Cult News

Rev. Moon of the Unification Church says he wants world peace, but it seems that the self-proclaimed “messiah” has different ideas when it comes to business investments.

Moon controls Kahr Arms, which is run by his son Kook Jin Moon.

Kahr sells guns, but apparently keeps very poor records regarding its inventory, reports The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Two years ago ATF agents raided a Kahr factory and found that a substantial number of guns were missing. But they were still listed in the company’s inventory, according to police.

It seems that some employees at Kahr ran a lucrative side business selling guns out the back door, they were eventually arrested.

But a man was shot and killed with one of Kahr’s guns by a felon who would not otherwise have passed a background check to buy the firearm legally.

The Moon controlled company now is a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the family of the victim. The suit claims Kahr was negligent.

Also liable in the litigation are Kahr’s “corporate parents.”

Kahr received a legal setback recently when a judge ruled the case would not be dismissed and should move forward.

Often referred to as “father” by his followers, Rev. Moon is not only the literal father of Kahr’s CEO, but the likely “corporate parent” left holding the bag as well, or is that the “mag bag”?

Apparently “cult apologists” are concerned about the Elizabeth Smart case. They seem to feel a need to dismiss any claims that the kidnap victim was “brainwashed.”

Veteran cult defenders James Richardson, H. Newton Malony and Nancy Ammerman, have all been quoted concerning the case.

Dick Anthony, another “cult apologist,” more recently weighed in.

The mainstream media apparently overlooked Anthony, who describes himself as a “forensic psychologist,” so he found another outlet for his opinions.

His commentary about Elizabeth Smart is now posted on the website CESNUR (“Center for Studies on New Religons”), run by Massimo Introvigne.

Introvigne is an interesting character and reportedly connected to a group that has been called a “cult.” The organization is named “Tradition, Family and Property” (TFP). Not surprisingly, Introvigne seems to be personally offended by the “C” word (“cult”) and the “B” word (“brainwashing”).

Within his treatise Anthony laments how the “proponents of brainwashing theory” are misleading the public by “asserting that Elizabeth Smart was brainwashed.”

According to Anthony that “theory” was “formulated by the American CIA as a propaganda device.”

Hmmm, was Elizabeth then somehow the most recent victim of a CIA conspiracy?

No.

Anthony speculates that due to Elizabeth’s “strict Mormon upbringing…[she] may actually have been predisposed to accepting the stern religious authority of the self-appointed prophet Brian David Mitchell.”

Does this mean the Mormon Church and/or her family not only somehow predisposed Elizabeth to embrace the bizarre beliefs of others without question, but also to not seek help or identify herself to authorities when kidnapped?

Anthony seems to think so.

He says, “Such offbeat theological worldviews allegedly primarily attract conversions from rebellious young persons from Mormon backgrounds.”

Despite his self-proclaimed title of “forensic psychologist,” Anthony doesn’t offer any factual “forensic” evidence. And he doesn’t really explain Elizabeth’s strange behavior. Instead, everything is attributed to her “totalistic personality,” which was apparently just waiting to be Mitchell’s next “conversion.”

The good doctor is less kind to 70s cult kidnap victim Patricia Hearst.

Anthony says, “There is good reason to think that her involvement in SLA [Symbionese Liberation Army] crimes was based upon a real conversion.”

He does admit Hearst was exposed to “indoctrination.”

But just like Elizabeth, Anthony claims the then 19-year-old Patty Hearst’s capitulation to her captors, was all about “the interaction of her pre-existing totalistic personality.”

Anthony gets a bit nasty bashing Hearst as a “rebellious” teenager who “…took psychedelic drugs” and was “dualistically divided between corrupt mainstream people and good counter-culture people and down-trodden minorities.”

Uh huh.

He concludes, “Hearst fit the profile of an ‘individual totalist’ prone to seeking for a totalitarian counter-cultural worldview.”

Huh?

Apparently, the SLA really didn’t need to violently abduct Hearst at gunpoint from her college campus or imprison the girl for months in a closet and brutally beat her. She was ready to accept their beliefs willingly, and all they needed to do was proselytize a bit to produce a “real conversion.”

Likewise, Elizabeth Smart’s kidnapping, months of confinement and her assault, did not contribute to her “brainwashing”—it’s that old “totalistic personality” ready for a “real conversion” once again.

In his latest foray in the realm of “forensic psychology” Anthony cites the “research” of a relatively small group of academics that share his views about “cults.”

He mentions the work of Stuart Wright, “Jim” James Richardson, Eileen Barker, H. Newton Maloney, Anson Shupe, David Bromley and Gordon Melton and of course his sponsor Massimo Introvigne.

However, all these “academics” are within the world of “cult apologists.”

In fact, Bromley, Melton, Maloney, Richardson and Wright have all been recommended as “religious resources” by the Church of Scientology.

Melton and Barker were funded by “cults” to produce books.

Anson Shupe was paid hefty fees by Scientology lawyers to become their “expert witness” about the “anti-cult movement.”

Benjamin Zablocki, Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University put it succinctly when he said, “The sociology of religion can no longer avoid the unpleasant ethical question of how to deal with the large sums of money being pumped into the field by the religious groups being studied… This is an issue that is slowly but surely building toward a public scandal. I do think there needs to be some more public accounting of where the money is coming from and what safeguards have been taken to assure that this money is not interfering with scientific objectivity.”

This brings us back to Dick Anthony.

Last year Anthony made $21,000.00 consulting on one civil case alone, without even appearing in court.

That case involved a wrongful death claim filed against Jehovah’s Witnesses and a “Bethelite” (full-time ministry worker) named Jordon Johnson in Connecticut, by John J. Coughlin, Jr., Administrator of the Estate of his mother Frances S. Coughlin .

Johnson killed Francis Coughlin in an automobile accident and was criminally convicted for manslaughter.

The Coughlin family sued both Johnson and the organization that controlled him, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, commonly called Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Dick Anthony was hired by the Watchtower Society as an “expert,” to assist them in their defense. And in the process was deposed under oath on October 11, 2002.

The man, who prides himself as a “scholar” and “academic” actually admitted that he hasn’t worked within an institution of higher learning (i.e. a university or college) for more than twenty years.

So how does Dick Anthony support himself?

He is “self-employed.” The name of his business is simply, “Dick Anthony, Ph.D.”

What does Dick Anthony Ph.D. do?

Dr. Anthony explains, “Probably two-thirds of my time to three-quarters of my time is spent writing for publication, and probably a quarter of my time to a third of my time is involved with participating in legal cases.”

Anthony’s writings are most often connected to defending “cults,” attacking the so-called “anti-cult movement” and/or the “proponents of the brainwashing theory.”

His work on “legal cases,” is as an “expert” hired by “cults,” or somehow as a “expert witness” in a related area of interest.

What this admission by Anthony means, is that he can easily be seen as a full-time professional “cult apologist,” who has no other means of meaningful income.

How much does he get paid?

Anthony stated for the record, “My fee for reviewing materials in my office is $350 an hour. And my fee for work outside my office is a flat fee of $3,500 a day plus expenses.”

Anthony admitted that he collected “$21,000” on the Coughlin/Watchtower Society case alone. And that was without even appearing in court.

For his deposition of only a few hours, he was paid “$3,500.”

Who else besides Jehovah’s Witnesses is willing to pay such substantial fees?

Anthony listed some of his clients for the record. That list included the “Unification Church, the Hare Krishna movement…The Way International [and] Church of Scientology.”

All of these groups have been called “cults.”

But Dr. Anthony doesn’t like the “C” word, he prefers “nontraditional religions.”

On his list of “nontraditional religions” are the Branch Davidians, Unification Church and he says, “In the United States, the Catholic Church, well it’s definitely the largest nontraditional religion.”

Dr. Anthony belongs to a “nontraditional religion” himself.

Explaining his own background Anthony stated, “I’m a follower of Meher Baba” and a member of the “Meher Baba Lovers of Northern California.”

According to Jeffrey Hadden, a fellow “cult apologist” who is now deceased, Meher Baba and his followers believe that he was the “God incarnate” and the Avatar of the ‘dark or iron’ age, also called the Kali Yuga.”

Baba died in 1969. Gordon Melton says, “By loving Baba, Baba lovers can learn to love others. In the highest, most intense, state of love, Divine Love, the distinction between the lover and the beloved ceases and one attains union with God.”

Sound like a personality-driven group that would be perceived by many as a “cult”? Anthony would of course prefer the description “nontraditional religion.”

The good doctor calls himself a “forensic psychologist,” which supposedly means the application of medical facts to legal problems.

So what facts does Dick Anthony apply to resolve the legal cases he is paid to testify and/or consult about?

When asked what specific research he relied upon regarding the Coughlin case against Jehovah’s Witnesses Anthony replied that he would largely rely upon “a range of materials provided me by the Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

Did Dick Anthony have any experience as a psychologist helping Witnesses, “None as far as I know,” he said.

Anthony also openly admitted he had done no formal research or published any paper about Jehovah’s Witnesses.

So what facts or direct working experience would be applied or used as the basis for rendering his expert opinion?

Anthony said he would base his opinion largely on a “general knowledge of the sociology and psychology of religion.”

When pressed repeatedly during the deposition for something more specific and scientific Anthony cited, “The research of Rodney Stark…generally considered to be probably the leading expert on sects and cults.”

Stark like Anthony has received money from “cults” and has often been called an “apologist.” He is not “generally considered” a “leading expert” on the subject cited either.

Anthony later said he would rely on an article by his old friend “James Richardson [though he couldn’t remember the title]…and…several articles by Catherine Wah [correct name actually Carolyn Wah].”

Carolyn Wah was the in-house attorney assigned to defend Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Coughlin case and a long-time “Bethelite” herself, working full-time at Watchtower headquarters.

Interestingly, it was Richardson who Anthony later admitted had referred him to the Witnesses for the job.

During his deposition Dick Anthony cited other legal cases he was working on at the time.

He claimed to be “a witness for the prosecution” in the criminal case against Winnfred Wright. Anthony said some of Wright’s followers were “claiming that they are innocent because they were brainwashed.”

This criminal case involved the starvation death of a 19-month-old boy.

Described as a “cult” by Associated Press, Anthony called the criminally destructive group a “little family.”

Apparently the judge didn’t agree with Anthony’s expert opinion. He ordered one of Wright’s followers released for “cult deprogramming” so she could “enter a treatment clinic for former cult members,” reported the Marin News.

Wright received the maximum sentence allowed.

Anthony also said he was advising “the Church of Scientology in Ireland…in Dublin.”

This is clearly a reference to a lawsuit filed against Scientology by Mary Johnson, a former Irish member who alleged “psychological and psychiatric injuries.” Anthony said, “I’ve had a number of conversations with [Scientology] about that.”

But despite those “conversations” Scientology decided pay off Johnson. And costs alone ran them more than a million.

And what about the Coughlin case?

After paying Anthony $21,000 in fees and on the first day of trial, the Jehovah’s Witnesses opted to settle too. They cut a check to the plaintiff for more than $1.5 million dollars. This was historically the largest settlement ever paid by the organization, which has been around for more than a century.

It seems Dr. Anthony doesn’t have a very good track record in the recent legal cases he has consulted on.

Perhaps Anthony himself explained this best during his deposition when he said, “It is the nature of pseudo-science…to pretend to certainty in interpreting situations where such certainty cannot possibly be based upon scientific knowledge. Such false claims of certain knowledge in the absence of a clear factual foundation for that knowledge are more characteristic of totalistic ideology than of genuine science.”

Indeed. So who really has a “totalistic personality” after all?

Dick Anthony seems not only a “pretend[er],” but as can be seen through the Coughlin case, he actually offers no directly applicable “scientific knowledge” or “clear factual foundation” to form his opinions.

Instead of applying medical facts and/or “genuine science” to resolve legal problems, this “forensic psychologist” seems to offer only “pseudo-science,” in an effort to please the “nontraditional religions,” who are paying clients and represent his predominant source of income.

Despite Anthony’s repeated failures he is still being paid $3,500 per day, which is not bad, or is it?

Note: Copies of the Dick Anthony deposition are available for an $18.00 tax-deductible donation to The Ross Institute

Another well known “cult apologist” has surfaced in news coverage of the Elizabeth Smart abduction.

Rodney Stark, a professor of sociology at the University of Washington, was quoted in the Desert News.

Though Stark’s comments within the Desert News article are general observations, he has a long history of working closely with groups called “cults” and they frequently cite his writings.

The academic has defended such organizations as the Unification Church of Rev. Moon and testified as an expert witness regarding the “Local Church.” Critics have called both of these groups “cults”.

Stark was included amongst a list of scholars that have received money and/or expenses from “cults” in connection with research, court testimony and/or “cult” sponsored conferences, within an article titled “Brainwashed! Scholars of Cults Accuse Each Other of Bad Faith.”

Addressing a gathering of his followers this month at an Arlington, Virginia hotel Rev. Sun Myung Moon went into an anti-Semitic rant. At one point the leader of the Unification Church claimed Hitler’s murder of 6 million Jews was the fulfillment of “the principle of indemnity,” reports the Unification News.

Moon called upon Jews in his audience to “raise [their] hands” and told them, “Jewish people, you have to repent. Jesus was the King of Israel. Through the principle of indemnity Hitler killed 6 million Jews. That is why. God could not prevent Satan from doing that because Israel killed the True Parents. Even now, you have to determine that you will repent and follow and become one with Christianity through Rev. Moon.”

Of course Moon believes everyone must follow him.

The self-proclaimed “messiah” also told the gathering, “If you follow Rev. Moon, you will not go down. In the future those who hear my words and believe will go to heaven, those who don’t will not.”

Uh huh.

Moon also alluded to the political party he will soon launch in Korea, reports the Korea Herald.

He stated, “To unify Korea we must unify church and state. We must establish a political party and then unify church and state.”

I wonder who Moon thinks should run this hoped for theocracy? Something tells me he thinks it should be him.

Some say the 82-year-old “cult leader” is senile and often incoherent. However, he still maintains absolute control over his followers and a vast financial empire.

Moon continues to control the Washington Times and United Press International and has courted substantial influence amongst prominent senators, congressmen and religious leaders such as Rev. Jerry Falwell.

An old “Moonie brainwashing camp” was sold by the Unification Church of Rev. Moon in northern California, reports The Press Democrat.

The church led by the self-proclaimed “messiah” sold Aetna Springs resort, in a deal last month to a developer. The isolated site was once used to indoctrinate recruits through a process many see as “brainwashing.”

Attorney Ford Green was once held in Boonville a similar retreat. He said, “Aetna Springs for years was one of the Moonie brainwashing camps.” Ford says such camps are “pretty tough to leave,” adding, “I’m sure that was the desirable feature of the Aetna location — its isolation.”

The developer who bought Aetna Springs plans to turn it into a four-star resort.

Green said, “To have one less public health hazard in Napa County can’t be anything but good.”

Rev. Moon once spent time in a North Korean prisoner camp. Some say he may have learned about many of the techniques later used to “brainwash” recruits at his own camps largely through that experience.

Robert Jay Lifton, a noted psychiatrist, described those techniques in his book “Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism,” first published in 1961. The book would later be used as a means of explaining cult “brainwashing” to members during “deprogramming.”

Rev. Moon has become a powerful political figure in Washington since the days Aetna Springs was a thriving “Moonie” camp. He now owns the Washington Times newspaper, United Press International wire service and has close ties to the Bush family.

Today with tension mounting between the United States and North Korea, what can be done to promote better relations?

How about children called “Little Angels” performing precision drills to John Phillip Souza? And what if they did a rendition of “Amazing Grace” woven into a medley of Korean songs?

These are some of the routines a troop founded and still funded by Rev. Moon of the Unification Church can do. They recently went to Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital as “ambassadors of peace,” reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

The general director of “Little Angels” is the daughter of an old follower of Rev. Moon, but claims, “There’s nothing religious.”

However, given the history of the Unification Church and its hundreds of front organizations used for recruitment and to advance the personal agenda of its “messiah,” it is difficult to believe these “little angels” are totally innocent.

The children might be earnest, but Moon has used sincere people in the past to advance his purposes, which don’t appear angelic at all.

Rev. Moon founder of the Unification Church staged another one of his “conferences” in Washington DC this month. And of course the Washington Times and UPI, both which Moon essentially controls, covered the event.

This conference supposedly focused on “world peace.”

Newsman Sam Donaldson was on hand to offer his wit and wisdom. Moon pays celebrity speakers hefty honorariums to appear at such events.

Larry Moffitt the vice president of UPI operations and Dr. Chung Hwan Kwak, president of UPI and chairman of News World Communications, which publishes The Washington Times were also there.

Moffitt and Kwak are both followers of Rev. Moon.

John Bloom who is not a member of Moon’s church reported the event for UPI. He said, “Despite working at UPI, I had never been entirely clear on exactly what the Unification Church stands for or why it was so intent on acquiring media organizations.”

Is Bloom serious?

Moon obviously bought up media outlets like UPI and the Washington Times as a means of gaining political influence, promoting himself and publishing reports like Bloom’s “Commentary: War, Peace & Rev. Moon.”

What is Moon’s plan for world peace?

Bloom says, “God ruling over the Earth through the agency of Reverend Moon.”

Sounds like Sadaam’s plan for peace in the Middle East doesn’t it? Just let the Iraqi dictator run everything and there won’t be any war.

Right.

And who else but UPI and the Washington Times would give the following items any serious attention?

“On December 25, 2001, at high noon, a meeting was held in heaven between Jesus, Confucius, Buddha, Mohammad and Shankara (founder of the Advaita Vedanta in Hinduism). Sitting with them were 600 representatives of the five leading religions…they adopted a resolution that says…Reverend Moon is the ‘Savior, Messiah, Second Coming and True Parent of all humanity.'”

And subsequently “‘A letter from God himself, proclaiming the Reverend Moon to be his ‘beloved Son'”

Is Moon a megalomaniac? Judge for yourself.

No doubt UPI, like the Washington Times will be another monetary abyss for Moon to lose millions of dollars annually. But the billionaire “Messiah” doesn’t seem to care.

Not as long as reporters like Bloom get his name, plans and prophetic utterances into print.

Falun Gong staged what seemed like a carefully coordinated public event for “master” Li Hongzhi, reports the Orange County Register.

Hongzhi’s devotees have become adept at creating media and photo ops for their vaunted spiritual leader.

The man who says he can “levitate,” “become invisible” and knows the “top secret of the Universe” made a personal public appearance in the Anaheim Convention Center before 1,500 of his followers.

Though his disciples claimed they didn’t know if Li would come, it appears more than likely that this event was carefully planned and members knew in advance that Hongzhi would arrive.

One devotee said, “Everyone had a ticket. Everyone knew each other.”

A seemingly transfixed disciple observed, “He spent four hours answering questions and didn’t even open a water bottle. He didn’t need a break. He didn’t need to stop and think to answer. His compassion never changed. For us to see him was amazing.”

Doesn’t this sound a bit like Unification Church members at a mass wedding rhapsodizing about their “master” Rev. Moon?

In a somewhat cryptic statement an ardent follower said, “This was a very special occurrence, and we know Orange County will benefit from his presence.”

Falun Gong members believe Li Hongzhi actually has a personal impact on the stability of the universe. Not unlike many groups called “cults,” Falun Gong appears to be defined and driven by its leader’s persona.

What the Orange County Register failed to report about is Li Hongzhi’s racist writings and bigoted public rants. This certainly would not have gone down well in politically correct Disneyland.

Moreover, the Falun Gong leader has made sensational supernatural claims about himself and his supposed superhuman powers that easily define him as either a megalomaniac, a charlatan or both.

According to Hongzhi he can “personally install” falun (a wheel of law) in his followers abdomens, which in turn provides for their good health.

This would be a neat trick for a stage show in Las Vegas. And maybe Vegas would be the best venue for a man like Hongzhi in the United States.

David Copperfield move over, and make room for the real “Master” of “Grand Illusion”!

It looks like Helen Thomas was right when she dumped UPI.

After Rev. Moon of the Unification Church bought control of the historic wire service Thomas decided to move on and find a better place for her column.

And judging by its content maybe UPI has become something like a press release service for groups that are often called “cults.”

Here are two recent examples:

Rev. Moon, the guy who essentially now controls UPI, got quite a plug for his “peace conference” in South Korea recently. The headline read, “World leaders gather for peace.”

But is this really a legitimate news story or just another one of Moon’s self-promotional photo ops?

The rich “cult leader” often subsidizes such gatherings and frequently pays “leaders” to attend and hear his speeches and/or watch him receive some award.

A blurb in UPI’s “Capital Comment” titled “Hooray for Hollywood” touted Scientology’s effort to attack drugs prescribed by psychiatrists, through its front organization “The Citizens Commission on Human Rights.”

Scientology is against almost anything connected to psychiatry, since it sees itself as essentially the only valid means to mental health.

Maybe the Moon-controlled UPI wants to give other “cults” a plug too?

However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to see UPI as a credible “news source.” Instead, the historic wire service seems to have quickly become a spin-machine for Rev. Moon and his chosen friends.

Many seem to think Soka Gakkai is to Buddhism what the Unification Church is to Christianity. The Japanese-based international organization has often been accused of being little more than a personality-driven “cult,” led by Daisaku Ikeda.

Soka Gakkai became known in the United States largely through celebrity involvement, such as rocker Tina Turner, who remains an avid devotee.

Members often claimed they could chant for whatever they needed or wanted. In this respect it is not unlike the equally controversial “Word of Faith” movement within Pentecostal Christianity, where adherents believe they can claim health and/or prosperity in the “name of Jesus.”

In 2001 Soka Gakkai opened a new university campus in Southern California. They promised this would be non-sectarian educational institution.

But now it seems sit-ins are in vogue again as students protest the dismissal of a popular teacher and dean, reports the Orange County Register.

The writing professor and well-known author Joe McGinniss said, “To be honest, if I were a member of Soka Gakkai, there would be no question of my (not) returning next year.”

Soon students may be chanting in protest. But this is not quite the mantra Soka Gakkai may have had in mind.