Author examines new cults
By Doug Walker
5 January 1974
The Lethbridge Herald, p. 5
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
 "Cults
of Unreason" by Dr.
Christopher Evans (Harrap, $11.25, 264 pages, distributed by
Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited).
New that the University of Lethbridge has pioneered in the field
of bestowing honorary degrees on people who venture beyond the
accepted pale of academic thought there are all sorts of
possibilities for nominations in the future. To the name of
Immanuel Velikovsky can be added the names of people dealt with
in this latest book by British experimental psychologist Dr.
Christopher Evans.
Worthy of consideration are the following:
L. Ron Hubbard, a brave
pioneer in the exploration of the human mind, discoverer of
Dianetics and founder
of Scientology; Desmond Leslie and George Adamski, who
collaborated in a work that shifted interest in Unidentified
Flying Objects from quasi-serious science fiction into Ufology;
George de la Warr, courageous investigator of radionics and
inventor of a box for diagnostic purposes; Wilhelm Reich,
discoverer of orgone and inventor of the Orgone Accumulator;
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, one of the first to bring the
blessings of Eastern mysticism to the West.
There are those who will be offended by the suggestion that
Velikovsky belongs to the company just mentioned.
Yet the fact that he is frequently confused today with Erich Von
Daniken, purveyor of a lot of nonsense about extraterrestrial
visitations, is indicative of how perilously close he stands to
such dubious leaders of thought. And if Velikovsky's theory of
planetary collisions is of secondary importance to his example
of persistence in the face of ostracism by the academic world,
as the basis for being granted an honorary degree, then his
association with Wilhelm Reich ought not to be considered
outrageous. Reich had even better credentials as a martyr,
having died in prison after defying authority in loyalty to his
convictions about the usefulness of his Orgone Accumulator.
Perhaps the clearest connection of Velikovsky with the cult
groups is found in the way he and they employ the Bible and
other ancient literature to support their cases. Evans mentions
a Jewish theologian, claiming 15 years' study in theology, who
held that "the Book of Moses is an accurate account of an
encounter between a small group of people living in the Middle
East and a race of space beings." He also mentions the
interpretation of a vision by Ezekiel as a UFO sighting. That's
not much worse than Velikovsky's fanciful use of the Old
Testament. Then there is the assertion of Desmond Leslie that
the first interplanetary vessel arrived on earth from Venus in
the year 18,617,841 B.C. — a date calculated from the ancient
Brahmin tables (the Brahmins were exceedingly accurate people,
according to Leslie). Not surprisingly, Velikovsky doesn't
mention that ancient source because he was intent on
establishing that Venus didn't come into existence until 1500
B.C.
It is difficult not to succumb to sarcasm when dealing with
cults of unreason. Christopher Evans succumbs but his sarcasm is
not savage and will entertain all but the ardent believer. The
fact is that Evans ends up being fairer (about Scientology, at
least) than his reporting would lead the reader to expect. He
even acknowledges that readers may be surprised "to find that
after highlighting the absurdities, inconsistencies and smoky
background of Scientology," he concludes without giving it a
"wholehearted thumbs-down."
The purpose of the book—to enquire why cults gain a
following—seems to me to be largely submerged in the enterprise
of describing their history and essence. Some useful suggestions
are made but they need to be developed at greater length because
the repudiation of reason at this advanced stage of human
development is surely of considerable interest and importance.
DOUG WALKER
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