The founder of Scientology L. Ron Hubbard liked uniforms and bragged about his military service record, Scientologists called him the “Commodore.” Many of Scientology’s full-time workers are assigned to its “Sea Organization” and they often wear blue uniforms.
Now Scientology has bought new uniforms for some Florida firemen, as reported by the St. Petersburg Times. Scientology has been quite active with firefighters since September 11th and received a certain amount of attention and publicity for that involvement.
So for the first time since Scientology moved into Clearwater, Florida in 1975, they donated money to the city. Scientologists gave $3,300 to make sure the city’s fire department “honor guard” looks good.
The “Commodore,” though now deceased, probably would have approved; he liked brass buttons and navy blue too. And the donation offered yet another photo opportunity for Scientologists, when they posed for pictures presenting the firemen with a big check.
Shortly after Scientology moved into Clearwater it began buying up downtown, which at first caused controversy. Some say they have increasingly come to dominate the community and that their influence expands annually.
A supposed “psychic” being sued by her former patrons for fraud has now been arrested for shoplifting.
According to the Palm Beach Post Linda Marks was picked up with a shopping cart full of unpaid for groceries outside a local supermarket. Ms. Marks claimed she was just “looking for an ATM.”
Oops. Linda’s “psychic” abilities don’t appear to include foreseeing personal situations.
According to the Lancanshire press, despite a serious complaint against an elder of “Jehovah’s Witnesses” regarding the sexual abuse of a child, he was later reinstated by that organization anyway.
However, the courts were not as lenient with the pedophile as his religious leaders. He plead guilty and was sentenced to a prison term. The former Witness elder and pioneer will be registered as a sex offender upon his release.
Jehovah’s Witnesses have an apparent habit of covering up sexual abuse within their congregations. And when members speak up, it seems they may more likely be shown the door than a sexual predator.
Once the United States was a playground for purported “cult leader” Amdi Peterson. But now he’s traded in his multi-million dollar digs for more modest accommodations in a LA jail. Peterson is being held on criminal charges filed by his native Denmark pending extradition.
Amdi Peterson hired O.J. Simpson’s former lawyer Robert Shapiro to represent him. But despite the lawyer’s help he will soon be on his way home to face criminal charges according to the Associated Press.
Mr. Peterson once lived a lavish lifestyle in a $6 million dollar penthouse on exclusive Fisher Island in Florida. But while he took in the sun and walked his dogs on the beach, the members of his charity organization called “Tvind” often-struggled in substandard living conditions.
Tvind was supposedly established to help the needy in Third World countries. But it seems now that it became little more than Peterson’s personal piggy bank. While many workers for the charity humbled themselves and surrendered their assets for the cause, Peterson spent more than $600,000 just decorating his bachelor pad. Tvind also shelled out $21,000 per month to maintain his country club Florida lifestyle.
However, now it doesn’t look like playboy Peterson will stroll along the beach again anytime soon.
The Mormon Church (LDS) wants to buy property in Pennsylvania, which they claim is where church founder Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon. A spokesperson for the church said this site might eventually be included in a “Mormon Heritage Tour,” reports the Salt Lake City Tribune.
Other locations the LDS Church has focused upon in recent years include Smith’s hometown of Palmyra, New York, Kirtland, Ohio where he built his first temple and Nauvoo, Illinois, which was a Mormon city ruled over by Smith until his death.
The LDS has poured considerable cash into such ventures and in Nauvoo this has generated some controversy. It seems that LDS Inc., ever pragmatic and business-like, has come up with a string of tourist destinations it can promote to the faithful.
Mormon families may now pack up the kids and tour “Mormon World” for their vacation, instead of going to Disneyland or some other secular site. This might ultimately create a significant stream of additional income for the church besides its expected regular tithes.
The United Nations has granted three organizations controlled by “cult leader” Reverend Sun Myung Moon non-governmental organization (NGO) status. These NGOs are affiliated with his Unification Church.
Another Moon organization called the “World Association of Non-Government Organizations,” according to the International Herald Tribune, “falsely poses as the world voice of the voluntary associations.”
Rev. Moon, who historically has used hundreds of front organizations to advance his personal agenda as self-proclaimed world “messiah,” seems to have it in with the UN. But the “one world government” he envisions is with himself as its supreme leader or as his followers say, “True Parent.”
Three former Japanese followers of “cult leader” Rev. Moon of the Unification Church decided they didn’t like the spouses he chose for them and wanted out of their arranged marriages. According to Japan Today all three participated in one of Moon’s mass weddings, but later sued their former leader.
A court in Japan awarded the plaintiffs about $75,000 dollars in damages. The judge said, “The followers had no freedom to refuse the partners selected for them, and were made to believe that if they did not participate here, they and their ancestors would not be saved.”
Rev. Moon has been performing his own variation of “shotgun weddings” on a massive scale for many years. But instead of pregnancy making marriage necessary, it’s getting into Heaven. According to Moon singles cannot enter Heaven. Rev. Moon claims it was even necessary for him to officiate over the marriage of Jesus in “spirit world” to help get him in.
A bizarre “cult” called the “Raelians” believes cloning may offer them eternal life. Their leader Claude Vorilhon, now named “Rael,” formed his own company called “Clonaid.” The Times reported that Rael now claims to have successfully cloned the first human. But it’s difficult to believe a man who has also said that he received his “mission” instructions from an extraterrestrial being on top of a volcano.
Not unlike many cult leaders Rael has quite a self-aggrandizing bio. This includes meeting with Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha and Moses when he traveled to another planet. But today he seems to spend most of his time in Canada and Florida. There are thousands of Raelian believers who follow this man.
According to Rael, Jesus was resurrected through some “advanced cloning technique.”
An apparent publicity junkie Rael has frequent press conferences to announce supposed breakthroughs. He says that cloning is only the first step. After that is successfully accomplished he will move on to the transfer of memory and personality from an individual to their clone. All this will eventually enable people to live forever.
Rael’s motto is “rationalize yourself to revolutionize humanity.” I guess that means anything goes. And when it comes to Rael this seems to be true.
The Naples Daily News recently interviewed Sister Mildred 91, one of the last Shakers.
This peaceful and simple sect is now almost extinct. Shakerism peaked in the 1840s, but has very few surviving members today. This is largely due to the communal society’s requirement that its members be celibate. Shakers only gain new members through conversion. It seems that increasingly fewer people were and/or are willing to embrace the group’s demanding and austere lifestyle.
The Shakers were founded in 1758 by Mother Ann Lee, who they regarded as the “second incarnation of Christ.” They immigrated to the English colonies under her leadership in 1774 and were one of many unusual groups that came to America seeking religious tolerance and freedom.
President Thomas Jefferson found Shaker writings fascinating, though Charles Dickens later said they were “grim.” However the utopian group may ultimately be best remembered for its legacy of simple furniture and folk art, widely appreciated for its craftsmanship.
Karen Robidoux, a member of the cult called “The Body,” is charged with the starvation murder of her year-old son. Jacques her husband has already been tried and convicted of first-degree murder for his role in the baby’s death. He testified that the group’s teachings and “visions” caused him to withhold solid food from his son.
Now Mrs. Robidoux’s attorney Joseph F. Krowski says he will use a cult version of the “battered woman’s syndrome defense” to explain his clients behavior, reports the Boston Globe. Krowski said that the 26-year-old mother was essentially bullied and brainwashed by cult members to cooperate.
Historically the “cult brainwashing” defense has not always fared well in court. Patty Hearst attempted to explain her behavior this way and was convicted anyway. Leslie Van Houten, of the infamous Charles Manson “Family” has been denied parole repeatedly, despite such an explanation regarding her crimes. But with Jacques Robidoux already serving an automatic life sentence in prison, perhaps the court will be more willing to consider such a defense for the young mother.
The jury in Karen Robidoux’s coming trial will be faced with a tough decision. When they deliberate they will likely discuss the apparent cult vicitimization of the defendant, but jurors will certainly be confronted by the facts concerning that cult’s ultimate victim, a defenseless year-old child.
