=== Aum Shinrikyo
1. Don't forget Tokyo subway gas attack: survivors and bereaved families
2. Subway staff remember victims of 1995 AUM gassing

=== Scientology
3. Tom Cruise Ends another Affair
4. Update: Cruise Still With Scientology
5. Cruise Dumps Scientology - NOT!
6. [harassment has become so commonplace that it is no longer newsworthy]
7. A Thorn in the MPAA's Side

=== Buddhism
8. 'Vietnam Buddhist burns herself to death'
9. Vietnam sect leader allowed home, status unclear

=== Islam
10. Cows slaughtered over delay in Buddha statues destruction
11. Taliban Explains Buddha Demolition
12. Muslim destroyers reach for the heart of Jewish holy sites

=== Mormonism
13. Visiting Reporters Complain Venues Tour Turned Into a Pitch for Church, State
14. Mormons under pressure on drink

=== Hate Groups
15. More teens buying white power music
16. Speakers with anti-Semitic ties coming to B.C. rally
17. Klan Highway Sign Isn't Welcome, Say Potosi, Mo., Residents

=== House of Prayer (Atlanta)
18. Church disputes claims of abuse
19. DFCS to take 10 more kids from members of Atlanta church in wake of abuse probe

=== Other News
20. French Sect Members Tried for Baby-Killing
21. Ex-dean of BU chapel on leave for illness
22. Families seek help from dangers of cults
23. 'Volatile' Prophetic Writings Set to Stir Further Controversy (Rick
Joyner)

=== Noted
24. False Prophets in Poland
25. Christian ministers to embrace Rainbow
26. The Work, the FBI and a habit of silence (Opus Dei)

=== Books
27. Religion researcher's 40-year quest to tabulate every believer on earth


=== Other News

20. French Sect Members Tried for Baby-Killing
Xinhua News Agency / CEIS, Mar. 19, 2001
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
A court in southwestern France opened Monday to examine the case of a French-German couple who are followers of an apocalyptic sect and charged with killing their 19-month-old baby four years ago, reported Agence France-Presse.

Michel Ginhoux, 40, and his German wife Dagmar Ginhoux, both members of a sect named ''Tabitha Apostolic Order,'' were sued for not taking care of their baby son Raphael who was born with cardiac malformation and rickets.

While their son was suffering, the parents lived in a farm in Angous, Pyrenees-Atlantics, southwestern France to practice their apocalyptic belief with hundreds of fellow sect members. Raphael died of hunger and illness in April 1997, according to judge Thierry Pons.

Pons said he will give his sentence on Thursday night.

On the same day, other 19 members of the same sect will also be sentenced for negligence of parents' obligation for not allowing their children to receive education and vaccination.

The sect, originated from Vermont, northeastern United States, claims that it has hundreds of members. They live in closed community and refuse medical treatment and education from outside for their children.
[...entire item...]


21. Ex-dean of BU chapel on leave for illness
Boston Herald, Mar. 19, 2001
http://www.bostonherald.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Boston University educator Robert W. Thornburg, the respected former dean of the university's Marsh Chapel, has taken leave because of ill health and may not return to campus, officials and Thornburg have said.
(...)

Thornburg, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, became dean of nondenominational Marsh Chapel in 1978. He is an ordained United Methodist minister.

He received national attention for his fight to bar from campus the religious organization now known as The International Church of Christ, which he criticized for its aggressive recruiting practices.

Thornburg is regarded as an expert in the areas of religious cults, campus hate crimes, marriage, interfaith marriage and church government.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

Office of the University Chaplain - Boston University

» See follow-up item

22. Families seek help from dangers of cults
Irish Independent, Mar. 15, 2001
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ti=41&ca=9&si=383173&issue_id=4099
[Story no longer online? Read this]
An anti-cult group is dealing with one family a day whose relatives have got embroiled with new religious movements, a Dail committee heard yesterday.

In one case last year a woman committed suicide by incineration after she got involved with a group who gave her great 'highs' but weren't there to help her when she experienced serious lows, Mike Garde of Dialogue Ireland told the Committee on Justice, Equality and Women's Rights.

In another case a woman had paid £15,000 for a trip to Egypt for some kind of therapy, but most people would find this was an excessive sum unless some kind of ''mind control'' was being practiced, he said.

Dialogue Ireland is calling for state funding to study new religious movements in Ireland, though it stressed many of these are genuinely spiritual movements.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


23. 'Volatile' Prophetic Writings Set to Stir Further Controversy
CNS, Mar. 19, 2001
http://news.christiansunite.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
(CNS) - A man considered by many to be a New Testament prophet is preparing to deliver the latest of his sometimes controversial messages to his widest audience ever -- but says that he hopes only a select group will listen.

After a series of best-selling books detailing his spiritual insights, Rick Joyner's new ''Shadows of Things to Come'' is to be released by one of the country's largest evangelical publishers next month, taking his prophecies and predictions to the mainstream shelves of the likes of Barnes & Noble and Waldenbooks.

''I believe there are some volatile things that could be used for good or evil,'' he says. ''I think some of the most volatile things I've ever said prophetically are going to be in this book. I hope only the most mature people read it.''
(...)

Speaker and writer Francis Frangipane, who serves on Joyner's advisory board, says that the 51-year-old is ''a significant voice that God has raised up to speak to many in the church today.'' Many supporters agree -- but Joyner also has critics, some of whom have labeled him a false prophet.

They have questioned his support of a 1997 prophecy by a ministry colleague, which warned that an earthquake and other disasters would ravage Southern California. Some people considered moving out of the area, although none of the events came to pass. Joyner said later that the message had been misinterpreted.

Joyner says that he is accountable to his board and a ''roundtable'' of church leaders with whom he meets annually, but does not listen ''to people I think aren't legitimate leaders in the body of Christ.'' He also has made it clear in his writings that he does not consider his visions and prophecies to be on the same level with Scripture, which alone should be ''considered infallible.''
(...)

Joyner has run into problems with local government officials, too. His plan to build a ministry center in Moravian Falls, N.C., was stalled last year when they denied the ministry tax exemption, arguing that the ministry's publishing operations were taxable.

Despite what can be an intimidating presence, Joyner says that his message is about humility. ''I really believe you see so much humility in my writings because I need so much of it. If you want to know what God is saying almost to anybody, listen to their own messages,'' he says. ''I've always considered myself so arrogant and proud that God has to keep hammering me with it.''
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

Rick Joyner is a false prophet who espouses a curious mixture of fantasy and heretical theology. He has surrounded himself by yes-men. Criticism from others is deflected by his suggestion that those who criticize have the ''spirit of Jezebel.''

The ''ministry colleague'' mentioned is Bob Jones, who gained notoriety as one of the so-called ''Kansas City Prophets.'' Jones is known for his false prophecies (for which he blames God).

http://www.apologeticsindex.org/j08.html
[Story no longer online? Read this]

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