Cult News

Holland, Michigan police arrested a man for child molestation, reports the Holland Sentinel. The man, identified only as “Eash,” was the “counselor” or “leader” of a small group composed of former Amish. Eash himself is a former member of an Amish community. A report filed at court in Holland described the man as a “cult leader.”

Allegedly Eash used his position of authority in the group to sexually exploit a 14-year-old boy.

The small “cult” has a history of notoriety. In 1990 Ted Patrick, a well known “cult deprogrammer,” assisted an Amish family in rescuing their daughter from Eash’s control. The story of that intervention effort was reported in the LA Times. More than a decade later it now appears that the family’s fears were justified.

Tom Green has five wives and 33 children. But they will have to visit or write to the polygamist in prison for at least the next four years. A Utah judge has sent Green to prison for having sex with a minor child.

Green’s former child bride of 13 now 30, tearfully testified on her husband’s behalf. But neither her tears nor seven children fathered by Green swayed the court, as reported by Reuters.

The judge said, “We should do everything possible to protect children.” And the prosecutor added, “A 37-year-old man having sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl is never justified.”

There are thousands of polygamists living in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Most are gathered in cult-like submission beneath patriarchal leaders, such as Rulon Jeffs. But it is unlikely someone like Jeffs, who has 19 wives and fathered more than 60 children will ever find himself in a courtroom. It seems Mr. Green has become the designated “poster boy” for polygamy.

Green, unlike most polygamists, is not historically tied to the practice. Instead, he is a self-styled practitioner and seemingly as much a sexual predator as a religionist.

But many polygamists are carrying on family traditions that go back more than a century. They consider themselves “Mormon fundamentalists,” which means they believe that their lifestyle expresses the original and fundamental teachings of their faith first established by Joseph Smith and carried forward by Brigham Young. Both men were polygamists. Smith allegedly had 42 wives and it is said Young had 50. The Mormon Church did not officially end polygamy until 1890, as a prerequisite for Utah to achieve statehood.

This history leaves many Mormons ambivalent about polygamy, though persistent polygamists are an embarrassment to the church that is very image conscious. However, women and children often suffer through polygamy and it’s taxpayers who frequently pick up the bill to support their large families and essentially subsidize the practice, through public welfare and assistance programs.

It is doubtful polygamy will end abruptly anytime soon. The prosecution of polygamist gadfly Tom Green, though justified, seems more like a “show trial” than the beginning of the end for polygamist abuses. But it is good to know that there is one less pedophile on the streets.

Wal-Mart shoppers in Muscle Shoals, Alabama found more than they bargained for at their local discount store. Some customers were shocked to find promotional material left by the Ku Klux Klan within books they browsed, reported Associated Press. Inserted cards from the Klan said they were a “message of hope and deliverance to America” and solicited donations to help white people, “America’s new minority.”

But Southern hospitality today does not include the Klan. A Wal-Mart spokesperson stated, “It’s definitely not something we want in our store.”

Historically the Klan was once a strong political and social force within the South. Its faithful members would frequently rally for a cross burning, or when angered, burn one on someone’s front lawn. But now it seems the Klan has been forced to sneak around a more popular venue in Dixie—Wal-Mart.

Groups called “sects” or “cults” are an increasing problem in Eastern Europe reports the Slovak Spectator. One official in Slovokia explained, “They control people through psychological terror.” He stated that 20 to 50 religious groups in the country are considered “dangerous” and compared involvement with them to “drug dependency.”

Describing the mindset of some sects the official said, “A person identifies the organization with God, and to disobey the organization is to disobey God,”

One group that has caused serious concern in Slovokia is”Jehovah’s Witnesses.” There are 20,000 members within the small country.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that their organization alone is the exclusive channel used by God to communicate with the world and that all other faiths are false. Members reject blood transfusion due to the group’s interpretation of the bible and many have died rather than accept blood in a medical emergency. Witnesses also focus intensely upon the end of the world and believe that God in Armageddon will murder all those who don’t share their beliefs. They also reject the Christian belief of the trinity and see Jesus as an angel rather than the Son of God, according to orthodox Christian tradition.

A Slovak official described those vulnerable to sect recruitment frequently “feared the future.” And it seems within Eastern Europe as countries struggle to emerge from the Cold War and Communism, such a fear may be quite common. Many destructive groups and movements have historically fed on such fear by promising supposed certainty. Ironically, this was part of the promise made by both Fascists and Communism.

It seems like the Goth craze never really goes away, but instead persists as a popular style statement for the young. In a recent report for The Independent in London, Ryan Gilbey detoured for a “journey on the dark side.”

Dressed in black, pale, often gaunt and almost always pierced, the cult following of Goth eerily marches on within its own strange subculture.

Goth trendsetters include “Addams Family” star Christina Ricci, the director of “Edward Scissorhands” Tim Burton, and vampire storyteller Anne Rice. But perhaps its most disturbing icon is murderer Charles Manson. However, Manson’s face on patches seems to be as close as Goth enthusiasts come to destructive cult status.

Their desire to shock and/or mock mainstream society is perhaps the one most important feature that explains Goth’s enduring appeal. Typically teenagers want to individuate, but it’s ironic that so many do it in exactly the same way.

A group of anti-government extremists and self-proclaimed “Redemtionists” espoused a philosophy they called “redemption-in-law.” This basically meant paying your debts with bad checks and/or phony paperwork, though I am sure they had some other more “philosophical” explanation.

Recently a group of “Redemtionists” passed millions of dollars in bad paper all over Ohio, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. But the group’s scheme broke down at a Cadillac dealership, when members tried to buy new luxury cars with bad bank drafts.

It seems though “Redemtionists” may have preached against the establishment, they longed for one of its most enduring status symbols, a shiny new Cadillac. But that desire was their undoing. Ultimately 17 members were indicted for racketeering.

The motto of the Cadillac dealer must have been, “In God we trust, ‘Redemtionists’ pay cash.”

A band called the “Jive Aces” sponsored an “anti-drug” event in Scotland, reported John Rutter of the Evening News in Scotland. But despite the fact that the band has promoted Scientology all over Europe and its “Say No to Drugs” campaign, they claimed that Scientology will not be promoted through their festival.

Scientology spokesman Graeme Wilson stated, “Any material we give out is for drugs education. None of the information we will be giving out will have any message about Scientology.” But this is often simply “Scientology Speak” for promoting Narconon, which is an essentially Scientology controlled drug treatment program.

Self-professed former “drug addict” and actress Kirstie Alley, a long-time Scientologist, credits Scientology for curing her drug habit. She is a strong supporter of Narconon, but now seems hopelessly hooked on Scientology.

Perhaps the band in Scotland not only plays “jive,” but talks it too.

The “death cult” Aum of Japan, notorious for gassing Tokyo’s subways, is now selling pats on the head. That’s right, for only $12,500 dollars or about 1.5 million Japanese yen, you can receive “sacred energy” by getting a little tap on the top of your head from Aum’s new leader Fumihiro Joyu, according to Mainichi Shimbun.

Apparently Aum needs the cash. The group once sold its former leader Shoko Asahara’s bath water. But Asahara either isn’t taking any baths in prison, or the authorities aren’t letting his used water leak out. So the cult that supposedly went broke in 1995, is now promoting the so-called “Shakty Pat” to raise funds.

Alleged child molester and “cult member” Kathy Johnson will not be released from jail pending trial, reported the Macon Telegraph.

Johnson was charged in a 116 count criminal indictment along with cult leader Malachi York, who is likewise now behind bars. Charges were also filed against Ms. Johnson by the federal government for the illegal transportation of minors.

Malachi York has been sued for $1 billion dollars by the parent of a purported victim.

Some of the children allegedly victimized by Johnson and York have tested positive for sexually transmitted diseases.

A prison inmate, who says he is a “Wiccan,” is suing the Wisconsin Department of Corrections because authorities did not let him wear a necklace, reported Associated Press. The AP reporter compared his neck ware to a “Catholic Rosary.”

However, prisoners are notorious for “running games.” That is, using whatever means possible to obtain special treatment and/or harass their jailers. Frivolous lawsuits filed by inmates are frequently little more than a tool used to play such games out.

A prisoner’s claim that a “religious right” is somehow being violated is a common ploy often used to obtain special diets or other privlidges. Supposed “Sikh” inmates (actually associated with the “cult group” 3HO) have used this strategy to grow long hair, or receive special diets. Another recent controversy involved alleged “Jewish” prisoners who want Kosher food.

Now it seems “New Age” religions may become yet another device used by some inmates in an attempt to play prison officials. The problem is differentiating between the convict who is a true believer, and the simple con.