Cult News

A prison inmate claiming to be a “Hebrew Israelite” was refused kosher meals so he sued the prison system. But a federal judge has now rejected his claim, reports Associated Press.

For many years religious diets have been a part of prison life, within both federal and state correctional facilities, but this prisoner’s case may change all that.

Prison inmates often play “games,” which means they attempt to receive special treatment or get something through some sort of scheme. But it looks like this prisoner’s game backfired.

First the self-proclaimed “descendent of the biblical tribe of Judah” was interested in Protestantism, then he suddenly became a “Hebrew Israelite.”

Prison authorities apparently saw through all this and rejected his claims.

But what about the long-standing precedent of providing religious diets to those men and women in prison not running games?

Now it seems many legitimate religious people, such as Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Adventist prisoners might suffer needlessly because of one man’s scheme, which may have set a new legal precedent.

Last year at Oscar time former daytime TV star Rosie O’Donnell was angry with a “cult” that used her to do voiceover for its small-documentary, which was later nominated for an Oscar.

They lost.

But what made Rosie mad? The openly lesbian celebrity didn’t appreciate the group trading on her name, when she found out later that they had a history of discrimination against gays and blacks.

The group called “The Work,” is led by an aging former actress named Sharon Gans, but was once known as the “Theater of all Possibilities” in San Francisco, before leaving the Bay area amidst allegations of abuse.

Last year O’Donnell said, “What is my luck that of all the theater groups in the world, the one I pick would be a cult?”

What a difference a year makes.

Sharon Gans has apparently decided to liquidate some assets. And up on the block is a $1.45 million dollar estate in upstate New York.

The “estate,” or what some might see as a “cult compound,” was only just recently completed for the nonprofit corporation Gans controls called “The Hudson Valley Artists Association.”

It is located near the town of Pawling and is surrounded by 20 acres of “beautiful countryside,” touts the sales ad, which can now be viewed on-line.

Paid for by Gans’ devotees is a main house with 4,800 square feet. And that three- bedroom main residence boasts a ballroom that can accommodate a hundred. The compound also includes a guesthouse, caretaker cottage, two duplex studio buildings, a large workshop and a heated inground swimming pool with a “deep end.”

It looks like “cult” members may have taken a dive into the “deep end” on this property. Public records show they put up more than a million dollars, seemingly to please their “teacher.”

However, Gans has now apparently decided she’s had enough of Pawling.

And why not?

The “cult” leader still controls other properties worth millions of dollars in Manhattan and Montana. Her sprawling ranch/compound near Kalispell has more than a hundred acres. It not only has a heated pool, but a sauna too.

Members toiled for years to remodel and improve this “ranch” for their leader.

Ms. Gans still has yet another private estate in New York near Croton, which was put up for sale not long ago.

Gans is almost 70, maybe she is engaged in estate planning and/or rearranging her portfolio?

So if some cult leader is looking for a compound, there is one just waiting for devoted sycophants and ready to occupy. Of course chain link fencing and guard gates are not included, but this might be negotiable for the right buyer.

However, Pawling residents are probably hoping cult leaders will pass up this buying opportunity and instead a new owner might opt for some better use.

The real estate agent suggested that the compound could become an “Inn” and/or “restaurant.” Certainly, this would be a more benign purpose for the property that might actually raise neighborhood home values.

What about an Inn with ballroom dancing and gourmet dining? Someone should be able to put together a menu featuring better fare than what Sharon Gans has been serving.

A purported “cult” leader’s previous criminal conviction was overturned yesterday by Taiwan’s High Court, on the grounds that his conduct warranted the “constitutional protection for religion,” reports The Taipai Times.

The so-called “mystic” Sung was convicted for bilking his followers through a scheme largely based upon supernatural claims supported by doctored photographs.

However, a court later decided, “There is no evidence to prove that Sung cheated his followers and forced them to donate.” And that the man’s crimes were actually protected as a “religious activity.”

It appears that if a con artist employs a religious ruse to perpetrate a fraud in Taiwan, that activity may be considered a legally protected act and therefore enjoy immunity from prosecution.

Get ready for more “cults” to set up shop in Taiwan.

The court has certainly cleared the way for a comfortable and promising business environment, within which they can thrive.

John and Vicki Tubiolo wanted to know how their church spent money. But the church had other ideas. Rather than let the Tubiolo’s check the books, their church threw them out and now the matter is in court, reports The Herald Sun.

The Abundant Life Church of Hillsborough, North Carolina started as a bible study, but it ended up as an independent non-denominational church.

John Tubiolo had questions about church finances when a building project was proposed. He said, “What we wanted was a financial report with the beginning balance, the ending balance and what happened in between.”

He is now in court attempting to compel the church to show him that information.

However, the church says he has no right to see its books. And it looks like a judge will ultimately resolve the matter.

Do you know how the money is spent at your church, mosque, synagogue or religious organization?

The more accountability an organization has, the more likely things are all right.

That is, each layer of accountability typically insures those below are behaving properly. It’s not always good enough to rely on innate goodness; it is most often safer to have people watched through system of checks, balances and financial transparency.

Many religious organizations have elected boards, bylaws, auditing procedures and denominational accountability to insure that things are being handled appropriately.

Though all independent churches don’t represent a risk, obviously the more accountability the safer the situation is.

Who is your religious leader accountable to?

John Tubiolo wasn’t so sure. His attorney observed, “We’ve never received anything in minutes or bylaws.”

It’s probably not a good idea to wait until a situation arises to check about bylaws and accountability. Perhaps people who are shopping for a place to worship should check things like this out before becoming involved and contributing money.

John Edward makes money from supposedly contacting the dead. And his cable show “Crossing Over” has helped the spirit medium considerably to cash in on that claim.

Now he is marketing his supposed spiritualist skills in Australia through a promotional tour. Edward recently sold 4,000 tickets for a Sydney show at $75 each, that’s $300,000 Australian dollars for just one performance, reports The Sun-Herald.

Edward claims that an “Indian chief” became his “spirit guide” when he was a teenager. But the chief didn’t seem to get the “brave” full-time spiritualist status until years later, when Edward quit his day job at a hospital. It is unclear if he conversed with recently departed there.

Some say Edward is merely a “huckster” and the cable star hasn’t objectively proven otherwise. Instead, he stokes his popularity by doing what is called “cold readings.” That is, a process that combines him questioning, guessing and generalizing, which is hardly supernatural.

An example of cold reading was reported through the following spoof. Edward says, “Anyone? Someone who ate food, and slept in a bed … possibly a man or a woman. Someone who had hair. Long or maybe short.” At this point someone jumps up and replies; “My dad had short hair and ate food.”

It’s sad to see a “huckster” like Edward making money through the exploitation of the bereaved, but this type of business has been going on for a long time and no doubt will continue for the foreseeable future.

Associated Press (AP) appears to be soft-peddling Falun Gong and its leader Li Hongzhi.

In an AP report about the sentencing of Falun Gong devotees regarding a series of criminal break-ins the movement was described as “a mix of slow-motion exercise and doctrines drawn from Buddhism and Taoism and the ideas of its founder, Li Hongzhi.”

But why doesn’t the AP report in-depth about Hongzhi’s “ideas”?

Hongzhi’s “ideas” include a racist philosophy and homophobia. And supernatural claims that he can levitate, become invisible and knows the secrets of the universe.

Hongzhi also believes that space aliens are “embedding technology in human minds…[to] control thoughts.”

And this forms the basis for an alleged conspiracy which relegates ”mixing the races of humans” to a plot by “aliens make humans cast off gods.”

Hongzhi’s homophobia has reached venal proportions. He once stated publicly that gay people will be ”eliminated” by ”the gods.”

The Falun Gong founder also says that physical illnesses are the result of an individual’s misdeeds. And he has written, “The only way to find yourself comfortably free of illnesses, is through cultivation practice!”

The Chinese government says Hongzhi’s approach to health has taken its toll through the deaths of many of his followers.

So why doesn’t the AP simply discuss in detail what Hongzhi’s “ideas” are all about? For the AP to do otherwise seems somewhat misleading.

Jessica Crank died in August at the age of 15 from Ewing’s sarcoma, a form of bone cancer. She had a tumor the size of a basketball on her shoulder, but her mother did not seek meaningful medical care, despite repeated advice to do so by professionals.

Instead, Jessica’s mother Jacqueline Crank apparently preferred the advice of her spiritual mentor “Ariel Ben Sherman,” a man previously charged on five counts of child abuse.

Sherman and Crank subsequently faced felony child abuse charges for the girl’s death.

Commenting in court the District Attorney said, “The failure to seek medical care early on did, in fact, advance the sarcoma to the point where Jessica, after much pain and suffering, died,” reported Knoxville’s News-Sentinel.

However, Sherman seems to have escaped justice a second time. A judge in Tennessee ruled that the girl’s agonizing death only merited a “misdemeanor,” reports The News-Sentinel.

The maximum sentences the mother or Sherman now face is less than a year in jail. Based upon the judge’s reaction to the case, perhaps they may only receive probation.

It is outrageous that a child’s life has been valued so cheaply. But according to Tennessee’s Child Abuse and Neglect statute, parents who only pray for their children rather than seek medical care cannot be prosecuted.

Ironically, if Jacqueline Crank had never sought any medical advice it is likely that all the charges against her would have been dismissed.

This case is proof that in Tennessee a parent’s supposed “religious rights” supercede the health and welfare of a child.

The New York Times seemingly strains to be “politically correct” when it comes to the “C” word. The “paper of record” doesn’t seem to like the word “cult” and prefers to say “sect.”

However, Times reporter Daniel Wakin may have taken this apparent doctrine of correctness a bit further. Yesterday in his article “Followers of Falun Gong in Public Relations Battle,” he decided not only to call Falun Gong a “spiritual movement,” but also to ignore or neglect researching the more negative aspects of the group.

The Times reporter described the teachings of Li Hongzhi, Falun Gong’s founder, as simply “slow-motion exercises, meditation and…healing theories.” But what Wakin neglected to report is that Hongzhi also specifically teaches racism and promotes homophobia.

Maybe Wakin is just too lazy to utilize the Internet and do his homework. Though after an earlier omission by the Times about the widely reported sexual abuse allegations concerning another “cult” leader, it does make you wonder.

Is this just part of a predetermined pattern that is now somehow a Times policy? Does the newspaper essentially often publish puff pieces about “cults,” or at least mute the more negative aspects about many of these “new religions”?

It seems that the “paper of record” needs to evaluate its priorities. Is it more “politically correct” to be deferential and sensitive to the feelings of “cults,” or is it more important and correct to expose racism, bigotry and sexual abuse wherever it is?

Supposed “spiritualists” or “mediums” like John Edward of the cable show “Crossing Over” and James Van Praagh claim they can communicate with the dead.

However, they actually seem to be little more than clever tricksters and showmen.

But that doesn’t stop television producers from promoting their claims without any meaningful critical balance.

Van Praagh even generated a TV mini series starring Ted Danson and now also has his own syndicated show titled “Beyond”.

What the two men really appear to be good at is something called “cold,” “warm” and/or “hot” readings, reports the New Zealand Herald.

What this means is that rather than communicating with the dead, pros like Edward are clever questioners and most often initially offer rather general answers that would apply to almost anyone. This doesn’t require any special “gift.”

Edward and Van Praagh employ a Q and A process that solicits enough detailed information from a respondent to produce a “warmer” and/or “hot” reading with more specific answers. It’s dubious entertainment, but nothing supernatural.

Both men know there is big bucks doing such work.

Edward has parlayed his act into a lucrative cable deal and now so has Van Praagh. They both also do private readings, which provides additional income.

It’s sad to see people seemingly exploited by what critical analysis could readily expose as little more than a sideshow or “con.”

However, people want to believe. It comforts those that want closure or contact with a loved one who is gone. Edward and Van Praagh largely tell individuals and the audience what they want to hear, which makes them feel good.

But have the networks that promote these shows “crossed over” the line ethically?

What meaningful critical balance do they offer viewers regarding these supernatural shows, which are essentially presented as fact?

It is very rare to see the same networks that feature these spiritualists, offer any substantial skeptical inquiry concerning their claims, even though Edward and Van Praagh can easily be debunked.

But of course, why do that when it would only hurt ratings?

John Dawson, who has been with Youth with a Mission (YWAM) for more than 30 years has now been chosen by its “Global Leadership Team” (GLT) as YWAM’s new president. He will assume his new role next September, reports Charisma News Service.

Founded by Loren Cuningham in 1960, YWAM is a controversial ministry that has generated serious complaints over the years. Though supposedly “retired” Cuningham still sits on the GLT.

Some former members have specifically complained that YWAM’s “discipleship training” is coercive and controling. That training is often conducted within relatively isolated camps run by the organization.

It is unclear what real power the president of YWAM wields, or how the GLT can be held accountable to the 12,000 full-time workers in 130 countries that it controls.

One consistent complaint about the organization historically, has been its authoritarian syle of leadership and lack of meaningful accountability.