for fear of the sky raining down fire at the start of the new millennium.|
648|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#20">U.S. Girds for Feared Y2K Violence</a>|Yahoo!/Reuters|y2k, millennium, doomsday, project megiddo|1999/12/16|As officials grow more confident that U.S. infrastructure will emerge relatively glitch-free, they appear increasingly concerned about those who might try to wind up the century with a kind of bloody exclamation point.|
649|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#21">Apocalypse now, or never?</a>|BBC News|y2k, millennium, doomsday, cults, england, _inform_, |1999/12/14|More than 1,500 new groups have sprung up in the UK in the past 25 years, but predicting which cults are the most likely to go into millennium meltdown, and when, is difficult.|
650|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#22">Jerusalem on high alert as 2000 nears</a>|Boston Globe|y2k, israel, doomsday, millennium, cults, project megiddo|1999/12/14|In all, some 400 cameras are keeping watch on the winding, cobblestone pathways of Jerusalem's Old City, scanning unblinkingly for everything from pickpockets to deranged religious pilgrims bent on carrying out bizarre interpretations of biblical prophecies of apocalypse.|
651|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#23">City inspires delusions along with faith</a>|Boston Globe|israel, jerusalem syndrome|1999/12/14|All of them suffer from the ''Jerusalem Syndrome.'' As the millennium approaches, the number of people afflicted with the psychological disorder is growing, said Dr. Yair Carlos Bar-El, who is called the world's leading expert on it.|
652|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#24">Paris police have doomsday cults under surveillance</a>|dpa|doomsday cults, france, concerned christians|1999/12/10|A half dozen sects with apocalyptic worldviews will be under sharp scrutiny in Paris at year's end. The French police have been especially irritated by the "Concerned Christians," reported the "Le Figaro" newspaper on Friday, as indicated by Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement.|
653|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#25">Doomsday cults leave Rome indifferent, Vatican wary</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|italy, doomsday cults, Luciano Di Gregorio|1999/12/14|But while Rome city officials are unfazed by talk about the possible activities of doomsday cults or freak attacks on computer systems, the Vatican is casting a wary eye as millions are expected to attend Holy Year celebrations.|
654|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#26">Man Appeals Cult Murder Convictions</a>|Yahoo!|cult, murder|1999/12/15|The man behind the deaths of two people on a cult compound near Rulo has asked the federal courts to forgive his conviction and sentence. Michael Ryan was sentenced to death for the 1985 torture-murder of James Thimm. The 51-year-old Ryan was also convicted in the beating death of five-year-old Luke Stice, the son of a cult member.|
655|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#27">Judge's biblical quote in sentencing is at issue</a>|Akron Beacon Journal|bible quote|1999/12/15|Ohio Supreme Court justices summoned images of an atheist judge or one who cites the Koran as they heard arguments yesterday about a judge who quoted the Bible before sentencing a child rapist to 51 years in prison.|
656|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#28">Wenatchee case girl runs away, to parents</a>|Seattle Post-Intelligencer|false memory syndrome, fms, abuse, ritual abuse, wenatchee|1999/12/15|At 17, Melinda Everett has lived in a blur of foster homes, group homes and treatment centers in the last five years. But ever since her family was torn apart by the now-infamous Wenatchee child sex-abuse investigations in 1994, she has yearned for just one home -- her own.|
657|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#29">Man made hash of Mormon visit, court told</a>|The Australian|mormonism, pseudo-christian, lds, offbeat|1999/12/16|Two unsuspecting Mormon missionaries ended up in hospital after eating about 12 freshly baked cannabis cookies in 10 minutes during a home visit, a court heard yesterday.|
658|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991216.html#30">Apocalypse Now?</a>|New York Times (Book Review)|robert jay. lifton, aum shinrikyo, terrorism|1999/12/12|Instead, Lifton has zeroed in on Aum's theology and on the psychology of the cult's members. This reflects Lifton's own expertise, for he had earlier studied Nazi doctors as well as other cultlike phenomena. Unfortunately, what Asahara thought is rather duller than what he did.|
659|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#1">Death penalty sought for former AUM member</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/12/18|Prosecutors on Friday demanded the death sentence for Kiyohide Hayakawa, one of five AUM Shinrikyo cultists accused of murdering a Yokohama lawyer, his wife and infant baby.|
660|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#2">Prosecutors seek death penalty for cultist in lawyer's slaying</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/17|Upon orders from Asahara, the four killed Taguchi because he had seen another cultist murdered and the cult feared he might make the incident public if he fled, prosecutors said.|
661|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#3">Residents go to court for sick-building cure</a>|Yahoo! Asia/South China Morning Post|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/16|In another suit it was not a building, but its occupants, which sparked a dispute: it involved the Aum Shinri Kyo sect's right to occupy the premises.|
662|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#4">Chinese-American member of Falungong tells of torture, beatings </a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|china, falun gong|1999/12/16|Facing the White House, Jimmy Zou, a US-Chinese Falungong practioner, on Thursday rolled up his sleeves to reveal scars he said were from being handcuffed and beaten in China for his beliefs.|
663|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#5">Injured cult follower vows Beijing return</a>|Yahoo! Asia!/South China Morning Post|china, falun gong|1999/12/17|A Falun Gong practitioner yesterday pledged to return to Beijing to campaign for the sect despite breaking her leg trying to escape from security officials on Wednesday.|
664|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#6">Macau prepares for handover to China; sect members tossed out</a>|Nando Times|china, falun gong, macua|1999/12/17|Six visiting members of Falun Gong, the meditation sect banned in China, were thrown out of Macau on Friday as preparations began for the Portuguese enclave to be returned to China this weekend.|
665|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#7">Six Falungong followers deported from Macau after police raid</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|china, falun gong, macau|1999/12/17|The planned protests have been condemned by the mainstream Hong Kong Falungong as they want to avoid being seen to be involved in politics -- one of the accusations levelled against them by Beijing.|
666|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#8">Members of China sect plan rally in Macau</a>|Boston Globe|china, falun gong, macau|1999/12/17|Followers of the banned Falun Gong movement said yesterday they planned to make their presence felt in Macau for its handover to China despite a police warning that they could face punishment.|
667|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#9">Religious groups lure younger generation</a>|Asahi Daily News (Japan)|ho no ha na sanpogyo, life space, aum shinrikygo, kenshokai|1999/12/17|But young people, many of whom are lured by promises of wealth, friendship and a sense of belonging, continue to flock to Ho no Hana Sanpogyo and other religious organizations.|
668|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#10">Scientology calls lawsuit fraudulent</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology, clearwater, lisa mcpherson|1999/12/17|The wrongful death lawsuit filed against the Church of Scientology by an aunt of Lisa McPherson was based on fraud and improper motives, Scientology attorneys argued in a probate court hearing that began Thursday and continues today.|
669|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#11">U.S. seeks to shield Waco files</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/12/17|Government lawyers have asked a federal judge to block public release of hundreds of government documents recently surrendered to lawyers for the Branch Davidians, arguing that disclosure poses security risks for federal agents and military personnel.|
670|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#12">Hate groups prepare for New Year's mayhem</a>|Nando Times|hate groups, y2k, fbi, world church of the creator, aryan nations, new world order, end time, militia groups, vincent bertollini, white supremacy, 11th hour remnant messenger, project megiddo, southern poverty law center, doomsday cults|1999/12/16|Despite a recent FBI report warning of the potential for violence by hategroups, militia members and apocalyptic religious cults around Jan. 1, leaders of some of the better-known organizations say if there is any violence from them, it will be defensive only.|
671|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#13">U.S. law enforcement prepares for possibility of New Year's terrorism</a>|CNN|project megiddo, fbi, white supremacy, black supremacy, militia groups, doomsday cults|1999/12/16|While an expected 1.5 million people watch the ball drop in New York's Time Square and tens of thousands of other New Year's revelers join President Clinton for a concert on the Mall in Washington, law enforcement officers will be soberly keeping their eyes peeled for potential threats of terrorism during the millennium change.|
672|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#14">FBI On Alert for Y2K Threats</a>|Northern Light/AP|fbi, y2k, project megiddo, doomsday cult|1999/12/17|At FBI headquarters, three separate teams will staff the Strategic Information and Operations Center -- a windowless, 35-room command post covering nearly the area of a football field on the fifth floor.|
673|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#15">Pensacola Christian school expels, suspends student 'witches'</a>|Naples Daily News|witchcraft, wicca|1999/12/17|One fifth-grader accused of forming a witches club has been expelled from Pensacola Christian Academy and 10 others have been suspended. The expelled girl organized the club and encouraged other students to study witchery and act like witches, an academy spokesman said.|
674|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#16">Clergy disenchanted with witches</a>|Sunda Times (South Africa)|Parliament of world religions, witchcraft, wicca|1999/12/12|Witches should not be invited to international religious gatherings, say two South African religious leaders.|
675|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#17">Parents group rejects settlement in Waldorf curriculum case</a>|Freedom Forum|waldorf education, |1999/12/15|A group of California parents and taxpayers says it won't accept a settlement offer in a federal lawsuit against two school districts using a curriculum the group says is infused with religious precepts.|
676|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#18">Satanists threaten the Pope's party</a>|The Guardian (England)|satanism, catholicism, new acropolis, italy, followers of beelzebub|1999/12/18|All branches of the security service have been put on alert for a possible attack by two millennial cults known as Followers of Beelzebub and New Acropolis, according to Franco Frattini, the president of a parliamentary security committee.|
677|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#19">Cambodia cops arrest 'vampire'</a>|USA Today|cambodia, vampirism|1999/12/16|A Cambodian man accused of killing people and drinking their blood in the belief it would cure him of AIDS has been apprehended by police, a newspaper reported. Described as a ''vampire'' by local villagers, Pheach Phen, 20, was arrested in the eastern province of Kompong Cham after allegedly killing a 5-year-old boy, the Koh Santepheap newspaper reported.|
678|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#20">Suspect in KKK Cross Plantings Gets Mental Test</a>|Los Angeles Times|kkk, ku klux klan, hate groups, racism|1999/12/14|A man accused of planting two charred crosses displaying Ku Klux Klan literature on dirt lots in Palmdale underwent a psychiatric evaluation on Monday.|
679|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#21">Reform Jews encourage converting non-Jewish spouses</a>|CNN/AP|jews, proselytizing, baptists, evangelism|1999/12/18|At a conference this week in Orlando, Reform leaders said their effort at converting non-Jewish spouses is different.|
680|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#22">Wenatchee incident rankles legislators</a>|Seattle Post-Intelligencer|false memory syndrome, fms, abuse, ritual abuse, wenatchee|1999/12/18|A 17-year-old girl at the center of the 1994-95 Wenatchee child sexual abuse investigations should not have been put in the care of a former police detective she says bullied her into making accusations in the notorious cases, two state legislators said.|
681|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#23">City withdraws demand that couple obtain permit to hold Bible meetings</a>|Freedom Forum|religious intolerance, religious freedom|1999/12/17|A Christian pastor and his wife have successfully fought off attempts by Onalaska, Wis., city officials to require them to obtain a permit to hold Bible study meetings at their home.|
682|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#24">School Religious Group Rules Issued</a>|Excite/AP|religious freedom, church and state|1999/12/18|President Clinton issued new guidelines today for religious organizations' participation in public education, saying their help will enrich the lives of children without violating the constitutional separation of church and state.|
683|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#25">School Creates Own commandments, and a Fuss</a>|New York Times|religious freedom, religious intolerance, church and state|1999/12/16|Given its druthers, the school board in this southern Indiana town would post the Ten Commandments in classrooms. But because that would be a clear violation of the First Amendment, the board decided to carve its own tablet of moral behavior: the 11 &quot;Common Precepts.&quot;|
684|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#26">11 'precepts' look like Ten Commandments, ACLU tells school board</a>|Bostom.com/AP|religious freedom, religious intolerance, church and state|1999/12/16|The Indianapolis branch of the American Civil Liberties Union says it will seek a federal injunction that would block the posting of the 11 &quot;common precepts,&quot; which include &quot;Trust in God,&quot; &quot;Respect authority,&quot; &quot;'Honor your parents and family members&quot; and &quot;Save sex for marriage.&quot;|
685|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#27">West Virginia school board rejects creationism resolution</a>|CNN|evolution, creationism, science|1999/12/17|A West Virginia county school board defeated a resolution Thursday night that would lift a ban on teaching the biblical story of creation.|
686|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#28">Applied Digital Solutions Acquires Rights to World's First Digital Device Implantable in Humans</a>|Yahoo!/Business Wire|science, technology, digital angel|1999/12/15|The implantable transceiver sends and receives data and can be continuously tracked by GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) technology. The transceiver's power supply and actuation system are unlike anything ever created. When implanted within a body, the device is powered electromechanically through the movement of muscles, and it can be activated either by the &quot;wearer&quot; or by the monitoring facility.|
687|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#29">Solution in sight for Bethlehem star riddle</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|science, star of bethlehem|1999/12/17|Now a British astronomer based in Spain has come up with a theory which, he believes, could lay the mystery to rest. In his book &quot;The Star of Bethlehem&quot; just published, Mark Kidger of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias in Tenerife examines evidence drawn from modern Biblical scholarship, recent findings in space and ancient Chinese history to suggest that conclusive proof of the star's existence could be at hand.|
688|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#30">Jonestown's Horror Fades but Mystery Remains</a>|Los Angeles Times|jonestown, peoples temple|1999/12/16|How so many well-meaning, idealistic people remained under Jones' spell to the day of their deaths has been the subject of numerous academic studies. But the truth will probably never be completely known.|
689|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#31">Ghost of a chance for UFOs</a>|The Guardian (England)|opinion poll, _ufo_, scientology, numerology, astrology, reincarnation, _esp_|1999/12/18|Barely a third of young people believe in a Christian god, although two thirds have some belief in ghosts, and almost as many believe that UFOs are real.|
690|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#32">Labyrinth disturbs hamlet's peace</a>|Denver Post|labyrinth, taize, meditation|1999/12/15|At the Christway Community Church in Denver, a portable labyrinth is part of the church's Taize service, a Christian-based worship style using song and silence in reaching a meditative state.|
691|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991218.html#33">'Celestine' author says he just interprets trends</a>|Charlotte Observer/Religion News Service|james redfield, celestine prophecy, new age|1999/12/11|With 10 million copies of &quot;The Celestine Prophecy&quot; (Little, $19.95) in print and 6 million of its sequel, &quot;The Tenth Insight&quot; (Warner, $6.95), spiritual novelist James Redfield has become a publishing phenomenon.|
692|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#1">Davidian lawyer raises questions on Delta Force</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, fbi, branch davindians|1999/12/21|Sworn testimony from two members of the Army's secret Delta Force unit raises questions about the actions of a third Delta soldier during the last hours of the Branch Davidian standoff, a lawyer for the sect said Monday.|
693|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#2">40 held after sect defies ban on rallies</a>|South China Morning Post|china, falun gong|1999/12/20|Police arrested nearly 40 Falun Gong followers as they staged a defiant public exercise session outside the Lisboa Hotel.|
694|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#3">Falun Gong group complains of being kept under surveillance before being returned to SAR</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Wise News|china, falun gong|1999/12/19|The Macau Government has launched a massive crackdown on the Falun Gong, expelling six sect members and denying entry to a number of others.|
695|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#4">Scientology lawsuit forges on</a>|MSNBC/Channel 8 Tampa|scientology, clearwater, lisa mcpherson|1999/12/18|It could be a year before a Pinellas judge makes a decision whether a critical document in an $80 million lawsuit against the Church of Scientology was forged.|
696|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#5">Scientologists, critics sharing woman's name</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology, lisa mcpherson, lisa mcpherson trust, lisa mcpherson foundation, bob minton, cos harassment|1999/12/20|Vowing to speak out against "the propaganda of hate," a new organization of local Scientologists is gearing up to counter the efforts of Robert S. Minton, the New England millionaire who is setting up shop in downtown Clearwater to oppose the Church of Scientology.|
697|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#6">CSIS warns of millennial cult attacks</a>|National Post (Canada)|canada, csis, canadian security intelligence service, cults, doomsday cult|1999/12/18|A Canadian intelligence report is warning that hundreds of &quot;doomsday religious movements&quot; are anticipating an apocalypse at the turn of the millennium and may resort to mass violence.|
698|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#7">Doomsday cults pose threat-newspaper</a>|Yahoo!/Reuters|doomsday cult, cults, canada|1999/12/18|The newspaper reported that the 400 doomsday cults were in Canada but CSIS spokesman Dan Lambert told Reuters that that figure applied worldwide and that just three doomsday cults had ties to Canada.|
699|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#8">MI5 raises alert over millennial doomsday cults</a>|Sunday Times (England)|england, doomsday cult|1999/12/19|The security service MI5 has warned police chiefs and senior government officials about the threat of mass suicides and organised violence from millennium doomsday cults operating in Britain and abroad.|
700|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#9">Potential Extremist Reactions to Y2K Detailed in ADL Report</a>|Northern Light/US Newswire|adl, doomsday cult, prophecy club, militia groups, patriot movement, _adl_,  temple mount faithful, gershon solomon, christian identity, concerned christians, house of yahweh, white supremacy, National Socialist White Revolutionary Party , james wickstrom, robert millar, Yisrayl &quot;Bill&quot; Hawkins, christian defense league, church of israel, anti-semitism, National Association for the Advancement of White People , naawp, militia of montana, john trochman, norfed, bo gritz, jame gritz, james &quot;bo&quot; gritz, populist party, new world order|1999/12/20|As the year comes to a close, concerns have intensified about possible Y2K extremist reactions. The arrest in Seattle of an alleged terrorist last week serves as a case in point. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) identifies similar threats to national security from extremists and militia groups in its report, &quot;Y2K Paranoia: Extremists Confront the Millennium.&quot;|
701|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#10">Alleged California Y2K plotters plead not guilty</a>|Excite/Reuters|y2k, militia groups|1999/12/20|Two alleged militia members accused of plotting to blow up a California propane plant in an attempt to fan Y2K hysteria and overthrow the U.S. government pleaded not guilty to federal firearms and drug charges Monday.|
702|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#11">Western Hate Groups Are Getting Special Y2K Attention</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|hate groups, y2k, project megiddo|1999/12/19|When the clocks turn at the new millennium, terror central will be here in the Intermountain West, headquarters for radicals, racists and religious fanatics, according to a new federal report on domestic terrorism and Y2K.|
703|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#12">'Bobby Bible' Warns Jesus Is Coming to Holy Land</a>|Excite/Reuters|israel, bobby bible, end time|1999/12/20|Dressed in long black robes and wearing a baseball cap that says Jesus is Lord, American street preacher &quot;Bobby Bible&quot; walked around central Bethlehem Sunday and warned about the coming of Jesus.|
704|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#13">The ball goes up, but what comes down?</a>|U.S. News & World Report|project megiddo, milita groups, millennium|1999/12/27|International terrorists are not the only threat over New Year's. An FBI report on the possibility of millennial violence found few specific threats of domestic terrorism.|
705|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#14">Preparing for the end times</a>|US News & World Report|israel, jerusalem syndrome, doomsday cult, end time|1999/12/27|Welcome to Jerusalem. While this city has long attracted zealots and madmen (in addition to the pious and the passionate), as the millennium approaches things are getting wackier by the day.|
706|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#15">Egyptian boogie nights</a>|US News & World Report|pyramids, texe marrs, david icke, conspiracy theories, new world order, Illuminati, egypt|1999/12/27|David Icke, a former British television sportscaster turned prophet of doom, and Texe Marrs, a retired U.S. Air Force officer turned pastor, have issued Web site warnings that, come millennium eve, former President George Bush and fellow members of a cult known as the Illuminati will summon oppressive evil forces at a black mass in a burial chamber deep inside the great Cheops pyramid.|
707|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#16">Followers of Greek gods want no part of Christian millennium</a>|San Diego Union Tribune|greece, olympian gods, parthenon|1999/12/20|A small but passionate group of devotees to the 12 Olympian gods claim it's sacrilegious to mix the ancient temples with celebrations marking 2,000 years of Christianity, and have threatened to take the Culture Ministry to court if it allows Christian hymns to be sung inside the Parthenon on New  Year's Eve.|
708|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#17">Is Time Up for Utah Polygamous Sect?: Authorities dismiss millennium threats, but they'll keep a cautious eye out</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|mormonism, pseudo-christian, polygamy, james harnston, The True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days|1999/12/19|Some former disciples of The True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days (TLC) believe the ominous words mean Harmston and his 300-member following intend to make good on his apocalyptic visions, which include sacking the Mormon Church's Salt Lake Temple and seizing power over this central Utah valley to establish a new Zion.|
709|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#18">Self-Reliant Mormons Prepared for Y2K Worst</a>|APBnews/AP|mormonism, pseudo-christian, lds, y2k|1999/12/18|For decades, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been encouraged to store a year's worth of food in their homes, not just for Y2K, but for any hard times.|
710|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#19">Plot to Destroy Nuclear Plant Foiled, Feds Say</a>|APBnews|militia groups, christian identity, southern poverty law center, Beauregard|1999/12/09|A militia leader is in jail for plotting to blow up a Florida nuclear power plant and black out Atlanta by destroying electrical facilities, federal authorities said today.|
711|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#20">Loggers sue over 'religious' groups' timber appeals</a>|Star-Telegram|ecology, religious freedom, environmental issues|1999/12/19|A group of loggers has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service and two environmental groups, claiming the Forest Service has buckled to the groups' philosophy of "deep ecology," which regards the natural world as sacred.|
712|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#21">Did Chopra Buy Sex With American Express Card?</a>|APBnews.com|deepak chopra|1999/12/17|Did New Age guru Deepak Chopra leave home without his American Express card, which someone then used to pay for the services of a San Francisco prostitute in 1991?|
713|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#22">Satanic DJs Allegedly Robbed Communication Towers</a>|APBnews.com|satanism|1999/12/16|Two men who operated a pirate satanic radio station known as The Goat are believed to have been responsible for at least $1 million in thefts and damages at 37 communications towers throughout northern Indiana, police said today.|
714|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#23">Muslims Urged on Claim to Jerusalem</a>|Yahoo!/AP|islam, israel|1999/12/17|The top Muslim cleric in Jerusalem today told an overflow crowd of 400,000 worshippers at the Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest shrine, that the Palestinians cannot give up their claims to the disputed city.|
715|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#24">Cops Ordered to Return Televangelist's Checks</a>|APBnews.com|creflo dollar|1999/12/17|One hundred Fulton County police officers have been ordered to return $1,000 checks they each received from a nationally syndicated televangelist. The Fulton County Ethics Board chairman said that the officers could face ethics charges if they keep the money.|
716|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#25">Tiny human-borne monitoring device sparks privacy fears</a>|CNN|digital angel, applied digital solutions|1999/12/20|A Palm Beach, Florida-based telecommunications company has developed a miniature digital monitoring device that can be implanted in people, intended to assist in locating missing children or for monitoring the heart rate of at-risk patients.|
717|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#26">Australian man convicted of feeding hash cookies to Mormons</a>|CNN/AP|mormonism, pseudo-christian, offbeat|1999/12/19|A man received a suspended two-month jail sentence Friday for feeding hash cookies to two unsuspecting American Mormons.|
718|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#27">Dorothy Allison, 74, 'Psychic Detective' Consulted by Police</a>|New York Times|psychic, occult, dorothy allison, skeptic magazine, skeptical inquirer, michael shermer, Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranorma|1999/12/20|Dorothy Allison, a self-proclaimed psychic with a knack for turning up at the scenes of notorious crimes, died on Dec. 1 at Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, N.J. She was 74 and lived in Nutley, N.J.|
719|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#28">Virgin Mary Statues Vanish in Texas</a>|APBnews.com|virgin mary, mariology, catholicism|1999/12/16|Statues of the Virgin Mary have been disappearing without a trace from lawns and cemeteries in and around the storied Texas port city of Galveston since late summer.|
720|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#29">Web rumors have many starry-eyed over 'superbright' celestial event</a>|Houston Chronicle|full moon, paganism|1999/12/17|In the last few weeks, e-mail rumors of a &quot;superbright&quot; full moon rising over the winter solstice on Wednesday have propagated across cyberspace, breathlessly promising an illuminated Luna unparalleled in 133 years.|
721|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#30">Brightest of Moons and Tallest of Tales</a>|New York Times|full moon|1999/12/21|High tides, not cosmic levels of illumination, may be the most noticeable effect tomorrow night when an unusual combination of celestial events produces one of the largest and brightest full Moons in recent memory.|
722|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#31">Wal-Mart a cult? Book says so; others say no</a>|Arkansas Democrat-Gazette|dave arnott, corporate cults|1999/12/19|When does a company's culture become a cult? It's when a company goes to great lengths to make its employees feel at home at the office, says business professor and consultant Dave Arnott in his new book, Corporate Cults.|
723|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#32">Leaving Social Security is not easy</a>|Detroit News|social security, christian science, jehovah's witnesses, amish|1999/12/20|You have to be a religious worker, working for a church or a qualified church organization, such as a nonprofit division under control of that church. Or you and your employer have to be members of a sect opposed to Social  Security and Medicare taxes and benefits.|
724|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#33">87% have religious belief, says survey</a>|The Irish Times|opinion poll|1999/12/11|A Gallup worldwide opinion poll has established that 87 per cent of people consider themselves part of some religion, with 13 per cent saying they belong to none.|
725|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#34">Catholic Newspaper Selects Jesus for Millennium</a>|Excite/Reuters|catholicism|1999/12/15|Jesus is being depicted for the new millennium as a dark-skinned peasant with both feminine and masculine features.|
726|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#35">With Rum And Cigars, Cubans Pray to Saint Lazarus</a>|Yahoo!/Reuters|cuba, saint lazarus, catholicism, santeria|1999/12/17|The annual pilgrimage drew thousands of Roman Catholic believers and followers of the Afro-Cuban Santeria religion -- for whom the saint symbolizes the deity Babalu-Aye -- seeking miracles and solutions to personal woes.|
727|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#36">Death-penalty opponents illuminate Colosseum</a>|Star-Telegram|death penalty, corporal punishment, human rights, usa|1999/12/17|With the blessing of the pope, the ancient Colosseum, where Christians were thrown to the lions and gladiators fought to the death, has become a symbol of life for foes of capital punishment.|
728|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991221.html#37">Holy Smoke Review</a>|Steve Hassan's Mailing List|film review, holy smoke, ian haworth, cult information centre|1999/12/21|The film promotes many of the myths and cult propaganda that suggest only lost searching kids become involved with cults and that deprogrammers financially exploit families and sexually exploit those they are supposed to counsel.|
729|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#1">Aum gives trustee funds for redress</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/21|Aum Shinrikyo has used some of the money it earned from the sale of a number of premises in the town of Kiso-Fukushima, Nagano Prefecture, to compensate victims of crimes the cult has been accused of, the cult's bankruptcy administrator said Tuesday.|
730|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#2">U.S. switches course, agrees to Waco test</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/12/23|The Justice Department has reversed course and agreed to a test that could help determine whether federal personnel shot at the Branch Davidian compound at the end of the deadly 1993 standoff, according to a Wednesday letter detailing the agreement.|
731|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#3">Survivors of Koresh's '93 standoff build new church</a>|Chicago Sun-Times|waco, branch davidians|1999/12/22|Followers of David Koresh, who was killed in 1993 during a standoff with federal agents near Waco, Texas, are hoping to have a new church built by April. The new church for the Branch Davidians is being built by volunteers who have hauled hammers, boards and cement in their pickups each Sunday for the last 14 weeks.|
732|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#4">Buddhists told to heed rights of Falun Gong</a>|Yahoo! Asia/South China Morning Post|buddhism, falun gong. china, hong kong|1999/12/24|A local Falun Gong chief has hit back at Buddhist leaders over an attack apparently aimed at the sect, claiming the criticisms are politically motivated. The banned mainland sect's Hong Kong spokesman, Kan Hung-cheung, said religious leaders should respect the freedom of the group to operate.|
733|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#5">US 'powerless' over sect arrests</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Wise News|china, falun gong|1999/12/24|American diplomats in Guangzhou say they are powerless over the detention of three Falun Gong sect members in Shenzhen - despite the fact that all three live in the United States and hold US green cards.|
734|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#6">Japanese cults</a>|The Economist|japan, cults, aum shinrikyo, ho-no-hana sanpagyo, Fumihiro Joyu|1999/12/18|The government reckons Japan now has no fewer than 220,000 cults and sects, each with its own guru or deity.|
735|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#7">Scientology medical abuse trial delayed 7 months</a>|Naples Daily News|scientology, clearwater, lisa mcpherson|1999/12/23|The criminal trial has been delayed seven months, because lawyers are mired in legal issues that go far beyond the circumstances of McPherson's death, the St. Petersburg Times reported.|
736|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#8">&quot;Berlin turning into starting point for extremists&quot;</a>|Berliner Morgenpost|scientology, germany|1999/12/19|Constitutional Security President Peter Frische believes further surveillance of Scientology is necessary.|
737|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#9">Today in the Bundestag</a>|German Bundestag [Parliament] Press Release|scientology, germany|1999/12/20|The administration should present their first report by the middle of the year 2000 at the latest, especially in regard to the activity of the Federal Administration Office, the surveillance of the Scientology Organization by Constitutional Security, international cooperation in the uniform treatment of new religious and ideological communities and psychogroups in the European Union, the fight against occultism and Satanism, the training, extended training and promotion of research as well as state support of registry organizations and consumer protection centers.|
738|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#10">German Win2K Bug: Scientology?</a>|WIRED|germany, scientology, cosfront-wise, executive software|1999/12/21|Is there Scientology in your software? That's the question confronting Microsoft in Germany, where an alleged connection to Scientology in Windows 2000 has prompted a government inquiry into the operating system software.|
739|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#11">Expensive search for meaning before the turn of the times</a>|Saarbrueker Zeitung (Germany)|esoteria, new age, _ufo_, scientology, germany|1999/12/22|The demand is enormous: seven to ten percent of all new arrivals on the book market fall into the category of esoterica.|
740|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#12">Hate sites on the Web, revisited</a>|Excite/Yahoo! Internet Life|hatewatch.org, hate groups|1999/12/21|I have been having a spirited exchange with David Goldman, the founder and director of HateWatch, a group whose Web site tracks and catalogs hate groups in cyberspace.|
741|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#13">Recovering Farrakhan Urges Unity, Forgiveness</a>|Washington Post|farrakhan, nation of islam|1999/12/23|Making his first public appearance in nearly a year, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan today said a "near-death experience" with prostate cancer had left him a changed man as he preached a message of forgiveness and unity among all races and religions.|
742|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#14">Farrakhan Emerges, Preaches Unity</a>|Northern Light/AP|farrakhan, nation of islam|1999/12/23|The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Roman Catholic priest who is white, held hands with Farrakhan and his wife, Khadijah, as he led the group in prayer. &quot;I believe he is the man who can bring us together ... as Christians, as Jews and as Muslims,&quot; Pfleger said afterward.|
743|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#15">ADL Says Farrakhan 'Repentance' Same Old Rhetoric</a>|U.S. Newswire/ADL Press Release|adl, farrakhan, nation of islam|1999/12/23|Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director, issued the following statement following Farrakhan's statements at a Chicago press conference on Dec. 22|
744|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#16">Mormon volunteers rejected by street ministry</a>|Calgary Herald (Canada)|mormonism, pseudo-christian, lds|1999/12/22|One of Calgary's homeless shelters has turned away a group of Mormon volunteers because some of the charity's supporters consider the church to be a cult.|
745|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#17">Former U.S. Employee Sues Over Loyalty Oath</a>|Washington Post|jehovah's witnesses|1999/12/22|A Lake Ridge woman who lost her job at the Fort Belvoir Commissary after she refused to sign a loyalty oath has filed suit in Alexandria federal court, saying the oath violates her religious and free speech rights.|
746|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#18">Holiday's history coming full circle</a>|Spokane.net|christmas, paganism, neo-paganism|1999/12/20|What began as a pagan celebration and evolved over a millennium into a Christian observance appears to be reverting to its roots. A religious historian says the holiday season -- part pagan, part Christian -- is altering its complexion to suit the rapidly changing culture of the Western world.|
747|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#19">Coming out of the dark</a>|Daily Southtown|wicca, druids, celtic, paganism, neo-paganism, parliament of world religions|1999/12/21|Paganism is an umbrella term used for a wide spectrum of religious beliefs and practices including the Wiccan, Druid, Celtic, Egyptian, Norse and other mythic and earth-based traditions.|
748|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#20">Apocalyptic Letdown</a>|Fox News|doomsday cult, margaret singer, michael langone, american family foundation, AFF|1999/12/21|What happens when the end of the world doesn't come? Cult members who believe the apocalypse will coincide with the coming of the year 2000 will face a pivotal point, psychologists say. Some will leave, disillusioned; others will draw closer to their charismatic leader; in rare cases, they will commit suicide.|
749|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#21">End Times scenarios a blessing for some capitalists</a>|Star-Telegram/AP|y2k, doomsday cult|1999/12/22|The fiery visions of the Book of Revelation are turning out to be a blessing for some capitalists.|
750|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#22">Israel Deports Evangelist to New York, But He Insists He Posed No </a>|Fox News|brother david, house of prayer, israel, concerned christians, brenda brasher|1999/12/23|Brother David said he and his House of Prayer ministry cobbled together a modest living by offering guided tours of the Old City to Christian groups and renting rooms in leased apartment buildings to Christian pilgrims.|
751|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#23">Irish/Israeli Relations Strained Over Pilgrims Issue</a>|Yahoo! UK/Ireland Today|irish pilgrims, israel, pilgrim house foundation|1999/12/22|The Irish Government has requested that pilgrims be allowed to return home from Israel. The group have been denied access to Israel since last October and were deported because of the belief that they were suspected members of a Christian cult planning to commit mass suicide in the Holy Land in the run up to the Millennium.|
752|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#24">Oregon campaign links environment and religion</a>|Chicago Sun-Times|deep ecology, environmental issues|1999/12/17|Church leaders in Eugene, Ore., have launched a campaign to save the planet by involving their congregations in the environmental movement. The Oregon Global Warming Campaign is the first of 17 state efforts nationwide to be organized by ministers, rabbis and other religious leaders.|
753|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#25">Transient accused of abducting official of communal-living town</a>|Deseret News|eskdale, john conrad|1999/12/22|A former resident of rural Eskdale, a communal-living village in Millard County, has been charged with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony, after he allegedly took a community leader at gunpoint and demanded ransom.|
754|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#26">Prosperity Preacher Threatened With Jail, Denies 'Trying to Buy Police'</a>|Charisma News|creflo dollar, evander holyfield|1999/12/22|Television prosperity preacher Creflo Dollar has defended his controversial actions in two financial inquiries that have prompted an ethics probe and the threat of jail. The pastor of 20,000-strong World Changers Christian Center in College Park, Ga., spoke publicly for the first time this week about his actions related to $100,000 gifts to local police officers, and reportedly multi-million dollar gifts from boxer Evander Holyfield.|
755|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#27">Agency denies satanic images in French Toyota ad</a>|AOL/Reuters|satanism|1999/12/21|Advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi France Tuesday denied there were subliminal or satanic images in a television ad it made to launch Toyota's Yaris Verso car in Europe.|
756|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#28">Court Rules Interest Violates Islam</a>|Northern Light/AP|pakistan, islam|1999/12/23|The Pakistani Supreme Court today ruled that charging interest was against the teachings of Islam -- a decision that will likely lead to sweeping changes in this country's already troubled financial sector.|
757|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#29">Albright Pledges to Hear Muslim-Americans</a>|AOL/Reuters|islam, usa|1999/12/21|Secretary of State Madeleine Albright assured U.S. Muslims on Tuesday that the State Department would take their views into account and promised to intensify efforts to recruit Muslims into the diplomatic corps.|
758|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#30">Clinton Spokesman Angers Baptists</a>|Northern Light/AP|baptists, evangelism, bill clinton, hypocrisy, religious intolerance|1999/12/23|A Clinton administration spokesman has angered leaders of the president's own religion by including the Southern Baptist Convention among groups he says &quot;perpetuate ancient religious hatred.&quot;|
759|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#31">Baptist Offended By Clinton Remarks</a>|Northern Light/AP|baptists, evangelism, bill clinton, hypocrisy, religious intolerance|1999/12/22|The president of the Southern Baptist Convention said President Clinton "has very few convictions'' and accused his administration of distorting Christian evangelism as religious hatred, the denomination's newspaper reported Wednesday.|
760|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#32">Denver to pay couple $30,000</a>|Denver Rocky Mountain News|religious freedom, religious intolerance|1999/12/23|The city has agreed to pay a Denver couple $30,000 for interfering with their right to hold prayer meetings in their home.|
761|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#33">Laos cracks down on Christians, democrats</a>|AOL/Reuters|laos, religious freedom, religious persecution|1999/12/23|Communist Laos, worried about political destabilisation, has jailed dozens of Christians and democrats in the past year, diplomats and other sources say.|
762|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#34">Police offers Christmas security for Indian Christians</a>|Yahoo! Singapore/AFP|religious persecution, hinduism, christianity, india|1999/12/21|Paramilitary troops stepped up security Tuesday for Christians in western India against repeat attacks by Hindu zealots during Christmas, the Press Trust of India (PTI) said.|
763|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#35">Massachusetts inmates push prison to build sweat lodge</a>|Freedom Forum/AP|sweat lodge, religious freedom|1999/12/20|A judge is considering a claim by five inmates that their religious rights were violated when Gardner State Prison officials denied them space and funding for a sweat lodge.|
764|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#36">In Boston, faith has many faces</a>|Boston Globe|interfaith, pluralism project|1999/12/19|In this city once dominated by Puritans' intolerance, at least 15 distinctly different faiths coexist peacefully in and around Boston, according to research by the Harvard Divinity School's Pluralism Project. They include Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Native American worship, Paganism, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. And, within many of those faiths, one can find an equally rich mix of worship services, traditions, and belief systems.|
765|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#37">A spirituality inspired by ease and esteem</a>|Star-Telegram|opinion poll|1999/12/21|God may have had the first word, but he sure isn't having the last one. As we round the corner into the 21st century, Americans have shrugged loose the strictures of Scripture and are busy remaking the religious rules -- and even the nature of faith itself -- to their own liking.|
766|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#38">The Light And the Labyrinth</a>|Washington Post|labyrinth|1999/12/22|The idea of walking the labyrinth, I was told, was to clear the mind, to calm the nerves, to gain insight. The labyrinth at first glance looks like a maze, though it is different in one respect. It has only one path, which takes you to the center and back. You cannot get lost in the labyrinth. At the center, you meditate or contemplate a question.|
767|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991224.html#39">Church raises red flag over Pokemon</a>|Toledo Blade|pokemon|1999/12/18|When it comes to the Pokemon trading-card craze, the Rev. Tom Clapsaddle would probably love to &quot;catch 'em all.&quot; |
768|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#1">China jails leaders of banned spiritual movement</a>|CNN/Reuters|china, falun gong|1999/12/26|A Chinese court sentenced four leaders of the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong to up to 18 years in prison on Sunday for a range of charges, including leaking state secrets, the official Xinhua news agency said.|
769|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#2">Falun Gong Leaders Jailed for Up to 18 Years</a>|AOL/Reuters|china, falun gong|1999/12/26|A Chinese court sentenced four leaders of the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong to up to 18 years in prison Sunday on charges ranging from stealing state secrets to causing deaths.|
770|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#3">China Vows Fight Against Cults</a>|AOL/AP|china, falun gong|1999/12/23|To maintain China's stability, law enforcement officials must redouble efforts to fight ''evil cults,'' corruption and economic crimes, the nation's top prosecutor was quoted as saying Thursday.|
771|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#4">Laws curbing Aum to go into effect</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/26|Two laws aimed at curtailing the activities of the Aum Supreme Truth cult and providing relief for the cult's victims--including the more than 5,000 who were injured or killed in the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system--will go into effect Monday.|
772|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#5">Japan Cult Leader May Get Death</a>|Yahoo!/AP|japan, au, shinrikyo, Yoshihiro Inoue|1999/12/24|Prosecutors sought the death penalty for a former leader of the Japanese doomsday cult accused of a nerve gas attack in a Tokyo subway that killed 12 people and sickened thousands.|
773|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#6">Relatives of cultists fear worst</a>|Denver Rocky Mountain News|concerned christians, monte kim miller|1999/12/26|Family members of more than 80 missing Colorado members of the doomsday cult Concerned Christians worry that the end of the year could be the culmination of a nightmare.|
774|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#7">Apocalyptic Cult Members Deported From Israel;</a>|Fox News|concerned christians, bill honsberger, mark roggeman, monte kim miller|1999/12/21|Miller, a self-proclaimed prophet and leader of a doomsday cult called the Concerned Christians, believes these events will set off an apocalyptic end to the millennium. His followers, he believes, will be saved and sent to heaven.|
775|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#8">Ho-no-Hana founder spent 1 bil. yen to meet leaders</a>|Kyodo News Service (Japan)|japan, ho-no-hana sanpagyo, hogen fukunaga|1999/12/23|The founder of the Ho-no-Hana Sampogyo religious sect spent more than 1 billion yen in meeting religious and political leaders in 1995 and 1996 to promote his sect and win public confidence in it, a source once close to the leader said Thursday.|
776|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#9">Some believers waiting for apocalypse -- but not on New Year's, experts say</a>|CNN/AP|y2k, doomsday, richard abanes, richard landes, Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University, chen tao, branch davidians, american academy of religion, jehovah's witnesses, mormons, seventh-day adventists|1999/12/25|But experts on millenarian religion say they know of no sects that expect the apocalypse to actually occur in coming days.|
777|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#10">Apocalyptic Anxiety</a>|Fox News|doomsday, y2k|1999/12/24|With an unusual number of terrorist warnings issued by the government, the potential for Y2K-triggered technical dysfunction and an assortment of fanatics prophesying the end of days, some people feel anxious about New Year's Eve.|
778|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#11">China sentences six underground church leaders</a>|Fox/Reuters|china, underground church, religious freedom, religious persecution|1999/12/25|Six leaders of underground churches in China's Henan province have been sentenced to labour camp for being criminals of an &quot;evil cult,&quot; a Hong Kong-based rights group said.|
779|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#12">Civil rights groups plan sign near KKK highway marker in Missouri</a>|CNN/AP|kkk, ku klux klan, racism, hate groups, racism|1999/12/24|The Adopt-A-Highway signs sponsored by the Ku Klux Klan on a stretch of Missouri freeway may soon be overshadowed by a larger sign, this one promoting racial diversity.|
780|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#13">Filmland jitters over jerky video</a>|New York Post|sterling institute, justin sterling, rick ross|1999/12/26|They are all pillars of the Hollywood community who took $600 weekend male-bonding seminars organized by A. Justin Sterling, founder of the Sterling Institute of Relationship.|
781|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#14">Chechens feel used by strict Islamic sect</a>|Toronto Star (Canada)|islam, wahhabi|1999/12/24|It was an innocent enough beginning. But five years later, Sharip is bitter about the Saudi-based radical sect that he says helped destroy Chechnya.|
782|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#15">Students find Temple-era artifacts dumped by Wakf from Temple Mount</a>|Jerusalem Post (Israel)|israel, islam, waqf, archeology|1999/12/24|Archeology students yesterday presented artifacts, including possible remnants from the First Temple, they said they uncovered in piles of fill dug out of the Temple Mount by the Wakf [Moslem trust] and dumped in the Kidron Valley.|
783|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#16">Visions of the Virgin Mary are proliferating among devotees</a>|Star-Telegram|virgin mary, catholicism, mariology|1999/12/24|As the second millennium draws to a close, visions of Mary are proliferating among Marian devotees.|
784|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#17">Latinos Leaving Catholicism for Charisma of Pentecostalism</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|latinos, pentecostalism, mexican, catholicism|1999/12/25|Once the most loyal of Roman Catholicism's New World offspring, Latinos are undergoing a religion revolution with tens of thousands, if not millions, choosing to worship within newer evangelical faiths.|
785|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#18">Alternative Religions as a Growth Industry</a>|New York Times|alternative religions, american academy of religion, new religious movements group, brenda brasher, phillip lucas, nova religio, william ashcraft, cult, cults|1999/12/25|A growing number of scholars have begun to fill in the gap, however, working in an unconventional academic specialty they call new religious movements. This emerging field has not only attracted traditional religion experts but also psychologists, anthropologists and literary critics. It has even brought forth a separate study group within the American Academy of Religion called the New Religious Movements Group, for scholars interested in the topic.|
786|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#19">Rev. Robert Schuller, Gordon B. Hinckley and Archbishop Desmond Tutu Discuss the Importance of Religion</a>|CNN/Larry King Live (Transcript)|gordon hinckley, robert schuller, false prophets, mormonism, pseudo-christian, new age, desmond tutu, religious pluralism, islam|1999/12/24|SCHULLER: Absolutely. I have seldom met with a man whom I felt an immediate kinship of spirit and an agreement of faith and philosophy quite like I have with the grand mufti of the faith.|
787|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#20">Christians Are More Likely to Experience Divorce Than Are Non-Christians</a>|Barna Research Group|christians, divorce, opinion poll|1999/12/21|One of the surprising outcomes to emerge from the study is that born again Christians are more likely to go through a marital split than are non-Christians.|
788|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#21">Are you there, God?</a>|Salon|sir john templeton, templeton foundation|1999/12/24|The Templeton Foundation invests millions so scientists might prove that faith works. But their answers aren't what Sir John Templeton wants to hear.|
789|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991226.html#"22>Crisis of faith</a>|Salon|michael shermer, wendy kaminer|1999/12/24|Scientists who use evolutionary psychology to explain religion are ignoring facts and missing the point.|
790|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#1">Police preparing for release of Aum No. 2 leader Joyu</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo, fumihiro joyu|1999/12/28|Hiroshima Prison officials announced Tuesday that a prisoner -- assumed to be Fumihiro Joyu, the second-in-command of Aum Shinrikyo -- was to be released at 6 a.m. this morning.|
791|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#2">Joyu might disband Aum in order duck new law: expert</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo, fumihiro joyu|1999/12/28|After he is freed today from a Hiroshima prison, senior Aum Shinrikyo member Fumihiro Joyu will probably announce the voluntary dissolution of the cult, according to a freelance journalist who has extensively covered the sect.|
792|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#3">Aum offers sarin apology</a>|Asahi News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/28|Aum Shinrikyo has offered an apology to a victim of the cult's 1994 sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture.|
793|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#4">Aum still active despite self-imposed ban</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/27|Aum Supreme Truth members are still actively engaging in cult activities, despite September's announcement by the cult that it was suspending external activities, it was learned Saturday.|
794|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#5">Law shrouds AUM in doom</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/27|Public-security officials are expected to use a plethora of materials to prove that cultists continue to regard the accused mass murderer Asahara as a godlike figure. The incriminating items range from shrines, photographs and statements given by cultists charged with carrying out the 1995 deadly gas attack on the Tokyo subway system - one of the nation's most heinous crimes.|
795|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#6">National crackdown begins on Aum cult</a>|Asahi News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/27|A law to monitor and control Aum Shinrikyo was enacted today, prompting the director-general of the Public Security Investigation Agency to submit documents necessary to monitor the cult.|
796|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#7">Residents voice relief at anticult laws' effect</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/28|Local residents who have been monitoring activities at Aum facilities around the clock said that the burden on them would be reduced and that the laws were a step forward.|
797|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#8">Locals give AUM law mixed review</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/28|While the measures, once approved by the commission, will enable the agency as well as police to conduct on-the-spot inspections of the cult's facilities, many other residents were still skeptic about the effectiveness of the latest government procedures.|
798|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#9">Japanese police want Aum sect placed under surveillance</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/27|Japanese police Monday sought permission to put the Aum Supreme Truth cult under surveillance, as part of a new law cracking down on the doomsday sect responsible for a lethal 1995 subway gas attack here.|
799|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#10">Agency seeks permission to keep watch on Aum</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/28|In the application, Kifuji said that the agency should continue to monitor the cult as it contained dangerous elements and that it was prone to using lies and deceit.|
800|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#11">Agency requests Aum be put under its watch</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/27|&quot;Aum has been active in many parts of the country, causing trouble between local citizens (living near cult facilities) and causing public anxiety,&quot; said Justice Minister Hideo Usui, pointing out that the ministry had been ready to submit the surveillance request as soon as the law went into effect.|
801|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#12">Japan seeks further restrictions on doomsday cult</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Channel NewsAsia|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/27|Japan's Justice Ministry has sought further restrictions on the doomsday cult accused of attacking Tokyo's subways with deadly nerve gas.|
802|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#13">Japan Fears Cults Thriving Despite Crackdowns</a>|Fox News|japan, cults, aum shinrikyo, ho-no-hana sanpagyo, Kenji Kawashima, life space, Kimiaki Nishida|1999/12/27|Police have also launched investigations into religious groups accused of fraud and other anti-social activities in line with rising public sentiment in favor of crackdowns on such cults. But experts say that they see few signs that fringe religious groups — some with an anti-social tinge — are on the decline.|
803|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#14">20 Falun Gong Members Detained</a>|Excite/AP|china, falun gong|1999/12/28|Chinese police detained at least 20 people in Tiananmen Square today, dragging one resister away after members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement resumed peaceful demonstrations.|
804|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#15">China sentences key Falun Gong members to prison</a>|CBC News (Canada)|china, falun gong|1999/12/26|In the most significant prosecution since the government outlawed the Falun Gong spiritual movement, China sentenced four principal organizers of the group to up to 18 years in prison at a one-day trial Sunday.|
805|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#16">White House disappointed over Beijing's harsh sentencing of Falungong members</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Channel NewsAsia|china, falun gong, usa|1999/12/27|The White House has expressed disappointment, over Beijing's harsh sentencing of four key members of China's banned Falungong sect.|
806|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#17">Beijing imposes tight security after Falungong verdicts</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|china, falun gong|1999/12/27|China on Monday justified the harsh jail terms imposed on four leaders of the Falungong religious sect as it threw up a tight ring of security to stop any demonstrations.|
807|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#18">Chinese police stop defiant Falungong protesting leaders' jailing</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|china, falun gong|1999/12/27|Falungong members Monday tried to defy tight security stamped on Tiananmen Square to protest stiff jail terms of up to 18 years imposed on four of their leaders, but were swiftly stopped by police.|
808|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#19">Falungong movement won't be threatened by jail terms: rights groups</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|china, falun gong|1999/12/27|The outlawed Falungong movement will not be intimidated by heavy sentences handed down to its key leaders and will continue to fight China's draconian crackdown on the group, rights groups said here Monday.|
809|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#20">Quieter anti-Falungong campaign seen after leaders sentenced</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|china, falun gong|1999/12/27|The harsh sentencing of four key members of the outlawed Falungong sect may usher in a shift in Beijing's tactics against the group, analysts said Monday, predicting the crackdown could soon move out of the public spotlight.|
810|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#21">Health Sects in China Thrive, if Authorities See No Threat</a>|New York Times|china, qigong, falun gong|1999/12/28|This thriving anti-cancer movement, replete with the testimonials of cured patients, is one of hundreds of variants of qigong (pronounced chee-goong) that continue operating in China, even as the authorities pursue their harsh crackdown on one prominent offshoot, Falun Gong, and step up their scrutiny of the others. The official acceptance of some qigong sects while others are crushed is part of a two-decade, often tortuous effort by the government to distinguish supposedly scientific, beneficial qigong from practices that are labeled superstitious and then curbed.|
811|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#22">Branch Davidians rebuild</a>|Detroit News|branch davidians, waco|1999/12/26|The scheduled opening -- which is contingent on more donations coming in -- will mark the seventh anniversary of the fire that ended the 51-day standoff between the religious sect and federal agents.|
812|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#23">Moon-lit matchmakers nibble at apple</a>|NY Post|unification church, sun mying moon, false prophet, steve hassan, mind control|1999/12/26|&quot;Right now, Moon is hurting, and he needs money, and so they're doing this major fund-raising drive,&quot; Hassan said. &quot;They do this often right before mass weddings. They want Americans, and they want their money, so they go after the lonely and lovesick.&quot;|
813|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#24">As Jan. 1 Draws Near, Doomsayers Reconsider</a>|Washington Postleft behind, |doomsday, y2k, tim lahaye and jerry jenkins, false prophets, ted daniel, Millennial Center, Damian Thompson, grant r. jeffrey, grant jeffrey, center for millennial studies, m.j. agee|1999/12/27|A year ago, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, who have sold more than 10 million copies of their "Left Behind" thrillers about the Apocalypse, prophesied global upheaval on Jan. 1, 2000.|
814|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#25">A short list of dire predictions</a>|Seattle Post-Intelligencer|false prophets, false predictions, failed prophecies, jehovah's witnesses, joseph smith, millerites, mormons, chen tao, nostradamus, aum shinrikyo, branch davidians|1999/12/28|This new millennium thing isn't the first time some people thought the world was going to end. History is littered with failed prophecies and false alarms. Here's a short list from the past 1,000 years:|
815|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#26">Millennium security a touchy issue in Israel</a>|Nando Times|Israel, christians, deportations, jews, muslims, temple mount, jerusalem syndrome|1999/12/26|Apocalyptic-minded Christians have been a prime focus of concern. In recent months, Israel has rounded up and deported dozens of Christians, including members of a Denver-based doomsday cult, fearing they would stage mass suicide or commit violence as a way to hasten the Second Coming of Christ.|
816|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#27">The Amish are well-insulated from Y2K</a>|Star-Telegram|amish|1999/12/28|The nation's 175,000 Amish are among the most protected from Y2K, the glitch that could lead computers to fail because they think it is the year 1900 instead of 2000.|
817|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#28">Cult treatment center braces itself for new millennium</a>|ABC News|wellspring, halfway house, counseling, ex-cult support, paul martin, cult victims|1999/12/28|The Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center, which bills itself as the nation's only live onsite counseling center for recovering cult victims, expects cultists disillusioned by unfulfilled millennial prophecies to soon dot its client list.|
818|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#29">Anand Sheela tends patients in Switzerland</a>|The Oregonian|anand sheela, osho, rajneesh, bhagwan shree rajneesh|1999/12/26|Former Rajneeshee leader Anand Sheela -- once notorious in Oregon as the spokeswoman for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh -- now takes care of frail and elderly patients in two private nursing homes in Switzerland.|
819|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#30">Fulton police unit to get charity role</a>|AccessAtlanta|creflo dollar|1999/12/23|The donation by the Rev. Creflo Dollar is under investigation by the ethics board, which is looking into whether Dollar was trying to curry favor with the south Fulton cops by giving them gifts.|
820|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#31">Raelian Religion: Extraterrestrial Millennium Revelations</a>|Yahoo!/PRNewswire|raelian, raelians, _ufo_, Claude Vorilhon, cloning|1999/12/27|Minutes before the turn of an unbelievable Millennium, Rael will give us the ultimate revelations concerning the possible future of Humanity. Those revelations come directly from the Elohim, the extraterrestrial Human Civilization who created all life on earth in laboratories thousands of years ago thanks to DNA.|
821|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#32">The believers</a>|Toronto Star (Canada)|cargo cult, john frum|1999/12/28|This is the American god who is worshipped and ritualized in the primitive Jon Frum villages on the island of Tanna, in the Vanuatu archipelago, in the South Pacific.|
822|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#33">Pentecostal minister's takeover of prominent church roils congregation</a>|Star-Telegram|matthew ferguson, prosperity teaching|1999/12/27|Seven months later, more than half of its 300 members have stopped attending the once-thriving church and Ferguson's church fund-raising efforts are under investigation by Missouri authorities.|
823|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991228.html#34">Church, Swedish State Cutting Ties</a>|Excite/AP|sweden, lutheran|1999/12/27|After nearly five centuries as the state church, Lutheranism will end its ties with the Swedish government on New Year's Day and will be treated like any other religion.|
824|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#1">Japanese doomsday cult's leading disciple returns from jail</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|aum shinrikyo, japan|1999/12/29|Joyu was a flamboyant spokesman for the cult which spread the Nazi-invented Sarin gas through Tokyo's subways in March 1995, killing 12 people and injuring thousands.|
825|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#2">Hysteria as terror cult leader freed from jail</a>|Sydney Morning Herald|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/30|The release from jail of Fumihiro Joyu, the man regarded as leader-in-waiting of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, triggered another bout of hysteria over the group yesterday.|
826|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#3">Figure in Japanese Cult Freed From Jail, and Mobbed by Press</a>|New York Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/30|The spokesman, Fumihiro Joyu, 37, is the group's de facto No. 2 figure. He had been imprisoned since 1997 on perjury charges unrelated to the attack with sarin gas, which killed 12 people and injured more than 5,000.|
827|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#4">Freed Japanese cult leader expresses remorse for his crimes</a>|Nando Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/30|Fumihiro Joyu, a senior member of the doomsday cult behind the 1995 nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subways, has expressed remorse for the crimes he has committed, the cult said in a statement Thursday.|
828|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#5">AUM bigwig vows to stick to spiritual matters</a>|Mainichi Daily News|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/29|Fumihiro Joyu, an executive member of AUM Shinrikyo, intends to become a spiritual pillar for the cult after his release from prison Wednesday, according to security authorities.|
829|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#6">Aum doomsday cult's flamboyant spokesman returns</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/28|But Egawa is sceptical about claims by the Aum group that it has turned a new leaf. Joyu in particular is dangerous, she warned.|
830|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#7">AUM executive freed</a>|Mainichi Daily news|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/30|Security officials believe 37-year-old Joyu, formerly the cult's top spokesman, still has influence on AUM followers, and think that his release may solidify the notorious group.|
831|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#8">Aum mouthpiece Joyu freed from prison, returns to cult</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/29|After his arrival at Tokyo's Haneda airport, Joyu first headed to the Tokyo Hilton Hotel in Shinjuku Ward, but was not allowed to check in. A room there had been reserved by Joyu's lawyer, sources said.|
832|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#9">Aum trials tail off as Asahara's day nears</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/29|While the trial of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara has proceeded at a snail's pace, with prosecutors examining only nine out of the 17 counts that he faces to date, his disciples' trials have entered their final stages before the district court.|
833|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#10">Chronology of cultists' legal battles</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/29|The following is a 1999 chronology of trial proceedings and other developments involving key Aum Shinrikyo defendants:|
834|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#11">Residents keep cult vigil</a>|South China Morning Post|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/29|They fear that despite an anti-Aum law which came into force this week, their work is far from over.|
835|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#12">Sect Followers Said Tried in Secret</a>|Yahoo!/AP|china, falun gong|1999/12/30|A couple arrested in the crackdown on the spiritual movement Falun Gong have been tried in secret in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, a rights group reported Thursday.|
836|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#13">Severe jail terms a warning to Falun Gong in SAR, says paper</a>|Yahoo! Asia/South China Morning Post|china, falun gong|1999/12/28|Falun Gong followers in Hong Kong were told yesterday that the long jail terms handed down in Beijing on Sunday were a warning to them.|
837|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#14">Falungong supporters in the US protest indictment of sect leaders</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Channel NewsAsia|falung gong, china, usa|1999/12/28|Supporters of the banned Falungong spiritual movement gathered outside China's New York Consulate to protest a Beijing court decision against four of its sect leaders.|
838|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#15">US trio takes outrage to Xinhua</a>|Yahoo! Asia/South China Morning Post|china, falun gong|1999/12/29|Three United States green-card holders and Falun Gong members who arrived in Hong Kong on Monday after being detained in Shenzhen protested outside the Xinhua office yesterday.|
839|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#16">Falungong member who publicized maltreatment sent to labour camp</a>|Yahoo!/AFP|china, falun gong|1999/12/28|A college student who was detained for a few days for practicing Falungong has been sent to a forced labour camp for publicizing the way she was|
840|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#17">Rights Groups Condemn China Falun Gong Sentences</a>|Yahoo! Asia/Dow Jones|china, falun gong|1999/12/28|The prison sentences handed down to four key members of the banned meditation group Falun Gong are evidence China uses its laws to suppress basic rights, two rights groups said Tuesday.|
841|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#18">Falungong crackdown may reach Hong Kong: rights group</a>|Yahoo! AFP|china, falun gong|1999/12/27|A Hong Kong human rights body Monday expressed fears the territory would end its policy of tolerance towards the mystical Falungong group following the jailing of four key members in Beijing.|
842|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#19">China's Paranoid Fear Of the Falun Gong Sect</a>|San Francisco Chronicle (Editorial)|china, falun gong|1999/12/28|The severity of prison sentences imposed by a Beijing court on four leaders of the Falun Gong sect was a reminder of China's deep fear of any challenge to their communist rule.|
843|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#20">Living Buddha</a>|AsiaWeek|china, falun gong, li hongzhi|1999/12/31|Li Hongzhi likes to think of himself as &quot;just a very ordinary man&quot; but that's not what he set out to be.|
844|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#21">Foot-reading guru bought audiences with leaders</a>|South China Morning Post|ho-no-hana sanpagyo|1999/12/29|Japan's foot-reading cult, Ho-No-Hana Sampogyo, has spent US$10 million (HK$77 million) cosying up to world leaders, including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, US President Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul, it has been disclosed.|
845|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#22">In Japan, worry as cults flourish amid wave of faith</a>|Boston Globe|japan, aum shinrikyo, ho-no-hana sanpagyo, life space, place of truth, kenshokai, sokka gakkai|1999/12/30|Analysts say they are not surprised at the appeal of sects. In today's Japan, a consumerist, secular society facing economic uncertainty, cults and so-called ''new religions'' offer a spiritual balm that many Japanese, especially young people, find attractive.|
846|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#23">FBI agents reportedly say mistakes doomed Davidian negotiations</a>|CNN/AP|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/12/30|FBI negotiators and behavior experts told the Justice Department that tactical mistakes during the first weeks of the Branch Davidian siege doomed negotiations, according to a published report Thursday.|
847|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#24">FBI missteps doomed siege talks, memos say</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/12/30|FBI tactical missteps in the first weeks of the Branch Davidian siege hopelessly derailed negotiations, cementing the sect's &quot;bunker mentality,&quot; top FBI negotiators and behavior experts told the Justice Department.|
848|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#25">Waco negotiators felt tear gas inevitable, one says</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/12/30|Negotiators backed using tear gas against the Branch Davidians because they were powerless to prevent it and feared that tacticians would otherwise be allowed to &quot;throw it in,&quot; a top negotiator said after the standoff.|
849|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#26">FBI was warned noise broadcasts would backfire if used against sect</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/12/30|But FBI behaviorists, in recently disclosed confidential memos, argued that the noise broadcasts that began March 22 would backfire with such a committed religious group.|
850|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#27">Government hides identities of Waco witnesses</a>|St. Louis Post-Dispatch|waco, branch davidians, fbi|1999/12/29|When lawyers for the Branch Davidians sat down recently to question a government witness about what happened at Waco, they found themselves looking at a black screen. |
851|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#28">Big Brother is helping</a>|Focus (Germany)|scientology, germany, usa|1999/12/27|Every building owner knows that structural alterations of a building require a permit. Apparently the new occupant of an office building on 9 Domstrasse, not far from the city hall in Hamburg, does not know anything about that. The Scientology sect moved into the domicile in November, after they had to give up their old haunt because of a notice to vacate issued as a result of the millions owed in back rent.|
852|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#29">Zwickau:town council believes it has been disparaged</a>|Freie Presse (Germany)|scientology, germany|1999/12/28|After the Zwickau CDU and the Buendnis/Greens, the city administration also reacted, on Tuesday, to the official application by Scientologist Kurt Fliegerbauer for the position in the planned Scientology Information Office.|
853|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#30">Constitutional Security agents continue surveillance</a>|Suedwest Presse (Germany)|scientology, germany|1999/12/29|The influence of the Scientology Organization in politics, commerce and society is, in the assessment of Constitutional Security agents, less than feared in years past.|
854|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#31">How careers, souls and bank accounts can be ruined by Scientology</a>|Saarbrueker Zeitung|germany, scientology|1999/12/27|Ute was to soon get a first inkling that this allegedly elite organization could primarily be regarded as financially exploiting its members.|
855|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#32">Religious Pressure at Texas Vet Clinic Leads to $150,000 EEOC Settlement</a>|Law News Network|scientology, usa|1999/12/29|An Arlington, Texas veterinary clinic agreed earlier this month to pay $150,000 to six employees who claimed in a suit backed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that the company unlawfully pressured employees to subscribe to beliefs of the Church of Scientology |
856|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#33">Crossing The Church</a>|New Times LA (Letters to the Editor)|scientology, usa|1999/12/30|Not since the L.A. Times' weeklong analysis in 1990 has a Los Angeles paper (or any media, for that matter) so unabashedly run stories exposing Scientology for what it is a vindictive, controlling, totalitarian, pseudoscientific cult.|
857|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#34">Tomorrow just another day for witches</a>|Cleveland Live/AP|witchraft, wicca, paganism, neo-paganism|1999/12/30|Witches don't follow the world's common calendar, which starts with the birth of Jesus as year zero. Rather, the coven said it believes time is circular and spiral-like.|
858|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#35">School Expels 5 for Being 'Witches'</a>|Excite/Reuters|witchcraft, wicca|1999/12/31|A high school in Santiago has expelled five girls after accusing them of being witches, bathing in blood and telling fortunes, local newspapers reported on Thursday.|
859|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#36">Use of corporate 'soles' draws attention</a>|Spokane.net|white supremacy, militia groups, christian identity, posse comitatus|1999/12/26|An obscure Washington law is allowing dozens of individuals in anti-government movements to declare themselves &quot;corporation soles&quot; --religious nonprofit corporations with benefits both real and imagined.|
860|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#37">Iranians offer kidneys for Rushdie's head</a>|BBC|islam, hate groups|1999/12/28|Over 500 Iranians have pledged to sell one of their kidneys to pay for the killing of British author Salman Rushdie, condemned to death 10 years ago by religious decree.|
861|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#38">Muslims De-Link Terror From Faith</a>|Yahoo!/AP|islam|1999/12/27|The leader of a U.S. Muslim group said Monday that State Department travel warnings are beginning to separate terrorist threats from Islam, &quot;a positive response&quot; to repeated complaints.|
862|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#39">Muslim Advocacy Group Calls for Balanced Coverage of Terrorism</a>|Yahoo! PR Newswire (Press Release)|islam|1999/12/29|The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, is calling on media professionals to use one standard of newsworthiness when reporting on issues related to domestic and international terrorism.|
863|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#40">Muslim convert's words infuriate Hindus</a>|South China Morning Post|islam, hinduism|1999/12/29|A prominent poet who converted to Islam has been ordered to stop making disparaging remarks about Hinduism. Kerala High Court issued an injunction against Kamala Das, 67, and summoned her to next month answer charges levelled by an unnamed complainant. The Indian poet changed her name to Suraiya Begum last week and started wearing an Islamic veil. Her interviews since embracing Islam have upset many hardcore Hindus.|
864|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#41">Tourists, true believers meet at Armageddon</a>|Boston Globe|armageddon, end time, israel|1999/12/30|If the biblical battle of Armageddon begins here tomorrow, as some believe it will, the cost of admission will be 18 shekels (about $4). And there is plenty of parking.|
865|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#42">The end of the world is nigh -- but don't worry just yet</a>|Yahoo! Asia/AFP|end time, paco rabanne, nostradamus|1999/12/28|Alarm would be premature, however. In 1999 alone, the world failed to end on several occasions, notably:|
866|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#43">How the world ends is a matter of faith</a>|Seattle Post-Intelligencer|end time|1999/12/28|What follows are general interpretations of the end of the world -- at least as we know it -- in the classical texts of the world's major faiths. To further complicate things, not all people belonging to these faiths interpret the texts in the same way.|
867|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#44">Keeping Watch in the Holy Land</a>|Washington Post|end time, israel, messiahcam|1999/12/31|That prophesy is shared by millions around the world and has spawned an intense focus on the holy land as the new year approaches.|
868|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#45">Looking for a Savior</a>|wired|israel, end time|1999/12/28|The Petra Hotel has become a favorite waystation for some of the more fervent religious visitors flocking to Jerusalem on the eve of the millennium. Jews, Christians, and Muslim lodgers sit in the hotel's spacious lounges, studying the Torah, the Bible, the Koran. Others passionately discuss a piece of scripture or the latest religious conspiracy-theory gossip.|
869|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#46">Cult ready for expat exit</a>|Yahoo! Asia/South China Morning Post|cargo cult, rainbow church|1999/12/29|A cargo-cult-like movement that believes the world will go dark on Saturday and all expatriates will vanish has formed in Papua New Guinea.|
870|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#47">Cultists pose no threat, say police</a>|The Australian (Australia)|doomsday cult, australia|1999/12/31|Australian police forces have downplayed the threat of millennium terrorist attacks, while conceding some members of doomsday cults had been contacted by authorities.|
871|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#48">Minister, wife, and Sunday school teacher once accused of child sex abuse settle civil rights suit</a>|Court TV|false memory syndrome, fms, abuse, ritual abuse, wenatchee|1999/12/29|A Pentecostal minister, his wife and a Sunday school teacher who were acquitted of charges in the 1994-95 Wenatchee child sex cases have settled a civil rights lawsuit against the state for $850,000.|
872|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#49">[Levi Schneerson]</a>|Yahoo!/AP|levi schneerson, lubavitchers|1999/12/30|KBG files on a Ukranian rabbi have been turned over to Lubavitchers, an ultra-orthodox Jewish group headquartered in Brooklyn.|
873|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#50">Beliefnet.com</a>|Yahoo!/AP|religious pluralism|1999/12/30|The super-site going online this weekend spans all interfaith options. As devised by chairman Steven Waldman, former national editor of U.S. News & World Report, the contents are geared especially to seekers who are not committed to a particular faith.|
874|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an991231.html#51">Banal Death Penalty</a>|International Herald Tribune|death penalty, usa, human rights abuses|1999/12/29|The frustrating aspect of this regularizing of executions is that it has happened even as the fallibility of the criminal justice system has become ever more evident. In addition to the 98 executions, this past year saw eight persons freed from death row after having their flawed convictions overturned. And in the past several years, DNA evidence has sprung dozens of innocent people from prison. All of this should make people wary of irreversible punishments such as death. Nobody can honestly say with confidence that all of the 598 people executed since the death penalty's re-legalization were guilty. And that begs the question - the one that advocates of the death penalty are generally unwilling to address - of what frequency of error one is willing to tolerate in order to preserve capital punishment.|
875|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#1">Rightist breaks into AUM facility</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/01|One day after AUM Shinrikyo executive member Fumihiro Joyu was released from prison and arrived at the cult's Yokohama branch, a rightist broke into the facility demanding that Joyu leave but was soon arrested, police said.|
876|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#2">Japanese Cult Rising Again</a>|Washington Post|japan, aum shinrikyo|1999/12/29|Aum Supreme Truth, the doomsday cult that carried out a deadly nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subway system in 1995, is still recruiting members, making money and--with the release from jail this morning of Fumihiro Joyu--getting back a leader who could give the group new strength, according to Japanese analysts and a government report.|
877|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#3">Fraudulent foot cult sidestepped banks</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, ho-no-hana sanpogyo|2000/01/01|The Ho no hana Sanpogyo foot-reading cult, which is under investigation for fraud, avoided using banks and had a large amount of cash stashed in its offices in an attempt to conceal the movement of money it got from its shady practices, the Mainichi has learned.|
878|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#4">Boston Temple is rising despite constitutional suit</a>|Deseret News |lds, mormonism|1999/12/31|The lawsuit is under way, however, because the builder is a church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and when neighbors tried to halt construction, they found themselves blocked by a state law that gives religious organizations, along with certain other institutions, immunity from many local zoning controls.|
879|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#5">Wiccans, Hedonists Summon a New Year With Fire and Dance</a>|San Francisco Chronicle|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism|2000/01/01|While much of the world rang in the new year with fireworks and immense public spectacles, pagans, Wiccans, druids and other nontraditional groups put their own distinctive stamp on the day.|
880|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#6">Zimbabwe Witchdoctors Open School</a>|Panafrican News Agency|witchcraft|1999/12/30|In an unusual move, Zimbabwe's witch doctors said Thursday they had opened a school to teach the &quot;art&quot; of African traditional medicine.|
881|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#7">Suit has witch and psychic fighting over the same clientete</a>|Boston.com|wicca, witchcraft, psychic|1999/12/30|A Hyannis witch is suing a neighboring psychic in federal court, claiming the psychic and her husband tried to &quot;curtail the free exercise of her religion.&quot;|
882|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#8">Iran's Young Are Restless Under Islam</a>|Washington Post|iran, islam|1999/12/28|The unexpected--and unwelcome--visitor was from Iran's morals police, charged with cracking down on gatherings of unrelated men and women, alcohol consumption and other activities illegal under Iran's Islamic social laws.|
883|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#9">Cult lures villagers to millennial light</a>|Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)|rainbow church, cargo cult, papua new guinea|1999/12/29|Hundreds of villagers in Papua New Guinea's remote central west have left their homes, stopped sending their children to school and congregated around the leader of a cult who has told them the world will plunge into darkness on Saturday and PNG's expatriates will vanish.|
884|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#10">Leader of cult gets arrested</a>|Post-Courier (Papua New Guinea) |rainbow church, cargo cult, papua new guinea|1999/12/30|A leader of a cult movement in Western Province is under investigation while his followers have been dispersed. |
885|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#11">Sect 'rehearsed' attack on Pope</a>|London Times (England)|satanism, paganism|1999/12/31|An attack on the Pope during his celebration of the millennium this evening was rehearsed by a fanatical sect on Christmas Eve, Italian police said yesterday.|
886|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#12">Suspect devoted to Santeria</a>|St. Petersburg Times|santeria|1999/12/31|He had always been drawn to Santeria, a religion rooted in Africa with gods, spirits and sacrifices. But now, Izquierdo had embarked on a year's worth of studies to become a Santero, a priest of the faith. |
887|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#13">No Santeria ties are seen in shootings</a>|St. Petersburg Times|santeria|2000/01/01|A deadly shooting rampage, and a religion that involves primitive rituals, sometimes including animal sacrifice. Could the two, possibly, be related? To some, the very question smacks of stereotypes and cultural bias.|
888|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#14">Stabbing suspect thought Beatles were witches</a>|London Times|witchcraft|1999/12/31|The mother of the man being questioned in connection with the stabbing of George Harrison said yesterday that he had a history of mental illness. Lynda Abram said that her son, Michael, 33, a former heroin addict, suffered from a deep-seated paranoid psychosis which had recently turned into an obsession with the Beatles. She said he believed the Beatles were witches.|
889|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#15">O'Hair case suspect is indicted in FW on weapons charges</a>|Dallas Morning News|madalyn murray o'hair, american atheists|2000/01/01|A Fort Worth ex-convict who law enforcement officials believe played a role in the disappearance of atheist leader Madalyn Murray O'Hair in 1995 has been indicted on federal weapons charges, the San Antonio Express-News reported.|
890|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#16">Police, fire officials come up empty handed in raid of survivalist's underground bus shelter maze</a>|Montreal Gazette (Canada)|y2k, survivalistsm, bruce beach|1999/12/29|Firefighters, police officers and a trained dog descended Wednesday into a survival bunker of 42 buried school buses, in what its owner called a raid for ammunition and explosives.|
891|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#17">3rd 'Secret of Fatima' Fuels Millennial Fears for Some</a>|Los Angeles Times|fatima, mariology, virgin mary, catholicism|1999/12/31|Catholicism: Church discourages talk that Virgin Mary in 1917 predicted an apocalypse, but is mum on details.|
892|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#18">Most Church leaders doubt Adam and Eve</a>|Yahoo! UK/Reuters|trends, opinion poll|1999/12/12|Of the 103 Anglican, Methodist and Catholic leaders polled by BBC Radio, only three said they believed in the literal version of creation with God creating the world in six days.|
893|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#19">Israel reimposes ban on religious group</a>|News Wire (England)|israel, pilgrim house community|1999/12/31|An Irish religious group refused entry to Israel earlier this year have again been told they cannot go to the Middle East state. The Pilgrim House Community today called for pressure from human rights organisations, churches and religious communities for an international investigation into what they called &quot;the denial of any Christian's right&quot; to visit the Holy Land.|
894|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#20">Police thwart zealots of Armageddon</a>|London Times (England)|doomsday cult, israel|2000/01/01|On Thursday a man was arrested trying to jump off the top of the Church of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives and another was prevented from hurling himself to his death from a high building in the old city of Jerusalem.|
895|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#21">Apocalypse Not Now -- Prayers And Wine Instead</a>|Yahoo!/Reuters|doomsday cult, israel|1999/12/31|The world did not end and there was no Second Coming of Jesus, but religious rapture and rowdy street parties competed in Jerusalem as the sacred and the profane ushered in Christianity's third millennium.|
896|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#22">The cult watch is on</a>|Chicago Sun-Times|doomsday cult, israel|1999/12/31|While both the FBI and the Anti-Defamation League have issued reports on possible links between extremist groups and the New Year, there are no indications of any potential problems in the Chicago area.|
897|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#23">Phenomenon of the new age cult</a>|The Irish Times (Ireland)|cults, new age, doomsday cult, paranormal|1999/12/30|With the close of the 20th century has come a growing interest in the approach of a 'new age'. And with incredible speed – or at least the time it took for the press to cotton on to the idea – healing crystals, soothing oils, Feng Shui and meditation have become part of modern life.|
898|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#24">Charles Louis Spiegel, 78; cosmic visionary led Unarius Academy</a>|Sa Diego Union-Tribune|unarius, _ufo_, myton, ruth norman|1999/12/31|Charles Louis Spiegel, a cosmic visionary who shared his concept of immortality and extra-terrestrial life as director of the Unarius Academy of Science in El Cajon, has died. He was 78.|
899|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#25">Oklahoma bill would support disclaimer on books about evolution</a>|Dallas Morning News|science, evolution, creationism|2000/01/01|A state legislator has introduced a bill that would support a controversial decision by the Oklahoma State Textbook Committee to require a disclaimer on schoolbooks that deal with evolution.|
900|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#26">'Prophetic Elders' Look to Youth Revival, Warn of Russian Invasion</a>|Charisma News|peter wagner, controversial renewal and revival movements, apostolic council of prophetic elders, Chuck Pierce, Dutch Sheets, Cindy Jacobs, Mike Bickle and Tommy Tenney.|1999/12/29|Called the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders, the group gathered under the leadership of C. Peter Wagner, an internationally recognized authority on prayer and spiritual warfare and one of the founders of the prayer center.|
901|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#27">Rise of Pentecostalism is religion story of century</a>|The Huntsville Times|pentecostalism|2000/01/01|Dr. Harvey Cox, a professor at Harvard Divinity School and an expert on Pentecostalism, said that in 30 years Pentecostals will outnumber all other non-Catholic Christians combined.|
902|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200102.html#28">The Enlightenment Bug</a>|Technology Review|technology and spirituality|2000/01/01|A politically correct population became increasingly reluctant to say &quot;God.&quot; And universities isolated techies from humies in neat cubbyholes. By now, the split has become so ingrained that we’re not even aware of it. (...) Today, the split serves no purpose and we must make an effort to heal it ourselves.|
903|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#1">Authorities suspect Aum firms hid 5 bil. yen in profit</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/05|Two computer companies linked to the Aum Supreme Truth cult have concealed a total of nearly 5 billion yen in profit over the past five years, it was learned Tuesday.|
904|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#2">Return of the &quot;Face&quot;</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo, Fumihiro Joyu|2000/01/03|Though he has announced his intention to return to AUM Shinrikyo, and though police are poised against his revivifying influence, there are doubts as to the welcome he will receive from the harassed faithful.|
905|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#3">China Jails Dissidents, Sect Member</a>|Yahoo!/AP|china, falun gong|2000/01/03|Chinese courts have sentenced to prison two dissidents who took part in an outlawed democratic party and a doctor who demonstrated against the banning of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, a rights group said Monday.|
906|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#4">China official jailed for tipping off sect - group</a>|AOL/Reuters|china, falun gong|2000/01/04|China has sentenced an official to four years in jail for leaking a speech by Chinese President Jiang Zemin on outlawing the Falun Gong spiritual movement, a Hong Kong-based human rights group said on Tuesday.|
907|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#5">Banned China sect exercises rights on a Boston street</a>|Boston Globe|china, falun gong, usa|2000/01/03|And in US cities, where word of Falun Gong is spreading through the Chinese diaspora in home meetings and classified ads, officials are realizing that Falun Gong is not your average fitness regimen.|
908|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#6">Scientology's Funny Photos</a>|Washington Post|scientology, scientology deception, arnie lerma, freedom magazine, clinton|2000/01/04|The 49-year-old Lerma--an ex-Scientologist who has tangled repeatedly with church officials since he quit 23 years ago, and today owns an audio-video and computer business--immediately thought he spotted something fishy: He says the crowd scenes were doctored extensively.|
909|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#7">Scientology Sect as a bone of contention</a>|Freie Presse Lokales (Germany)|scientology, germany|2000/01/02|The discussion on Scientology gains in acrimony: beginning immediately, the Zwickau area DGB will cease cooperation with the &quot;Sero&quot; theater group because it maintains connections with Scientology Kurt Fliegerbauer and intends to temporarily move into his &quot;Stadt Zwickau&quot; hotel.|
910|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#8">Web Links at Issue in LDS Lawsuit</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|mormonism, pseudo-christian, tanners, church handbook, lds, sandra tanner, utah lighthouse ministry|2000/01/05|What started as a seemingly simple copyright dispute in U.S. District Court between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its longtime critics Jerald and Sandra Tanner is sending shock waves through cyberspace. (...) Free-speech advocates say the wide-open nature of the Internet, with its electronic tendrils connecting virtually every corner of the globe, is being threatened. The church calls it a simple case of copyright infringement. (...)|
911|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#9">LDS Church Affirms Its View of Jesus</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|lds, mormonism, pseudo-christian, pseudo-christian|1999/12/25|the LDS First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve Apostles have issued a joint statement affirming their unique view of the man considered a savior by the world's more than 2.2 billion Christians.|
912|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#10">Millennium sect home from the hills</a>|BBC|millennium, philippines, doomsday cult|2000/01/02|Members of a religious sect in the Philippines who constructed a warren of caverns to shelter from a rain of fire they believed would destroy the earth at the dawn of the new millennium have returned to their homes.|
913|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#11">Some took Y2K to extremes</a>|Chicago Sun-Times/Bloomberg|y2k|2000/01/03|The new year brought with it plenty of tales of odd human behavior at the turning of the millennium. Here is a sample of offbeat Y2K stories:|
914|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#12">Christians fear that extremists poisoned mood</a>|y2k, doomsday cult, israel|USA Today|2000/01/03|With the fears of extremism receding, many Christian leaders have a new worry. They believe the actions of the extremists, and the coverage given them by the Israeli media, could harm already delicate relations between Jews and Christians, who make up only 2%, or 110,000, of Israel's 5.5 million people.|
915|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#13">Israeli relief as doomsday is postponed</a>|Sunday Times (England)|israel, doomsday cult, y2k|2000/01/02|Unlike other believers, however, she was not surprised to find herself still alive when a warm desert sun rose. The world was never going to end on January 1, 2000, she insisted. Bogus soothsayers had got it wrong. The world would end on April 6.|
916|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#14">Thousands march to dismiss superstition in Central African Republic</a>|CNN|superstition, millennium|2000/01/01|More than 5,000 people marched in the capital to welcome the Year 2000, saying they wanted to prove to superstitious residents of the Central African Republic that the world was not about to end.|
917|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#15">Concerned Christians fail to resurface</a>|Denver Post|concerned christians, monte kim miller, doomsday cult|2000/01/03|Meanwhile, Kim Miller has remained a mystery. Some reports claimed he was living in England. Another report placed him on the Mediterranean island of Patmos, where the apostle John was banished by the Romans.|
918|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#16">3 suspected cult members arrested in 'bizarre crime spree'</a>|Naples Daily News|queen shahmia, queen shamhia|2000/01/04|Three men who police think are part of a Nigerian religious cult were arrested Sunday night in Fort Myers after what the Lee County Sheriff's Office said was a series of crimes done for the benefit of the cult's leader, whom the men refer to as their queen.|
919|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#17">Alleged cult leader defends 'manservants'</a>|MSNBC|queen shahmia, queen shamhia|2000/01/04|A woman calling herself &quot;the queen&quot; says she's here to spread the word of God. However, authorities are trying to connect her group to several armed robberies around the state.|
920|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#18">Final answers missing in disappearance of O'Hair family, despite indictment</a>|Dallas Morning News|madalyn murray o'hair, american atheists|1999/12/29|Since Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the grande dame of American atheism, vanished from her Austin home one hot day in August 1995, the mystery has only grown deeper.|
921|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#19">Nintendo faces £60m writ from Uri Geller</a>|The Guardian (England)|uri geller|1999/12/29|Uri Geller, the millionaire paranormalist, is suing the computer giant Nintendo for more than £60m for allegedly using his image in its best-selling Pokemon game without his permission.|
922|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#20">The Spirit of Santeria</a>|Washington Post|santeria|2000/01/04|The religion, once largely unknown in the metropolitan area, venerates saints and incorporates a belief in divination, spirit possession and the sacrifice of animals to appease the gods. It has become more visible in the 20 years since the Mariel boat lift brought Cubans such as Hernandez to the District.|
923|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#21">Young black Americans fall under vodou spell</a>|The Observer (England)|voodou, voodoo, santeria, yoruba, candomble, lucumi |1999/12/26|Thousands of young African-Americans are straying off the Christian path in the search for God. Increasingly they are turning to Yoruba, which they cite as the historical faith of young, black America.|
924|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#22">No sanctuary</a>|Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)|criminal monks|2000/01/01|&quot;Something needs to be done about dishonest and violent people going into monasteries as monks,&quot; said one long-time foreign resident of Bangkok. &quot;The problem is getting worse.&quot;|
925|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#23">Believers expect Second Coming to occur on outskirts of Edinburgh</a>|Independent News (England)|knights templar, |1999/12/31|One of Britain's most mysterious churches, which is said to house the Holy Grail, has become the focus of speculation about the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ. Believers have lately been visiting the tiny 15th-century Rosslyn chapel on the outskirts of Edinburgh, convinced that it is the site where Christ will reappear, as predicted in the Book of Revelation.|
926|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#24">&quot;Witch&quot; spawns 2 sequels</a>|Yahoo!/Variety|blair witch|2000/01/04|In the wake of Artisan Entertainment's runaway hit &quot;The Blair Witch Project&quot;' the anticipated sequel has turned out to be not one, but two pictures.|
927|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#25">Ohio minister not moving to county</a>|Dallas Morning News|leroy jenkins|1999/12/28|The Rev. Leroy Jenkins' church is not happening now. The charismatic minister and self-proclaimed hands-on healer has put his 7-acre tract in rural Collin County up for sale, just eight months after his arrival in Texas.|
928|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#26">Church leaders question Creation theory</a>|BBC News|trends, opinion poll|1999/12/27|The majority of leading public figures including church leaders and politicians do not believe in the Biblical version of the Creation, according to a survey.|
929|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#27">Dead Sea Scrolls: Inquiring minds want to know</a>|Miami Herald|dead sea scrolls, ken hanson, kenneth hanson|1999/21/28|Kenneth Hanson, an adjunct professor at Rollins College and the University of Central Florida, is author of Dead Sea Scrolls: The Untold Story. His book, Words of Light: Spiritual Wisdom from the Dead Sea Scrolls, will be published this spring.|
930|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#28">Close encounters of supportive kind</a>|The Australian|australia,_ufo_, perth|1999/12/28|Perth artist Tracey Taylor says she was three when she was first abducted by aliens. The last time it happened, she claims, was just a few nights ago. The 23-year-old is one of about 300 people in Perth who believe they have had a close encounter with extraterrestrial beings.|
931|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#29">ET, no need to call home . . . you'll fit in here</a>|The Australian|_ufo_, brian borshoff|1999/12/28|Alien implants, mysterious metal objects from outer space and bizarre encounters of the fourth kind sound more like an episode from The X Files than an exhibition for public consumption.|
932|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#30">Night lights mystery</a>|The Press/NZPA (New Zealand|_ufo_|1999/12/29|UFO fever is threatening to break out after a rash of calls to police about fast-moving, coloured lights in the sky north of the city.|
933|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#31">Many report 'green balls' in sky</a>|San Diego Union-Tribune|california, _ufo_, usa|2000/01/03|A green flash of light in the sky was reported by many people across Southern California last night, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said.|
934|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#32">Southern Baptists and the conversion debate</a>|Star-Telegram/Religion News Service|evangelism, proselytizing, baptists, religious intolerance, religious freedom|2000/01/01|What Southern Baptists and other evangelistic Christians are doing is what we have always done -- believing the core truths of our faith and in obedience preparing to spread that faith as effectively as possible. Most of the Southern Baptist documents that have created such a stir in recent months are simply the same kinds of internal prayer guides and mission strategy statements that have for generations been used in the evangelistic work of Christian groups.|
935|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#33">Catholics fear for freedoms in new Macao</a>|Boston Globe|catholicism, macao, china, religous freedom|2000/01/03|With Macao now back under Beijing's control, the diocese that once ruled over all churches in China and Japan is facing its greatest challenge yet. A Roman Catholic Church that for centuries was arguably more powerful than the local government itself will have to survive and thrive in a country whose leadership does not even recognize the Vatican.|
936|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#34">Israeli government guarantees religious liberty</a>|EWTN/Zenith|israel, religious freedom|2000/01/02|In another message to Christians worldwide, Israeli President Ezer Weizman said: &quot;The State of Israel gives much importance to the Christian population and will do everything possible to guarantee that all Christians in the country enjoy full security and mutual respect...&quot;|
937|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#35">Graham doubts Farrakhan can unify</a>|News & Observer|billy graham, louis farrakhan, hate groups, nation of islam|2000/01/03|The Rev. Billy Graham says Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan is not the person to preach unity for all races and religions. Graham told &quot;Fox News Sunday&quot; that Farrakhan could not be the unifying figure he now says he wants to be.|
938|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#36">Apostles of the Apocalypse: Are we ready for the end?</a>|CNN|doomsday cult|2000/01/01|One fear of public officials, academics and others is that some radicals among the doomsayers may attempt acts of violence in the name of satisfying such prophecies.|
939|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200105.html#37">The rise and decline of the Messenger</a>|Miami Herald|Elijah Muhammad, nation of islam|1999/12/26|To be truly engrossing, a biography must not be content merely to excavate the details and significance of its subject's life. It also must provide an understanding of the evolving historical context within which the person existed and operated. In The Messenger, Washington Post reporter Karl Evanzz fulfills this latter requirement ably, not only examining one of the most intriguing figures of the 20th Century but also grounding Elijah Muhammad firmly within the history of black nationalism, the civil rights movement and the state of race relations from the late 19th Century to the present.|
940|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#1">Doomsday cult in Japan faces tax investigation</a>|Straits Times/AFP|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/06|Japan's Aum Shinrikyo cult, already in the grip of tough new legislation, now faces a wide tax investigation into its lucrative computer businesses, a report said yesterday.|
941|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#2">Tax agency to probe Aum computer firms</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/06|The National Tax Administration Agency is planning to launch a full-scale investigation and interrogate Aum members in the near future. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, additional taxes may be imposed on the cult, which authorities believe effectively runs the firms, the sources said.|
942|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#3">Former Aum cult poster boy keeps authorities guessing</a>|South China Morning Post|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/05|Since his release from prison last week, the Aum poster boy has kept the authorities guessing as to his next move.|
943|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#4">Yokohama ready to deny AUM's Joyu residency</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/06|The Yokohama Municipal Government on Wednesday decided not to accept a notification of intent to move to the city expected to be filed by Fumihiro Joyu, an executive member of the AUM Shinrikyo religious cult.|
944|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#5">Sect ban hits</a>|Yahoo/Wise News|china, falun gong, macau|2000/01/03|A Falun Gong sect member hoping to visit his sick grandmother in Macau has been turned back by the enclave's immigration officials at the border.|
945|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#6">Overseas Falun Gong faithful 'blacklisted'</a>|South China Morning Post/AFP|china, falun gong|2000/01/06|Beijing has drawn up a blacklist of 1,000 Chinese followers of the banned Falun Gong sect living abroad, a human rights group reported yesterday.|
946|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#7">'Re-education' to mark Zhongnanhai siege</a>|Yahoo/South China Morning Post|china, falun gong|2000/01/04|Beijing is to launch a national ideological campaign ahead of the first anniversary of the Zhongnanhai Communist Party headquarters siege by Falun Gong members.|
947|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#8">China jails Falungong leaders for printing books and posters</a>|Yahoo/AFP|china, falun gong|2000/01/06|China on Thursday sentenced a husband and wife team to six and eight years in prison for printing millions of Falungong books and posters, a human rights group said.|
948|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#9">Tracing Falun Gong's roots in the US</a>|Christian Science Monitor|china, falun gong, usa, li hongzhi|2000/01/06|In the US, much of its growth is still within the Chinese immigrant community. At the same time, Falun Gong - Chinese for &quot;cultivation of the Buddhist Wheel of Law&quot; - is becoming another contribution to American religious diversity and benefiting from increasing religious tolerance among Americans.|
949|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#10">France fined over missing Scientology files</a>|Infoseek/Reuters|france, scientology|2000/01/05|A French court on Wednesday ordered the state to pay 20,000 francs ($3,070) in damages to two plaintiffs over the mysterious disappearance of legal evidence in a probe into the Church of Scientology.|
950|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#11">Crusade legally sound</a>|taz (Germany)|scientology, germany, hamburg|2000/01/06|At the moment Hamburg sees no possibility of taking legal measures against the Scientology organization.|
951|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#12">Scientology's strange tax morals</a>|Tages-Anzeiger (Switzerland)|scientology, switzerland|2000/01/05|Scientology's tax returns are blank. Although the organization's sales are in the millions, for years it has not listed a Swiss frank in either proceeds or capital. Nevertheless, the psychosect now wants to be officially exempt from the obligation to pay tax.|
952|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#13">Scientology foe sets up office close to church</a>|St. Petersburg Times|scientology, usa, clearwater, bob minton, lisa mcpherson trust|2000/01/06|An organization that says it wants to reform the Church of Scientology has followed through with its plans to open a headquarters at the epicenter of the Scientology world.|
953|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#14">Homage paid</a>|NY Post|bill clinton, scientology, hypocrisy|2000/01/05|Many people consider the Church of Scientology to be a cult rather than a religion, but not Bill Clinton.|
954|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#15">LDS Church Asked to Review Anti-Gay Marriage Position</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|lds, mormonism|2000/01/05|Religious leaders from more than 70 California churches are asking The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to reconsider its support for an anti-gay marriage initiative.|
955|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#16">Family maintains millennium doomwatch</a>|The Guardian (England)|doomsday, end time, survivalists|2000/01/05|But Mrs Perron said she would not be fully confident the world had been spared millennial chaos until April.|
956|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#17">Feeling doomless? Try this</a>|Montreal Gazette (Canada)|doomsday, end time|2000/01/04|It's still a good year. Check out the some of the prophesies on about.com.|
957|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#18">New search fails to find missing boys</a>|Boston.com/AP|attleboro cult, faith healing|2000/01/05|A two-day search for a 10-month old boy and his newborn cousin who disappeared from a Christian sect in Attleboro failed to turn up new evidence, an official said Wednesday.|
958|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#19">Ex-cult member helping officials in search for boys</a>|Boston Herald|attleboro cult|2000/01/06|An ex-member of an Attleboro religious cult is working with frustrated investigators searching for the remains of two boys allegedly buried by the group.|
959|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#20">Inquiry sheds light on the life of a 'queen'</a>|St. Petersburg Times|queen shahmia, queen shamhia|2000/01/06|According to "Queen Shahmia," the woman who says she's God's daughter and Christ's sister, her troubles are the result of religious discrimination. The police beg to differ. The self-proclaimed queen, also known as Richell Denise Bradshaw, says she'll stay in Fort Myers until criminal charges against her three manservants are resolved and her group's eight children are returned.|
960|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#21">Indian Sect Leader Omkarananda Dies</a>|AOL/AP|omkarananda|2000/01/06|Swami Omkarananda, a Hindu monk and sect leader who was imprisoned in Switzerland for attempted murder, is dead. He was 70. Omkarananda died of the flu on Tuesday at his home near Bregenz, Austria, Erhard Finger, a spokesman for the Divine Light Center in Winterthur said Thursday.|
961|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#22">100 People Injured In Religious Dispute In S Korea</a>|Yahoo/Dow Jones|daesoon jinri hoe, south korea|2000/01/06|More than 100 people were injured during a clash between rival factions of an indigenous religious cult of South Korea in a leadership dispute|
962|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#23">O'Hair case statements inconsistent</a>|Dallas Morning News|madalyn murray o'hair, american atheists|2000/01/05|Gary P. Karr gave authorities two statements shortly after his arrest last year that contradict FBI testimony concerning his role in the 1995 disappearance of noted American atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair and her son and granddaughter.|
963|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#24">Authorities break up psychic fraud scam</a>|Star-Telegram|psychics|2000/01/05|After a four-year investigation, five women and two men have been convicted in separate cases involving psychic fraud. Six have been sentenced.|
964|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#25">UFOs lure Japanese TV firm</a>|BBC|_ufo_, scotland|2000/01/04|Cynics could be forgiven for attributing the high incidence of UFO sightings in Scotland to the country's reputed fondness for a drop of the hard stuff. But a Japanese TV company is hoping to prove there is more to the mysteries of the Scottish skies.|
965|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#26">Fonda becomes born-again Christian</a>|WorldNetDaily|jan fonda, ted turner|2000/01/06|The separation between media mogul Ted Turner and his wife, Jane Fonda, was prompted in part by Fonda's stunning embrace of &quot;born-again&quot; evangelical Christianity, sources close to the couple tell WorldNetDaily.|
966|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#27">Pastor told to vacate church</a>|The Birmingham News|martin murphy|2000/01/05|A judge has ordered a controversial pastor accused of recruiting pro-secession Southerners to his Sumter County congregation to vacate the church.|
967|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#28">Minister who hired hit man gets slightly longer prison term</a>|Naples News|George Crossley|2000/01/05|A former radio evangelist convicted of hiring a hit man to kill his lover's ex-husband was resentenced Tuesday to a slightly longer term after an appellate court ruled the original four-year sentence was too lenient.|
968|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#29">Rifts creator doubts game inspired murder plot</a>|National Post (Canada)|rifts, role-playing games|2000/01/05|The creator of a popular fantasy role-playing game says he doubts that his futuristic battle scenarios could have inspired three Brockville youths to plot to kill a police officer on the eve of the millennium.|
969|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#30">The quiet practice of Buddhism grows as people seek to satisfy their spiritual hunger</a>|Star-Telegram/Orange County Register|zen, buddhism, usa|2000/01/05|More and more Americans are lighting incense and sitting in zazen, especially in Southern California, where increasing numbers of Internet-cruising, cell phone-toting, world-weary people are finding the peace they seek in the quiet practice of Buddhism.|
970|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#31">It is heaven to be rich</a>|BBC|prosperity teaching, steve alessi, metro life worship center|2000/01/04|At Miami's Metro Life Worship Centre, the disciples do not have the slightest qualm about asking for a piece of the action. The idea that the poor and meek would inherit the earth is scorned.|
971|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200107.html#32">As sun sets, spirit of unity dawns</a>|Chicago Tribune|interfaith, religious pluralism|2000/01/06|This was interfaith exploration as it goes in the Chicago area in the Christian year 2000 and the Muslim year 1420--not an effort to erase differences, but to observe them respectfully.|
972|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#1">Tibetan in Hiding</a>|ABC News|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/09|A teenage Buddhist leader who escaped Chinese-ruled Tibet has been moved to a secret hideaway, a minister of the Tibetan government in exile said today.|
973|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#2">Karmapa Lama goes into hiding</a>|BBC|karmapa lama, buddhism, china|2000/01/09|The 14 year-old Karmapa Lama had stayed at the Dalai Lama's official guesthouse since his arrival in India on Wednesday.|
974|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#3">Analysis: Lama's flight embarrasses Beijing</a>|BBC|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/07|The flight of the Karmapa Lama, the 14-year-old head of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, has also complicated an already delicate political situation for China in Tibet. His arrival in India to join Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama , is equally sensitive for the Tibetan Government-in-exile in the north Indian town of Dharamasala.|
975|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#4">Karmapa's defection a blow to China</a>|Boston Globe|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/09|The escape of one of Tibet's most revered spiritual leaders has dealt a devastating blow to China's propaganda campaign in the territory, specialists said yesterday, several days after the Gyalwa Karmapa Lama surprised his followers by escaping to India.|
976|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#5">The politics of the Karmapa's flight</a>|The Times of India|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/10|The flight to India of the 17th Karmapa, the third-ranking Tibetan lama, is unlikely to seriously worsen relations between China and India, diplomats say. But other sources add two conditions to this optimistic assessment.|
977|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#6">Who is the Karmapa Lama?</a>|BBC|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/08|The Karmapa Lama is the spiritual leader of one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, ranking only behind the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama in the Tibetan spiritual hierachy.|
978|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#7">Boy lama can trace his lineage to 1283</a>|Electronic Telegraph|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/07|The 17th Gyalwa Karmapa is the ruling lama of the Karma Kagyupa sect, one of the four great sects of Tibetan Buddhism. The boy, born in 1985 and identified in 1992 as a reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa, can trace his lineage back to a lama who died in 1283.|
979|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#8">A bold trek to freedom</a>|US News & World Report|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/17|For years, Chinese officials had sought to use the young Buddhist leader as a showpiece of its own religious tolerance and of its rule over Tibet.|
980|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#9">Buddhist leader's exile spotlights China religious repression</a>|Detroit News|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/08|The dramatic escape into exile of Tibet's last primary Buddhist leader was the second incident in two days to show the Chinese government's persistent problems with organized religion|
981|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#10">China Still Has Panchen Lama</a>|New York Times|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/07|China's struggle to win over Tibet's people suffered a severe blow with the flight of the 17th Karmapa, and Communist leaders are now left with only one major Buddhist figure within their control: a 9-year-old boy shrouded in controversy.|
982|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#11">Ho no Hana leader to step down</a>|Asahi News (Japan)|japan, ho no hana sanpogyo, hogen fukunaga|2000/01/07|The head of a religious organization that was searched by police last month on suspicion of defrauding followers of money said Thursday that he will step down. Hogen Fukunaga, 54, leader of Ho no Hana Sanpogyo, made the announcement at the organization's New Year's ceremony. He also said he will dismiss six other executives from their posts. Fukunaga added, however, that he will remain as &quot;the only symbol who conveys the voices of heaven.&quot;|
983|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#12">Police raid AUM facilities</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/09|For the first time since the AUM Shinrikyo doomsday cult's top-ranking leader, Fumihiro Joyu, was released from prison in late December, police raided AUM facilities in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture and Yokohama on Saturday morning.|
984|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#13">Police search Aum cult's branch after return of top member</a>|Yahoo!/AFP|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/08|The apartment in Yokohama, south of the capital, was searched in connection with forged documents that had been submitted to police, the police spokesman said.|
985|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#14">AUM tries worming out of compensation</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/08|Aum Shinrikyo tried to outwit its receivers by telling them it would use money from the sale of land it owned to compensate victims of its terrorist acts, but then actually attempted to siphon the money away, sources said Friday.|
986|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#15">Australian sect petitioners leave China -official</a>|AOL/Reuters|falun gong, china|2000/01/09|Three Australian Falun Gong followers questioned by police after appealing to Chinese leaders against the ban on the movement have left China, an Australian diplomat said.|
987|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#16">Ghost-Written Column</a>|ABC News|bill clinton, scientology, hypocrisy|2000/01/07|Among those receiving warm New Year's wishes from President Clinton: the Church of Scientology. The controversial religious group celebrated its 50th anniversary on Dec. 28 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.|
988|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#17">&quot;Scientology has lost influence&quot;</a>|Stuttgarter Nachrichten (Germany)|scientology, germany|2000/01/07|The number of the organization's adherents are considerably less than was first assumed, said Rannacher. That, however, changes nothing about the goal of the organization: &quot;they want a different political system in the mid- and long-term.&quot;|
989|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#18">Apocalypse postponed: Y2K flop leaves doomsayers unfazed</a>|Yahoo!/AFP|doomsday, end time|2000/01/07|The world may not have ground to a halt on January 1 as a result of the millennium bug, but the ranks of prophets of the apocalypse are not disarming. They are simply fine-tuning their forebodings.|
990|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#19">FBI moves to thwart up to 20 Y2K threats</a>|CNet/Reuters|project megiddo, y2k, fbi, doomsday, end time|2000/01/07|The FBI yesterday said it had moved to thwart up to 20 or so possible threats against targets such as power plants and computer networks during a heightened security watch that started before 2000 dawned.|
991|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#20">So, predictions of Y2K global ruin didn't pan out.</a>|Los Angeles Times|doomsday, end time, richard noone, house of yahweh, unarius, new age|2000/01/10|For centuries, prophets and doomsayers have embarrassed themselves with erroneous end-of-time predictions. Still, for those looking forward to the end of the world, the temptation to name a specific date is hard to resist. Here is a sampling of apocalyptic theory, followed by comments from scientists about their validity.|
992|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#21">Former cult member afraid of retaliation against his family</a>|Boston Herald|attleboro cult, faith healing, dennis mingo, jaques robidoux|2000/01/07|A Seekonk man who fled an Attleboro cult suspected of burying two young boys says he fears for his family's safety and is wary of the group's spying ways.|
993|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#22">&quot;Queen Shamhia&quot; finds new home</a>|MSNBC|queen shahmia, queen shamhia|2000/01/09|The father of one of the queen's 'manservants' speaks out about his son's involvement with the self-proclaimed Royal Highness. Joseph Ansaroff says his 19-year-old son, Lawrence, was a model student and athlete at the  University of Central Florida. That's before he became involved with Bradshaw a few months ago. Since then, Lawrence allegedly grew distant and started giving thousands of dollars to Bradshaw.|
994|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#23">S.Korean cult infighting leaves 170 injured over two days</a>|Yahoo!/AFP|daesoon jinri hoe|2000/01/07|Some 70 people were injured Friday as rival factions of a South Korean religious cult battled each other with petrol bombs and metal pipes here, witnesses said.|
995|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#24">Man held in assault during ritual</a>|St. Petersburg Times|voodoo, voudou|2000/01/07|John Wener Bresil made his instructions very clear. If his friend wanted to win Saturday's Lotto drawing, Bresil said he would have to help him in a voodoo ritual that would enable him to commune with the spirits and pick the winning numbers, authorities said.|
996|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#25">Polygamist Says He Didn't Get Fair Trial</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|polygamy, kingston clan|2000/01/07|Sent to prison in July for &quot;marrying&quot; and having sex with a 16-year-old niece, David Ortell Kingston was back in court Thursday, claiming his June trial had been tainted by damaging references to his polygamous lifestyle.|
997|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#26">About 6,000 rally round the Confederate flag in S.C.</a>|CNN/AP|confederate flag|2000/01/08|An army of 6,000 people gathered Saturday under a sea of red Confederate flags to defend the banner that has flown from the Statehouse dome for 38 years and thrust the state into the national spotlight.|
998|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#27">Dealing with the end of the world time after time: Eileen Barker: Professor whose faith in people wins trust of the cults</a>|The Guardian (England)|eileen barker, _inform_, cesnur, unification church|2000/01/08|The truly extraordinary thing about Eileen Barker is how she manages to remain sympathetic to people whose beliefs she finds completely absurd.|
999|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#28">&quot;Get off the horse&quot;</a>|Der Spiegel (Germany)|germany, success coaches, deepak chopra, anthony robbins|2000/01/01|"Coaching," a term originating in sports, has adapted itself to social life. There are tennis, financial and social coaches, advisors for beauty, trainers for success, self-awareness, proper body language, mood modulations and - above all - for professional appearances on television.|
1000|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#29">Motivating Investors; Anthony Robbins Makes An Internet Play</a>|New York Times|anthony robbins, dreamlife, success coaches|2000/01/08|At first glance, Dreamlife appears to be just another Internet company with  high hopes and hazy prospects. But it is majority-owned by Anthony Robbins, the motivational speaker and star of TV infomericals. |
1001|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#30">Psychic Uri Geller Redeems His 'Mind Power'</a>|Excite/Reuters|psychic, uri geller|2000/01/06|Jay Leno may be a more sympathetic &quot;Tonight Show&quot; host than predecessor Johnny Carson, but his mind is still difficult to penetrate. So says one-time spoon-bending psychic superstar Uri Geller, who made a comeback Wednesday on &quot;The Tonight Show with Jay Leno&quot; nearly 27 years after flopping on his first guest spot on the show, sending his career into a tailspin.|
1002|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#31">A series of events for issues of worldview</a>|Koelnische Rundschau (Germany)|sects, germany, religious pluralism|2000/01/06|The phenomenon of an ever-increasing variety of life styles, worldviews and weltanschauungs can be observed in all large German cities, according to Huebsch, &quot;and this pluralism will continue to progress.&quot;|
1003|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#32">Acupuncture 'fails smokers'</a>|The Times (England)|acupuncture|2000/01/07|A review of all published trials on the subject over the past 20 years found that even the most rigorous studies could not find any benefit from using acupuncture to kick the habit.|
1004|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#33">Churches Curse Broadcast Ruling</a>|WIRED|fcc, federal communications Commission|2000/01/07|Religious radio stations are condemning new government restrictions on broadcasting as unwise, unfair, and quite possibly unconstitutional. The Federal Communications Commission has ruled that such radio stations might have to nix shows devoted to religious &quot;proselytizing.&quot;|
1005|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#34">Islam in Utah</a>|Deseret News|islam|2000/01/08|While precise numbers are hard to come by, it is safe to say their numbers have tripled or quadrupled here during the past decade, according to Iqbal Hossain, president of the Islamic Society of Salt Lake City.|
1006|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#35">Rabbis forbid Internet use</a>|News Wire|ultra-orthodox jews|2000/01/09|Ultra-Orthodox Jewish rabbis have banned their followers from using theInternet out of concern that Web links may lead them into the profane.|
1007|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#36">Muslim students file complaints against colleges</a>|Detroit News|islam, religious freedom, religious intolerance, hyprocrisy, church and state|2000/01/04|Two Muslim students in Metro Detroit have filed complaints against their colleges because of how professors treated them and their religion.|
1008|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#37">Apology offered to Islamic student</a>|Detroit News|islam, religious freedom, religious intolerance, hypocrisy, church and state|2000/01/05|A Washtenaw Community College instructor should not have reprimanded a student who uttered a short Islamic phrase before making an oral presentation last semester, the college president said Tuesday.|
1009|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#38">Government's two-faced view of religion put teacher in spot</a>|Detroit News|islam, religious freedom, religious intolerance, hypocrisy, church and state|2000/01/07|Don't blame Margo Winnard Czinski in this week's flap over invoking God in a public school. Tracking the country's schizo attitude on church-state relations is getting downright impossible.|
1010|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#39">Food Fight: Inmates want the right to eat religiously</a>|Court TV|religious freedom|2000/01/07|Interestingly, The 3rd U.S. District Court of Appeals decided that neither judges nor prison officials should be able to challenge the validity of a inmates' beliefs — only his adherence to them.|
1011|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#40">Outreach a sore point in Israel</a>|San Jose Mercury News|evangelism, proselytizing, israel|2000/01/09|Most Israelis, as a recent Gallup poll showed, know little about Christianity but hold positive attitudes toward Christians. But the 68-page booklet, produced by an extreme fringe group, shows there are still tensions between Christians and Jews in Israel, especially over the issue of proselytizing.|
1012|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#41">Games to have a spiritual side</a>|Deseret News|olympic games, interfaith|2000/01/08|While area philanthropists are busy signing large checks destined to support the 2002 Winter Olympics, a veritable melting pot of area religious leaders is looking to give the Games a boost with something beyond material wealth.|
1013|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#42">Faith in religion renewed at school</a>|The Australian|australia, trends|2000/01/07|The boom comes as census figures show a quarter of the population does not belong to a religion – 10 times more than at the turn of the last century.|
1014|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#43">Alpha Course Brings Comfort Level to Evangelism</a>|Detroit News|alpha course|2000/01/06|Last year, 118,000 people took the Alpha Course in the United States and Canada, up from less than 4,000 three years ago, Hanna said. It also is offered in more than 100 countries around the world, he said.|
1015|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#44">Beliefs: World's Religions Look as They Did a Millennium Ago</a>|New York Times|religous pluralism, scientology, goddess worship, neo-paganism|2000/01/08|Although there have been dropouts from the ranks of world religions, there have been no new contenders. The major religious families of today were all around a millennium ago: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam. So too, with the exception of Sikhism, were the more regional faiths like Jainism and Shinto.|
1016|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#45">Accidental tourist returns 'cursed' stone</a>|BBC News|offbeat|2000/01/08|A Belgian tourist who took a stone from an ancient Scottish burial site has returned it after complaining it had cursed his family.|
1017|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200110.html#46">New ways to pray are just a mouse-click away</a>|Boston Globe|internet, god.com|2000/01/09|Time was when those who wanted to communicate with a higher power clasped their hands, perhaps kneeling in a hallowed sanctuary, and fervently appealed for divine aid. Now they can sit at their computer screens, tap out keyboard prayers, and, in at least some cases, genuinely feel they are reaching their Maker on line.|
1018|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#1">Branch Davidians seek sanction against government</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/12|Plaintiffs in the Branch Davidian lawsuit have asked a Waco federal judge to sanction the government $50,000 for delaying the surrender of thousands of pages of documents related to the 1993 siege.|
1019|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#2">Fine sought against government for slow turnover of Davidian documents</a>|Waco Tribune-Herald|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/11|Caddell also asked that any request by the United States for more time to produce documents be denied.|
1020|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#3">FBI photograph apparently undermines claims that government forces fired on Branch Davidians</a>|St. Louis Post-Dispatch|fbi, waco, branch davidians|2000/01/12|A newly released FBI photograph appears to undercut claims that government forces opened fire on Branch Davidians during the assault on the compound outside Waco in 1993.|
1021|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#4">Lawyer: Re-creation of Davidian siege to be at Fort Hood</a>|Waco Tribune-Herald|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/11|The court-ordered re-creation of the events at Mount Carmel on April 19, 1993, to determine whether FBI agents shot at the Branch Davidians will probably be in March at Fort Hood, the plaintiffs' lead attorney in the wrongful death lawsuit against the federal government said Tuesday.|
1022|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#5">China cautions India over apparent defection of religious leader</a>|CNN|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/12|China has warned India to tread carefully in its dealings with the apparent defection of the Karmapa Lama -- who some expect will receive asylum from New Delhi.|
1023|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#6">Karmapa Hasn't Requested Asylum</a>|AOL/AP|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/10|A teen-age Buddhist leader who fled Chinese-ruled Tibet has not asked India for asylum, a member of the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile said Monday.|
1024|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#7">Followers seek asylum for Karmapa</a>|Taipei Times|kramapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/11|Tibet's government-in-exile said yesterday it was hopeful India would respond favorably if it sought asylum for the top lama who had fled Lhasa.|
1025|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#8">China Boosting Religion Management</a>|Yahoo!/AP|, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/11|The Chinese government will strengthen its control over religious practices to keep &quot;hostile overseas forces&quot;' from splitting the nation, according to remarks published Tuesday, a week after a key Tibetan Buddhist leader fled to India.|
1026|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#9">Monks arrested in raid on monastery</a>|Sydney Morning Herald|karmapa lama|2000/01/12|China has begun taking reprisals against supporters of the 14-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader who has fled across the Himalayas to India, which is under mounting pressure to grant him political asylum.|
1027|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#">Beijing Discovers Another &quot;Living Buddha&quot;</a>|Inside China Today/AFP|china, karmapa lama, tibet, reting lama, reting rinpoche, living buddha, dalai lama|2000/01/12|TEXT|
1028|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#11">Rise of Religious Fervor Spooks Beijing</a>|International Herald Tribune|china, religion, falun gong, catholicism, underground church, house churches, karmapa lama, tibet|2000/01/11|spiritual groups indicates that religion, more than traditional kinds of political dissent, is now seen by the Communist Party as one of the most serious threats to its monopoly on power.|
1029|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#12">Aum will leave when ready, Joyu says</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/11|People living near a Yokohama condominium containing an Aum Shinrikyo office demanded Tuesday that former cult spokesman Fumihiro Joyu and other followers immediately leave the area.|
1030|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#13">Man drives car into Aum barricade</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/13|A 44-year-old man drove into a barricade set up by police in front of the Aum Supreme Truth cult's Yokohama branch late Tuesday, police said.|
1031|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#14">Falun Gong detainees unrepentant</a>|The Age (Australia)|china, falun gong, australia|2000/01/11|Australian followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement have been warned against travelling to China after three Melbourne members were held for questioning and escorted out of the country on Sunday.|
1032|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#15">Appeal against Scientology?</a>|Stuttgarter Zeitung (Germany)|germany, scientology|2000/01/08|From the view of state legal experts, Scientology is &quot;only about making money.&quot; It is said that all the spiritual, religious and worldview aspects are only protective camouflage.|
1033|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#16">Supporting Infosekta</a>|Tages Anzeiger (Switzerland)|infosekta, scientology, switzerland|2000/01/08|The city council has rejected the individual initiative from Scientologist and middle school teacher Peter Thalmann. He had demanded that the city not be allowed to financially support the sect counselling center because it was violating freedom of religion by doing that. It is a matter of 20,000 Swiss franks a year.|
1034|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#17">Scientology chia pet</a>|LA Weekly|scientology, hypocrisy|2000/01/14|The Washington Post reported that Scientology took several photos off its Web site after being accused of doctoring crowd-scene photos to inflate the head count at the event. |
1035|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#18">Mormon Issue at the U. a Touchy One for Students, Faculty</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|lds, mormonism|2000/01/09|Whether fact or urban folklore, as Machen would have it, the perception of anti-Mormon bias may be one the university can never escape given its position as the state's secular counterbalance to LDS Church-owned Brigham Young University.|
1036|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#19">Arizona 'Sleepwalker' sentenced to life in wife's murder</a>|CNN/AP|mormonism|2000/01/10|A man who claimed he was sleepwalking when he killed his wife by stabbing her 44 times and holding her head under water was sentenced Monday to life in prison without a chance of parole.|
1037|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#20">Islamic society stripped of charity status</a>|Electronic Telegraph|islam, muslim cultural society|2000/01/09|A British charity run by Islamic fundamentalists has become the first group of its kind to be stripped of its special privileges including tax breaks.|
1038|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#21">Wiccan Fights Suspension From School</a>|Excity/Reuters|wicca, witchcraft, neo-paganism|2000/01/12|A North Carolina high school teacher suspended after telling administrators she practices a pagan religion associated with witchcraft said on Tuesday she would fight to get her job back.|
1039|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#22">Life goes on for scholars of Armageddon</a>|San Jose Mercury News|doomday, end time, richard landes, center for millennial studies|2000/01/09|Just because Armageddon didn't conveniently arrive with the turn of the year doesn't mean academics who study all things millennial are packing up their bags and looking for a new subject. Far from it.|
1040|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#23">Christian Right Groups Protest FBI's Warning on Extremists</a>|Washington Post|project megiddo, fbi|2000/01/06|With no sign yet of domestic millennial terrorism, a coalition of conservative Christian groups yesterday called for Congress to investigate what it considers the FBI's overblown pre-New Year's warnings about the threat of Christian extremists.|
1041|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#24">Cult member gets 101 years for trying to kill cop, robbery</a>|San Diego Union-Tribune|the gatekeepers, pala, san diego|2000/01/12|Shackled to the chair and wearing a bright-green jail jumpsuit indicating he is a high-level escape risk, Blaine Applin, a member of a small religious group in Pala, quietly read the Bible as he was sentenced to more than 101 years to life in prison yesterday.|
1042|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#25">Chopra loses case alleging blackmail</a>|San Diego Union-Tribune|deepak chopra|2000/01/11|A San Diego Superior Court jury unanimously tossed out claims yesterday by mind-body healer Deepak Chopra that a former employee tried to blackmail him for $50,000 in return for not exposing allegations that Chopra had sex with a prostitute.|
1043|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#26">'Queen's' followers face new charges</a>|St. Petersburg Times|queen shahmia, queen shamhia|2000/01/12|Two followers of the woman who calls herself "Queen Shahmia" have been charged in three Bradenton-area robberies, deputies said.|
1044|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#27">Texas troopers suspended over KKK costumes</a>|San Jose Mercury News|kkk, ku klux klan, racism|2000/01/12|Four white state troopers who donned Ku Klux Klan-style hoods at a 1989 birthday party for a black officer have been suspended, officials in Houston said Tuesday.|
1045|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#28">Prisoners, guards stir fears with Walls Unit ghost stories</a>|Star-Telegram|ghost|2000/01/11|The ghost stories have persisted for so long that it is difficult to dismiss them as the delusional babbling of stir-crazy convicts. The guards tell similar tales.|
1046|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#29">International developers sacrifice 100 cattle to appease ancestral spirits</a>|Africa News|animal sacrifice, swaziland|2000/01/11|International developers have bowed to Swazi tradition and are preparing to sacrifice 100 cattle to ancestral spirits in an attempt to win support for the R343,4-million Maguga Dam project on the kingdom's border with Mpumalanga.|
1047|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#30">Bearded Canadian boxer seeks victory in court</a>|Yahoo!/Reuters|sikhism, religious freedom|2000/01/11|A Sikh boxer, barred from competition in Canada because he refused to shave his beard for religious reasons, hopes his first major victory of the year will be on Wednesday -- in court.|
1048|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#31">Clergy rail at play about Jesus's girl</a>|Sunday Times|blasphemy|2000/01/09|A controversial new play by Scotland's most respected poet portrays Jesus Christ as a wayward teen who fathers an illegitimate daughter. Edwin Morgan is writing the play, AD, for Raindog, the Glasgow-based theatre company set up by film star Robert Carlyle.|
1050|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#32">Declining churches 'at risk of bleeding to death'</a>|The Times|trends|2000/01/12|Churches in England will &quot;bleed to death&quot; within a generation if the current rate of decline continues, according to figures published today.|
1051|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#33">BeyondBody.com Uses MP3 for Inducing Altered States</a>|Yahoo!/PR Newswire|altered states, out-of-body, paranormal, yoga|2000/01/11|Dale has developed Beyond Body(TM) -- a spiritual and practical Internet-based program to learn how to induce fully conscious out-of-body experiences -- using MP3 audio files.|
1052|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#34">UFO experts, media continue inquiries into sighting</a>|St. Louis Post-Dispatch|_ufo_, ufos|2000/01/12|It appeared as a floating two-story house with a glowing red interior. A week later, it has attracted national media and a team of investigators led by a former FBI agent who wants to know if the object was an alien spacecraft. John Velier and his team from Las Vegas flew to St. Louis on Friday to learn more about a UFO spotted a week ago first by a Highland miniature-golf course owner and then by four police officers.|
1053|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#35">U.F.O. Boom Doesn't Worry Officials</a>|New York Times|china, _ufo_, ufos|2000/01/11|The last few months have been a boom time for U.F.O. enthusiasts in China.  Just before the start of the year 2000, there were dozens of sightings. Strange shining objects were observed scooting through the sky by hundreds of people, from former airport workers to college deans.|
1054|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#36">How Himmler fell under the spell of witches</a>|The Times|himmler, nazi, nazis, witchcraft|2000/01/11|The SS leader Heinrich Himmler was so obsessed with witchcraft that he looted 140,000 books on the subject from libraries across Europe and set up a unit to investigate and publicise the issue.|
1055|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200113.html#37">Theocracy in the Desert</a>|New York Times|book review, ostling, mormonism, lds|2000/01/09|It is on the spiritual front that the book most comes to life. Quoting from dozens of anguished Mormon scholars who have run up against the iron fist of church authorities, the Ostlings make the case that the Saints should not be afraid of their own past. People who buck the party line are spied on, denounced and coldly excommunicated.|
1056|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#1">U.S. Supreme Court will hear appeal from Branch Davidians</a>|Waco Tribune-Herald|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/14|The Supreme Court Friday agreed to hear the appeal of five Branch Davidians challenging lengthy prison sentences for using enhanced weapons during a gun battle with the government at Mount Carmel. Four ATF agents and five Davidians died in the Feb. 28, 1993 shoot-out.|
1057|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#2">Deadline upheld on Davidian documents</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/14|In another rebuke to the Justice Department, a federal judge refused Thursday to postpone depositions or a Friday deadline for surrender of documents regarding the Branch Davidian siege to the sect's lawyers.|
1058|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#3">Government's chief lawyer in Waco suit has critics among FBI and Davidians</a>|St. Louis Post-Dispatch|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/14|The difference is that the lawyers for the Branch Davidians see a cover-up and think the information will prove that government agents fired shots at the Branch Davidians. The FBI thinks the evidence will show no shots were fired. They're worried that the reluctance of the department's lead attorney, Marie L. Hagen, to release facts in the case is playing into the hands of members of the public who suspect the worst.|
1059|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#4">Judge chooses British firm to stage demonstration of events at Davidian compound</a>|Waco Tribune-Herald|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/14|A federal judge in Waco on Friday chose a British firm to stage a demonstration designed to determine if FBI agents fired into Mount Carmel on the final day of the 51-day siege with David Koresh and his followers.|
1060|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#5">Armed and Dangerous</a>|WorldNetDaily|waco, fbi, branch davidians, mike mcnulty|2000/01/13|A newspaper claim that a single photo now proves federal forces did not shoot at the Waco Branch Davidians has come under heavy criticism by a documentary producer, as well as FBI, CIA and other officials.|
1061|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#6">Japan's Aum Supreme Truth delays reform announcement</a>|Yahoo/AFP|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/17|Japan's Aum Supreme Truth cult postponed a news conference Monday at which it had been expected to announce &quot;comprehensive reforms &quot; in the face of a nationwide crackdown.|
1062|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#7">Japan Doomsday Cult to Sell Assets - Media</a>|AOL/Reuters|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/16|Japan's doomsday cult, accused of the 1995 fatal nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway, plans to sell its assets to offer compensation to victims and their families, Japanese media said on Monday.|
1063|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#8">Japan's Law on Sects Spurs Debate</a>|Los Angeles Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/16|The issue of how to deal with the cult--which is reported to be adding members as well as harboring $50 million from its computer retailing business--has ignited a civil rights struggle. It has brought to the fore the question of how to preserve the freedoms of speech, religion, assembly and choice of residence guaranteed by the Japanese Constitution while at the same time maintaining public safety.|
1064|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#9">Anti-Aum rightists get free, loud ride</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinrikyo|2000/01/14|Military marching songs and yells blasting out of rightists' black loudspeaker trucks broke the holiday silence here Monday morning, which was Coming-of-Age Day.|
1065|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#10">General jailed for Falun Gong links</a>|BBC|china, falun gong|2000/01/14|A retired Chinese air force general has reportedly been jailed for 17 years for supporting the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement. A Hong Kong-based human rights group said General Yu Changxin, 74, was convicted at a secret court martial of using a cult to undermine the law.|
1066|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#11">Sect followers in Macau</a>|Yahoo/Wise|falung gong, macau|2000/01/17|Whether the mainland-banned Falun Gong sect will be tolerated in Macau hinges in the end on whether Beijing really wants to implement the &quot;one country, two systems&quot; principle, a member of the controversial quasi-religious group in the enclave said.|
1067|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#12">Teen-Age Lama Can Stay in India</a>|Wachington Post|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/16|The teen-age Tibetan Buddhist lama who fled to India last month is free to stay, although he has not applied for political asylum, Defense Minister George Fernandes said.|
1068|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#13">Karmapa would revive a 300-year-old ceremony</a>|San Francisco Chronicle/AP|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/15|The young Tibetan monk who fled last week to India wants to revive the Black Crown ceremony, a 300-year-old tradition lost since the death of his predecessor.|
1069|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#14">Young Monk May Emerge As Leader</a>|Excite/AP|karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/15|The arrival of the 17th Karmapa, leader of the Karma Kagyu sect, has given exiled Tibetans a new and tangible leader they can embrace alongside the 64-year-old Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of all Tibetan Buddhists.|
1070|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#15">Two-year-old boy ordained as new lama by Beijing</a>|South China Morning Post|china, tibet, reting lama, buddhism|2000/01/17|Beijing yesterday ordained the reincarnation of a ''living Buddha'' in a move that could exacerbate its already bitter relations with the Tibetan government-in-exile.|
1071|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#16">Chinese politics create revolving lama-o-rama</a>|Denver Rocky Mountain News|china, tibet, reting lama, buddhism, dalai lama, karmapa lama|2000/01/16|Once again, China's worried leaders are counting lamas in their sleep. For no matter how hard the atheist government tries to tame rebellious Tibetans, the ''Living Buddhas'' it chooses keep embarrassing Beijing.|
1072|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#17">More Chinese Turning to Religion</a>|AOL.AP|china, falun gong, christianity, sects, qigong, underground church|2000/01/16|From western China's deserts and Tibet's high plateaus to eastern China's teeming cities, officials are beset by religious and spiritual challenges.|
1073|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#18">China losing bid to control religion</a>|The Age|china, falun gong, christianity, karmapa lama, buddhism|2000/01/15|Now, the model monk has bitten the hand that feeds, and China is threatening all who dare exult in its misfortune. His defection, coinciding with the nationwide crackdown on the Falun Gong meditation movement, and the struggle with the Vatican over the unauthorised ordination of Catholic bishops, makes China's attempts to control religion look dangerously out of control.|
1074|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#19">Scientology opponent faces battery charge</a>|Tampa Tribune|scientology, bob minton, cos harassment|2000/01/15|In the battery incident, Minton was carrying a protest sign up and down the sidewalk outside the Fort Harrison Hotel on Halloween night while Howd filmed him at close range with a video camera. Minton testified that he struck Howd with his placard when Howd would not back away as Minton left the area.|
1075|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#20">A Danger to our Society: then and now</a>|Saarbrueker Zeitung (Germany)|scientology, germany|2000/01/13|There continues to be sentiment, even among Constitutional Security agents, that the "expansion" of Scientology is stopped, or even that the organization is on the downfall.|
1076|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#21">Sending Scientology a ''Clear Signal''</a>|Stuttgarter nachrichten (Germany)|scientology, germany|2000/01/14|Some observers see Scientology's importance as being on the decline. Not so Leutenbach mayor Juergen Kiesl, who has been in office for six months. In a letter to the 120 employees, the chief ''very cordially'' asked them to sign an enclosed ''security statement.''|
1077|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#22">South, North Korea join forces in Peace Motors</a>|Excite/Reuters|unification church|2000/01/17|The automotive arm of South Korea's Unification Church will break ground this month on a $300 million car-making joint venture called Peace Motors in North Korea, an executive with the company said on Monday.|
1078|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#23">Experts ponder: Whose thoughts are hate letters?</a>|The Huntsville Times|hate groups, christian identity, matt hale, wold church of the creator, white supremacy, anti-semitism|2000/01/16|The letter was crude: misspelled words, apostrophes in the wrong places, paragraphs indented in a zig-zag pattern. But the message of hate came searing through on the smudged photocopy. |
1079|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#24">Hate.com expands on the net</a>|BBC|hate groups, stormfront, white supremacy, _adl_, ku klux klan, national alliance, william pierce, turner diaries, don black, _adl_|2000/01/12|The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) monitors not only anti-Semitic material on the internet - but the full range of hate sites. It is thought there are currently around 500 of them - just a tiny proportion of the material available on the web.|
1080|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#25">ADL buys offensive Web names to curb hate</a>|Jewish Bulletin of Northern California|_adl_, hate groups, anti-semitism|2000/01/13|The national office of the Anti-Defamation League has purchased six anti-Semitic Web domain names to prevent hate groups from using them. ADL officials say that is the only way to keep such names out of the hands of those who want to recruit white supremacists and anti-Semites online.|
1081|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#26">Germany seeks historian's extradition</a>|BBC|holocaust deniers, david irving|2000/01/13|The German authorities have asked for the extradition of the controversial British historian, David Irving. Mr Irving, 62, is currently suing an academic in the British courts who has accused him of denying the Holocaust.|
1082|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#27">Revisionist scholar with talent for controversy</a>|BBC|holocaust deniers, david irving|2000/01/11|British historian David Irving has been no stranger to controversy during his 30 years on the British literary scene. He has been praised for his academic rigour by some and vilified as an Adolf Hitler 'partisan' who distorts history by others.|
1083|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#28">Danger in Denying Holocaust?</a>|Los Angeles Times|holocaust deniers, david irving|2000/01/07|Now one of the leading deniers of the Holocaust, British historian David Irving, is striking back, suing the most prominent critic of the movement, Emory University professor Deborah Lipstadt, for libel.|
1084|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#29">Neo-Nazi accused of 'racial hatred' goes on the run</a>|The Telegraph (England)|holocaust deniers, germar rudolf, david irving|2000/01/16|Germany has issued an international arrest warrant for a Holocaust
revisionist who fled to Britain to escape a prison sentence for inciting racial hatred. Police here have joined the hunt for Germar Rudolf, who has been on the run from his home in Stuttgart since 1995.|
1085|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#30">Man Jailed for Buying Hand Grenades</a>|Excite/AP|Chris Scott Gilliam, white supremacy, hate groups|2000/01/16|A white supremacist who admitted buying hand grenades, which he allegedly wanted to use as mail bombs, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison without parole. Chris Scott Gilliam pleaded guilty in August to federal firearms charges, stemming from the purchase of the 10 grenades from an undercover federal agent.|
1086|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#31">Hate Group Leader [charged] With Making Illegal Death Threats</a>|Excite/PR Newswire|hate groups, ryan wilson, ALPHA HQ|2000/01/16|Announcing HUD's latest fair housing case, Cuomo said that Ryan Wilson of Philadelphia and the hate group he runs -- ALPHA HQ -- have been charged by HUD with violating the Fair Housing Act. The charge stems from threats posted on Wilson's Internet web site and made by him in a TV interview against fair housing advocate Bonnie Jouhari.|
1087|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#32">Bill seeks to unmask Klan</a>|Ohio Beacon Journal|hate groups, ku klux klan|2000/01/12|He believes one way to curb Klan activity is to force marchers to show their faces. Last month, with the support of 33 bipartisan co-sponsors, Jones introduced a bill in the Ohio House that would give communities a new tool to fight groups like the KKK. House Bill 521 would make it a crime for those participating in political demonstrations to wear a mask or any other identity-disguising items.|
1088|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#33">Alabama chapter of KKK investigated for Web site threat</a>|Boston.com/AP|hate groups, ku klux klan|2000/01/14|The Mississippi attorney general is contacting state authorities after discovering an Alabama Klan group's Web site said he had ''earned a death sentence.''|
1089|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#34">Satan worshippers open Temple of Lucifer in Denmark</a>|Infoseek/Reuters|satanism, denmark|2000/01/15|A group of Satan worshippers inaugurated what they called a Temple of Lucifer on Saturday, saying it was the first of its kind in Denmark.|
1090|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#35">Wiccan teacher's removal criticized</a>|Fayetteville Observer|wicca, witchcraft, paganism, neo-paganism|2000/01/15|The North Carolina Association of Educators says Scotland County school officials overreacted when they suspended a Wiccan teacher.|
1091|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#36">Dome's designers plan to build full-size Stonehenge replica</a>|Sunday Times (England)|stonehenge|2000/01/16|Designers of the Millennium Dome are in talks with Labour about building a full-size replica of Stonehenge to give tourists a more ''dynamic'' experience. Visitors are to be tempted with a ''virtual reality'' display of its history.|
1092|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#37">Mormon Actress Is Suing U.</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|lds, mormonism|2000/01/14|When told she would have to "get over" her objection to using offensive language, the young Mormon student refused and was, she contends, drummed out of the theater department's program. Now Axson-Flynn has sued several of the program's faculty members in a civil rights lawsuit claiming they violated her constitutional right to practice religion. |
1093|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#38">Deadly crash draws attention to Irish Traveler clan</a>|CNN/AP|travelers, greenhorn irish travellers, rainbow people|2000/01/16|A clan of wandering Irish descendants known for clinging tightly to their privacy have been dragged into the public spotlight by a recent crash that killed five young cousins.|
1094|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#39">Cult experts are alarmed by Keene prophet's case</a>|The Keene Sentinel|Ronald J. O'Brien, friends of the eucharist, sons of light, rick ross, joseph nickell|2000/01/14|Ronald J. O'Brien is a cult leader, two experts say, and people should worry about where he's leading his followers. Citing the tragic ends of some cults in recent years, Rick A. Ross of Phoenix, Ariz., and Joseph Nickell of Buffalo, N.Y. -- both authorities on cults -- say that what they've seen in the writings, pronouncements and warnings of the 55-year-old Keene man are cause for concern.|
1095|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#40">Rastafarians Disrupt Court Proceedings</a>|Panafrican News Agency|rastafarians|2000/01/14|Chaos broke out in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court on Thursday afternoon, when a group of rastafarians stripped naked, hurled abuse at court officials and threatened to urinate in the court.|
1096|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#41">Loggers Seek To Advance 'Deep Ecology' Suit</a>|Channel 4000/WCCO|deep ecology, environmental issues|2000/01/14|A group of loggers filed the lawsuit last fall against the U.S. Forest Service and two environmental groups, claiming that the Forest Service has buckled to the groups' philosophy of ''deep ecology,'' which regards the natural world as sacred.|
1097|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#42">Catholics Battle Brazilian Faith in 'Black Rome'</a>|New York Times|catholicism, brazil, candomble|2000/01/10|To the traditionalists who dominate the Roman Catholic Church here, the choice is clear: the word of God versus resurgent paganism.|
1098|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#43">FCC Reassures Religious Broadcasters</a>|Yahoo/AP|fcc|2000/01/13|Voicing concerns on behalf of the nation's religious broadcasters, lawmakers are accusing the Federal Communications Commission of trying to suppress religious expression on television.|
1099|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#44">Visiting Hindu Scholar To Test Waters for Temple in N.M.</a>|Albuquerque Journal|hinduism, usa|2000/01/15|Are New Mexico followers of Hinduism ready to have a permanent place of worship? A California-based Hindu scholar hopes this weekend's speaking engagement in Albuquerque will help answer that question. An estimated 150 families practice the Hindu religion in the state, Brahmachari Someshwar Chaitanya said Friday.|
1100|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#45">Now Wenatchee girl can call parents 'mom and dad' again</a>|Seattle Post-Intelligencer|false memory syndrome, fms, abuse, ritual abuse, wenatchee|2000/01/14|In February 1998, the Post-Intelligencer published The Power to Harm http://www.seattlep-i.com/powertoharm/, a series of stories that documented overzealous -- even abusive -- actions by Perez and social service caseworkers, civil rights violations by judges and prosecutors as well as sloppy work by public defenders. Since then, many of the convicted have been freed by higher courts, largely through the work of The Innocence Project, a group of volunteer lawyers.|
1101|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#46">For 2002 Winter Games, Faiths Agree Cooperation Is in, Indoctrination Out</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|interfaith, religious pluralism, united religions initiative|2000/01/15|Bishop William Swing, arguably the poster cleric for ecumenism, was pleasantly taken aback by the desire for interfaith cooperation he found while leading a two-day seminar on spirituality in the upcoming 2002 Winter Games.|
1102|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#47">Unifying the Fractured Body of Christ -- Does It Have a Prayer?</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|interfaith, religious pluralism|2000/01/15|Such shared arenas in Utah include the interdenominational campaign to bar firearms from houses of worship and the interfaith coalition forming to address spiritual needs of the upcoming 2002 Winter Games, he said. Both efforts have drawn the support of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which claims 70 percent of Utahns as members. While neither embracing the WCC or its campaign for unity, the church has a history of cooperating with other faiths on humanitarian and public-morals issues. |
1103|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#48">Baha'is, others to unite in World Religion Day</a>|Arizona Republic|baha'i, religious pluralism|2000/01/15|The Baha'i Faith began the celebration of World Religion Day 50 years ago. The faith teaches the unity of religions and the equality of men and women, and World Religion Day grew out of those beliefs. Today, the day is celebrated in more than 80 countries, with some large national events.|
1104|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#49">A community of believers of all faiths</a>|USA Today|belief.com, religious pluralism|2000/01/13|Many of the articles are by a diverse group of more than 50 columnists, top names in religion and spirituality, from orthodox to fringe. They include Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong, Jesus scholar Marcus Borg, Catholic priest/sociologist Andrew Greeley, Buddhist Lama Surya Das, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin and Margot Adler, a writer on goddess spirituality.|
1105|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#50">Alien fruit flies spawn wealth of evolutionary theories</a>|Seattle Post-Intelligencer|evolution, science|2000/01/17|The extremely rapid conquest of turf by the European fruit fly has significant implications for how we handle invading species as well as for Darwin's theory of evolution, he said.|
1106|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#51">Americans worship less than they used to, survey indicates</a>|Nando Times|trends, christianity|2000/01/14|Church attendance among American adults is slipping, yet it remains higher than in other industrial democracies, according to a newly issued survey from the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.|
1107|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#52">In booming Africa, a vital Christianity that respects local traditions</a>|Star-Telegram/Cox|trends, christianity|2000/01/14|Forson, a native Ghanaian, believes that, contrary to the teachings of some early missionaries, Christianity and Africanism are complementary. One need not expunge from people all traces of native culture for them to become Christians, he says. Instead, the word of Christ can dwell among the people of Africa and find the culture to be very fertile soil indeed.|
1108|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#53">Christianity at a Crossroads</a>|St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press/Religion News Service|salad-bar christianity, cafeteria christianity, cafeteria religion, trends, christianity|2000/01/15|For one thing, the move toward ''cafeteria Christianity'' appearing at the end of the 20th century -- believers picking and choosing what appeals to them in various denominations, even in other faiths -- is likely to gather steam in the 21st.|
1109|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#54">In praise of intolerance</a>|News & Observer|evangelism, baptists, religious freedom, religious intolerance|2000/01/14|Jesus is intolerant, said Graham, when it comes to matters of salvation. Try defending that stance on CNN. By the end of 1999, pundits and politicos were starting to suggest that evangelism equals hate speech.|
1110|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#55">[''Christian polygamists'']</a>|AOL/Reuters|polygamy|2000/01/13|A decade ago, Stephen Butt says he was happily married, busy with his church and working as a cult exit counselor in Maine. His work with a young woman who had been abused by a cult took an unexpected direction. She became his wife. Now Butt lives in Utah with three wives and five children, ministering to nearly 1,000 people around the country who call themselves Christian polygamists.|
1111|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#56">Review: Decent performances burned by 'Holy Smoke' script</a>|CNN|holy smoke, film, exit-counseling|2000/01/14|Halfway through this sloppy mess of a movie, Ruth moans, ''I want to go home.'' You'll feel the same way. Just when you think this film can't possibly get any more scrambled or make any less sense, it does. |
1112|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#57">Neale Donald Walsch's 'Conversations with God' books continue to create a stir</a>|Star-Telegram|neale donald walsch, new age|2000/01/12|Q. Are we all gods? Or all part of God? Or are we all collectively God?  A. [Walsch] Yes, to all of the above.|
1113|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#58">Writer's books bring New Age into focus</a>|St. Petersburg Times|james redfield, new age|2000/01/15|The author's success is easily explained, Rowbotham believes. Redfield, he said, has taken the sometimes esoteric metaphysical principles of what generally is described as New Age thought and incorporated them into a highly readable format.|
1114|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200117.html#59">Virgin reveals herself in spilled ice cream, faithful say</a>|Star-Telegram|offbeat, mariology, virgin of guadalupe|2000/01/14|To unfaithful eyes, the crusty smear looks about as earthshaking as, well, a melted popsicle. But ecstatic believers swear they can discern the form of the beloved Mexican idol.|
1115|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#1">Poison Gas Group in Japan Distances Itself From Guru</a>|New York Times|aum shinrikyo, aleph, japan|2000/01/19|The religious group responsible for a deadly nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995 said for the first time today that its founder and leader had probably been involved in the attack and that he would no longer serve as the group's leader.|
1116|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#2">AUM blames Asahara</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, aleph, japan|2000/01/19|The cult also said it has adopted a new name, ''Aleph,'' to replace AUM Shinrikyo. Cult members said that Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and the name represents a fresh beginning for the group.|
1117|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#3">Aum admits Matsumoto may be linked to crimes</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, aleph, japan|2000/01/19|In the letter, Muraoka also cites the following organizational and leadership reforms:|
1118|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#4">Victims skeptical of Aum's 'admission' of leader's guilt</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, aleph, japan|2000/01/19|Victims and bereaved families of victims of the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack and other crimes allegedly perpetrated by the Aum Supreme Truth cult reacted with skepticism to a cult admission that cult guru Chizuo Matsumoto, also known as Shoko Asahara, possibly was involved in the crimes. The Public Safety Investigation Agency was also skeptical about Aum's motives, suspecting that the release of the document was a calculated measure designed to sidestep a new law aimed at curtailing the cult's activities.|
1119|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#5">Joyu says founder a god no more</a>|Asahi Daily News (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan, aleph|2000/01/19|However, Joyu still referred to Matsumoto as sonshi (holy guru), a title of respect.|
1120|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#6">Murderous sect changes name</a>|South China Morning Post|japan, aum shinrikyo, aleph|2000/01/19|The first tentative steps towards helping victims came earlier this week when the cult handed over five properties that housed followers across the country.|
1121|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#7">Aum agrees to hand over 5 cult facilities / Aum: New law unconstitutional</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan, aleph|2000/01/18|In preparation for a hearing scheduled for Thursday, Aum on Monday issued a written statement to the Public Security Examination Commission. In the statement, the cult argues that a recently enacted law aimed to curtail its activities is unconstitutional.|
1122|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#8">Aum Cult's Joyu May Head New Religious Group, Sankei Says</a>|AOL/Bloomberg|aum shinrikyo, japan, aleph|2000/01/18|Fumihiro Joyu, former spokesman of Japan's Aum Supreme Truth cult, may lead a new religious organization excluding family members of Aum cult founder Shoko Asahara, to avoid police monitoring under a law aimed at the cut, the Sankei Newspaper reported, citing people close to the cult.|
1123|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#9">Aum Cult to Use Believers' Salaries for Compensation, NHK Says</a>|AOl/Bloomberg|aum shinrikyo, aleph, japan|2000/01/19|Aum Shinri Kyo, the doomsday cult behind the 1995 attack on Tokyo's subways, said it plans to use the salaries of its believers to pay 30 million yen ($283,000) to 60 million annually to victims of the attack, NHK television news said, citing a statement from the cult.|
1124|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#11">Government fails to meet evidence deadline in Branch Davidian case</a>|CNN/AP|branch davidians, waco, fbi|2000/01/18|Government attorneys failed to meet a federal judge's Tuesday deadline to turn over all evidence sought by relatives suing for wrongful death in the Branch Davidian inferno.|
1125|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#12">Davidian lawyers demand answers in inquiry</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/19|It is the key question in the Branch Davidians' wrongful-death suit against the federal government: Did anyone under U.S. control shoot at the sect's compound during the fiery ending of the 1993 standoff? Lawyers for the sect told a federal judge Tuesday that Justice Department lawyers must be forced to provide complete written answers because they have dodged the question for months, failing to make good on promises to fully respond.|
1126|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#13">Building on faith</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, fbi, branch davidians, amo roden, charles pace, clive doyle, michigan militia|2000/01/16|It's a new church. The Branch Davidians are rebuilding.|
1127|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#15">China jails qigong healer</a>|AOL/Reuters|china, zhong gong, qigong, chen jinlong|2000/01/19|A Chinese court has sentenced a man who claimed healing powers similar to the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement to two years in prison for practising medicine without a licence, a court official said on Wednesday. Chen Jinlong, leader of the Zhong Gong in the eastern coastal province on Zhejiang, was convicted in Sanmen county court on January 10, the day he turned 51, the official said by telephone.|
1128|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#16">China jails Qigong master, plans to widen crackdown</a>|Nando Times|china, zhong gong, qigong, chen jinlong|2000/01/19|China's government is preparing to extend a crackdown on cults to another popular health and meditation group, after a court sentenced one of the group's leaders to two years in jail on charges of illegally practicing medicine, a rights group said Wednesday.|
1129|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#17">Security chief to continue blitz on sect</a>|South China Morning Post|china, falun gong|2000/01/19|The top security official has vowed to push ahead with the crackdown on the Falun Gong spiritual movement and to give priority to fighting official corruption, state press reported yesterday.|
1130|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#18">Dalai Lama Questions New Ordination</a>|Washington Post/AP|reting lama, tibet, dalai lama, china, buddhism|2000/01/18|The Reting Lama, an important monk in Tibetan Buddhism, has not yet been reborn, and the 2-year-old boy installed by China cannot be the true reincarnation, the Dalai Lama's office reported Tuesday.|
1131|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#19">Control of Tibet a question of faith</a>|South China Morning Post|reting lama, panchen lama, dalai lama, karmapa lama, buddhism, china, tibet|2000/01/19|The importance of reincarnate lamas and whose side they are on is not to be underestimated in Tibet.|
1132|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#20">Tibetan exile's CD of sacred chants released in UK</a>|News Wire (England)|karmapa lama, buddhism|2000/01/19|The teenage Tibetan spiritual leader who crossed the Himalayas to join the Dalai Lama in exile has become a recording star - after appearing in a producer's dream.|
1133|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#21">Scientology Pied Piper making rounds of schools</a>|Fraenkischer Tag (Germany)|scientology, germany, cosfront|2000/01/19|Extreme caution is advised for parents in Herzogenaurach and outlying areas whose children are having problems in school. The Scientology organization is trying to introduce the teachings of founder L. Ron Hubbard to children through tutoring courses. |
1134|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#22">Zwickau: CDU chief Seidel intends to sue Fliegerbauer</a>|Freie Presse (Germany)|scientology, germany, cos harassment|2000/01/18|''By comparing a democratically elected city council with the worst, anti-Semitic, Nazi Germany, the diligent Scientologist, as he calls himself, is acting outside humane norms,'' Martin Boettger, spokesman for the regional association of the Buendnis/Greens, rated the situation.|
1135|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#23">BYU Head Says Church Will Double by 2025</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|mormonism, lds, pseudo-christian|2000/01/13|Brigham Young University President Merrill Bateman says the LDS Church will double its missionary program and church membership in 25 years.|
1136|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#24">'Queen' charged with commanding robberies</a>|St. Petersburg Times|queen shahmia, queen shamhia|2000/01/19|The woman who calls herself Queen Shahmia told her followers last month that God was angry with the skimpy donations they were collecting. She lowered the boom on her servants: Take the money, don't ask for it politely anymore.|
1137|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#25">Deepak Chopra case gets its fourth judge</a>|San Diego Union-Tribune|deepak chopra|2000/01/19|The tortuous saga of a lawsuit between New Age writer and lecturer Deepak Chopra and a former employee took another twist yesterday when an appellate court justice was placed in charge of hearing the case.|
1138|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html26#">Quakers Lose Tax Fight Appeal</a>|Excite/AP|quakers|2000/01/18|The Supreme Court today rejected appeals by Quakers who say the Internal Revenue Service violates their religious freedom by charging fees and interest for delays in paying the portion of their federal tax that funds the military.|
1139|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#27">Quaker Vows to Withhold Taxes</a>|Fox News|quakers|2000/01/19|A Quaker who refuses to pay part of her taxes in protest of the government's military activities is standing fast despite a Supreme Court rejection of her appeal.|
1140|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#28">God Channel is fined £20,000 for 'frightening' ad</a>|The Telegraph (England)|rory alec, god channel, christian channel europe|2000/01/16|A religious broadcaster has been fined £20,000 after screening an advertisement for an evangelical conference which said that evil forces had seized political power in Europe and controlled the media and education.|
1141|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#29">Rabbi comes to Mick and Jerry's emotional rescue</a>|South China Morning Post|kaballah|2000/01/19|Rolling Stone Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall have turned to a mystical Jewish sect in a bid to patch up their failed marriage. The couple, who divorced last summer but remain close friends, are said to be visiting a London rabbi who is a practitioner of the trendy sect Kabbalah, whose Hollywood followers include Madonna, Roseanne Arnold, Liz Taylor and Courtney Love.|
1142|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#30">Alien notion: Unidentified object in Illinois grabs imaginations</a>|Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|_ufo_|2000/01/18|Southwestern Illinois, it seems, has a genuine UFO mystery to chew on.|
1143|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#31">Believers In God, if Not Church</a>|Washington Post|cafeteria religion, trends, private spirituality|2000/01/18|Scholars call this "domesticating God," turning him into a social planner, therapist or guardian angel.|
1144|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200119.html#32">Ordinary Dutchman Is African King</a>|Excite/AP|offbeat|2000/01/17|Meet King Togbe Korsi Ferdinand Gakpetor II of Ghana. In Holland, the king is Henk Otte, a Dutch construction worker on welfare. In West Africa, he rules part of the lush Volta Region, home to tens of thousands of Ewes who revere him as Togbe, or king.|
1145|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#1">Danforth wants samples of human remains of Branch Davidians</a>|CNN/AP|waco, fib, branch davidians|2000/01/22|The special counsel re-investigating the government's conduct during the 1993 Branch Davidian siege asked a federal judge Friday to grant him temporary custody of tissue and bone samples.|
1146|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#2">2 say unit had minor Waco role</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/21|Depositions of two U.S. Army Delta Force technicians offer the first detailed public accounts of the secret unit's role in the 1993 Branch Davidian siege.|
1147|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#3">Missing Delta Force member arrived after fire at Waco, colleague testifies</a>|St. Louis Post-Dispatch|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/21|The whereabouts of the Delta Force commando assigned to provide tactical assistance to the FBI at Waco in 1993 has not been determined for the seven hours leading up to the fire that destroyed the Branch Davidians' complex.|
1148|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#4">Japan Cult Guru's Son Kidnapped</a>|Yahoo/AP|japan, aum shinrikyo, aleph|2000/01/21|Several people broke into a facility of a doomsday cult today and abducted the 7-year-old son of the cult's former guru, who is on trial for the 1995 gas attack on Tokyo subways.|
1149|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#5">Japan cult dissidents in bizarre attempt to kidnap leader's son</a>|Hong Kong Standard|japan, aum shinrikyo, aleph|2000/01/22|Dissident members of the Japanese Aleph cult, formerly Aum Supreme Truth launched a bizarre attempt yesterday to kidnap the seven-year-old son of forme r guru Shoko Asahara, police said.|
1150|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#6">Japan's police raid ''dangerous'' cult</a>|Yahoo/AP|japan, aum shinrikyo, aleph|2000/01/21|More than 100 Japanese police Friday raided the Aleph cult, formerly Aum Supreme Truth, as the justice minister warned it was still a danger five years after gassing Tokyo's subway.|
1151|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#7">New AUM title riles namesakes</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo, aleph|2000/01/20|If your business happens to be called ''Aleph,'' then have someone standing by to man the phones. Since AUM Shinrikyo decided to change its name to ''Aleph''on Tuesday, many businesses with the same name across the nation have been flooded with phone calls from inquiring customers and curious people.|
1152|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#8">Japan cult causes stir with name change</a>|Infoseek/Reuters|japan, aum shinrikyo, aleph|2000/01/19|A number of companies or institutions already use that name in Japan, and they fear being mistaken for the cult, whose members have been convicted or are on trial for a gas attack which killed 12 and injured thousands on the Tokyo subway.|
1153|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#9">Commission meets for Aum supervision hearing</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|japan, aum shinrikyo, aleph|2000/01/21|The Public Security Examination Commission convened Thursday to hear a request to place the Aum Supreme Truth cult under supervision in accordance with a law to regulate organizations that have committed mass murder.|
1154|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#10">Cult makes case against new surveillance law</a>|Japan Times|japan, aum shinriky, aleph|2000/01/21|During a hearing before the Public Security Examination Commission, lawyers for Aum Shinrikyo said the cult does not fit the criteria for application of the so-called anti-Aum law, and argued that the new law violates the Constitution, which ensures freedom of religion.|
1155|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#11">AUM says anti-cult law violates rights</a>|Mainichi Daily News|japan, aum shinrikyo, aleph|2000/01/21|Describing the cult as ''secluded and deceptive,'' the agency argued that despite the new name, the character of AUM has not changed since it went on a crime spree under the direction of guru Shoko Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto.|
1156|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#12">AUM hearing</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Editorial)|japna, aum shinrikyo, aleph|2000/01/21|We believe that the new legislation will achieve some goals but should not be the sum of the government's policy toward AUM. In the United States and Europe, public institutions offer counseling for people who leave cults. The nation also needs to establish programs to ensure that as many believers as possible can be rehabilitated back into society.|
1157|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#13">Sect waits for corpses to live again</a>|Hong Kong Standard/AFP|kaeda juku, junichiro higashi, akemi togashi, japan|2000/01/22|A Japanese sect kept the mummified bodies of two children at a luxury villa in the expectation they would come back to life, police and press reports said yesterday.|
1158|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#14">2 kids found mummified Children found dead</a>|Asahji News (Japan)|kaeda juku, junichiro higashi, akemi togashi, japan|2000/01/21|Higashi told police he was an agent of the creator of Earth and was sending his maker energy so the bodies could be revived, investigators said. Higashi had placed equipment around the bodies that he said was sending energy to the bodies.|
1159|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#15">Cult shocker</a>|Mainichi Daily News (Japan)|kaeda juku, junichiro higashi, akemi togashi, japan|2000/01/22|Kaeda-juku Leaders of a commune here where the mummified bodies of two children were found Thursday night repeatedly denied the father of one of the children access to his boy, police said Friday. (...) Higashi refers to the commune's members as cram school students. He is a former member of the Unification Church, whose members are often referred to as ''Moonies'' because the church was founded by South Korean Sun Myung Moon.|
1160|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#16">Exiles denounce choice of lama</a>|The Straits Times (Singapore)|reting lama, tibet, china|2000/01/20|The Tibetan government in exile yesterday denounced China's ordination of a two-year-old boy as the reincarnation of a ''living Buddha'', saying it did not have the Dalai Lama's approval.|
1161|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#17">China To Scrutinize Spiritual Groups Similar To Falungong: Report</a>|Inside China Today/AFP|china, qigong, zhong gong|2000/01/20|China is to begin heavily scrutinizing hundreds of health and spiritual groups that practice traditional Chinese meditation exercises, for fear they will turn into Falungong-style movements, state media reported Thursday.|
1162|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#18">China Imprisons Leader of a Healing-by-Meditation Society</a>|New York Times|china, qigong, zhong gong, zhang hongbao|2000/01/20|Like hundreds of others that have sprung up in the last 20 years in China, the two groups claim to harness the body's qi, or vital forces, through traditional meditation and physical exercises known as qigong to fight disease and promote spiritual well-being.|
1163|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#19">Qi gong lined up for authorities' sweep</a>|South China Morning Post|china, qigong, zhong gong|2000/01/21|Tough measures are to be announced to ''clean up'' qi gong groups, a senior official told the state media.|
1164|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#20">David Duke forms white civil rights group</a>|CNN/AP|racism, david duke, kkk, ku klux klan, noear, national organization for european american rights, hate groups|2000/01/21|Former Ku Klux Klansman David Duke on Friday launched a civil rights group for whites, saying they face ''massive discrimination'' from the nation's growing population of minorities.|
1165|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#21">Bill would name KKK's adopted highway for Rosa Parks</a>|CNN.AP|hate groups, racism, kkk. ku klux klan, rosa parks|2000/01/20|A state lawmaker embarrassed by the Ku Klux Klan's participation in Missouri's Adopt-A-Highway program wants to rename the Klan-sponsored stretch of highway for the civil rights hero Rosa Parks.|
1166|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#22">William Pierce: a history of hate</a>|Austin-American Statesman|hate groups, william pierce, turner diaries|2000/01/19|Few in Hillsboro are aware their town has become the world capital of hatecore music. The 215 residents barely interact with Pierce, aside from his rare trips to the post office.|
1167|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#23">Hale gives date, time for Northwestern U. visit</a>|Excite/U-Wire|matthew hale, world church of the creator, hate groups, white supremacy|2000/01/18|Fifteen signatures are normally required for any group to be granted official status as a religious organization, but university administrators have repeatedly denounced Hale and his group as ''crazies.'' They have also said repeatedly that 15 signatures would not guarantee the World Church recognition on campus.|
1168|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#24">Historian accused of right-wing extremism</a>|The Times (England)|holocaust deniers, david irving|2000/01/21|David Irving, the historian, was accused yesterday of being a right-wing extremist who made statements deliberately designed to feed virulent anti-Semitism still prevalent in the world.|
1169|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#25">Target of Internet threat relieved by filing of charges</a>|Oregon Live/AP stream|hate groups, ryan wilson, ALPHA HQ|2000/01/19|A woman who fled across the country after receiving death threats for fighting racism and housing discrimination, only to have the hate messages follow, is breathing a bit easier now.|
1170|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#26">Slo-Mo Justice Against Hate</a>|Wired|hate groups, ryan wilson, ALPHA HQ|2000/01/18|Making death threats on your Web site may get you in trouble with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, but the Justice Department has been slow to act on one white supremacist's threat.|
1171|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#27">Jehovah's Witness died after refusing transfusion</a>|The Guardian (England)|jehovah's witnesses|2000/01/20|A Jehovah's Witness died after she refused to have a blood transfusion which would have saved her life, because it was against her religious beliefs.|
1172|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#27a">Doctors in standoff with parents of girl who needs blood</a>|CNN|jehovah's witnesses|2000/01/20|A 10-year-old Nicaraguan girl, Hazel Borge, could soon die because her parents -- devout Jehovah's Witnesses -- are refusing to allow doctors to give her a blood transfusion.|
1173|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#28">LDS church moves to mediation with Tanners over copyright</a>|Newsnet at BYU|mormonism, pseudo-christian, church handbook, lds, sandra tanner, tanners, utah lighthouse ministry|2000/01/18|The on-going legal effort by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to protect its copyright on church-owned materials moves into the mediation phase Jan. 21. United States District Court Judge Tena Campbell referred the case to mediation in an attempt to encourage settlement of the case. The first mediation will take place on Jan. 21.|
1174|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#29">Baptists Seek To 'Convert' Mormons</a>|AOL/AP|mormonism, lds, pseudo-christian, jehovah's witnesses, watchman fellowhip, cult awareness impact crusade|2000/01/22|Two Southern Baptist congregations are preparing a crusade to teach their members how to convert ''cult'' members, including Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.|
1175|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#30">LDS Urged to Back Prop. 22</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|lds, mormonism, pseudo-christian|2000/01/21|Throughout the campaign, the LDS Church has made a point of instructing members to do any work related to the effort on their own time and property, not that of the church. The church has long maintained its right to become involved in political issues that it considers to have moral implications.|
1176|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#31">Father tells judge he has no authority over missing child</a>|Boston Herald/AP|attleboro cult|2000/01/19|A father continued to be jailed on a contempt charge today after telling a judge he has no jurisdiction over his missing son because the boy was not an American citizen.|
1177|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#32">Cult leader: Missing son part of 'sovereign nation'</a>|Boston Herald|attleboro cult|2000/01/20|An Attleboro cult leader believed to have buried his infant son claims the government has no right to investigate the child's disappearance because the boy is a member of a sovereign nation.|
1178|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#33">Goddess works some magic in Taiwan-China ties</a>|Australian Financial Review|matsu, taoism|2000/01/20|Matsu, the Taoist goddess of the sea, has been performing miracles for her devout followers in the Chinese coastal province of Fujian and on the island of Taiwan for more than a thousand years. Signs are emerging that Matsu, a deity also known as Tin Hau in some parts of southern China, could be responsible for a miracle of sorts over the next few months.|
1179|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#34">Peyote thrives in South Texas; Native Americans use it during religious ceremony</a>|Star-Telegram|peyote, native americans|2000/01/20|In the Native American Church, peyote has the same place as the communion sacrament in Christianity, said Lourdes Jiordani, a professor of anthropology at Albright College in Pennsylvania, who studies the peyote religion. Only those who are at least one-quarter Native American can legally purchase peyote, although many non-Native Americans take peyote at church ceremonies.|
1180|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#35">A return to roots</a>|Chicago Tribune|voodo, voudou, vodun|2000/01/21|This is not the Voudou that most Americans may have constructed in their imaginations around pop culture presentations of ''voodoo.'' But it is the same religion first brought to the Americas from West Africa by slaves. At its root, it is the same religion that adapted over the centuries to survive the intolerance of a slaveholding society, manifesting itself as Haitian Voudou, Santeria, Cuban Lucumi, Brazilian Candomble and many other forms.|
1181|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#36">Atheists withdraw suit over Boise cross</a>|Deseret News|american atheists, religious intolerance|2000/01/15|The American Atheists will postpone their lawsuit to remove a 60-foot-tall cross that overlooks the city after a federal court ruling against the group in a similar case in California.|
1182|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#37">No Evidence Death Penalty Deters Crime, Reno Says</a>|Excite/Reuters|death penalty, usa human rights violations|2000/01/20|U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, the country's top law enforcement official, said on Thursday that she has yet to find any evidence that the death penalty deters crime.|
1183|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#38">Half of state's death-penalty cases reversed</a>|Chicago Tribune|death penalty, usa human rights violations|2000/01/22|An Illinois Supreme Court ruling on Friday pushed the number of death-penalty cases in Illinois that have been reversed for a new trial or sentencing hearing to 130 -- exactly half the total of those capital cases that have completed at least one round of appeals, according to a Tribune analysis.|
1184|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200122.html#39">Robison executed for '82 Lake Worth slayings</a>|Dallas Morning News|death penalty, usa human rights violations|2000/01/22|Religious leaders, death penalty opponents and advocates for the mentally ill had pleaded for mercy for Mr. Robison. They said that it was wrong for the state to kill someone so obviously deranged that he couldn't be responsible for his crime. And they maintained that Mr. Robison did not understand what awaited him in the death chamber.|
1185|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#1">Kidnapped son of Japan's Aum sect founder rescued</a>|Yahoo/AFP|aum shinrikyo, japan, aleph|2000/01/24|Japanese police said Monday they had safely rescued the seven-year-old son ofthe Aum Supreme Truth sect founder Shoko Asahara, two days after he was kidnapped.|
1186|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#2">Japan Sect's Name Change Brings Confusion and Fear</a>|New York Times|aum shinrikyo, japan, aleph|2000/01/24|But the name change from Aum Shinrikyo to Aleph, which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and signifies renewal for many Japanese, appears to have raised more fears than it calmed. In fact, since Aum announced the name shift on Tuesday, Japanese businesses and organizations that use the name Aleph have been flooded with telephone calls from people concerned that they were associated with the sect.|
1187|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#3">Aum exec held over threat accusation by bank official</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan, aleph|2000/01/25|Police on Monday arrested Naruhito Noda, 33, a senior member of the Aum Supreme Truth cult, which recently renamed itself Aleph, on suspicion of becoming violent at a bank that turned down his request to open an account.|
1188|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#4">Prosecution needs to speedily handle case of Aum cult leader</a>|Asahi News (Japan) (Editorial)|aum shinrikyo, japan, aleph|2000/01/23|The trial of Chizuo Matsumoto, leader of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which has entered its fifth year, is typical of generally slow-moving and drawn-out trials in Japan. The situation threatens to shake the public's confidence in the nation's criminal justice system to its foundation.|
1189|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#5">Religious cult said active in fund-raising</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|kaeda juku, junichiro higashi, akemi togashi, japan|2000/01/24|The Miyazaki-based Kaedajuku religious cult, whose leaders were handed over to prosecutors Friday on suspicion of abandoning the bodies of a boy and an infant, took part in various fund-raising activities, including running a ramen noodle shop and selling advertising space in the cult's free employment magazine, sources close to police said Saturday.|
1190|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#6">Miyazaki cult leaders sent to prosecutors</a>|Daily Yomiuri|kaeda juku, junichiro higashi, akemi togashi, japan|2000/01/23|Cult leaders Junichiro Higashi, 55, and Akemi Togashi, 49, were sent to the Miyazaki District Prosecutors Office on suspicion of abandoning the bodies of a 6-year-old boy and an infant.|
1191|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#7">China Tries 2 In Religious, Political Crackdowns -Report</a>|Yahoo/Dow Jones|china, falun gong|2000/01/24|A leader of China's banned Falun Gong spiritual group went on trial Monday after a court blocked him from pleading innocent to charges of cult activity and told him to only ask for leniency, a human rights group said.|
1192|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#8">Falungong leaders have not appealed stiff sentences: China</a>|Inside China Today/AFP|falun gong, china|2000/01/21|Four key members of the banned Falungong group who were sentenced to long jail terms last month have not appealed, the official Legal Daily reported Friday.|
1193|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#9">Tibetans Seek Young Monk's Asylum</a>|AOL/AP|karmapa lama, china, tibet|2000/01/24|A group of 37 Tibetan organizations on Monday urged the Indian government to allow an influential 14-year-old monk to remain in India.|
1194|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#10">Karmapa not to be allowed into Sikkim</a>|The Hindu|karmapa lama, china, tibet|2000/01/22|The Vajpayee Government is believed to have taken the first step towards finalising a policy on the Karmapa issue. According to senior sources in the Vajpayee Government, it had been decided that the 14-year old Ugyen Trinley Dorje, who is the 17th Kagyu Karmapa, would not be allowed to enter Sikkim.|
1195|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#11">China Fends Off Criticism Of "Living Buddha" Choice</a>|Inside China Today|reting lama|2000/01/21|China shrugged off criticism of its ordination of a two-year-old boy as the reincarnation of a Tibetan &quot;living Buddha&quot;, saying he had been chosen according to established practice.|
1196|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#12">Millionaire Opens Center to Crusade Against Scientology</a>|Detroit News/Baltimore Sun|scientology, lisa mcpherson trust, bob minton|2000/01/19|Minton's crusade against Scientology began, he says, as a free-speech action. Minton, who retired in 1992, says he learned of the church's attempt about five years ago to kill an Internet newsgroup dominated by former members and other detractors who criticized the church and sometimes published its secret documents. Groups devoted to the free flow of information on the Internet, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, of which Minton is a member, rose up in protest.|
1197|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#13">Conspiracy dreams are an FBI nightmare </a>|San Antonio Express News|waco, branch davidians, fbi, gordon novel, mike mcnulty|2000/01/23|Gordon Novel, 61, is the originator of allegations — recently popularized by &quot;conspiracist&quot; documentaries— that federal agents fired upon David Koresh's followers as Mount Carmel was bursting into flames.|
1198|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#14">Prepare to be strong leaders, Elder Ballard urges BYU students</a>|Deseet News|lsd, mormonism, pseudo-christian|2000/01/19|Since the church was under the leadership of President Lorenzo Snow at the turn of the century, it has grown in number from 271,681 members in 40 stakes to 10.7 million members in 2,542 stakes. In that same time, the missionary ranks have swelled from 2,000 in 18 missions to about 59,000 in 333 fields of service, he said.|
1199|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#15">Hinckley Will Dedicate 2nd Hawaiian Temple</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|lds, mormonism, pseudo-christian|2000/01/22|The Kona Hawaii Temple will become the 70th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.|
1200|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#16">A Beacon of Light: The Salvation Army expected the worst arriving in Utah in 1887. It didn't happen.</a>|Salt Lake Tribune|lsd, mormonims, pseudo-christian, salvation army, interfaith|2000/01/23|While Cozens may have despaired over Utahns' charity in 1887, today's Salvation Army counts the LDS Church and its members -- along with numerous other denominations -- among its strongest allies in serving the needs of the homeless, hungry and poor.|
1201|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#17">Rev. Sun Myung Moon celebrates 80th birthday with 3,000</a>|Yahoo/AFP|unification church|2000/01/22|Some 3,000 people from around the world, including former British Prime Minister Edward Heath and former Zambian leader Kenneth Kaunda, gathered here Saturday to celebrate Reverend Sun Myung Moon's 80th birthday.|
1202|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#18">One Killed in Calif. Temple Shooting</a>|Excite/AP|sikhism|2000/01/23|A man who had been told he could not speak at a Sikh temple Sunday returned a short time later and opened fire with a gun, killing a man, authorities said.|
1203|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#19">Rebels Raid Hospital in Thailand</a>|Excite/AP|god's army of the holy mountain, birma, Johnny and Luther Htoo|2000/01/23|About 10 men from the Myanmar insurgent group God's Army raided a hospital Monday in western Thailand, demanding that the doctors treat their injured, the Thai interior minister said.|
1204|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#20">Indian guru follower Anand Sheela arrested after German TV show</a>|The Oregonian|bhagwan shree rajneesh, anand sheela|2000/01/22|German police picked up Anand Sheela in a town near Frankfort, Germany, last week after she appeared on a television show to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of her former mentor, Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Sheela was quickly released, however, because the Interpol warrant for her arrest had been canceled.|
1205|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#21">Wife of Late Bahai Leader Dies</a>|Excite/AP|bahai|2000/01/19|Madame Ruhiyyih Rabbani, wife of a late Bahai leader and a senior figure in the faith, died Wednesday in the Israeli city of Haifa after a long illness. She was 90. Originally from Montreal, where she was called Mary Sutherland Maxwell, Mrs. Rabbani married then-world head of the Bahai faith, Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, in 1937.|
1206|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#22">Greening of Faiths Has Many Shades of Meaning</a>|Los Angeles Times|environmental issues|2000/01/22|Across the country, congregations of many faiths are awakening to a kind of  earth spirituality rooted in their sacred writings and traditions. Mainline Protestants and Roman Catholics have been among the leaders in the charge, incorporating themes of caring for creation into their prayers, sermons and liturgies. But there is a growing, though still nascent, awareness among evangelicals and Pentecostal Christians, who also see the world's environmental problems essentially as a crisis of the spirit.|
1207|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#23">Environmental evangelism</a>|Deseret News/AP|environmental issues|2000/01/22|Church leaders in Washington and 15 other states are bringing environmentalism to the pulpit this year with a campaign to educate their congregations about global warming.|
1208|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200124.html#24">The new believers</a>|The Guardian (England)|russia, religious freedom|2000/01/22|Russia's war on God is over. But an alliance between the orthodox church and the state has led to a disturbing campaign of religious intolerance.|
1209|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200127.html#1">ATF, military deny shots in final Waco siege</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/26|Government lawyers formally denied Tuesday that anyone in federal law enforcement or the U.S. military shot at the Branch Davidian compound at the end of the deadly 1993 siege.|
1210|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200127.html#2">Prosecutor in Waco to resign</a>|Dallas Morning News|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/25|Veteran federal prosecutor Bill Johnston says he is quitting the Justice Department, a move that comes five months after he warned Attorney General Janet Reno of a possible cover-up of key information on government actions in the 1993 Branch Davidian siege.|
1211|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200127.html#3">Attorneys say they acted in good faith in Davidian case</a>|Star-Telegram|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/25|Government attorneys say that they acted in good faith in turning over documents in the Branch Davidian civil suit and that a Waco court shouldn't penalize them.|
1212|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200127.html#4">FBI employees: Video shows 'glint' not gunfire</a>|Waco Tribune-Herald|waco, fbi, branch davidians|2000/01/24|Although most admit never seeing as many multiple flashes before, FBI agents and technicians are adamant that the flashes seen on an infrared video of Mount Carmel on April 19, 1993, are "glint" and not gunfire, according to depositions for the upcoming wrongful-death lawsuit filed against the government by surviving Branch Davidians.|
1213|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200127.html#5">Victims of Japan Cult Gassing Hide</a>|AOL/AP|aum shinrikyo, japan, aleph|2000/01/25|Most victims of the 1995 Tokyo subway gassing, in which members of a doomsday cult have been convicted, hide the fact that they are victims for fear of social stigma, their lawyers said Tuesday.|
1214|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200127.html#6">Panel likely to approve Aum watch</a>|Daily Yomiuri (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan, aleph|2000/01/26|The Public Security Examination Commission is expected to approve placing the Aum Supreme Truth cult under supervision, as empowered by a law recently passed to regulate dangerous organizations, government sources said Monday.|
1215|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200127.html#7">Security commission planning to apply anti-Aum law</a>|Asahi News (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan, aleph|2000/01/25|On Monday, the commission discussed a session held last week to hear Aum's reaction to a Public Security Investigation Agency request that the law be applied to the cult. Most commission members said the request should be granted and that it would be difficult to deny the danger of the cult, which they considered still under Matsumoto's influence, the sources said.|
1216|<a href="http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an200127.html#8">Abduction spurs fears about cult</a>|Asahi News (Japan)|aum shinrikyo, japan, aleph|2000/01/27|The abduction of the son of Chizuo Matsumoto, a founder of Aum Shinrikyo, now called Aleph, demonstrates the continuing danger of the cult, sources close to the the Public Security Examination Commi