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News Items of Interest to Apologists and Counter-Cult Professionals |
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Religion Items In The NewsOctober 28, 1999 (Vol. 3, Issue 128)
![]() Unlike the edition posted to the AR-talk list, items in the archived newsletters will, time-permitting, link back to entries in the A-Z Index.
As most of these items stay online for only a day or two, URLs to the original stories are provided here as inactive links. If you can not find a story online, Read this).
=== Falun Gong
1. China Vows No Mercy For Falun Gong 2. Falun Gong Devotees Converge on Beijing in Bid to End Government Ban 3. Adherents Of Banned China Sect Ask For Help 4. Adherent of banned China sect dies in custody 5. Chinese Sect Protests Spying Charges Against Leaders 6. U.S. criticizes latest steps against Falun Gong 7. Chinese skeptic crusades to debunk meditation mystics === Aum Shinrikyo 8. Woman faked AUM kidnap story 9. Aum abduction fake, says student 10. Drafts for Aum control bills unveiled === Scientology 11. Church members, critic spar over name 12. The Navy's Scientology Connection 13. Stoiber: Scientology is no longer a trans-Atlantic problem 14. Scientology alarm in Telekom 15. Building on Dom Street becomes "new home in the heart of Hamburg" 16. Outrage at Scientology recruitment in the city 17. In Hamburg, Scientology is advertising for tolerance of itself - and storms their critics' information booths 18. Only information helps against sect disorder === Breatharianism/Jasmuheen 19. Fresh-air dietician fails TV show's challenge 20. Fresh Air Diet Guru's Deadly Lies Exposed === Waco/Branch Davidians 21. Davidian Plaintiffs' Gun Test Nixed 22. Magazines: Getting at the truth about Waco === Cults - General 23. Are these successful Texas companies cults? === Wicca/Neo-Paganism 24. Witches spin some of their magic over young women 25. Pagan students: Halloween is a time to educate non-believers 26. Who drives Halloween worries? Could it be ... Satan? === Other News 27. Christians challenge Israel expulsion - officials 28. Detained 'end-time' Christians insist they are nonviolent 29. Israel Struggling to Tell Pious Pilgrims From Dangerous Cults 30. Westerners Drawn to Divine Light 31. Dalai Lama backs Pope 32. Renegade Orthodox group targets minority faiths in former Soviet republic 33. Georgian protestants targeted === Alternative Healing 34. James Colthurst, the homoeopath who was Princess Diana's confidant, is launching a radical device (Kosmed) 35. Sally Morris on the world's oldest medical system, Ayurveda === Noted 36. Poll indicates a haunted nation 37. Search for life beyond Earth: Many religions open to idea that God created other intelligent species 38. Interfaith peace conferences to explore role of religion in promoting peace in millennium 39. Millennium Madness === Religious Intolerance in the USA 40. Workplace greeting makes religion in the workplace an issue === Film 41. Deciphering the success of 'Omega Code' === The Believers Around The Corner 42. Shops get teeth into 'veg shui' 43. Children Confuse Prime Minister With God === Falun Gong 1. China Vows No Mercy For Falun Gong [Story no longer online? Read this] Excit4e/Reuters, Oct. 28, 1999 http://news.excite.com/news/r/991028/05/international-religion-china 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. "No responsible government will allow a cult to harm people's lives and security, destroy public order or social stability," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told reporters. "No responsible government will appease a cult. To be merciful or tolerant to a cult is to trample citizens' human rights." Members defied the announcement labeling Falun Gong a cult and set the stage for an even tougher crackdown on it by gathering in the square, China's political heart. (...) Cults are banned in China, which allows only religious organizations sponsored by the government. Cult members face lengthy jail terms. [...more...] 2. Falun Gong Devotees Converge on Beijing in Bid to End Government Ban New York Times, Oct. 28, 1999 http://www10.nytimes.com/library/world/asia/102899china-sect.html In a brazen act of civil disobedience, thousands of members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement have descended on Beijing in recent days and weeks, hoping, the members say, to press the Government to reverse its condemnation. (...) 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. (...) "There are practitioners all over Beijing now -- under the bridges, in the alleyways, everywhere," said Qu Dehong, a farmer from Yongan Township in northeastern Heilongjiang Province, who is now in Beijing. "We plan to stay until Falun Gong is rehabilitated," he said. "We are here to appeal to the central Government. The ban on Falun Gong will be regretted by history." [...more...] 3. Adherents Of Banned China Sect Ask For Help Excite/Reuters, Oct. 28, 1999 http://news.excite.com/news/r/991028/07/international-religion-china Adherents of China's oulawed Falun Gong spiritual movement stepped up their defiance of a harsh government crackdown Thursday by appealing for international help, saying they were being persecuted. Almost 30 Falun Gong practitioners invited foreign journalists to a clandestinely arranged news conference in suburban Beijing, itself an extraordinary act of defiance in Communist-ruled China. (...) "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," Jiang said. (...) Beijing has denied persecuting practitioners, saying China is a country ruled by law. But it says the movement "seduces, brainwashes and blackmails." [...more...] 4. Adherent of banned China sect dies in custody Yahoo! UK, Oct. 27, 1999 http://uk.news.yahoo.com/991027/1/9yiy.html 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. Chen Ying died from injuries sustained after jumping from a train bound for the northeastern province of Heilongjiang in August, an officer said by telephone from the provincial city of Jiamusi. (...) A U.S.-based spokesperson for Falun Gong -- a mishmash of Buddhism, Taoism, meditation and breathing exercises -- said Chen jumped because police "abuse apparently became so severe". But the police officer denied the allegation. "She was not abused," the officer said. "She was a stubborn element and jumped on her own to give her life for Falun Gong." [...more...] 5. Chinese Sect Protests Spying Charges Against Leaders Washington Post, Oct. 27, 1999 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-10/27/222l-102799-idx.html 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. (...) The protest came in response to a government announcement that jailed leaders of the exercise and meditation group will be prosecuted for the capital crime of stealing state secrets. Dozens of followers were detained on the square Monday while holding a separate sit-in against a proposed law that would ban "heretic cults." "I am absolutely not scared," said one practitioner who gave up her job as an office clerk in a southern Chinese city to come to Beijing to protest. "We believe that danger doesn't exist. If they arrest me, it's only on the surface. Even prisoners have freedom." [...more...] 6. U.S. criticizes latest steps against Falun Gong [Story no longer online? Read this] AOL/Reuters, Oct. 26, 1999 http://www.aol.com/mynews/news/story.adp/cat=01060202&id=1999102604461760 The United States criticized China Tuesday for its latest measures against the Falun Gong spiritual movement and the China Democracy Party. 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. The trial of four China Democracy Party leaders Monday was also a matter for concern, the official added. "According to reports, their trial fell far short of international standards and we will continue to raise our deep concerns about the Chinese government's crackdown on both the Falun Gong and the China Democracy Party as well as the egregious lack of due process in political trials,'' he said. [...more...] 7. Chinese skeptic crusades to debunk meditation mystics Nando Times, Oct. 25, 1999 http://www.nando.net/noframes/story/0,2107,500049580- 500081173-500246290-0,00.html Sima Nan swings a bicycle around by his teeth, bashes bricks with his head and lectures his audiences on the art of deception - all part of a crusade to debunk the supernatural powers claimed by leaders of the outlawed Falun Gong [Story no longer online? Read this] movement and other meditation sects. Sima's decade-long mission to expose the masters of qigong - a popular form of exercise that draws from martial arts and traditions of mysticism - has the blessing of the Chinese government, which banned Falun Gong for fear it could precipitate unrest. "At first, I saw some extraordinary masters and I really believed in them. They seemed to do miraculous things," Sima said in an interview at his Beijing office. "But after a while I realized that they were cheating unsuspecting people and taking their money. From that time on, I became their public and private enemy." he says. (...) 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. "I wanted to expose them," he says. "To show that it's all fakery." [...more...] === Aum Shinrikyo 8. Woman faked AUM kidnap story Mainichi Daily News (Japan), Oct. 26, 1999 http://www.mainichi.co.jp/english/news/news04.html A girl who claimed to have been abducted by AUM Shinrikyo members in August because her father is suing the doomsday cult's guru has told investigators that she made up the story about being kidnapped, police said Monday. (...) However, when police started to question the girl about the allegations, her story started to crumble. In addition, her statements were vague and difficult to confirm. They questioned the girl once again and she apparently admitted that she had been lying. "The anniversary of my brother's death was approaching and I couldn't handle the thought of AUM making a comeback," police quoted the girl as saying. [...more...] 9. Aum abduction fake, says student Asahi Daily News (Japan), Oct. 26, 1999 http://www.asahi.com/english/enews/enews.html#enews_25490 A 19-year-old woman has admitted her hatred of Aum Shinrikyo led her to fabricate two stories about being abducted and threatened by cult members, Chiba prefectural police said Monday. The 19-year-old college student's brother died in a sarin nerve gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in 1994, and her father is a plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking damages from Aum for the attack. (...) In a separate incident, she told police a man accosted her in an elevator at her college in June and warned her to have the family withdraw from the lawsuit. She admitted Sunday that she was lying, after police had questioned her a number of times on the case. (...) She told police she felt badly that while her parents were fighting against Aum, she was unable to do anything for her deceased brother. [...more...] 10. Drafts for Aum control bills unveiled Japan Times (Japan), Oct. 27, 1999 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/news10-99/news.html#story1 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. The government plans to submit a bill that will enable the Public Security Investigation Agency to regularly supervise and restrict Aum activities, the Justice Ministry said. Once the legislation is in place, another bill, to be submitted by the LDP-led ruling coalition, will enable victims of alleged Aum crimes to receive more redress from the cult. The second bill is intended to clarify Aum's total assets, believed to exceed figures claimed by the cult. [...more...] === Scientology 11. Church members, critic spar over name St. Petersburg Times, Oct. 26, 1999 http://www.sptimes.com/News/102699/TampaBay/Church_members__criti.shtml 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. McPherson was a veteran Scientologist who died in 1995 while in the care of church staffers in Clearwater. On one side, Scientology's top critic said Monday he is financing a new foundation that will reach out to disaffected members of the church and educate the public about what he says are the harmful effects of Scientology. Robert S. Minton, a retired investment banker from New England, said a full-time staff is being assembled in Clearwater. They hope to find downtown office space as close as possible to the Fort Harrison Hotel, a retreat that Scientologists around the world consider their "mecca." (...) The new foundation would be a safe harbor, providing "exit counseling" for people wanting to leave Scientology, said Minton, who has spent about $2.5-million over the past three years fighting the church. Incorporation papers for the Lisa McPherson Educational Foundation are expected to be filed this week. On the other side are local Scientologists who last week registered two corporations bearing McPherson's name in an attempt to head off Minton's effort. They acted after news of Minton's plan leaked out on the Internet. The leader of the group is Bennetta Slaughter, a Clearwater businesswoman and a Scientologist who was McPherson's boss and longtime friend. Slaughter said Monday that her group -- either the Lisa Foundation Inc. or the Lisa McPherson Foundation Inc. -- would work as a kind of Anti-Defamation League to stand up against the "hate-mongering" and "religious intolerance" of Minton and his allies. [...more...] * Lisa McPherson Memorial Page (operated by critics of the cult) Why are these people dead, Scientology? Regarding alleged "hate mongering," see how Scientology turned the "new CAN" into a hate group [Story no longer online? Read this] 12. The Navy's Scientology Connection Washington Post, Oct. 27, 1999 [Column] http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-10/27/174l-102799-idx.html Did the U.S. Navy spend $25,000 in taxpayer money to teach Scientology to its civilian employees? "It inadvertently did," says Roger Helbig, a retired Navy purchasing manager who lives in Richmond, Calif. Helbig, 52, has filed a complaint with the Navy's Inspector General over "team-building" management training courses offered in the past year at a now-defunct Navy outfit called the SSPORTS Environmental Detachment in Vallejo, Calif. Helbig, a civilian, attended one of the classes taught by Sonoma, Calif., consultant Edward E. Morler, and says they borrowed heavily from the Church of Scientology. For instance, Morler's course handouts describe a scale used to measure "Characteristics Related to Emotional Levels"; Helbig says it is "nearly identical" to Scientology's "Tone Scale," pointing out that, among other similarities, both Morler's scale and the "Tone Scale" give "enthusiasm" a 4.0 and "apathy" a .05. (...) Apparently, Morler was once a Scientologist. Janet Weiland, a Scientology spokeswoman, told us that he was excommunicated from the church in the early 1980s but gave no further details. (...) Weiland said the church is worried that he has violated Scientology's copyright. "This is very concerning to us. We are going to investigate this," she said. The Navy, too, is investigating, but a spokeswoman wouldn't comment further. What's not in dispute is that the Navy paid Morler a cool $25,000. [...more...] 13. Stoiber: Scientology is no longer a trans-Atlantic problem AFP, Oct. 21, 1999 Translation: CISAR http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/991021a.htm 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. "I believe that our standpoint has been understood." In the past, the complaints from Scientology about its treatment in Germany has led to ill humor between the German government and U.S. officials. The foreign affairs committee of the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to look at a Scientology resolution on Thursday, which is critical of Germany. In the scope of his trip to the USA, Stoiber has met in Washington with lead speaker of the house, Dennis Hastert, and Secretary of Commerce William Daley. Meetings were planned on Thursday with Senate Republican majority leader Trent Lott, Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan and U.S. vice secretary of the treasury Stuart Eizenstadt. loew/cs [...entire item...] 14. Scientology alarm in Telekom Kurier (Austria), Oct. 25, 1999 Translation: CISAR http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/991025a.htm Commotion in the Army and Ministry of the Interior about an EDP [electronic data processing] technician who controls the Republic's secret telephone network When a catastrophe occurs, war breaks out, or an ambassador wants to conduct diplomacy in secret, then secret telephone lines are activated. Right at the "hottest" points of the secret state telephone network sits a Scientologist. A member of an organization which German Constitutional Security as categorized as hostile to the Constitution. (...) These journalists' discovery caused some concern, in the Ministry of the Interior and in the national army, among other places. This is because the man is a top technician at Telekom. He tends to the network equipment for the Ministry of the Interior, federal police management and the gendarmerie. He coordinates the "state ground network" for the federal chancellory office. A secret telephone system for the event of an emergency. Embassies and consulates also have telephone connections there. And if the Justice Department were to order telephone surveillance, that instruction would be routed through the Scientologist. The reason for the concern is a report from the German Federal Office for Constitutional Security, which Dr. Peter Prisch presented, "There are indications that the SO intends to obtain leadership in society and in state through infiltration of the economy, politics and the state apparatus." Zaeuner: "It seems precarious to have a Scientologist sitting in a key position." [...more...] 15. Building on Dom Street becomes "new home in the heart of Hamburg" Hamburger Morningpost (Germany), Oct. 26, 1999 Translation: CISAR http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/991026h.htm 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. The opening is planned for the 27th of November. The location, only 100 meters from the Hamburg assembly building, has the effect of a provocation - "the new home for the Scientologists will be in the heart of Hamburg," announced its president, Gisela Hackenjos. [...more...] 16. Outrage at Scientology recruitment in the city Die Welt (Germany), Oct. 26, 1999 Translation: CISAR http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/991026e.htm (...) The Scientology Commissioner of the Hamburg Senate, Ursula Caberta, warned about the "psycho[logical] concern's strategy." She said it had hidden its goals behind formulations which sounded unobjectionable. The "Marathon for Religious Freedom" in the central city was said to be an example of the strategy. Scientology was not a church, but a psycho-concern which exploited people. "The organization's goals and ideology are directed against our liberal democratic basic order." On the fringes of the activity, 15 members of the Youth Union (JU) distributed leaflets entitled, "Stop Scientology!" It said that the goal of the Scientology Organization was the achievement of a totalitarian dictatorship and legal system. While the organization claimed, unjustifiably, entitlements to the protection by Basic Law for religious freedom, it simultaneously harassed and spied on its opponents with its own secret service. It was said to use conspiratorial methods to infiltrate important areas of state and society. Sect marshals immediately tried to drive off the protesters. "Go someplace else, we've rented this spot," is what Jan Foertsch of the JU repeated of the short exchange of words. (...) The CDU citizens faction is appalled. "We will still check to see if the permit had to have been granted on legal grounds," said faction chief Ole von Beust. "We perceive this event in the middle of the city as a provocations of the Hamburg citizenry." He said that Scientology exploited its members, shamelessly exploited people in need, and wanted to bring its victims into a state of dependency. In the central district office, it is believed that the permit for three small tents had to have been granted. "Under principle of equal treatment, we had to allow Scientology to set up the tents," said spokeswoman Claudia Eggers. "We cannot refuse to issue the permit at our whim." [...more...] 17. In Hamburg, Scientology is advertising for tolerance of itself - and storms their critics' information booths Taz (Germany), Oct. 26, 1999 Translation: CISAR http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/991026c.htm Scientology burst vehemently back into the public's eye yesterday in Hamburg. Amidst a big name fanfare, the organization, which is under surveillance by the Hamburg Constitutional Security Agency, celebrated the end of its "European Marathon for Human Rights" on Alsteranleger. A "Torch of Freedom" was carried over 4,500 kilometers and through seven countries from Athens to Hamburg. About 1,500 adherents wanted to "make the public more aware of the United Nations General Declaration of Human Rights, and to go on stage for freedom of religion." (...) Caberta and her work group have been doing information work on Scientology in Hamburg for seven years. Members of the organization responded at the booth which the work group had erected yesterday. They tore information leaflets from the book table, and one even spit at somebody who was distributing the leaflets. "Anyone who behaves like that," commented Caberta, "has to be nervous." The desolate condition of the organization in Hamburg is said to have been managed through the work of her office. [...more...] * Scientology harassment campaigns documented [Story no longer online? Read this] 18. Only information helps against sect disorder Die Welt, Oct. 26, 1999 Translation: CISAR http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/991026d.htm 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. As never before, the controversial organization was out hunting for souls in the city - in a publicity event disguised as a demonstration. On the one side, the legal state's tolerance of this event shows how seriously it takes the constitutionally guaranteed rights of freedom of demonstration and freedom of religion. Anybody may profit from those freedoms, no matter how obscure their opinions or how doubtful their operating methods are. On the other side, it is clear how calmly the Hamburg community presence reacted to the "Alster Vergnuegen" for Scientologists. No trace of hysteria. That is because, in a state of Basic Law, anybody may be happy according to his own - or unhappy. To be sure, tolerance should not go so far as to avoid information and explanation of so-called "churches." Those who work with such subtle methods, as continue to be reported by former members from their own painful experiences, should not escape the public eye. [...more...] === Breatharianism/Jasmuheen 19. Fresh-air dietician fails TV show's challenge Yahoo! UK, Oct. 25, 1999 http://uk.news.yahoo.com/991025/23/9uiu.html A dietician who claims it ispossible to live off fresh air has failed in a television documentary to practise what she preaches. An Australian programme, 60 Minutes, asked Jasmuheen, a former financial adviser whose real name is Ellen Greve, to demonstrate that she could live healthily without any nutrients other than air for one week. (...) Jasmuheen, who claims not to have eaten real food for years, agreed to be cut off from the outside world for the test. But the programme-makers were forced to call a halt to the trial after four days when she showed signs of becoming seriously ill. Jasmuheen had initially been confined to a hotel room in Brisbane with teams of female security guards in constant attendance. Her progress was checked by a female doctor, Dr Berris Wink, president of the Queensland branch of the Australian Medical Association. (...) The cult leader claimed that her confinement close to a busy main road meant she could not get the nutrients she needed to survive as a Breatharian. (...) 60 Minutes moved Jasmuheen on day three to a mountainside retreat about 15 miles away from the city , where she was filmed enjoying the fresh air she said she could now live on happily. However, as the filming progressed, it became obvious that Jasmuheen was becoming ill. Her speech was slow, her pupils dilated and she had lost almost a stone. One doctor advising 60 Minutes urged Jasmuheen and the programme to stop the challenge. (...) Dr Wink told her: "You are now quite dehydrated, probably over 10 per cent, getting up to 11 per cent." She also announced: "Her pulse is about double what it was when she started. The risks if she goes any further are kidney failure. 60 Minutes would be culpable if they encouraged her to continue. She should stop now." Jasmuheen challenged the decision, saying: "Look, 6,000 people have done this around the world without any problem" She blamed 60 Minutes for putting her beside a busy main road at the start of the experiment. "I asked for fresh air. Seventy per cent of my nutrients come from fresh air. I couldn't even breath," she said. (...) Next month an Australian doctor and his wife who say they are Breatharians are due to go on trial charged with manslaughter after a woman died in their care. [...more...] 20. Fresh Air Diet Guru's Deadly Lies Exposed Yahoo! UK, Oct. 24, 1999 http://uk.news.yahoo.com/991024/12/9u0h.html (...) Presenter Richard Carlton asked Jasmuheen: "Could you come to the intelligent view that you can't survive on air?" She said: "No, because I've done it for a long time. "Six thousand people have done this around the world without any problem." But the doctor said: "The vast majority of the people out there don't believe for one second that Jasmuheen practises what she preaches. "It's quite irresponsible for somebody to be trying to encourage others to do something so detrimental to their health." Carlton told viewers: "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." [...more...] === Waco/Branch Davidians 21. Davidian Plaintiffs' Gun Test Nixed AOL/AP, Oct. 26, 1999 http://www.aol.com/mynews/news/story.adp/cat=011101&id=1999102608223142 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. In rejecting the offer, a legal team representing the government in a massive wrongful-death lawsuit headed to trial next May cited that litigation and uncertainty over the validity of the demonstration. (...) Frustrated by the government's refusal to provide information about the infrared videotaping performed at Waco, the plaintiffs last week invited investigators for the government, Congress and the special counsel investigating Waco to witness the proposed demonstration. (...) Caddell wrote Ms. Hagen on Tuesday that he was ``disappointed'' by the Justice Department's refusal to join in the test. ``You and your superiors at the Department of Justice continue to treat this matter as some sort of game,'' he said. [...more...] 22. Magazines: Getting at the truth about Waco [Story no longer online? Read this] Pitssburgh Post-Gazette, Oct. 28, 1999 http://www.post-gazette.com/magazine/19991028mags5.asp (...) In magazineland, New Yorker magazine has achieved Times-like status as an agenda-setter and official purveyor of East Coast liberal-establishment opinion. If it runs a big story critical of the Justice Department's handling of events at Waco, as it does this week, it's a sign to the many journalists who read it that it's now politically correct to hold such a position. The Waco article in question, headlined "Burned," is a few months late in arriving. But it catches up on the summer's Waco developments, namely that the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Justice Department have not been playing straight with the American public about what happened April 19, 1993, when more than 80 people burned to death at the Branch Davidian property. "Burned" is only barely critical of the Justice Department. It's written with careful understatement and without the slightest hint of bias by Peter J. Boyer, who's known for his clear, bias-free reporting style. 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. Waco is a "case" and a "controversy," not a "cover-up," a "massacre" or a "holocaust," which is what Liberty magazine's editor R.W. Bradford frequently calls it in his November cover story. Bradford is as far away from the New Yorker as he can be, ideologically and geographically. From his headquarters in Port Townsend, Wash., he argues that killing the Davidians and covering up the details was not a government conspiracy but, more ominously, "the work of ordinary law enforcement bureaucrats doing their ordinary business." For Bradford, the Waco episode "reveals an incredibly callous indifference to human life on the part of the Republicans, the Democrats and the news media." (...) "Somehow," says Bradford, who's about 10,000 degrees too hot for readers of the New Yorker, "the Republicans, the Democrats and the media have missed the real story: federal agents, acting with the approval of their superiors, murdered nearly a hundred innocent people." Boyer, while not a liberal, is no right-wing Waco wacko. (...) Boyer also dismisses the Academy Award-nominated documentary "Waco: The Rules of Engagement," as merely "an anti-government polemic." It is that, but that's a little unfair. Mike McNulty's Academy Award-nominated film is also a shocking, moving and enraging exposé. And as the facts about what the FBI's rent-a-tanks, pyrotechnic specialists and sharpshooters were really up to that day dribble out, "Waco: Rules of Engagement" is becoming better known for its truths than its polemics. [...more...] === Cults - General 23. Are these successful Texas companies cults? Northern Light/PRNewswire http://library.northernlight.com/FC19991026260000039.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0 The following was released today by Dr. Dave Arnott, author of "Corporate Cults, The Insidious Lure of the All- Consuming Organization." [Story no longer online? Read this] Herb Kelleher's beloved Southwest Airlines has been called many names over the years, but...a cult? The Dallas-based company has all the traits that define a cult slavish devotion by employees, charismatic leadership, and separation from the community. Those traits are transferred to the workplace by some of today's most successful companies, charges Dr. Dave Arnott, a professor of management at Dallas Baptist University and author of "Corporate Cults, The Insidious Lure of the All-Consuming Organization." The book provides a fascinating expose of the "Unhealthy, all-consuming power that cultic organizations wield over their employees," according to the author. (...) Dr. Arnott further accuses CEOs of using the same techniques to gain employee commitment and loyalty that are used by traditional cult leaders. At-work daycare, exercise facilities, laundry services and travel clubs effectively separate workers from their families and communities, thus making the organization into a cult. (...) Dr. Dave Arnott is an author, business consultant, seminar leader and public speaker who has made numerous presentations about the relationship between employees and organizations. His speaking, writing and research have established his reputation as a leading expert on corporate cults. Dr. Arnott is on the faculty at Dallas Baptist University and lives in Rowlett, just east of Dallas, with his two teenage children. [...more...] === Wicca/Neo-Paganism 24. Witches spin some of their magic over young women Journal Sentinel, Oct. 25, 1999 http://www.onwis.com/enter/gen/oct99/witch25102299.asp (...) Hollywood and book publishers have noted the interest in witchcraft [Story no longer online? Read this] among those between the ages of 11 and 23. Television shows such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Charmed" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" all feature the exploits of witches - albeit fabulous babe witches with powers to fight evil or get the best table in the school cafeteria. What they see on television or at the movies has helped inspire droves of teens to visit The Celtic Gypsey bookstore, 337 W. Broadway, Waukesha, says owner Lynn Flancher. "I've sold more of that 'Teen Witch' book than anything else," says Flancher, who celebrates the second anniversary of her store on Halloween. (...) Some experts say teens are curious about witchcraft because they are seeking spirituality in a vastly technological world. Nowhere is the combination of the two more apparent than the Young Pagans of the World Page At the Web site, teens are educated about spelling errors (not the grammatical kind), and they send out requests for e-mail from others who share their interest. (...) Not every teen who is studying witchcraft is willing to speak on the record. Those contacted through the Young Pagans Page of the Witchvox Web site responded to requests at their e-mail addresses but were hesitant to offer real names. They say they find the Internet a way to stay in the broom closet but still interact with others who share their beliefs. [...more...] 25. Pagan students: Halloween is a time to educate non-believers College Press Network, Oct. 25, 1999 http://www.cpnet.com/cpres/backtoschool/docs/991025pagan.asp (...) But Janney says the people in Purdue's Pagan Academic Network also know how to have a good time. In preparation for Samhain, PAN is inviting the public to an educational discussion about the religion. Afterwards members will let loose and celebrate the occasion by throwing a party. Like most major schools, Purdue has seen a resurgence in neo-pagan groups over the last decade that mirrors the religion's growing acceptance. Many universities now have pagan student groups that promote education, tolerance and open discussion of religious beliefs, a far cry from the human-sacrificing, bloodthirsty miscreants they've been made out to be. (...) Michael Clanton, who presides over the Student Pagan Association at the University of Arkansas, says the same feeling of disbelief led him to discover paganism. "For a lot of people certain paths don't work, but other paths feel right," Clanton explained. "When we look back to our past … a lot of people are able to find ways of worshiping that are much more comfortable to them." (...) Most pagans can't understand why they've been singled out for abuse when so much of their religion is based on tolerance and respect for nature. In fact, the lone Wiccan rule states: "And it harm none, do as you will." "Our biggest bastion we defend is the idea that everyone is equal in religion as well as everything else," Janney said. "So we have a great respect for other peoples' views and beliefs so long as they don't intentionally harm people or the environment." Although many pagans and Wiccans worship multiple gods, Janney says they have more in common with Christians than most people think. "(Most pagans) believe that there is a deity but this deity is so vast and unknowable that there's no reason why all the people of the world can't view the deity a different way," Janney said. "It's like we're all seeing the same mountain but we're on a different side of the mountain so we see it differently." [...more...] 26. Who drives Halloween worries? Could it be ... Satan? The Journal/Capital News Service, Oct. 26, 1999 http://www.jrnl.com/news/99/Oct/jrn62261099.html The backlash against traditional Halloween celebrations in schools became so prevalent that experts even coined a term for it: Satanic panic. The term was invented to define the reaction of groups who became concerned about reports of satanic rituals in society, beginning in the 1980s and continuing through today, said James Stewart, an expert on hysteria and fads. But schools are overreacting to parent complaints and should not feel the need to change their policies, said Stewart, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Dakota. (...) 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. (...) "Those who are afraid of Halloween don't understand the history. I think it's because of confusion about the pre-Christian realm,'' said Shafer. [...more...] === Other News 27. Christians challenge Israel expulsion - officials AOL/Reuters, Oct. 27, 1999 http://www.aol.com/mynews/news/story.adp/cat=01060605&id=1999102703161180 Members of apocalyptic Christian groups being held in jail awaiting deportation from Israel are appealing against expulsion, officials said Wednesday. (...) Israel Monday detained 20 people, 13 of them Americans, from apocalyptic [Story no longer online? Read this] Christian groups who would be deported for posing a threat to public safety. It said in a statement that they had the right to appeal within 72 hours of the order. (...) Police spokesman Rafi Yaffe had said Monday the people belonged to organizations he called the "Temple group" and the "House of Prayer group," both of which believe in the imminent Second Coming of Jesus. [...more...] 28. Detained 'end-time' Christians insist they are nonviolent Star-Telegram/Religion News Service, Oct. 26, 1999 http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:RELIGION32/1:RELIGION32102699.html (...) But on Tuesday (Oct. 26), as a clearer profile of the detainees began to emerge, critics began to ask if the move was really justified. Notably, the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement expressing concern the arrests had been based on "incorrect" information -- and were likely to harm Israel's image in the eyes of Christians. (...) Indeed, interviews with the leaders and members of the two congregations, conducted by RNS over the past year, yield a profile unlike that of a secretive sect. (...) 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. (...) "Our purpose is to prepare the way for the coming of the messiah," Brother David added. "But anyone who thinks they are going to commit suicide or blow up other people's buildings certainly didn't get that from the teachings of Jesus. "We have signs showing that the coming of the messiah is very near. But no man knows the day or the hour. We believe in leaving things in the hands of God." [...more...] 29. Israel Struggling to Tell Pious Pilgrims From Dangerous Cults [Story no longer online? Read this] San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 27, 1999 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/10/27/MN33774.DTL Christian doomsday groups heading to the Holy Land have put Israeli authorities in an awkward spot -- trying to attract pious pilgrims while scaring away "dangerous cults." (...) James Tabor, a University of North Carolina professor and an authority on apocalyptic sects, defended the House of Prayer. Tabor, who interviewed members of the church earlier this year in Israel, said Brother David and his flock may seem eccentric but have theological views similar to those of millions of evangelical Christians. (...) Elissa Swift, a spokeswoman for the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco, said that her government has moved against U.S. groups and individuals only if they threaten public safety and only in conjunction with the FBI. (...) Gershom Gorenberg, the Jerusalem representative of the Center for Millennial Studies in Boston, had mixed feelings about the roundup. "On the surface, this group was seen as benign," he said. "It wasn't a crystallized community, but a collection of individuals. People dropped in for a time and then left." Other observers defended the Israeli action. David Parsons, spokesman for the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, said Brother David was getting lots of media attention. Reporters coming to Jerusalem in search of apocalyptic prophets used his comments to liven up their millennium stories. Before the millennium craze hit, Parsons said, Brother David used to dress like an Orthodox rabbi and evangelize in traditional Jewish neighborhoods. That didn't go over to well with his ultra-Orthodox neighbors. (...) Gordon Melton, another leading authority on apocalyptic sects, said Israelis authorities need to err on the side of caution. "They are sitting on a powder keg in Israel," said Melton, head of the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara. "Here it would be a gross violation of civil rights. But given the situation there, it is not as mean as it appears. There are Jewish and Muslim groups with long histories of violence, and the Israelis are afraid these (apocalyptic Christian) groups will spark violence." [...more...] 30. Westerners Drawn to Divine Light Oct. 23, 1999 http://www.latimes.com/editions/orange/ocnews/19991023/t000095973.html Kneeling with their eyes closed inside an Irvine office complex, disciples of an obscure Japanese sect wait for the Holy Master--a man named Katsutoshi Sekiguchi, spiritual leader of the Divine Light Organization. Also known as Sekai Mahikari Bunmei Kyoda, the organization is a 40-year-old offshoot of Shintoism. The goal of the group is to save the world from destruction by helping Su-God--the creator--purify the Earth with prayer. The faith, one of many new religions that developed in post-World War II Japan, was founded by Yoshikazu Okada, a former Tokyo businessman who had a revelation in 1959. Worldwide, the religion claims 50,000 members, including 100 in Orange County. (...) A distinguishing characteristic of the organization is a special kind of prayer with outstretched hands that adherents say transfers energy and healing from one person to another. Formally called Maihikari-no-waza, the ritual also is called "giving okiyome." (...) People claim that many miracles have indeed happened after okiyome in the small Irvine sanctuary. (...) 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. Although devoted to the Divine Light practice of okiyome, Mike Harrison said he's not going to give up his Christianity. "I still believe in Jesus," said Harrison, 49, of Irvine. [...more...] 31. Dalai Lama backs Pope The Times (England), Oct. 27, 1999 http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/Times/timfgneur01002.html?999 Rome: The Dalai Lama criticised Westerners who embrace Buddhism "for the wrong reasons" yesterday and urged Roman Catholics and other Christians to stay faithful to their own religious traditions (Richard Owen writes). His remarks will be welcomed by the Pope, who in his most recent encyclical said Christians should be open to oriental religions but that it was an error to absorb so many of their ideas that they lost sight of the fact that "the only salvation is through Jesus Christ". The two men are to meet tomorrow. [...entire item...] 32. Renegade Orthodox group targets minority faiths in former Soviet republic Star-Telegram/AP, Oct. 23, 1999 http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:RELIGION73/1:RELIGION73102399.html (...) Tabagari, a 40-year-old housewife, was among 20 Jehovah's Witnesses [Story no longer online? Read this] hospitalized following a 30-minute melee inside a theater rented for Sunday services by the Witnesses. The group claims about 15,000 members in this mountainous country and is infamous here as elsewhere for its dogged proselytizing. 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. (...) According to spokeswoman Marina Khonelidze, the priest's followers visited the Witnesses "not to fight with them but to talk to them, to explain how they were mistaken." Khonelidze claimed the Orthodox suffered precisely as many wounded as the Witnesses claim -- 20 people. She said local television news doctored videotape to show the Orthodox beating the Witnesses. In the past, local Baptists, Pentecostals and even fellow Georgian Orthodox have accused Mkalashvili's parishioners of organized physical attacks, sometimes in tandem with the local police, who have not made any arrests in the Oct. 17 incident. (...) While the Oct. 17 attack was carried out by an Orthodox fringe group, it highlights frustrations in this ancient nation of 5 million. Since gaining independence in 1991, Georgia has been wracked by two violent secessionist movements that left 300,000 people homeless. Western-style reforms have yielded few economic results. Unemployment is rampant. Pensioners receive the monthly equivalent of $6.40 from the government. Non-indigenous faiths ranging from Baptists to Hare Krishnas are perceived as Western imports, part and parcel of the flood of Western ideas and products entering this former Soviet republic. [...more...] 33. Georgian protestants targeted Stetson University/Compass Direct http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/9910a.html 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 October 12, though small-scale services have been held in private apartments. (...) None of the four congregations owns a church building, thus making them vulnerable to pressure from the authorities. Only two Protestant churches continue to hold services in Tbilisi: the Baptist Church (which owns its own building) and the Russian-language Pentecostal church Word of Life, led by Pastor Viktor Lutsik. Evangelical churches in other Georgian regions have not been affected. [...more...] === Alternative Healing [Story no longer online? Read this] 34. James Colthurst, the homoeopath who was Princess Diana's confidant, is launching a radical device. Susan Clark reports The Times (England), Oct. 26, 1999 http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/Times/timfeabam02006.html?999 A natural healing device developed by Russian scientists and used to keep their astronauts in peak physical condition has been given approval as a pain-relief agent by the Medicine Device Agency in Britain. It will now be tested by hospital nurses in 12 clinical trials to assess its potency in treating a wide range of complaints from back pain to ovarian cysts. Kosmed, which stands for cosmic medicine, is known as Scenar (Self Controlled Energo Neuro Adaptive Regulation) in Russia, where it won its makers the prestigious Order of Lenin award. 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. The man introducing the device to the UK is James Colthurst, a surgeon and qualified homoeopath, who admits that he is often perceived as something of a maverick by contemporaries practising more orthodox medicine. (...) The fact is, though - and he knows this - that Kosmed will get more attention because of his notoriety. Although its approval by the authorities here is as a painrelief agent - and this is the only official claim being made for it - stories of "miracle cures" have been causing a wave of excitement in healing circles. (...) The device could not be more streamlined. It looks like a slim black TV remote control and works by sending a low-energy, nerve-like and painless electrical impulse through the skin. (...) The idea is that the Kosmed, having detected the problem, alerts the brain to the affected area, reminding the body's repair mechanisms to finish the healing job it may have started but not yet finished. To witness this treatment reminds me of a hands-on healing method called the Bowen Technique, whose practitioners use their fingers to trigger a similar reorganisation of the body's energy to complete a natural repair job. The difference is that the Bowen healers say they do not really know how their technique works. (...) Kosmed treatment sessions will cost from £25. For details of training and the new practitioners' network, call 08700 780554 or visit www.kosmed.co.uk [...more...] 35. Sally Morris on the world's oldest medical system, Ayurveda The Times (Englan), Oct. 26, 1999 http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/Times/timfeabam01007.html?999 This month marks a significant turning point for followers of the ancient Indian healing system of Ayurveda. The first British degree in Ayurvedic medicine begins at the Wolfson Institute of Health Sciences at Thames Valley University, and by the end of the year the first Ayurvedic hospital will open in Northwood, West London. At last, it seems, this holistic method is being accorded the sort of status it has always enjoyed in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. 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. (...) Ayurveda is founded on the principle that every living thing is made up of five elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether. (...) With so many elements of health and lifestyle to be considered, it is perhaps not surprising that Ayurveda has not yet taken the hold in Britain that it has established in India. It is a difficult concept to grasp quickly and demands a rethink of the way in which one lives. (...) Warner is concerned that Ayurveda may become devalued in Britain because unqualified people are claiming to have trained in the discipline. He is also worried about the tendency of Westerners to hijack and simplify what is a highly skilled method of spiritual and physical healing to make money. [...more...] === Noted 36. Poll indicates a haunted nation Nando Times, Oct. 27, 1999 http://www2.nando.net/noframes/story/0,2107,500050106-500082050-500252383-0,00.html 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. But the poll also found that a majority of Americans, especially older adults, are concerned about the growing popularity of books, television shows and movies dwelling on supernatural creatures like vampires and witches. Younger adults are much more likely to profess a belief in the supernatural and much less likely to believe that occult books and films are harmful. "Once we were a more conformist, conservative, religious society. But we have opened up now with alternative 'new age' faiths and beliefs," said Roger Corman, a director and producer known for his low-budget monster films. [...more...] 37. Search for life beyond Earth: Many religions open to idea that God created other intelligent species Detroit News, Oct. 26, 1999 http://detnews.com/1999/religion/9910/27/10270011.htm Religious leaders say most faiths would not crumble or even change appreciably if science offered proof of another intelligent species in the universe. (...) It would seem strange if God had created the universe with creatures in only one small corner able to "see what miraculous work he has done," said Alvin Plantinga, director of the Center for Philosophy and Religion at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. (...) "Christians believe God became incarnate as a human being and Jesus Christ is the savior of humankind," said Australian physicist Paul Davies, who has written several books examining the philosophical issues surrounding the prospect for alien life. "He didn't come to save the great apes, for example, and he certainly didn't come to save little green men. So this is a unique relationship between God and man." The question becomes: Is that special bond broken if it turns out there are other intelligent species in the heavens? Many Christian scholars say no. (...) Still, some Christian sects would have a hard time sharing the creator. They include churches that teach a literal interpretation of the Bible, and claim Earth is the only inhabited world in the universe. At the very least, their teachings would be startled by the discovery of aliens. At the most, the churches would lose followers. "You very well could get some people who would toss out their Bibles, but I don't think that many," said J. Gordon Melton, director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, an independent research group based in Santa Barbara, Calif. (...) Related story: Search For Life Beyond Earth: Are aliens out there? You bet, many of us say (...) While scientists comb the heavens for signs of alien life, confirmation already is a moot point for a large number of Americans. Simply put, they're convinced aliens are alive and well in the universe, and may even be paying us regular visits. Just look at the numbers: - A Gallup Poll several years ago found 27 percent of Americans - twice the percentage who voted for Ross Perot for president in 1992 - believe aliens have visited Earth. - A 1996 Newsweek poll reported that 48 percent of Americans think UFOs are real. - Eighty percent of respondents in a Time/CNN survey believe the government is concealing information about the existence of aliens. (...) UFOs also have landed in academia. Temple University history professor David Jacobs teaches "UFOs in American Society" from an academic pulpit that would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. [...more...] 38. Interfaith peace conferences to explore role of religion in promoting peace in millennium Northern Light/PRNewswire http://library.northernlight.com/FB19991027840000053.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0#doc 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. The conference will be co-hosted by Jubillenium and the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel, and participants will include The Dalai Lama; Imam Wallace Dean Muhammed, leader of Black Islam in the United States; Bishop Michael Fitzgerald, the Vatican's official representative; Mr. Jiulio Andreotti, former Italian prime minister and others. (...) Consisting of two parts, a dialogue and a colloquium, the conference will view mankind as a whole, and its religious leadership in particular, to determine how to meet the challenge of solving conflicts worldwide. Israel was chosen as the location for the conference, since it was there that a significant part of the holy books of the three great religions was created. (...) Members of the conference organizing committee include Rabbi David Rosen, director of the Anti-Defamation League, Israel and president of the World Council of Religions and Peace; Dr. Ron Kronish, general director of the Interfaith Council; Mr. Rafi Luzon, Jubillenium representative; Mr. Robin Twite, World Council for Religions and Peace; and Mr. Jonathan Zvi, the Israel Friends of Tibet Foundation. Individuals who have confirmed their participation in the conference include the Dalai Lama; Imam Wallace Dean Muhammed in the United States; Bishop Michael Fitzgerald, the Vatican's official representative; Sheik Nazim El Hakani, world leader of the Nakshabandi Sufi order; Dr. Ndamo Njoya, former president of the African Muslim Congress; Archbishop Ngada, president of the Federation of African Churches; Mr. Nichiko Niwano, president of the Rishokosek'ai, the Japanese Buddhist Organization; Rabbi Shmuel Sirat, former chief rabbi of France; Bishop Dr. Mato Zovkic of Sarajevo; Sarajevo Mayor Igor Gaon; head of the Jewish community in Sarajevo, Mr. Jacob Finzi; personal representatives of the Mufti; the Patriarch of Bosnia; The Hon. David Bleakly of North Ireland, former president of the Union of Churches in Britain; Professor Geraldine Smith, head of the Irish Ecumenical Center; Jiulio Andreotti, former prime minister of Italy; Mr. Stefan De Mistroa, UN Europe director; Mr. Frederico Mayor, former head of UNESCO; Mr. Krad Kunig; Mr. Fred Van Leewan, secretary general of the International Organization for Education in Belgium; Prof. Petros Basta of Italy and others. (...) The Jubillenium website may be accessed at http://www.jubillenium.com. [...more...] 39. Millennium Madness Newsweek, Oct. 24 ,1999 http://www.newsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/so/a29844-1999oct24.htm (...) 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. (...) Yet among Christian communities, the coming millennium has inspired a surprisingly low count of doomsday survivalist cults, says J. Gordon Melton, a researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara. After two decades of studying Christian schisms, splinter groups and rogue denominations, Melton finally concluded that the millennium is a bust, apocalypsewise. Except for the odd group hoarding water or fretting over the Y2K computer bug, the Armageddon wires have been surprisingly quiet. "I expected to have a field day with millennial groups," he says. "And there was nothing." [...more...] === Religious Intolerance in the USA 40. Workplace greeting makes religion in the workplace an issue Star-Telegram, Oct. 26, 1999 http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:RELIGION31/1:RELIGION31102699.html 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. She's stopped now because she knows another transgression could result in more severe punishment, including dismissal. It says so right in the written reprimand she received from her bosses, who took the action after a client at software giant Microsoft Corp. objected to Anderson's religious greeting. (...) Anderson's dilemma is increasingly more common in the American workplace, where even innocuous religious practices can cause a ruckus. Since 1992, the number of religious discrimination complaints filed annually with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has increased nearly 29 percent, to 1,786 in 1998. (...) Workplace conflicts over religion often are best resolved if the worker and employer come together to try to find a compromise. If that is not possible, here are some other options: Contact your spiritual adviser. Sometimes a faith leader can act as an intermediary to resolve a religious conflict in the workplace. Contact the Anti-Defamation League at 309 W. Washington, Suite 750, Chicago, IL 60606 or call (312) 782-5080. File a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. [...more...] === Film 41. Deciphering the success of 'Omega Code' [Story no longer online? Read this] CNN, Oct. 26, 1999 http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9910/26/omega.code/ "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. Paul Crouch, televangelist and founder of Trinity Broadcasting Network, funded the $7.2 million film starring Michael York, Catherine Oxenburg and her husband Casper Van Dien. "I longed for many years to do a film on biblical prophecy," Crouch says. Now he has, with a film whose plot centers on efforts to stop a villain from using a stolen secret Bible code to take over the world. The controversial idea that the Old Testament contains hidden references has been the subject of numerous studies, and was the subject of the 1997 bestseller "The Bible Code" by Michael Drosnin. Crouch's son Matthew, president of Gener8ion Entertainment, is the producer. "I think I, as a producer, have a core audience that have watched my parents for 27 years," he says. "This is a film we can believe in. This a film we can support, and they did." [...more...] * Note: It is a sad that some Christians are willing to sit through a movie funded and promoted by what many rightly refer to as "The Blasphemy Network" (TBN). This is especially so, given the un-Biblical speculation and extra-Biblical support for the discredited "Bible Codes" theory. === The Believers Around The Corner 42. Shops get teeth into 'veg shui' The Times (England), Oct. 24, 1999 http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/Sunday-Times/stinwenws01015.html?999 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. (...) For the feng shui advisers, it is all a question of neighbours. At 600 Somerfield shops, tomatoes will no longer nestle next to red peppers - this makes them see red, apparently - and lettuce, which gives out negative waves, will be cheered up by resting next to oranges. Somerfield is the first supermarket to advertise its own new age adviser. It is not alone. Tesco is also bringing in "the spooky squad", as one leading architect recently branded feng shui advisers. (...) Feng shui has been taught in China for more than 2,000 years, yet there are some scientific truths that bolster the supermarkets' thinking. Professor Alfred Bushway, of the University of Maine, New England, said certain foods give up ethylene, a gas that accelerates the ripening process of foods around it. Others feel, however, that "veg shui" is a fashion too far. Yap Leong, a consultant, said: "Feng shui is about the orientation of buildings, not fruit." And a rival supermarket spokesman said: "I see they are avoiding the ultimate challenge, the pear: hard one minute, mush the next. Feng shui that." [...more...] 43. Children Confuse Prime Minister With God Excite/Reuters, Oct. 28, 1999 http://news.excite.com/news/r/991028/07/odd-god British children confuse Prime Minister Tony Blair with God and believe that Queen Elizabeth "sits around drinking wine all day," researchers said on Tuesday. (...) Seven-year-old Natasha said Blair "has got grey long hair, curly with a grey beard, a grey-like dressy thing and he does miracles." Blair's spin doctors would approve. [...more...]
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