------------------------------------------------------------------- F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. (Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network, Incorporated) a non-profit computer bulletin board and electronic library 601 16th St. #C-217 Golden, Colorado 80401 USA BBS 303 530-1942 FAX 303 530-2950 Office 303 473-0111 This document is part of an electronic lending library and preservational electronic archive. F.A.C.T.Net does not sell documents, it only lends them according to the terms of your library cardholder agreement with F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Israel: "Satanic Cults" on the Beach Satanic cults that gather at the beaches to perform late-night animal sacrifices to the tune of ritual chants are attracting dozens of teenagers across the country, parents told the Knesset [Israeli parliament] Education Committee in November. "The phenomenon exists, even if only on a small scale, and it is dangerous," said committee chairman Michael Bar-Zohar (Labor Party). He called on the police and the Education Ministry to investigate the matter. Police representatives, however, told the committee that no evidence of an organized satanic cult has been found. They noted that "social phenomena," such as the wild dancing at clubs, were not illegal. "We can only deal with drug and alcohol abuse," said Deputy Commander Ruth Gadot. The cults in Tel Aviv apparently start their evenings by going to drink and dance wildly to heavy metal music at several of the city's night clubs, Tel Aviv Parents' Association leader Hana Michelin said. Jerusalem Post International Edition, Dec. 1, 1990. 2 Guyana: Jonestown + 12 Sunday, Nov. 18 [1990] is the twelfth anniversary of the mass suicide of 911 followers of the Rev. Jim Jones and his People's Temple at Jonestown, Guyana. The tragedy occurred because members of the People's Temple blindly followed the dictates of Rev. Jones's manipulative ways and his very strong control over their identities and their lives. The horror of Jonestown, a strong leader controlling people's lives and actions, is being repeated across the country almost daily according to press reports, except people are dying one by one, not 911 victims at one time! From a letter in the St. Petersburg [FL] Times (11/17/90, 27A) from Judy Safransky, Coordinator, Tampa Bay Chapter, Cult Awareness Network. 3 Canada: "Project Cult" to "Info-Cult" Montreal's "Cult Project" (Project Culte), for more than a decade Canada's leading resource on cult-related issues and education, recently separated cordially from the B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation, with which it had been closely associated in its work, and established itself as "Info-Cult, Resource Center on Cultic Thinking." According to Michael Kropveld, the director of the Cult Project and now the director of Info-Cult, "the need for a new and larger organization has become apparent" because of "the rising popularity of cultic movements (political and extremist), and because "the number of requests for our services is increasing annually. To meet the demands, we have formed a a new, independent organization." Cult Observer Report. 4 England: Boy George "Saved" by Krishnas [Freed from alcohol and drugs] Outrageous rocker Boy George has joined the Hare Krishnas, and thanks to them, he reported, he's finally beaten his lifelong addiction to drugs and booze. "I'm happy to be one of them," the 29-year-old singer told a close friend. "The beliefs of the Hare Krishnas have helped me get off drugs and alcohol - and I love their music." According to a Los Angeles spokesman for the group, "Boy George chants happily, eats a strict vegetarian diet, stays drug-free, and worships regularly with other Hare Krishna devotees." His father, Jeremiah O'Dowd, told London's Sunday People newspaper: "The family is absolutely delighted. George has been through a long, dark tunnel and come out a better person." National Enquirer, 9/11/90, 22. 5 Channel Islands: "I AM" [FACT Net editor's note: This I Am cult apparently is unrelated to the I Am cult in Colorado (St. Germain Foundation) living underground at Ironton Flats close to Ouray, Colorado, since the 1950's, or earlier.] Guernsey in the Channel Islands was the setting for an EST-style self-improvement group called "I AM," founded in South Africa in 1969. Two who signed up for the training left half way through said they were treated with methods smacking of hypnotism and mind control. In Israel the mental health of some among the thousands who have taken I AM courses has been endangered, leading to attempts by the Ministry of Health to ban the courses. A Tel Aviv court allowed seminars for adults to continue but extended a ban on the courses for children ages seven through twelve. 6 Britain: Report from Britain [Church of Christ, Rajneesh, Children of God, "Top Ten" Cults"] From the Fair News (London) Autumn 1990. Church of Christ The CCC [Central London Church of Christ, related to the Boston, USA, Church of Christ movement], after causing quite a stir in Birmingham and Manchester, turned its attention to the northeast and is targeting young people in Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne. Reporter John Merry of the Sunday Sun was told that the group concentrated on universities because students had pliable minds which could retain information. A TV report on the CCC featured the stories of two families that lost daughters to the group and tried coercive deprogramming to get them back. One action succeeded, the other failed. Rajneesh Some assumed that the Rajneesh movement would die with the founder, but this has not happened. The group's London center appears to be flourishing, and both basic and advanced training courses are running in Holland for teenagers. Consent of parents or guardians is requested for these courses. Children of God From the group's publication The New Good News, it is clear that members are afraid of having children taken away from the communes (as in the raid by Barcelona police earlier this year). One of the chief internal problems expressed in New Good News is the conflict over child custody between spouses who have left the group, and those who remain. A report by a 15-year COG member Dalva Lynch in the Christian Research Journal (Brazil) tells of the group's great emphasis on child sex - recently much denied by the group. The ex-member, whose children remain with the COG, claims that because of the early introduction to sex, promiscuity is rampant among the group's second generation, now aged between twelve and eighteen. Since many Far Eastern outposts were abandoned, COG houses in Brazil have been flooded with new arrivals. In order to avoid overcrowding, the leadership simply throw out "problem cases," namely those with financial, legal, or personal difficulties. ("We're not a hospital," says COG leader David Berg.) Discussing changes in COG, Dalva Lynch says there are no more families. They still use the term but it no longer means mother, father, and their children; it means, rather, threesomes, foursomes, and any number of allocated children. Feelings, emotions, romance, and parent-child affection have been ruled out as "devilish." In order to destroy emotional attachments between parents and children, says Lynch, they are separated. The children are sent to schools where they become "little rocks." "They have no emotional ties, you can control them, [they are] just little robots. That is why I am so desperate to get my kids, because they are still there!" Despite all this, the cult is currently enjoying great success in selling its literature, videos, and audio tapes to unsuspecting Christian churches and schools at exorbitant prices in many parts of Brazil. "Top Ten" Cults From September 1989 to September 1990 FAIR received inquiries about 138 cults and fringe groups, 77 of which are very obscure. The "Top Ten" in the "FAIR charts" are: 1. Unification Church 2. Scientology 3. Central London Church of Christ 4. Children of God 5. EST (and other self-improvement groups) 6. Shaja Yoga 7. New Age 8. ISKCON [Hare Krishna] 9. Rajneesh 10. Jesus Army 7 German: Fertile Ground in East Germany [Sahaja Yoga, Mataji] The German newspaper Die Zeit reports on a visit of the Sahaja Yoga leader Mataji to Dresden and the belief of a West German promoter of Mataji that the group can find fertile ground in the fluid situation in East Germany. This view is supported by comments of an East German psychoanalyst who says that his countrymen are suffering from authority dependency and emotional inhibitions, as well as from a psychological deficiency syndrome which hides great, unfulfilled longing for love and acceptance. Mataji warned her Dresden audience of "many false gurus," probably referring to rival groups like the Moonies and Scientologists who are putting up posters and selling books in pedestrian zones. ================================================================= If this is a copyrighted work, you are acknowledging by receipt of this document from FACTNet that on the basis of reasonable investigation, you have not been to obtain a copy elsewhere at a fair price, and that you are and will abide by the following copyright warning. WARNING CONCERNING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS: The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photo copies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified by law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. FACTNet reserves the right to refuse to accept an order for copying or other duplication, or delivery of copied or duplicated material if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. ------------------------------------------------------------------- CARD CATALOG ENTRY DOS FILENAME OF TEXT FILE: CO0690AC.TXT DOS FILENAME OF IMAGE FILES: CO0690.TIF ADMINISTRATIVE CODE: OK SECURITY CODE: SCO DISTRIBUTION CODE: RO DESCRIPTION FOR BBS FILE LISTING: The Cult Observer November/ December 1990 SORT TO: AFF CONTRIBUTOR: American Family Foundation (AFF) LOCATION OF ORIGINAL: American Family Foundation (AFF) NOTES: Back issues and selected reprints of the Cultic Studies Journal are available from the American Family Foundation, P.O. Box 2265, Bonita Springs, FL 33959-2265. FOREIGN STORIES | 1 Israel: "Satanic Cults" on the Beach | 2 Guyana: Jonestown + 12 Years | 3 Canada: "Project Cult" to "Info-Cult" | 4 England: Boy George "Saved" by | Krishnas [Freed from alcohol | and drugs] | 5 Channel Islands: "I AM" | 6 Britain: Report from Britain | [Church of Christ, Rajneesh, Children | of God, "Top Ten" Cults"] | 7 German: Fertile Ground in East | Germany [Sahaja Yoga, Mataji] For additional verification see the contributor of the document. UPDATED ON: 10/20/94 UPDATED BY: FrJMc =================================================================