Cult News

UC Berkeley is perhaps one of the most “politically correct” campuses in the United States. If you don’t speak PC there you might find yourself “communicationally challenged.”

Recently an article was run in the Berkeley Daily Californian student press about “suspected active cults on campus.” That’s sort of a PC way of simply saying “destructive cults are recruiting here.”

One student advisor said, “I’m very cautious with the word ‘cult’, as its definition is hotly debated.”

Is this guy PC or was he coached by the university’s legal staff? Maybe both.

Some lesser-known groups are named, but the “usual suspects” eventually emerge.

Two big “suspected…cults” named within the Berkeley article that work almost any worthwhile campus, are the “International Church of Christ” (ICC) and the Unification Church.

Rev. Moon’s Unification Church is perhaps the “gold standard” for “suspected…cults,” and has been diligently working campuses since the 70s. Moon’s followers were historically once identified by the now politically incorrect name—“Moonies.”

General Douglas MacArther once said, “Old soldiers never die…they just fade away.” But contrary to that analogy elderly “cult leaders” like Rev. Moon seem to soldier on relentlessly. He is now an octogenarian and controls billions of dollars. And Moon’s minions are still actively working college campuses, as attested to by the Berkeley article.

Of course one “Moonie” told the Daily Californian, “Rev. Moon is a great religious leader.” Right, and Saddam Hussein is a great humanitarian. Though it should be acknowledged that Rev. Moon’s cash and media holdings have garnered him some clout amongst politicians and religious leaders like Jerry Falwell.

It’s often hard to identify Unification Church recruiters, because their sponsoring organization names keep changing.

Historically, Moon’s Unification Church has used literally hundreds of front organizational names. For example, his current incarnation at UC Berkley is the “Family Federation for World Peace.”

UC Berkeley’s other substantial “suspected…cult” is Kip McKean’s ICC, once called the “Boston Church of Christ” or simply the “Boston Movement.” The ICC has been banned by scores of American colleges and universities.

Like Moon, McKean’s operation uses different names too, such as “Campus Advance,” “Upside Down Club,” “Alpha Omega Club,” “Campus Christian Movement,” “Christian Advance” and “Students Advocating Christianity Today.”

Both of these “suspected…cults” emphasize the value of personality—specifically, the leader’s personality.

In the ICC there is actually a system they call “discipling” to help members develop just the right kind of personality. Some say “follow the leader,” but in the ICC it’s more like clone the leader. And the prototype for this cloning process appears to be Kip McKean.

One ICC leader put it this way, “It would suit me just fine if I could leave this place and say you know – I just want to be exactly like Kip. I just want to be exactly like Kip. That would be enough.” Another claimed, “Kip McKean is the greatest living treasure that God has given the kingdom on the face of the earth today.”

Moon is a bit more presumptuous than McKean. According to a recent ad campaign that cost him more than $700,000, “Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha – even God – have told him he is now ‘the Savior, Messiah and King of Kings of all of humanity!'”

This would seem to trump McKean’s title of “greatest living treasure.” After all, Mr. Moon does have seniority.

Rev. Moon also appears to prefer a more traditional approach to “mind control,” such as isolated camps, retreats, sleep deprivation and dietary control.

So what’s a naïve college freshman to do?

The student advisor at UC Berkeley says, “All groups should be open to some questioning. Be critical, and talk to friends and family if you are ever in doubt.”

However, this response frequently doesn’t work. Don’t expect “suspected…cults” to be honest and/or forthcoming. And some may say, “Satan brings doubts.” They may also claim that family and friends don’t understand their spiritual ways, thus their feedback is essentially meaningless and should be ignored.

The best way to respond to “suspected…cults” is through research. Students should investigate and gather substantial information about a group before becoming initially involved. This can easily be accomplished by making use of the Internet or library.

Instead of asking questions from family members and friends who are typically ignorant, it is more practical to first query search engines on the Internet such as Google and Yahoo or request help from library staff at a periodical desk.

Many “cults” claim, “We have been persecuted by the press.” And, “They lie about us on the Internet.”

However, this type of response should raise serious suspicion. It is almost always proof that the group has something to hide.

A Berkeley devotee of Rev. Moon told the Daily Californian, “We cannot understand a person of great heart and thought [i.e. Moon] with a small mind.”

A more relevant observation would be, we cannot make a truly informed decision without sufficient information. And decisions about potentially unsafe groups should be made carefully.