Cult News

Psychologist and peripatetic professional “cult apologist” Dick Anthony is on the road again.

This time the man who often defends Scientology and considers Rev. Moon’s Unification Church and the Waco Davidians “non traditional religions” is plying his trade in Dixie.

Anthony charges $3,500 per day for his services and is now working for Jane Whaley, the leader of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale, North Carolina.

WOFF has often been called a “cult,” so it seems that would qualify Whaley as a client for Anthony.

Whaley and her followers are warring against a mother for custody of her four minor children. The alleged “cult leader” has apparently decided that some parents can’t leave her church with their family intact.

Former members say Whaley essentially controls her following through “brainwashing.”

However, Anthony is slated to submit an affidavit that will rebut such claims reports the Digital Courier.

Such a job is rather routine for the traveling professional apologist whose trade seems to be getting “cults” off the hook in legal situations.

“Have apologies, will travel,” must be Anthony’s motto in what appears to be a lucrative business.

And he certainly has his work cut out for him in the WOFF case.

The group is known for its bizarre behavior through such practices as “blasting.” This is when members are subjected to so-called “strong prayer” to deliver them from evil influences and/or sinfulness. Blasting basically amounts to surrounding and then screaming at someone designated as a likely “sinner.”

Not a pleasant experience according to some former members.

During recent court proceedings in Spindale Anthony was seen taking copious notes.

But at $3,500 per day is Whaley really getting her money’s worth?

Maybe the alleged “cult leader” should have checked out Anthony’s references first, case by case.

Dick has been on a bit of a losing streak lately.

Jehovah’s Witnesses and Scientology, two of his most recent clients, each paid out substantial settlements despite Dick’s help.

The Witnesses alone opted to pay a plaintiff $1.5 million, the largest settlement in their history, rather than rely on Anthony as an expert in court.

Such settlements don’t really support the effectiveness and/or professional ability of this “cult apologist.”

Never mind. Anthony still seems to be laughing all the way to the bank and it looks like another good payday for him in Spindale.

Goldie Hawn has been hired to speak at an event sponsored by a group called a “cult.”

The actress is being paid by “NXIVM” (pronounced Nexium), formerly known as Executive Success Programs (ESP), to speak at its “Vanguard Week” celebration.

NXIVM was recently criticized by residents of Albany, New York and labeled a “cult.”

Ms. Hawn will speak about “the importance of seeking joy in one’s life,” reports MSNBC.

But what the star doesn’t know is she is actually featured entertainment for the group leader’s birthday party.

“Vanguard Week,” the event Hawn has been hired for is named for the NXIVM founder Keith Raniere, called “Vanguard” by his devoted students.

Raniere formerly ran a multi level marketing (MLM) scheme “Consumer Buyline,” which tanked after State Attorney Generals took action against it. The MLM was also the subject of a class action lawsuit.

Some years later Raniere started up ESP with the help of Nancy Salzman, a registered nurse.

ESP seems to borrow heavily upon the teachings, philosophy, seminar structure and/or terminology of Scientology, EST, Landmark Education, the Forum and Ayn Rand.

An ESP “Intensive” can cost thousands of dollars and take 10 hours a day for 16 consecutive days.

One clinical psychologist has compared ESP training to “thought reform,” often called “brainwashing.”

Complaints associated with ESP range from strained relationships, estranged families and at least one breakdown during an “intensive” that led to a hospital stay.

Hawn is not the first star to be seemingly used by a purported “cult” to promote an event.

Both Bill Cosby and Whitney Houston were once booked as entertainment for events associated with Rev. Moon’s Unification Church.

Scientology routinely uses celebrity members to promote its associated programs, such as Tom Cruise and his recent round of appearances related to “Applied Scholastics.”

Goldie Hawn is probably picking up a hefty honorarium for her professional appearance at Raniere’s birthday bash. But the Oscar winner, who first became widely known through the television show Laugh In, should realize that this is no joke.

Raniere and his group are using her name to promote NXIVM, a group that has allegedly hurt families and students.

Note: Goldie Hawn later cancelled the engagement.

President Bush may have made history by appointing a long-time follower of a billionaire “cult leader” to a top position of influence.

It seems no president has ever placed someone with such a “cult” portfolio this high in government.

Josette Shiner served Rev. Moon of the Unification Church for decades. After many years at the Washington Times, a newspaper controlled by Moon, she ended her service there as its managing editor.

But perhaps at her new job Shiner may help the self-proclaimed “messiah,” who once made payroll at her former paper possible.

As a deputy U.S. trade representative Josette Shiner will have considerable influence within Asia. Interestingly, this is exactly where her mentor Moon has considerable investments, in nations such as Korea and China.

But no one seems to care about this potential conflict of interest Shiner’s close personal association and historical allegiance to Moon might pose.

“Mrs. Shiner has a wide-ranging and strong background…and past work experience make her a very able candidate for the job in front of her,” crowed Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican and chairman of the Finance Committee, quoted within The Washington Times.

However, other than working for Rev. Moon, Shiner has only had a few politically related jobs in the last six years, she also graduated college with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

There was no serious opposition from Democrats.

Shiner claims to have recently become an Episcopalian after leaving Moon’s employ in 1997, but has never commented publicly about her supposed change of heart or the Unification Church.

What epiphany persuaded this dedicated “Moonie” to change churches? And wasn’t her conversion just a little bit too convenient?

It appears that Rev. Moon has at last been able to cash in on the millions heaped upon President Bush Sr., not to mention his generous gift to the Bush Presidential library in Houston.

Has the billionaire “messiah” from Korea finally found his own little slice of heaven within the “Washington Beltway” courtesy of Dubya’s White House?

University Bible Fellowship (UBF), a controversial organization that has often been called a “cult,” is staging a regional conference at Wheaton College this weekend. The event is expected to draw 1,000 participants reports The Daily Herald.

Samuel Lee founded UBF in the 1960s in South Korea. Like Rev. Moon’s Unification Church Lee’s group found college campuses fertile ground for its recruitment efforts, which began in the US during the 1970s.

The organization is known for its extreme authoritarian control over members through “shepherds” and a strict hierarchical structure of totalitarian leadership. This has included arranged marriages.

Many complaints have arisen over the years and former members have established websites regarding the group’s alleged abuses. UBF has a history of bad press in both the United States and Europe.

The founder of UBF Samuel Lee is now deceased, but the organization continues to target students on college campuses around the world.

UBF currently has campus groups at Loyola University, Columbia University, John Hopkins, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois in Chicago, Northeastern University of Illinois, the University of Maryland in Washington D.C., the University of Toledo and Shippensburg State in Pennsylvania.

UBF’s International headquarters is in Chicago.

No doubt UBF is happy they have an opportunity to stage an event at Wheaton College, where many students may note their presence. They are also holding a summer conference in Canada simultaneously on the campus of John Abbott College in St. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec.

Other branches of the group in Canada include Waterloo, Toronto and Ottawa.

UBF has additional outposts around the world actively recruiting in France, Germany, Russia, the Ukraine, Japan, Switzerland, England, Korea and India.

A petition to the National Association of Evangelicals is currently on-line in an effort to have UBF’s membership to that body revoked.

Note: UBF’s NAE membership was terminated, but then later reinstated, despite its long history of serious problems, bad press and complaints.

In the 1970s “Moonies” became the moniker for the growing “cult” following of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church.

Today Moon has moved beyond those humble beginnings to become the friend of presidents, owner of the Washington Times and a tycoon who controls billions of dollars.

But some would say Moon’s burgeoning empire all began as little more than a “religious cult.”

Now there is a new Korean “spiritual” leader with an enterprise sweeping across the United States. It is “Grand Master” Seung Huen Lee and he calls his movement “Dahn Hak.”

Lee boasts “three hundred centers in South Korea…[and] over fifty centers in the United States, including a meditation retreat…in Sedona, Arizona, and a holistic health club in Closter, New Jersey.”

Dahn Hak includes the practice of “brain respiration.”

Lee says, “Brain respiration strips away the mysticism from enlightenment.”

However, others have observed that this “respiration” is more like “brainwashing.” And it “strips away” critical thinking along with a goodly amount of cash.

Dahn Hak’s founder claims in his book Healing Society that he received a pivotal revelation in the midst of an “excruciating headache.”

“The cosmos opened up inside me and swept me into her arms with a loud resounding moment of enlightenment, a deafening crash that seemed to transport me to another world,” Lee claims.

The Grand Master insists that “this voice told me that my body is not me, but mine. It told me that my mind is not me, but mine. It assured me that the Cosmic Mind is my mind and that the Cosmic energy is my energy.”

Lee then felt “the all-encompassing rhythm of life…absorbing and understanding in wonder the Cosmic Order within that governed all things.”

With his newfound powers Lee could purportedly perform “miraculous feats” including “communing with spirits, curing incurable diseases, helping paralyzed people walk, and calming mentally unstable people.”

Unselfishly the “Grand Master” then decided to share his vision. And it was time to “embark on an Enlightenment Revolution, a massive spiritual awakening that will sweep across the Earth.”

Lee’s “little masters” seem to believe in him and they work slavishly for next to nothing, often receiving little more than room and board. The Grand Master’s faithful feel that as Lee says he can “draw in and send forth energy.”

These acolytes also hope he will share with them his “energy-sensitizing and controlling techniques.”

Some practitioners seem to think that Dahn Hak is good place to work out and get rid of aches and pains.

However, Lee explains, “Although Dahn Hak starts out as a physical exercise, its true purpose lies in…becoming a ‘spiritual’ person.”

Sound like a religion with Lee as some sort of “healing” “messiah?”

“Dahn Hak aims at the spiritual enlightenment…a collective Enlightenment Revolution to sweep across the face of this Earth.”

Dahn Hak is also includes a plethora of corporate entities that appear to be making “Grand Master” Lee rich. If money can be defined as “green energy,” maybe Lee does employ some “energy-sensitizing and controlling techniques.”

Was Rev. Moon this man’s mentor? He seems to be following in his footsteps.

A man tells his followers he is “divine,” takes their money and works them while living in luxury.

Sound familiar?

It could be almost any “cult story” in recent years, from the Rev. Moon, who controls billions through his Unification Church, to a relatively obscure little “God-man” called “Adi Da” in Northern California.

But this story is about “Father Divine” who died in 1965.

Born George Baker in Baltimore the man later known as “Divine” is gone, but a legacy still exists and is administered by his widow “Mother Divine,” born Edna Rose Ritchings and now almost 80, reports Associated Press.

Mother Divine has liquidated some of her late husband’s accumulated assets. A hotel here, an old Mission Church there, but she has the grand mansion and still sets a place for “Divine” at the dining room table.

Long before reports of “cults” saturated the media in the late 70s. And decades previous to the popular stereotype of the rich guru bilking brainwashed devotees, there was “Father Divine.”

He figuratively and quite literally worked his followers and amassed a fortune beginning in the 1930s during the Great Depression. This was no easy feat and largely accomplished by “convincing people he was God.” And it seems whatever “God” wanted, he got.

Divine called his message “Practical Christianity,” but others often saw it as little more than a confidence game, through which the preacher took his followers for practically everything they had.

Almost forty years have passed since Divine’s death, but there is still a remnant of true believers. Many of the faithful are past retirement age and invested their entire lives in the movement he created. They cling to the claims and memories of their departed leader.

As for the Widow Divine, she sits on the considerable investments made by her late husband, which apparently still produce “Divine” dividends.

This saga is proof that personality-driven “cults” have long been an enduring part of American history. And looking ahead they are likely to continue as a segment of the American scene for the foreseeable future.

Any “cult” leader’s legacy can live on, at least as long as his assets hold out.

It is becoming increasingly clear that some groups called “cults” are flexing their muscle through increasing influence within Washington.

The latest example appears to be a provision in a House Bill, sponsored by Rep. Max Burns (R-Ga.) and supported by Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), intended to curtail use of the drug Ritalin, reports Roll Call.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) has pointed out that the legislation is backed by Scientology through an organization it founded called the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR).

He said, “I suspect…that [they believe] all medication for kids with [attention-deficit disorder] is wrong.”

Kennedy is right.

Scientology is not only opposed to Ritalin, but any drug prescribed by psychiatrists and the entire profession of psychiatry itself.

Scientologists essentially see psychiatrists and psychologists as their competition, because they believe that their “technology” alone is the only really effective treatment for the human mind.

What has become increasingly clear in recent years is the power some “cults” now wield in Washington.

Two followers of Rev. Moon, “messiah” of the Unification Church, have recently been appointed by the Bush administration to high-ranking positions in government.

One (Josette Shiner) claims somewhat suspiciously, that she had a religious epiphany and became an Episcopalian conveniently before entering government, after 22 years as a “Moonie.”

Scientology demonstrated the power of its influence previously within the Clinton White House and State Department, in calls to end alleged “persecution” of the organization in Germany.

Rev. Moon exercises considerable media muscle through the Washington Times and United Press International, both under his control.

Scientology and the Unification Church are no longer just fringe groups vying for religious converts. Through their wealth and Washington connections they are political players at the highest realms of American society. And their growing clout on Capital Hill offers proof of this fact.

Is it possible that President Bush is now repaying Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s enduring support of his family, through plum political appointments?

Moon certainly has a history of generosity when it comes to the Bush family.

The controversial self-proclaimed “messiah,” who leads the Unification Church and controls a global financial empire worth billions, has given millions to former President Bush Sr. in honorariums for speeches.

Recently George W. Bush nominated Josette Shiner for the post of Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador. If confirmed she will influence US trade policy throughout Asia and Africa, reports Reuters.

Shiner is currently serving as the associate U.S. trade representative for policy and communications.

Her bio posted by the USTR includes a fifteen-year stint (1982-1997) at the Moon-controlled Washington Times. Shiner’s last position there was managing editor.

But what her official USTR biography doesn’t mention is that Shiner became a member of Moon’s Unification Church in 1975.

The Unification Church has often been called a “cult” and accused of “mind control.” Moon’s followers, historically called “Moonies,” accept him as a “messiah.”

Rev. Moon has very substantial business interests in Asia, which includes North Korea, South Korea and China.

Given Shiner’s background, will her role at Trade pose the potential for possible conflicts of interest?

The future ambassador certainly has a history of staunchly supporting Moon.

Shiner once said, “The Washington Times has been successful not in spite of Rev. Moon, but because of Rev. Moon. It is a fantastic success story.”

Moon reportedly has dumped $1.7 billion dollars into the newspaper, which has never made a profit. Some say its purpose is largely to garner him political influence within Washington.

Has that investment now begun to reap political dividends?

Shiner seemed to recognize Moon’s agenda when she said, “The Washington Times has become the sole source of media power in the world’s most powerful city defending those values which will lead the world out of darkness, panic and fear…I am deeply motivated to help fight this noble battle.”

But the former managing editor of the Times baled on that “battle” in 1997.

Shiner quit the Times to become the president of Empower America, associated with Jack Kemp. And that job helped her résumé as she subsequently moved higher up the Washington food chain

But according to Shiner she not only left Moon’s newspaper in 1997; she left his church too.

In an interview run in the Washington Post Shiner claimed she had become an Episcopalian.

The supposed ex-“Moonie” would not elaborate about her claimed change of heart, other than to say there was no “conversion” necessary. She was “just…received” at the Episcopal Church due to her early Catholic background.

The recently announced Shiner appointment is not the first time this President Bush has called upon someone with a Moon portfolio to fill an important government position.

Longtime Moon follower and political operative David Caprara was tapped by Bush in December to become the new director of AmeriCorps. at VISTA.

Like Shiner, Caprara previously made a professional pit stop at a Kemp connected organization.

Josette Shiner also recently changed her marital status. She divorced husband Whitney Shiner, a union that was once blessed by Rev. Moon.

Mr. Shiner, like his ex-wife, claims to have left the Unification Church. He is an associate professor at George Mason University in Washington.

So what is going on here?

Many “Moonies” did leave the organization in the late 90s after embarrassing details concerning the church’s First Family were made public by Rev. Moon’s former daughter-in-law Nansook Hong.

Hong’s tell-all book titled In the Shadow of the Moons, was published in 1998.

Was Josette Shiner just another disillusioned follower that left Moon orbit to embrace the traditional Christian messiah?

Or, has she simply moved undercover to the dark side of Moon, still helping her former boss and long-time mentor advance his political and global agenda?

Shiner once devotedly stated, “There is one man, one couple, in the world which has taken on the power of the anti-values media. That is Reverend and Mrs. Moon.”

Does she still believe that?

Perhaps this is all not that difficult to understand?

Shiner may have simply dumped her “messiah,” once she sensed he was no longer useful and had become instead a career liability.

The one-time Unification Church VIP, certainly has found favor from a far more powerful leader and lucrative source for future opportunities.

However, so far the soon-to-be “Ambassador Shiner,” hasn’t really explained her change of faith or “conversion” in any meaningful detail.

Interestingly, an old ruse observed as a “matter of faith” by many “Moonies” is called “heavenly deception.” Specifically, this is the practice of deliberate deceit to support a “heavenly” cause as defined by Rev. Moon.

Is Ms. Shiner presently engaged in some form of “heavenly deception” for the sake of her long-time “messiah”? The soon-to-be ambassador’s convenient conversion to mainline Christianity does seem a bit timely.

Most of Josette Shiner’s adult and professional life has been largely focused upon serving Rev. Moon. Where do her loyalties lie now?

A strange fundamentalist Christian missionary group that calls itself “Jews for Jesus” is conducting a multi-city “Passover” tour.

The group works the Jewish holiday as an opportunity for self-promotion and fund raising amongst fellow fundamentalists.

Some recent pit stops for “JFJ” included Gales Creek, Oregon, New Orleans, Kansas City and even Juneau, Alaska.

Their program “Christ in the Passover” supposedly shows the audience how this Jewish holiday that predates Christianity, is really somehow about Jesus.

Right.

This makes about as much sense as members of Rev. Moon’s Unification Church putting on a show to reveal how Easter is really an allusion symbolically foretelling the coming of their “messiah.”

After all, they believe Moon must finish the job Jesus failed to complete, but insist they are “Christians.”

Does this make them “Christians for Messiah Moon”?

The Jewish community has historically objected to having its holidays misrepresented this way.

Never mind.

Missionaries paid by “Jews for Jesus” are not exactly concerned with either political correctness or promoting ecumenical understanding. They just like to put on their show, leave town and let the community deal with the fallout.

However, other evangelical Christians such as Billy Graham, don’t seem to agree with the group’s agenda of targeting Jews for special proselytizing.

A large entourage from the Nation of Islam accompanied leader Louis Farrakhan on his 1998 “World Friendship Tour,” which stopped in South Korea.

One traveler on that trip Tynnetta Muhammad is now recounting this momentous event in a series of articles published on Final Call.com News.

The latest piece about this journey is titled In Search of Messiah. And this heading seems ironic, if you consider who sponsored and led the trip for Farrakhan and his followers.

Their tour was conducted by members of Rev. Moon’s Unification Church.

The delegation visited a ballet school financed by Moon and met his daughter-in-law Julia .

She was actually wed to the Moon heir’s spirit after his death.

Rev. Moon is the “messiah” according to his church and numerous proclamations made from heaven, or so say the true believers once called the “Moonies.”

Does this mean the Nation of Islam can end its “search” for “messiah” and just accept Moon?

They might have only needed to ask their tour guide for simple directions.

It is said that Moon stimulates and lubricates his friendships with some religious leaders through donations, funding pet projects and/or expensive gifts. He also has frequently paid the travel expenses of politicians and scholars to attend his conferences.

It is unclear exactly what arrangements may have been made with Louis Farrakhan.

Interestingly, Rev. Moon has said, “The blacks in [the United States] have been oppressed for centuries by the whites, but it is nothing compared to what has happened to me in this nation.”

Hmmm.

Is this what Minister Farrakhan feels is the bond between him and Moon?