Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
Lots of stuff has been happening in the world of cults, sects, and alternative
religions, and I haven't always taken the time to send these updates.
Several subscribers to this announcement list have asked for more frequent
updates. From now on, I will make an effort to post updates at least once a
week.
Meanwhile, the latest news and additions are always listed on the front page of
Apologetics Index:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/
=== Aryan Nations
Regular visitors, and readers of the Religion News Report, will have noticed
that we're paying more attention to hate groups. That is in part because many
such groups base their teachings and practices on religious convictions. Such
is the case with the Aryan Nations, a hate group that promotes the
Christian Identity teachings
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/i00.html#identity
Aryan Nations lost a major trial this week. The lawyer involved hopes the
damage award will bankrupt the group. Read more about it here:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/a83.html
=== Attleboro Cult
An another interesting legal case is the controversy over the "jailing" of a
member of the Attleboro fundamentalist sect in an effort to protect her unborn
baby. Two of the cult's children have died under suspicious circumstances, and
the group's other children have been taken away by the court.
Read more about the Attleboro Cult here:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/a97.html
The group's theology is heavily influenced by the offbeat teachings of Carol
Balizet:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/b17.html
=== Harry Potter hoax email
No matter what side of the Harry Potter debate you're on, it pays to check your
sources. The writer of this hoax clearly did not do so...
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/p03.html#hoax
=== US Report on Religious Freedom
The US government has again issued a report of what it considers violation of
''religious freedom,'' chiding sovereign nations like France and Germany for not
accepting the Scientology organization as a ''religion'' - a practice the US
considers to be akin to ''human rights abuses.'' While the report contains some
legitimate concerns, e.g. regarding religious persecution in China, it once
again fails to address human rights abuses in America itself.
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/usa-00.html#reportgov
Incidentally, Scientology refers to this report in its PR efforts - and
especially in its fight against the German government.
Read the facts about Germany's position on Scientology:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/s04.html#freedomrel
=== Religion News Report
Religion News Report, our free newsletter, is the web's most complete source of
news about cults, sects and alternative religions. It is always posted first to
the AR-talk mailing list:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologia/mainpages/aboutartalk.html
Later it is archived at the Apologetics Index site:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/apolnews.html
The archived versions are linked to relevant A-Z index entries, and items are
then added to our searchable news database:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/apolnews.html#database
Many A-Z index entries have pre-defined news database searches that bring up the
latest news items on a movement or issue. See, for example, the news database
links at these entries:
- Zhong Gong
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/z02.html
- Aum Shinrikyo
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/a06.html
- Witchcraft
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/w02.html
- Mungiki
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/m09.html
- Fang-Cheng church
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/f04.html
- Falun Gong
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/f02.html
=== How You Can Help
Apologetics Index is provided to you without charge and without obligation
whatsoever. However, if you'd like to support the site in any way, please see
these suggestions:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/abouthelp.html
Anton
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/
920+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults,
sects, and alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
As of yesterday, Apologetics Index has over 1,000 pages online.
Archived today:
Religion News Report, October 31, 2000 (Vol. 4, Issue 280)
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news/an201031.html
This issue includes the following news items, linked to relevant entries in the
A-Z Index:
=== Falun Gong
1. 3 Falun Gong Members Die in Custody
2. Falun Gong's Influence ''Corrosive'', Article from 'Qiushi' Says
3. Falun Gong protests fade on China law anniversary
=== Scientology
4. Bid for spiritual peace (e-meter sale halted)
5. Facing Scientology's risk
=== Buddhism
6. S.Korea Cancels Visit by Dalai Lama
=== Islam
7. The Problems of Turkey Rest on Women's Heads
=== Mungiki
8. Five Mungiki members held
9. Police lethargy and the Mungiki craze
=== Paganism / Witchcraft
10. Witches' fury with encyclopaedia
11. New Witch Book Provides Perspective
12. The allure of witchcraft is spellbinding and timeless
=== Hate Groups
13. Aryan Group Loses Case, Holds March
14. Raining on his parade
15. Boisterous protesters razz Aryans
16. Aryans Facing Tough Times
17. Court asks government view on Klan suit against Missouri
18. Neo-Nazis Attack Turks in Germany
=== Other News
19. Thomas Green's trial delayed until January
20. Federal plan to let Hopi sacrifice eaglets is criticized
21. Zealots predict apocalyptic end to uprising (Temple Mount Faithful)
22. New dates for Temple ceremony (Temple Mount Faithful)
23. Possible schism threatens Baptists
24. Southern Baptists in Texas cut $5 million from denomination
25. Ukraine urges pooling efforts to combat religious extremism
26. FTPS probes into 30 extremist religious orgns
=== Death Penalty / Human Rights Violations
27. Report: 16 Executed Despite Evidence of Innocence
28. Jurors to Get in Halloween Spirit
=== Noted
29. A Religious Triple Play
30. Biblical melange surfaces (Dead Sea Scrolls)
31. She knows meaning of flower power
=== Books, Internet
32. Harry Potter battles claims of Satanism
33. An electronic medium to reach the dearly departed
For details about the Religion News Report, a service of Apologetics Index, see:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/apolnews.html
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/
1000+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults,
sects, and alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
A number of people have written to ask why I have not sent out any updates
lately.
In short, this is due to computer problems. A voltage spike fried my old
machine. Someone then loaned me money for a new computer, but the new machine
turns out to have more problems than the old one... So far the store has
refused to give a refund, even though by now they have already spent more on
various repairs than they made in profit from the sale of the system.
So I am now back to using a loaner - a machine that is just a couple of steps up
from a rock :) But at least it is running off of a UPS (a thingamajig that
takes care of voltage spikes, brownouts and other unscheduled disasters).
Updates will be made to the site soon. My first priority is catching up with
posting the Religion News Report newsletters, after which I will have to update
the searchable news database.
Blessings,
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1010+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
The latest issue of Religion News Report has been posted to the Apologetics
Index site:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news/an201129.html
It includes the following items:
=== Aum Shinrikyo
1. [Children barred from school]
=== Falun Gong
2. TCD protests for Chinese dissident
3. Persecuted Falun Gong practitioner flees to Troy
=== Scientology
4. Scientology under the Christmas Tree
5. Russian president: drugs are a threat to national security
=== Buddhism
6. Buddhist temple's groundbreaking brings faiths together
=== Islam
7. Lessons of Inclusion
8. Muslims See New Clouds Of Suspicion
9. Ramadan bolsters interfaith friendships
10. Saudi Women Bound By Tradition
=== Catholicism
11 Vatican ban on exorcism at Mass
=== Mormonism
12. District Finds No Fault in Book of Mormon Dispute
=== Paganism / Witchcraft
13. Suit Filed Against California Faculty Association Union
14. Indonesian island sees spate of ''witch'' murders
15. Fear grips Ghana as ritual killer claims 34th victim
=== Hate Groups
16. City can't block Klan cross
17. Germany braced for neo-Nazi terror blitz
18. Aryan guard to be set free
=== False Memory Syndrome
19. The sins of the mother?
20. 'Retractor' helps others find answers
=== Faith Healing
21. Court Rejects Faith Healers' Defense
22. Parents convicted in death of diabetic daughter
23. Faith healing experiences local revival
24. Spokane has been home to popular faith healer before
=== Other News
25. Praise the Lord and pass the cane
26. Atttorney David Waters appears in court to face charges (O'Hair)
27. Dutch legalise euthanasia
28. Dutch Criteria for Legal Euthanasia
29. Russian interior minister demands ban on extremist sects
30. Kyrgyz people fight their own war against religious sects
31. Vicar returns to work after sex change
32. Britons claim to see host of angels
33. Ministry building headquarters (Benny Hinn)
=== Religious Freedom / Religious Intolerance
34. Religious Freedom on the Decline in Turkmenistan
35. Fenton High limits religious songs after criticism
=== Science
36. Proposed rules boost teaching of creationism
37. Patent allows creation of man-animal hybrid
38. France to Allow Human Embryo Research
=== Noted
39. UK is 'losing' its religion
40. Exorcists and Exorcisms Proliferate Across U.S.
=== Books
41. Scholar Has New Theory on Old Testament
Note: due to my computer problems (I am still using a loaner) items froms the
last 5 issues of Religion News Report have not yet been added to the searchable
news database.
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1020+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
The Dec. 2, 2000 issue of Religion News Report has been archived:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news/an201202.html
It includes the following items:
=== Aum Shinrikyo
1. Japan Says Three Convicted Murderers Hanged
=== Falun Gong
2. Canadian-Chinese sentenced for membership in Falun Gong
=== Scientology
3. Scientology critics plan protest this weekend
4. City teen's killer still on the loose
5. Police: Scientology video links suspects to car break-ins, BB shootings
=== Unification Church
6. Koreas Sun Moon setting up in Marshall Islands
=== Islam
7. Mosque burnt in traders fury
8. Fighting was planned, says faiths group
9. Religious leaders see state role in Kenya clashes
=== Catholicism
10. Pope Wants His Cultural Center In D.C. To Be A Religious Experience
=== Mormonism
11. LDS copyright, Internet suit settled
12. Settlement of LDS Church v. Utah Lighthouse Ministry
13. LDS Suit Nearing Settlement
14. Tanners say LDS suit is settled
15. AT&T To Sell Salt Lake Tribune
16. Suit Aims to Stop Tribune Sale
17. Federal suit over LDS scriptures is possible
18. BYU Gene Data May Shed Light On Origin Of Book of Mormon's Lamanites
=== Paganism / Witchcraft
19. Teenagers search for spells and the meaning of life
20. Court Denies Haun's Bid for New Trial in Dally Slaying
> Part 2
=== Satanism
21. Church arsonist pleads innocent in 3 more fires
22. Cemetery damage 'hard to fathom'
=== Hate Groups / Hate Crimes
23. A lifetime to think about hate
24. Motel won't let Butler preach in conference room
25. Skinheads Sentenced for Temple Bomb
26. Mother's e-mail access cited in spread of hate
27. State decides not to investigate religious harassment complaint
=== Other News
28. Sikh leader facing murder charge loses top religious post in India
29. Native American Church leader, wife arrested on drug charges
30. Medicine men or drug dealers?
31. Ogden Man Waives Preliminary Hearing In Religious Peyote Distribution Case
32. Coalinga faith healer pleads no contest to charges of sex crimes
33. Man who believed wife was practicing voodoo sentenced for her murder
34. Psychics and wizards said battling for Russian minds
35. Kazakh sect follower commits suicide near southern capital
36. Judge sees this in woman's future: no refund from psychic
=== Noted
37. Psychologist Philip Zimbardo Elected APA President For 2002
38. Childhood of Shame
39. Uriella suffers for Mankind (Fiat Lux)
=== Death Penalty / Human Rights Abuses
40. Scandals Damage Cop Credibility, According to National Juror Poll
41. Execution Opposition to Meet
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1020+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings from Holland!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
As mentioned before, I am in the process of giving each entry in the A - Z Index
its own page. Today I finished updating the "B" pages, and started on the "C"
entries. The result look likes this:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/b00.html
You can use either the drop-down menu or scroll through the list of links.
Moving each entry to its own page has a number of advantages. For example:
- The entries load faster (because they are not clustered on one huge
page).
- Entries are easier to update and expand.
- It is easier to link directly to individual entries (so-called
"deep-linking").
- Each entry can be expanded into multiple pages (as, for example, is
the case with the entry on cult apologist organization CESNUR:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c10.html)
Note that if you currently link to entries in the A-Z Index, you do not have to
change a thing. All entries can be reached through either the old or the new
links. For example, if you previously linked to the entry on the "Book of
Mormon," your link would have look like this:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/b00.html#bom
or like this:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/b00.html#bom
Those links still work, and will continue to work. They simply lead to a
referring URL that points to the new page:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/b60.html
Keep in mind that you can build simpler links by using these alternative URLs:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/http://www.countercult.com/
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1080+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
--- Religion News Report
--- Amazon.com support
--- Religion News Report
The December 4 issue of RNR is now posted at:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news/an201204.html
It includes the following items:
=== Aum Shinrikyo
1. Aum left 2 gold ingots behind
=== Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
2. Team set up to probe Kanungu
=== Falun Gong
3. China refuses access to Canadian prisoner
=== Scientology
4. Scientologists, protesters keep their distance
5. Russia: consumption of hard drugs quadrupled here last year
=== Buddhism
6. Dalai Lama celebrates golden jubilee as Tibetan head of state
7. The search for Nirvana
=== Al-Ma'unah
8. Seven members of Muslim cult plead guilty in Malaysia
=== Mungiki
9. Leaders' woes over Mungiki
=== Mormonism
10. Lawsuit Details D-News-LDS Intrigues to Acquire The Tribune
11. The Deseret Alphabet Died With Brigham Young
=== Hate Groups / Hate Crimes
12. Sydney, Olympics Host, Frets Over a Spate of Attacks on Jews
13. Rallying against racism
14. Group has become its own worst enemy (Bertollini/Butler)
15. Court rightfully denies Barrett non-profit status
16. Parents advised to be watchful
=== Other News
17. Federal push to control cults (Australia)
18. Self-Proclaimed 'Devil' Threatens Killings At Courthouse
19. Amish Want Child - Labor Exemption
=== Death Penalty / Human Rights
20. Death row inmate nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
=== Noted
21. Society needs welcome mat for ex-cultists
22. A nightmare life left by a cult's dream of love
23. Degrees of divinity: Just what do theologians do?
=== The Saint Around The Corner
24. Tax Police Blessed With Patron Saint
--- Amazon.com Support
Remember, one way you can support Apologetics Index is by accessing Amazon.com
through our associate links:
Main Amazon.com page:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/christianministr
Amazon.com (Holiday) Gifts:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=christianministr&path=subst/home/\
gifts.html
Amazon.com Hot 100 Books
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=christianministr&path=subst/lists\
/best/amazon-bestsellers.html
Amazon.com Hot 100 CDs
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=christianministr&path=subst/music\
/charts/hot-100-music.html
Amazon.com Top Selling Software
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=christianministr&path=tg/stores/b\
rowse/-/software/294964/
Amazon.com pays its associates a small commission on each sale. Apologetics
Index uses these credits to purchase books on cults, sects, and related issues.
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1080+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
The December 6 issue of Religion News Report is now posted:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news/an201206.html
It includes the following items:
=== Scientology
1. Starbucks seen as welcome jolt to city
=== Buddhism
2. New Dalai Lama-China contacts
3. China refuses to confirm or deny new dialogue with Dalai Lama
4. Buddhist congregation grows in Macomb County
5. Court blocks tax-break challenge
=== Hinduism
6. Christians do not consider women to be human, says Hindu leader
=== Mungiki
7. Kenya: Muslim leaders among 24 charged with sect membership
=== Islam
8. Police release 82 city riot suspects
9. I Told Muslims To Fight, Says Nassir
10. Stamp To Honor Muslim Holidays 'Eid' Greeting Symbolic Breakthrough
For U.S. Religious Minority
=== Catholicism
11. Nun evicted from South End center for performing priest rites
=== Mormonism
12. Tribune sale - the truth
13. Mesa police officers accuse department of discrimination
» Part 2 http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news/an201206b.html
=== Jehovah's Witnesses
14. Jehovah's Witnesses demand alternative service, get jail
15. Georgian customs ordered to release literature seized from
Jehovah's Witnesses
=== Witchcraft
16. Women killed in PNG for allegedly practising witchcraft
17. New South African law targets old fears of occult
=== Hate Groups
18. Police withdraw from Klan cross display
19. Online Tips to Fight Neo-Nazis
20. With the Web, Midwest minister of hate gains a global reach
21. Swastika Symbol Cut Down in Forest
22. German Escapes Charges Over 'Adolf' Furniture
23. No way out
» Part 3 http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news/an201206c.html
=== Other News
24. Indian astrologer killed by annoyed clients over wrong predictions
25. Red tape may force Salvation Army to retreat from Moscow
26. Battle of Prayers / With Philippine president fighting impeachment, faith
emerges as political weapon
27. 1,000 minds aim to think alike in a telepathy test
28. Papua New Guinea/USA: US religious TV station to begin broadcasting
=== Death Penalty / Human Rights Violations
29. Activists urge Clinton to suspend federal executions
30. 17 Americans executed for crimes committed as juveniles since 1973
=== Noted
31. Fears media controls are a stalking-horse
32. Scholars question media treatment of `other' religions
33. Rasta Homeland
34. Innovators. Time 100: The Next Wave
=== Books
35. Unofficial aid adds to Harry Potter cult
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1080+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
The Dec. 8 issue of Religion News Report is now available at:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news/an201208.html
It includes the following items:
=== Choma / Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
1. Kenya Haunted By Strange Sect
=== Falun Gong
2. Hong Kong Falungong followers refuse to bow to Beijing
3. 2 Chinese Sect Members Said Dead
=== Islam
4. Christians report Malukus slaughter
5. Hundreds flee Moluccas violence
6. Members of Muslim Cult Sentenced
7. Fundamentalists Gain Small Voice in Egypt
8. Muslims eating during fast to be named on air
=== Mungiki
9. Mungiki members lynched
» Part 2 http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news/an201208b.html
=== False Memory Syndrome
10. Sects and Lies
=== Hate Groups / Hate Crimes
11. German Parliament Backs Ban on Far-Right Party
12. White Patient Refuses Black Help
=== Other News
13. Amish Man Goes to Jail Over Color
14. Natural Law deputy floats in for visit
15. Toronto church gets around ban on same-sex marriage
16. Pastor says couples do not need church to sanctify marriage
» Part 3 http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news/an201208c.html
=== Religious Freedom / Religious Intolerance
17. Moscow Court Puts Salvation Army in Limbo
18. God in Ohio motto argued in court
=== Death Penalty
19. Clinton postpones federal execution for six months
20. South seeks death-penalty pause
21. Brakes on Death Row
22. No Death Penalty in Killing of Md. Priest
=== Noted
23. Did Jesus live in India?
=== The Tortoise Around The Corner
24. Shell-shocked church marvels at slow labour
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1100+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
I'm running behind... Since the last update I mailed, 8 additional issue of
Religion News Report have been archived here:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/apolnews.html
The latest issue was posted today, and includes the following items:
=== Waco / Branch Davidians
1. ATF works on its battered reputation
=== Falun Gong
2. Falun Gong Members' Appeals Denied
=== Zhong Gong
3. Chinese Police Detain Executive Linked to Sprirtual Sect
4. Detained Zhong Gong Leader Files for Release
5. U.S. Lawmakers ''Concerned'' about Sect Leader on Guam
=== Scientology
6. Kicking and Screening
=== Islam
7. Islam's New Face Visible in a Changing Indonesia
8. The Chilling Goal of Islam's New Warriors
9. Religion of Islam
10. Use of Makeup May Have Sparked Slaying, Family Says
=== Mungiki
11. Kenya: President Moi appeals for end to female genital mutilation
» Part 2
=== Mormonism
12. Petitioners Ask LDS Church to Alter Gay Stance
=== Paganism / Witchcraft
13. Mexican Witches Cast Year-End Spells
=== Hate Groups
14. Judge Orders Public Defender To Represent Supremacist
15. Neo-Nazi Youths Arrested in Germany
=== Other News
16. Accused cannibal credits God with release
17. Last child-sex ring defendant released from prison after court action
18. Poacher Guilty; Abandons Religion Defense
19. Indian Guru Blames Staff Disloyalty for Dotcom Bust
20. China clamps down on religious groups
21. Chinese Christians flock to official and underground churches
22. Got meat? Jesus wouldn't have eaten it, billboard says
» Part 3
=== Noted
23. Students' Religious Beliefs Changing
24. Death Knell Tolls for Cults
25. Scholars debate Jesus's birthplace
26. Japanese Town Claims Tomb of Christ
=== Books
27. 'Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?'
=== The Happy People Around The Corner
28. Science Tracks the Good Life
In addition, note the following item from the Associated Press:
Dutch Faith Healers Make Inroads
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20001229/aponline100337_000.htm
(...)
The 52-year-old former ballet dancer, who goes by the name of Jomanda, is one of
a host of healers, New Age and other, who are using radio and television and
making inroads into Dutch society, deeply influenced by Calvinism.
[...more...]
In fact, Jomanda has been around for many years, and today is less ubiquitous
than before. The exposure of most other "healers" appears to be mostly limited
to public access channels.
I have today added a short page on Jomanda:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/j15.html
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1130+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
A belated Happy New Year to everyone!
- Religion News Report
- Scientology
- News Database?
=== Religion News Report
I have archived the Jan. 1, 2001 issue of Religion News Report:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news1/an010101.html
It includes the following items:
:===Begin Quote===
=== Aum Shinrikyo
1. Children of Asahara forced to pay for guru's alleged crimes
2. Aum ranks' rights compromised by fear
=== Falun Gong
3. China Detains Hundreds in Falun Gong Protests
4. Falun Gong in Singapore Standoff
5. Falun Gongs Refuse To Post Bail
6. Falun Gong Urges Members in Singapore to Accept Bail
7. Falun Gong Members Charged
8. Falun Dafa movement lobbies for local support
=== Zhong Gong
9. Four Members of Zhong Gong Sect Jailed for Subversion
10. Falling victim to U.S.-Chinese diplomacy
=== Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
11. Ugandan President Vows to Prevent Cult Tragedy
=== Scientology
12. Prozac defense hits home
» Part 2
=== Islam
13. Muslims still looking for martyrs
14. British Muslims take path to jihad
15. U.S. Freedoms Give American Muslims Influence Beyond Their Numbers
16. Canada assails Nigeria on flogging
17. Gambia to introduce Sharia law
18. Iran Now a Hotbed of Islamic Reforms
19. Religious pressures rising in Indonesia
=== Mungiki
20. Mombasa Muslim leaders disown Mungiki
21. Sect Leader Scoffs At Expulsion Threat
=== Mormonism
22. In a Push for Unity, Mormons Stand Apart
23. Polygamy Facts
24. Federal regulators clear way for sale of Salt Lake Tribune
25. Regulators Clear Sale Of Tribune
=== Jehovah's Witnesses
26. Fugitive mom turns self in She's charged with child abduction
» Part 3
=== Hate Groups
27. Hate in state
28. Web restrictions unlikely to muzzle neo-Nazi speech
29. Cross-burning case appeal fails
30. McVeigh Execution Could Be in May
31. Devil Dogs left scars on Gilbert
=== Other News
32. Nun Killed, 13 Hurt in Church Attack
33. 2nd bust in Caribbean church horror
34. Millennium renews concerns about cult (Concerned Christians)
35. Dutch Faith Healers Make Inroads (Jomanda)
36. Sects and Religions in Russia Face Day of Reckoning
37. National Anthem Calls Russia 'Holy'
38. Cult attempts to regenerate deceased girl (Raelians)
39. True to the Temple (Indianapolis Baptist Temple)
40. Would-be messiahs back in action
41. Sects, power and miracles in the Bible belt of Essex (Peniel)
42. Iglesia ni Cristo's Executive Minister Erano G. Manalo marks his 76th birth
anniversary
43. Prayer urged to stop presidential `curse'
» Part 4
=== Noted
44. The Beauty And Perils Of The Irrational (False Memory Syndrome)
45. Miracles don't happen (Premanand, Indian skeptic)
46. Back to Ruby Ridge: Why Idaho Shouldn't Be Prosecuting FBI Agent Lon
Horiuchi
:===End Quote===
=== Scientology
The l-o-n-g page on Scientology has now been split up and divided over 14 pages,
starting here:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/s04.html
=== News Database?
If you reguarly use the news database feature, I'd like some feedback on whether
or not you think it is too slow. Here's why: the recommended size of the data
file is 1 MB. After that, the program may get too slow in serving data. That
said, the program's instruction files do say that this depends on the servers.
As you probably know, Apologetics Index is a Gospelcom affiliate. Gospelcom is
the net's most-visited religion site ( see:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news/an201222c.html#34 ) It uses 4 powerful
servers, which should assure that you usually get the info you want pretty fast.
However, since I have a 24/7 high-speed cable connection, I have no way of
checking how fast most people receive the info - especially from the news
databse, which now is nearly 2.5 MB in size (thus well over the recommended
limit).
So far, I have heard no complaints. However, should the database be or get too
slow for most users, I may have to split it up into different sections (say, by
year). The alternative is to purchase the SQL version of the database, which,
at $350, is far out of my reach.
*If* you do regularly use the news database (either directly or through one of
the predefined news database links as described here:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/apolnews.html#database), and *if* you think it
is *too slow,* please let me know by writing to: database@...
If you do, please include the following information:
- the connection speed with which you access the internet
- the general geographic location (e.g. India, London, California)
- time(s) and date(s) you accessed the news database (this is so I
can check with Gospelcom whether there were server maintenance
routines during those times)
- how many seconds it took for the first results page to display
(approximately)
- whether you used a pre-defined link (what topic?) or searched using
your own settings (which terms and preferences?)
Thanks,
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1140+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
The Jan. 5, 2001 issue of Religion News Report is now archived at:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news1/an010105.html
It includes the following items:
=== Aum Shinrikyo
1. Man arrested after shots fired at AUM-linked residence
=== Falun Gong
2. Banned Chinese Sect Is Spurred On by Exiled Leader
3. Beijing, Falun Gong Trade Barbs
4. China Lambastes Falun Gong Figure
5. Beijing attacks SAR Falun Gong leader
6. Singapore Falun Gong organization says it did not organize gathering
7. Hong Kong, Falun Gong reach compromise on international meeting
8. Xinhua Article on Uproars Produced by Falungong
=== Scientology
9. $1.2 million recovered in fund scam
=== Unification Church
10. UPI's de Borchgrave becoming editor at large
=== Buddhism
11. Dream of freedom fades for boy lama
=== Hinduism
12. Nepal turns down appeal from Norwegian missionary
13. India taps Web to manage mammoth festival
» Part 2
=== Islam
14. Bangladesh court bans religious edicts
=== Jehovah's Witnesses
15 Court OKs hospital's bid for transfusion
16. Jehovah's Witness suicide plunge
=== Paganism / Witchcraft
17. Brandi: The Teenage Witch
18. Boy turned into yam is guarded by police
=== Hate Groups / Hate Crimes
19. Extremist Group's Headquarters Raided
20. FBI Raids Brooklyn Jewish Center
21. Judge orders KKK leader to pay news crew
22. White supremacist objects to prison diet
23. Limits of free speech online
24. Yahoo looks for hate
25. MTV to List Hate Crimes Victims
» Part 3
=== Other News
26. Suicide-Cult Tale Spurs NYPD Alert
27. Bizarre cult-suicied threat chills city hall
28. Man Justifies Attack In Ranting Statement
29. Russia registers 9,000 religious groups
30. Students Fail To Prove Yale Violated Religious Rights
31. ISKCON's free meals get kids back to school
32. Santeria Priests Predict Stormy, Lusty 2001
33. Better Future Predicted for Nigeria
34. Rapist, Inspired by Bible, Cuts Off Penis
=== Death Penalty
35. The Death Penalty's Days Are Numbered (Robert Jay Lifton)
=== Noted
36. In Japan, spirituality search can lead to cults
37. Support for people leaving sects
38. Teen virginity pledges surprisingly effective, study says
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1150+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
The Jan. 15 issue of Religion News Report is now posted at:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news1/an010115.html
It includes the following items:
=== Falun Gong
1. China Punishes Falun Gong Leaders
2. China Defends, Details Drive to Crush Falun Gong
3. Detained Falungong supporters go on hunger strike
4. Falun Gong Slams China for 'Evil Persecution'
5. Falun Gong demands China rights
6. Hong Kong Detains Adherents Of Sect Denounced by Beijing
7. Falun Gong Sect Meets in Hong Kong
=== Waco / Branch Davidians
8. Ex-Prosecutor Charged After Waco Case Wants Notes Taken By Investigators
=== Scientology
9. Scientology hearing founders in jabs, jeers
» Part 2
=== Islam
10. Nigeria Judge Sets Date for Flogging
11. Nigerian teen mother fears lashing
12. Women's group seeks to stop girl's terrible ordeal
13. Ban on fatwas on hold in Bangladesh
14. Islamic groups urged to shun militant image
15. Shariat to be made supreme law: Moin
=== Mormonism
16. Shipps' LDS essays honest, objective
17. Scholar's passion: studying LDS faith
=== Hate Groups
18. Bertollini says police beat him up
=== Rebirthing
19. Trial Delayed For 2 Therapists
20. Journalists Fight For Open Trial
» Part 3
=== Other News
21. Cannibalism Alleged in Disappearance
22. Guru shrugs off sex allegations (Sai Baba)
23. Purging of 'demons' nets millions (UCKG)
24. Yogic flyers crash out of British politics
25. Yogic fliers come down to earth
26. The faithful stand watch over Temple
27. Religious Theme Park to Open near Orlando, Fla.
=== Noted
28. Power in the pulpit (T.D. Jakes)
29. Garden of Eden in Turkey, says Bible scholar
30. The Rastafarians are receiving
Since the last update, several other issues of RNR have also been posted. For a
list of the 10 last posted issues, see:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/apolnews.html#archive
Note: I am way behind adding these news items to the searchable database.
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1170+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
:===Begin Quote===
In a libel lawsuit, the Church of Scientology failed to show actual malice by a
writer for Time magazine, which published an exposé of the organization in 1991,
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has held.
The appeals court, in a suit filed over the Time cover story ''Scientology: The
Cult of Greed,'' also said that no reasonable jury could find that reporter
Richard Behar published allegations about a stock scam and murder-suicide
involving members of the church ''with purposeful avoidance of the truth.''
- New York Law Journal, Jan. 16, 2001
http://www.nylj.com/stories/01/01/011601a1.htm
:===End Quote===
The Scientology organization has issued a statement about this case. I
responded to that statement in a message posted to the AR-talk mailing list.
That response, which provides background to the above news item, is now posted
at the Apologetics Index website:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/s04h01.html
It includes links to the original TIME story and other documentation.
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1170+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
The Jan. 18, 2001 edition of Religion News Report is now posted at:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news1/an010118.html
It includes the following items:
=== Falun Gong
1. Beijing says Falungong creating chaos in Hong Kong
2. Hong Kong 'reviewing' Falun Gong conference
3. Beijing Defends Crackdown on Sect
4. Cult ban is what the people want
5. Anti-cult Association Set up by Former Falun Gong Practitioners
6. China returns jailed follower of Falun Gong to Canada
7. Santee: A global hot spot
=== Scientology
8. Dismissal of Scientology Libel Suit Upheld
=== Buddhism
9. 'Patriotic lama' helps snare Tibet in propaganda Web
=== Hinduism
10. Yogi to Be Buried Alive at Festival
=== Islam
11. Four Malaysia cult members each sentenced to 10 years in jail
12. Mufti: Wailing Wall belongs to Muslims
13. Islamic clerics unite to defend Afghanistan
14. Chicago-area Muslims, Islamic university forge joint venture
» Part 2
=== Mormonism
15. Excommunication to Forgiveness: How the Franklin Covey co-founder's affair
devastated his family -- but taught him what matters most
16. LDS Visitor-Center UpgradesTo Stress International Flavor
=== Hate Groups
17. HateWatch Says Goodbye...
=== Other News
18. Twin Myanmar Rebel Chiefs Surrender
19. Myanmar Twin Leaders May Get Asylum
20. Supreme Court Rejects Church's Plea
21. Romanian family refuse to bury woman dead for three months
22. Statue Vandal Gets Boot
23. China Satisfied Over Ties With Uganda: Vice President
24. ‘Church’ clampdown
25. Focus on the Family files censorship suit
26. Jackson Fathers Kid Out of Wedlock
=== Science
27. Cincinnati family gives $1 million to creationist museum
28. Faith leaders join forces to oppose human cloning law
29. Religious Leaders Question Research
» Part 3
=== Death Penalty and Other Human Rights Abuses
30. Falsely Accused Texas Man Freed From Life Term
31. DNA evidence frees Texan who admitted '88 murder
32. Perry calls for option to death penalty
=== Noted
33. Presidency ends, but Clinton keeps spiritual advisers
34. The Temple Mount's Indian counterpart
35. Church decline: fact or journalistic fiction?
36. PETA's campaign tough to swallow
=== Books
37. New book counts believers: Islam, Hinduism gain; Christianity declines
slightly
38. Son of a preacher man (Jay Bakker's autobiography)
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1170+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/ai-updates/info.html
The Jan. 22nd and Jan. 23rd editions of Religion News Reports are now archived:
The Jan. 23, at http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news1/an010123.html
issue includes the following items:
=== Falun Gong
1. One dead as five Falungong set themselves on fire in Tiananmen
2. Falun Gong members set themselves on fire as protest, witness reports
3. CNN crew witnesses Falungong Tiananmen suicide
4. China Says Five Falun Gong Members Self-Immolate
5. China spooked by its failure to crush Falungong
6. Falungong: the mysterious thorn in Beijing's side
7. China Braces For Falun Gong Protests Over Lunar New Year
8. Banned Sect Sells Works In Hong Kong As Beijing Complains
9. Key dates in emergence of China's banned Falungong movement
=== Falun Gong - Reports from China's governmen-controlled/influenced media
10. China crackdown on Falun Gong publicity material reported
=== Scientology
11. Scientologist Web site rips off urban75.com
» Part 2
=== Unification Church
12. Koreas Unification Church dipping its toe into South Pacific
=== Hinduism
13. 3,000 naked novices sign up with fierce sect at Indian pilgrimage
=== Islam
14. Nigerian girl flogged for having sex, despite Canadian and other protests
15. Nigerian girl flogged in spite of international outcry
=== Mungiki
16. Kenya: Sect members arrested in Nairobi slum area after clash with police
=== Other News
17. God's Army Twins Admit No Powers
18. Children rescued as parents are arrested
19. Parents Starved Children 'On God's Orders'
20. Marrying Minors Into Polygamy May Become Crime
=== Science
21. British parliament approves cloning of embryos
=== Noted
22. Commentary: Even conspiracy theories can be true
23. Workshop to mine past for healing (VanPraagh)
=== CD-ROM
24. Encyclopaedia of Sikhism on CD
The Jan. 22 issue, at
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news1/an010122.html
includes the following items:
=== Falun Gong
1. Canadian Falun Gong Follower Says Tortured in China
2. Canadian outcry helped Zhang avoid torture
3. 'Chinese labour camp holds hundreds of banned sect'
4. Force against Falun Gong 10 `was minimal'
5. Falun Gong Allowed, Anti-China Activity not
=== Falun Gong - Reports from China's governmen-controlled/influenced media
6. Signatures of One Million Chinese People Against Falun Gong
7. Chinese anti-cult officials say Falun Gong severely violates human rights
8. Beijing Students Say No to Cults
9. Former Falun Gong follower denounces group
10. Falun Gong followers warned not to disrupt Chinese New Year
> Part 2
=== Scientology
11. Scientology critic is cited for contempt
12. Shock and Disbelief
=== Hinduism
13. Hindus build monuments to their faith
=== Islam
14. Mosques are brimming
=== Jehovah's Witnesses
15. The Venus Eye Trap Courting Attention,
=== Witchcraft
16. Boys denied school enrollment because of long hair
=== Hate Groups
17. Aryan Nations members regrouping
18. Many Nazi items will come with Aryan Nations compound
19. City bills KKK for cross security
20. KKK will reapply after permit request is rejected
21. Who'll Watch the Haters Now?
> Part 3
=== Other News
22. Nepal: Jailed missionary before the court end of January
23. Natural Law party gives up fight for floating Irish voter
24. Temple tells militia to stay away
25. Priest arrested over chicken carcasses
26. Ritual Offering vs. Litter
27. Thou shall not ...: WVU spared 'religious explosion'
28. Aunt and 3 nieces fasted to death
29. The lives and slow deaths of four women who fasted for God
30. Sects may soon own TV licences
31. Religious group claims victory as judge grants injunction against school
32. Religious group, board dispute over fine print
33. Jacko to be Uri Geller's 'best man'
34. Mystery cross appears in bathroom window
=== Science
35. Stephen Hawking debunks astrology
> Part 4
=== Death Penalty and other Human Rights Violations
36. A Race to the Death
37. It's Hard To Justify Cuban Embargo
=== Noted
38. The exorcists (Universal Church of the Kingdom of God)
39. Missionaries flock to Britain to revive passion for Church
40. ''Biblically illiterate'flock to classes (Alpha Course)
41. Pastors with a past
=== Internet
42. Paternity test (Chopra)
=== The Y-ners around the corner
43. Fox aims to shut down university's science Web site
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1180+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ai-updates (new URL, same list).
- Scientology
- Religion News Report
=== Scientology
I have added a link to the Scientology articles page. It leads to an excellent
article by Stephen Kent: "The French and Germany Versus American Debate Over
'New Religions', Scientology, And Human Rights."
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/s04a.html
Note: Stephen Kent has demonstrated an excellent and thorough knowledge of
Scientology's teachings, practices, goals and methods. He is an outspoken
critic of Scientology, and thus is a frequent target of the cult's "dead
agenting" practices.
In addition, Stephen Kent exposes the work of cult defenders, which explains why
he also has become a target of abuse by such folks as CESNUR's Massimo
Introvigne.
Unlike many who try to address European concerns regarding cults and human
rights, Kent has a thorough knowledge and understanding of these issues. I
highly recommend this article.
More about Stephen Kent
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/k00.html#kents
More about Scientology's "dead agenting" practices:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/d05.html
More about Scientology:
http://www.countercult.com/s04.html
More about CESNUR
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c10.html
=== Religion News Report
The Jan. 25, 2001 issue of RNR is now archived at:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news1/an010125.html
It includes the following items:
=== Aum Shinrikyo
1. Aum facilities inspected by agency
2. Aum's Joyu moves to Setagaya
=== Falun Gong
3. Powell Tells China To Be Tolerant
4. China Rebukes US Comments On Falun Gong Crackdown
5. Falun Gong denies tie to self-immolation attempts
6. New Year, New Crackdown
7. Can They March? Move to ban Falun Gong from parade
8. Tales of torture from Falun Gong follower
=== Scientology
9. New jurisdictions for the Scientology Task Force
10. In Denmark Scientology charges Hamburg resident Caberta
=== Unification Church
11. Evangelicals unaware inaugural event was sponsored by Unification leader
» Part 2
=== Hinduism
12. No holy dip for Dalai Lama
=== Islam
13. Girl's flogging in Nigeria violated pact - UNICEF
14. Giving Muslims Temple Mount keys was a mistake: Chief rabbi
15. Religious police arrest hairdressers giving western-style cuts
=== Mormonism
16. Student sues U., cites religious bias
17. Apologist Web sites merge, will answer anti-LDS claims
18. A not-guilty plea in temple incident
=== Jehovah's Witnesses
19. Ordering Jehovah's Witness to move poinsettias ruled discriminatory
=== Paganism / Witchcraft
20. A passage into paganism: Author shares Wiccan ways (Starhawk)
=== Hate Groups / Hate Crimes
21. White Supremacist Enters Guilty Plea
22. French Auschwitz Group Seeks Symbolic Yahoo Damages
23. Eminem 'influenced' suicide victim, 17
24. Did 'Death Metal' Music Incite Murder?
» Part 3
=== Other News
25. Mexico investigates alleged attack on supposed satanic cult
26. Dispute over an exorcism ends in death
27. Jailed missionary faces long wait
28 Peyote trial questions turn on race, religion
29. Judge closes plea hearing in O'Hair disappearance case
=== Death Penalty and other Human Rights Violations
30. Illinois Revamps Death Penalty Rules
=== Noted
31. A little-known religion finds a stronghold in the Inland Empire
32. Psychic Mutt Discovered!
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1180+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
================================================================
Religion News Report - January 27, 2001 (Vol. 5, Issue 316)
================================================================
=== Falun Gong
1. Falungong meeting to go ahead as planned
2. Square security kept at a premium
=== Buddhism
3. Missionaries' methods for conversion wrong: Lama
4. Karmapa not a Chinese spy: Dalai
=== Islam
5. Conversion crusade rends Spice Islands
6. Suffering of war: a woman's story
7. Revenge fuels cycle of religious violence
8. Paramount Film's Super Bowl Villains Changed to Neo-Nazis
=== Mormonism
9. Anti-U. case goes to Capitol
=== Paganism / Witchcraft
10. Moraine's seer ban panned
11. U. Utah speakers seek to make goddesses holy images once again
=== Hate Groups
12. Germany's Neo-Nazi Violence Surging
=== Other News
13. Rights groups protest French anti-cult bill
14. Va. Senate Panel Passes Pledge Bill
15. Russia: Analysis From Washington -- Selective Enforcement
=== Death Penalty and other Human Rights Violations
16. Prosecutor is moved by new data in capital case
=== Falun Gong
1. Falungong meeting to go ahead as planned
The Nation (Thailand), Jan. 26, 2001
http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/newspapers/tnation/article.html?s=asia\
/headlines/010126/newspapers/tnation/Falungong_meeting_to_go_ahead_as_planned.ht\
ml
Thailand will not object to an upcoming international congregation of the
Falungong movement in Bangkok, as long as it is conducted without an ulterior
motive to attack China and if it poses no security threat to the kingdom, Deputy
Foreign Ministry spokesman Rathakit Manathat said.
Nevertheless, the security agency responsible would need to conduct a check on
the background of the planned gathering due here in April, he said.
(...)
There are currently around 1,000 followers in Thailand. "As far as [Falungong]
is concerned, their religious expression in Thailand is not against our law and
constitution," he said.
(...)
Meanwhile, a group of foreign Falungong practitioners have recently been
distributing leaflets condemning the Chinese government in Chinatown, in the
Yaowarat district. The leaflets invited interested people to attend Falungong
gatherings, which are held in many of Bangkok's public parks.
[...more...]
2. Square security kept at a premium
South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), Jan. 27, 2001
http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/newspapers/scmp/article.html?s=asia/he\
adlines/010127/newspapers/scmp/CHINA__Square_security_kept_at_a_premium.html
Police yesterday continued their close watch on Tiananmen Square to stop any
protests from Falun Gong followers in the wake of a suicide attempt by five
protesters earlier this week.
Thousands of plainclothes and uniform police demanded identification from
visitors, checking bags and clothing.
Underground tunnels leading up to the square in central Beijing were also
guarded by a line of police officers who questioned anyone they suspected of
being a member of the outlawed sect.
(...)
The situation appeared calmer yesterday, the fourth day of heightened security.
Falun Gong's main Web site, minghui.com, contained no information on the group
suicide attempt.
The Government has called on all citizens and work units to weed out Falun Gong
members. However, the call has been answered with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
The leaders of Qinghua University have been zealous in ferreting out on-campus
followers, but at Beijing University, the country's No 1 university, officials
have adopted more of a "don't ask, don't tell" policy, one student said.
(...)
The majority in Falun Gong do not demonstrate. However, commentators believe
they form an enormous reservoir of believers who may someday be driven to act.
They provide emotional and, sometimes, financial support to each other and to
those members who have been imprisoned or lost jobs.
The China Anti-Cult Association estimates that after the 18-month crackdown
50,000 to 80,000 Falun Gong members are still practising in China. Adherents put
the number in the tens of millions.
[...more...]
=== Buddhism
3. Missionaries' methods for conversion wrong: Lama
South Nexus (India), Jan. 27, 2001
http://www.southnexus.com/newspopup_news.php?date1=27/01/2001&sequence=34&cnews=
KUMBH NAGAR, Jan 27: Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has termed the methods
adopted by Christian missionaries for conversions as "wrong", but cautioned
against "countering conversions through use of force."
"The methods adopted by Christian missionaries for religious conversions are
wrong and they (the Christian Missionaries), instead of indulging in
conversions, should make efforts to preserve their own traditions," he told
reporters here in reply to a query.
"Conversion is an outdated concept and it is harmful as it results in clashes
between different religions," he said. During the rule of 'Ashoka the Great'
missionaries were sent abroad to spread Budhism but the practice was stopped
later.
However, the Lama cautioned against countering conversion through use of force
saying it could be tackled in a positive manner--by educating people about their
own traditions and values. "The conflict occurs mostly because of lack of
knowledge about each other's traditions. Everyone should be allowed to follow
his or her own traditions."
[...more...]
4. Karmapa not a Chinese spy: Dalai
The Times of India, Jan. 27, 2001
http://www.timesofindia.com/270101/27indi12.htm
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Friday rejected as "baseless" the rumours
that the 17th Karmapa, who fled China, was a "Chinese spy."
(...)
To a question on the Indian government's stand on granding asylum to the
Karmapa, he said "so far no clear picture has emerged from New Delhi on this
issue."
[...more...]
=== Islam
5. Conversion crusade rends Spice Islands
The Age (Australia), Jan. 27, 2001
http://www.theage.com.au/news/2001/01/27/FFXJ7BLQEIC.html
Hundreds of Christians, including children and pregnant women, have been
forcibly circumcised as part of a campaign by extremists to spread Islam through
Indonesia's war-ravaged Maluku Islands.
Victims have told The Age of multiple cuttings with the same knives and razors
that left many with infections.
Church and other groups in Ambon, the biggest city in the islands, have gathered
evidence that 3928 villagers on at least six islands were forced to convert to
Islam under threat of death, torture or destruction of their homes. They believe
that local Muslim clerics, possibly under duress from extremists, circumcised
almost all the converts.
Moderate Muslim leaders have condemned the forced conversions and circumcisions,
saying they are contrary to Islamic teachings.
The Muslim Governor of Maluku, Saleh Latuconsina, last week led an investigation
team to the island of Kesui, 420 kilometres south-east of Ambon, after receiving
an official report in late December confirming that villagers there were
converted to Islam against their will and circumcised.
(...)
Moderate Muslim leaders in Ambon have distanced themselves from the conversions
and circumcisions. They deny any campaign to force Islam on Christians in the
islands, where a two-year religious war has left up to 8000 people dead and
500,000 homeless.
Malik Selang, executive secretary of the Maluku chapter of the Indonesian Muslim
Board, denied Muslims were responsible for forced conversions or circumcisions.
(...)
Governor Latuconsina, who refused to be interviewed by The Age, is believed to
have been shocked when he read a report on Kesui dated December 19. The report,
marked confidential, detailed how Christians on the island have been forced to
change their religion after threats of murder, house burnings and intimidation.
The report, a copy of which has been obtained by The Age, confirmed that
Christians who had "surrendered because they could not stand it any more" had
been circumcised after being taken to a mosque.
[...more...]
6. Suffering of war: a woman's story
The Age (Australia), Jan. 27, 2001
http://www.theage.com.au/news/2001/01/27/FFXG6DLQEIC.html
Christina Sagat's physical wounds have healed but this 32-year-old woman is left
with the deep pain of unresolved sorrow and humiliation. There is also the pain
of betrayal - how could her neighbors, with whom she had lived in harmony, turn
on her, and lead her to a cruel ordeal?
In December she and other Christians from her village on the island of Kesui,
part of the Indonesian Maluku group, were forced to convert to Islam.
The conversion included forced circumcision, a mutilation condemned by respected
Muslim leaders but inflicted on hundreds in the isolated island group by
extremists of the Jihad (holy war) movement in a vicious and largely unreported
sectarian war.
She takes some comfort from the dying words of her uncle, murdered by an
extremist mob, who despite his wounds urged his family not to take revenge. "But
somehow I feel sad. I feel like I'm no longer `complete', both as a person and a
woman," she said, speaking amid the ruins of Ambon City, the epicentre of the
Maluku tragedy.
[...more...]
7. Revenge fuels cycle of religious violence
The Age (Australia), Jan. 27, 2001
http://www.theage.com.au/news/2001/01/27/FFX18BLQEIC.html
Snipers take positions atop charred and bullet-pocked buildings as darkness
falls.
Fighters in every neighborhood prepare for another night of bombings and
possible attack. As a 10pm curfew begins, gunfire erupts in this city of 270,000
people, where Muslims and Christians once lived largely in peace.
Almost every day for two years shocking things have happened in Ambon, capital
of Indonesia's Maluku province, the legendary Spice Islands.
Up to 8000 people are dead and 500,000 homeless.
(...)
Thamrin Tomagola, a sociologist at the University of Indonesia, describes the
conflict as "the most terrible civil war in the world". More people have been
killed per head of population than in Bosnia, he says.
(...)
Once called the Queen of the East, Ambon City was a bustling, prosperous
regional hub serving countless picturesque islands.
Now heavily armed combat troops and police separate the two communities. They
have often taken sides, greatly escalating what has become known as a religious
war but which has gone beyond that.
Now each side has a fanatic desire to avenge the other's latest attack, creating
a cycle of violence that appears impossible to end.
(...)
The war is said to have started with a fight between a Muslim bus driver and a
Christian passenger in January 1999. Within hours, Christians and Muslims were
attacking neighborhoods all over the city.
The fighting quickly spread through the islands.
Even though the violence evolved along religious lines, it is rooted in ethnic,
economic and political rivalries.
(...)
Throughout much of last year the violence was fuelled largely by the arrival of
several thousand Muslim fighters from Java, who call themselves Laksar Jihad.
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group said in a recent report: "Lacking
an effective security force, the Abdurrahman Wahid Government has allowed the
killing in the Maluku region to simmer for almost two years without formulating
a clear strategy to overcome the violence."
Many of Jakarta's political elite believe that powerful politicians and military
officers who have been displaced by the Wahid Government are encouraging
violence in Maluku to discredit and destabilise the current administration.
The ICG, headed by former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans, warns in its
report that unless the pattern changes, bloodshed will continue and the
Christian-Muslim divide will widen.
The consequences will extend beyond Maluku, the group says.
Minority Christians in other parts of Indonesia, which has the world's largest
Muslim population, are deeply worried that Maluku could be the trigger for
widespread rioting and score-settling throughout the country.
[...more...]
8. Paramount Film's Super Bowl Villains Changed to Neo-Nazis
PRNewswire, Jan. 26, 2001 (Press Release)
http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=CoNeeubWbrengmdiX&FQ=religious&Nav=na\
-search-&StoryTitle=religious
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The villains in "The Sum of All Fears," a
new film by Paramount Pictures, have been changed to Neo-Nazis following
objections from a national Islamic advocacy group that had concerns about
possible stereotyping of Muslim characters. ("The Sum of All Fears" is currently
beginning production in Montreal, Canada. It stars actor Ben Affleck.)
Director Phil Alden Robinson ("Sneakers," "Field of Dreams") has told the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) that unlike the Tom Clancy novel on
which the movie is based, "The Sum of All Fears" will have "European Neo- Nazis"
as the villains who detonate a nuclear device at the Super Bowl in Denver. (In
the book, an unexploded Israeli nuclear device is found on the Golan Heights and
obtained by terrorists.)
(...)
For the past two years, CAIR has been in contact with Paramount Pictures and
Mace Neufeld, the film's original director, to discuss Muslim characters in the
book and their possible use in the screenplay.
"Given the existing prejudice against and stereotyping of Islam and Muslims, we
believe this film could have had a negative impact on the lives of ordinary
American Muslims, particularly children. We are pleased that Mr. Robinson took
the initiative to help eliminate religious and ethnic bias from his film. This
move should set a precedent for other movie producers," said CAIR Board Chairman
Omar Ahmad.
Ahmad added that each year, CAIR issues an annual report on the status of
American Muslim civil rights outlining hundreds of incidents involving anti-
Muslim discrimination, harassment and even physical violence. He said that many
of these incidents result from the negative images of Islam and Muslims put
forward in the entertainment industry.
[...more...]
* The negative image of Muslims is due primarily to Islam's history as "The
Religion of the Sword," and continues today because of widespread Islamic
extremism.
More about Islam
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/i07.html
=== Mormonism
9. Anti-U. case goes to Capitol
Deseret News, Jan. 26, 2001
http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,250006905,00.html?
A Salt Lake attorney has sent a letter to 42 members of the Legislature, urging
them to consider allegations of bias against LDS Church members before funding
the University of Utah this session.
"It goes without saying that the University of Utah is supported out of the tax
coffers of this state," James W. McConkie wrote in a Jan. 24 letter obtained by
the Deseret News. "It also goes without saying that approximately 74 percent of
the people in Utah who pay taxes are Mormons. On this basis alone, it is fair to
query why Mormon parents should be asked to financially support and send their
children to a school where their children may encounter religious
discrimination."
McConkie represents former U. theater student Christina Axon-Flynn, a member of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who filed suit in federal court
last year against five U. faculty members alleging her constitutional rights
were violated.
The professors refused to allow Axson-Flynn to omit two vulgar words from an
in-class performance, even though she had told department officials before being
accepted into the program that she would not "use the Lord's name in vain" or
other vulgar words in parts she played because to do so was against her
religious beliefs.
McConkie, in a letter addressed to members of the House and Senate
appropriations and education committees, told lawmakers that after filing the
lawsuit, there was a storm of publicity.
"Our office received close to 100 calls, many from professors and students at
the University of Utah telling us of instances of anti-Mormon discrimination or
derogatory comments made about the Mormon Church," he wrote.
(...)
University spokesman Fred Esplin called the letter "outrageous."
"This is two paid attorneys stirring up trouble for the University of Utah in an
attempt to settle out of court on a case that is weak," he said. "They have
attempted to use the media and the legislative process to achieve what they fear
they cannot achieve in court."
University officials said that as a matter of policy and practice, they enforce
all federal and local standards for nondiscrimination and that they create
programs that promote understanding among various religious and ethnic groups on
campus.
(...)
Rep. Afton Bradshaw, R-Salt Lake, co-chairwoman of the Higher Education
Appropriations Committee, said there are always "people who practice
discrimination — against Mormons and the other way around" but says she does not
see anti-LDS bias as a widespread problem on campus.
"The University of Utah is an open place which welcomes and nurtures people of
all beliefs," Esplin said.
[...more...]
=== Paganism / Witchcraft
10. Moraine's seer ban panned
Dayton Daily News, Jan. 26, 2001
http://www.activedayton.com/partners/ddn/local/0126moraine.html
“It was absolutely no good. It was a terrible ordinance,” city Councilman Ronald
Payne said Thursday night as he moved to set aside a city ordinance banning
fortunetelling or “predicting for a fee.”
Payne’s assessment came during a council meeting that featured the Moraine City
Council listening to witches and priests tell them why their proposed ordinance
was a bad idea.
“Thank you for tabling this ordinance,” said Crystal Mize, Montgomery County
director of Witches Against Religious Discrimination.
She warned the council that the proposed law was reaching witches and other
pagan groups throughout the country, and that the Internet opened a strong
network of interest.
(...)
The ordinance bans "predicting" and "predicting for a fee" and includes “palm
reading, card reading, horoscope reading and all such similar practices.” It
also prohibits anyone or any group from "charging a fee for conducting the
practice of communicating, attempting to communicate or pretending to
communicate with departed spirits in a ritual generally referred to as
'seances.' "
Anyone not charging a fee wouldn’t be off the hook. The ordinance would require
registering with the police chief before doing any of the practices free of
charge.
(...)
Hundreds of pagans — people who meet for fellowship outside traditional
Christian, Jewish or Muslim religions — crowded into the Moraine Government
Center to address the ordinance.
(...)
Representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio have said they
will be monitoring the council's action. Legal Director Raymond Vasvari said the
ordinance comes close to violating First Amendment rights and infringing on
freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
[...more...]
11. U. Utah speakers seek to make goddesses holy images once again
Daily Utah Chronicle/U-Wire, Jan. 24, 2001
http://news.excite.com/news/uw/010124/university-101
(U-WIRE) SALT LAKE CITY -- In the beginning of time, women ruled the world.
Goddesses were worshiped and viewed as the creators of all life. But today these
once holy images are lost, and two speakers Tuesday at the Women's Resource
Center at the University of Utah hoped to raise awareness of these ancient
goddesses.
"By the time you're getting written literature the goddesses have already been
turned into something dangerous," said former University of Utah Professor Emily
Smith.
"A lot of the symbols of the Goddess became demonized. If you couldn't demonize
it, you took it over," Smith continued.
Many symbols of evil and demonic beings started as symbols of a female-ruled
society. The snake in ancient societies represented fertility and renewal,
however, in Christian society it represents that which would lure a woman away
from God, from the story of Eve.
"Bulls and stags were originally Goddess symbols, not males," Smith said.
Smith also suggests the Virgin Mary as a Goddess symbol, as she is the mother of
the Christian God.
(...)
Jessica Wolfinger, the second speaker and a U social work student, also pointed
out the myth of "Pandora's Box." Pandora is told never to open a certain box.
But she does and she lets out all the pain and disease into the world, and has
to reach far into the bottom of the box for hope.
While the myth of Pandora is now used as a warning to all those who would
disobey authority, Pandora literally means "all gifts."
(...)
The large crowd in attendance also heard about the ability of goddesses to carry
over into much of everyday female life.
"Archetypes are in our subconscious," Wolfinger said.
[...more...]
=== Hate Groups
12. Germany's Neo-Nazi Violence Surging
AP, Jan. 26, 2001
http://news.excite.com/news/ap/010126/13/int-germany-fading-past
(...) As it marks its Holocaust remembrance day Saturday, Germany feels no
closer to solving its extreme-right problem than it was five years ago, when it
made the commemoration an annual fixture in hopes of educating a new generation
about tolerance.
(...)
Extremists have usually vented their hatred of Jews by vandalizing synagogues
and cemeteries; this time they seemed to be singling out an individual - one who
was a slave laborer under the Nazi regime - simply for having a Jewish
background.
What came next didn't make things better. The young policemen who came to the
couple's house offered them "Schutzhaft" - a term meaning protective custody but
made notorious by the Gestapo as a euphemism for the jailing of Jews and
political opponents.
"Imagine what memories this triggered for me," the man said. "I couldn't believe
my ears."
After German media reported it and Jewish leaders expressed outrage, the cops
returned to apologize, and the couple say they accept that "Schutzhaft" was used
in ignorance.
Police mounted raids on rightist hangouts in the Cottbus area and seized weapons
and propaganda material. Thousands of Cottbus people rallied against the
extremists at the site of the city's former synagogue.
(...)
Last year's jump in far-right crimes, to the worst levels since German
unification in 1990, underscores the problem. Official figures due out this
month record 840 violent anti-Semitic or anti-foreigner crimes in Germany in
2000, about 100 more than in 1999.
[...more...]
=== Other News
13. Rights groups protest French anti-cult bill
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jan. 27, 2001
http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/today/news_a32747e3d4a\
390c500ea.html
Paris --- French lawmakers next week are expected to approve a new anti-cult law
that mainstream church and civil liberties advocates are afraid will diminish
religious freedom in France and discourage traditional evangelism.
(...)
Concerns revolve around two key provisions. The proposal would make it a crime
for religious groups to engage in "mental manipulation," which opponents
consider vague and open to perilous interpretations. Among other things, the
proposed law would authorize a judge to legally dissolve an organization whose
leaders are convicted of two or more criminal offenses. French legislators
earlier this month toned down the "mental manipulation" provision, but concerns
about the bill remain.
(...)
Its supporters respond that the law is a reasoned approach for a government
attempting to protect citizens from unscrupulous organizations that prey on
emotional needs.
Catherine Picard, a member of the National Assembly and one of the bill's
authors, has said she considers existing French law "inadequate to deal with
increasingly sophisticated and manipulative groups."
Picard said judges must be given better tools to combat dangerous cults and
sects.
(...)
The law could expose religious groups, particularly fledgling or unpopular ones,
to prosecution by a disenchanted member who claims to have been improperly
influenced by someone in the group, opponents say. They also worry about
provisions that could allow people to bring criminal charges against faith
healers and others who promise but fail to deliver physical benefits through
acceptance of religious belief.
Opponents are particularly uncomfortable with a government report that lists
some 173 groups as dangerous cults. The list includes Mormons, Unificationists
(followers of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon), Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of
Scientology. Despite widespread reports, the list does not include the Southern
Baptist Convention.
(...)
Martin Weightman, a human rights monitor for the Church of Scientology, said the
legislation is a product of the government's fear of upstart and unfamiliar
religious groups.
(...)
The Scientologists are waging perhaps the most aggressive campaign against the
law. Some believe the legislation is a thinly veiled attempt to strike out at
the group, which has about 5,000 serious adherents and another 40,000 to 50,000
people who have had some interaction with it.
Last fall, thousands of Scientologists from the United States, Canada and Europe
staged a protest against the proposed anti-sect law in France. Singer Isaac
Hayes and actress Kirstie Alley, both Scientologists, participated.
But the law also has significant mainstream opponents, including leaders among
the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish faiths. "It is particularly disheartening
that the selfless act of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ could be equated
to 'mental manipulation' of the public," said Morris Chapman, president of the
Southern Baptist Convention's executive committee, responding to the law's
initial legislative approval last summer.
While many French religious leaders share the same misgivings, they are
concerned about what they regard as an intrusion by Americans into what they see
as a purely French controversy.
"It is true that there are many problems with this law --- it is a remedy that
is far worse than the problem it is meant to cure," said Jean-Arnold de
Clermont, the president of the French Protestant Federation. "But it is untrue
to say there are no religious freedoms in France."
[...more...]
* Mr. Weightman's statement is, of course, incorrect. It is precisely
*because* the French government is familiar with extremist organizations like
the "Church of Scientology," that the law was proposed.
The misinformation that Baptists were targeted by the bill has been spread
by Scientology and its related hate groups.
For background information, see:
The French and Germany Versus American Debate Over 'New Religions',
Scientology, And Human Rights
By Stephen A. Kent
Marburg Journal of Religion, Volume 6, No. 1 (January 2001)
http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb03/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/kent2.html
14. Va. Senate Panel Passes Pledge Bill
Washington Post, Jan. 26, 2001
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48371-2001Jan25.html
The Virginia Senate moved one step closer yesterday to requiring every public
school student in the state to pledge allegiance to the U.S. flag each morning,
sparking lively debate among students and educators in classrooms across the
region.
An 11 to 3 vote in favor of the bill by the Education and Health Committee came
after the bill's sponsor, Sen. Warren E. Barry (R-Fairfax) pulled back from a
requirement that would have penalized students who refused to say the Pledge of
Allegiance unless they had a note from a member of the clergy. Such a narrow
exemption, conceded Barry and Attorney General Mark L. Earley (R), was
potentially unconstitutional.
The bill, as it is now written, would allow students with any religious or
philosophical objection to reciting the pledge to sit out. Those students also
would not be forced to stand, as Barry's original version required.
(...)
To take effect, the measure, SB1331, now needs approval in both houses of the
General Assembly, which last year approved a bill -- also introduced by Barry --
requiring students to observe a daily minute of silence in the classroom.
Some schools are still trying to make the minute of silence run smoothly, and
many students and educators across Northern Virginia said yesterday that they
were surprised to see another state-required ritual headed for the classroom.
(...)
Barry, 67, a former U.S. Marine, made an impassioned plea yesterday to his
committee colleagues to bring the state into the classroom once more to bolster
patriotism. Love of country simply isn't what it ought to be, he said,
describing a vast generation gap he said he found in many Northern Virginia
schools, where students often sit out the salute.
"You can't just say you don't feel like it," Barry said. "That just doesn't sit
right."
That interpretation drew protests from civil libertarians, who said the Supreme
Court's 1943 ruling allowing Jehovah's Witnesses to opt out of flag salutes
guarantees that the government cannot deny a child's First Amendment right to
abstain.
Even students and parents who like the idea said the pledge should be a very
clear choice.
(...)
To become law, the bill must pass the full Senate and House by the time the
annual legislative session ends Feb. 24 and be signed by Gov. James S. Gilmore
III (R).
[...more...]
15. Russia: Analysis From Washington -- Selective Enforcement
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Jan. 26, 2001 (Opinion)
http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2001/01/26012001113826.asp
Washington, 26 January 2001 (RFE/RL) -- Thirty-seven of the first 38 Russian
religious congregations slated to be shut down for failing to reregister with
the government are Muslim. Many Muslims are likely to view that pattern as
representing a form of selective enforcement of the law. And to the extent they
do, that alone could exacerbate relations between Russia's Christian and Muslim
communities.
The Keston News Service reported on Wednesday that officials in the North
Caucasus Kabardino-Balkar republic last week initiated the first legal suits in
the Russian Federation to shut down religious communities that failed to
reregister with the Justice Ministry by the end of December 2000 as required by
Russia's law on religion.
The Britain-based religious rights watchdog service noted that even in that
predominantly Islamic region, the Muslims appeared to be suffering the brunt of
these legal actions. More than a third of its communities there will, if the
courts rule in favor of the government, lose the right to publish, import or
distribute literature, rent property, or sign any other kind of contract.
None of the 18 Russian Orthodox churches, seven Adventist churches, seven
Baptist groups, five Presbyterian churches, or five other Christian groups
failed to gain the necessary registration. Indeed, the only non-Muslim group now
at risk is the local Jehovah's Witnesses community, which local officials said
threaten civil peace by their practice of propagandizing door to door.
[...more...]
Warning to Anna church (Universal Church of the Kingdom of God)
This is London (England), Jan. 25, 2001
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/news/story.html?in_review_id=355410
The fundamentalist Christian church which promised to exorcise demons from
eight-year-old Anna Climbie days before she died has been forced by the NSPCC to
stop using its logo.
(...)
A spokeswoman for the NSPCC said the church had made a donation in the past but
had "misinterpreted" rules governing the logo's use.
[...more...]
=== Death Penalty and other Human Rights Violations
16. Prosecutor is moved by new data in capital case
Boston Globe, Jan. 25, 2001
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/025/nation/Prosecutor_is_moved_by_new_data_in_\
capital_case+.shtml
NASHVILLE - On a late afternoon last fall, a retired prosecutor, John Pierotti,
watched a colleague opposed to the death penalty come up to him with a stack of
new evidence. The data involved a capital case for which Pierotti's office had
gotten a conviction 17 years earlier.
Just more of his friend's foolishness, Pierotti thought. But at 3 a.m., he was
still reading, and growing more concerned by the page that this defendant was
not the man who had killed a Memphis police officer in 1981.
Today, Pierotti will testify at the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole in a
last-ditch effort to spare the life of Philip Workman, 46, who is scheduled for
execution Wednesday.
The prosecutor, author of victims' rights legislation, former district attorney,
and death-penalty defender, will join defense lawyers, activists, and religious
leaders in asking Governor Don Sundquist to commute Workman's sentence from
death to life in prison.
(...)
In court papers, Minton and Dorsey have said that prosecutors surpressed
evidence using ''fraud,'' and that the Memphis police ''coached'' a key witness
into giving false testimony on the stand.
''Those men are friends of mine with 50 years experience between them,''
Pierotti said of the prosecutors. ''I can't believe they would have knowingly
done this.''
Standing behind Pierotti, Dorsey of the state's Office of the Post-Conviction
Defense in Nashville pursed his lips in obvious disagreement. Prosecutors did
not admit until 16 months ago that an autopsy X-ray existed, despite repeated
defense requests for all autopsy material.
[...more...]
* More about the death penalty
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/d07.html
Compiled by Anton Hein
Apologetics Index
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/
================================================================
About Religion News Report
- "Religion News Report" is provided as a service to the AR-talk apologetics
research resources discussion list, where it is always posted first. For
information about AR-talk, see http://apologia.org/mainpages/AboutARtalk.html
- RNR is archived at the Apologetics Index web site:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/apolnews.html
- Items include in RNR are provided as "information only." Unless otherwise
indicated, no endorsements are intended.
- Due to copyright considerations, only excerpts are quoted. For full stories,
see the URLs provided.
Retrieving Full Articles
- If a URL breaks up, undo word-wrap.
- If you do not have WWW access, you can retrieve the text of Web pages by
email using Leadership University's EDoc service. For instructions, email
edoc@... with in the body of the message one word: help
Items On File
- Some of these links stay up for only a day or two. I therefore keep the full
items on file. Should you not be able to find them online, email
rin@... Each request should include Issue and Item numbers
(e.g. Issue 316, Items 5, 8, 9).
- These items are provided for personal use and educational research purposes
only, under the "fair use" concept as noted in copyright laws. Copyright for
each item remains with the original copyright holder.
Fowarding and Reposting
- Religion News Report may be forwarded and reposted on a limited basis (2 or
3 issues), but it is preferred that you encourage those interested to
subscribe to AR-talk instead: http://apologia.org/mainpages/AboutARtalk.html
- Many of the news items noted in Religion News Report are better understood in
context of previous news items. While RNR is always posted first to the
AR-talk list, it is archived at the Apologetics Index web site. Archived
editions include links to relevant entries in the site's A-Z Index, and are
added to the searchable news archive. If you forward or re-post individual
items found through RNR, please mark them "As noted in Religion News Report,"
and include a link to the RNR archive page:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/apolnews.html
- Religion News Report may not be posted at any other web site.
================================================================
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ai-updates
(eGroups has become Yahoo Groups)
The Feb. 8 issue of Religion News Report has been archived:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news1/an010208.html
It includes the following items:
=== Aum Shinrikyo
1. Prosecutors demand life imprisonment for ex-AUM follower
2. Terrorism readiness assailed
=== Falun Gong
3. Rights group attributes 7 more deaths to crackdown on sect
4. Hong Kong Leader: Sect To Be Watched
5. Hong Kong Leader Zings Falun Gong
6. Hong Kong Lawmakers Seek Tung's Assurance on Falun Gong Freedom
7. Dutch Move Raises Falun Gong Stakes for China
8. Falun Gong war escalates as Dutch officials postpone trips
9. Dutch Member of Parliament Urges Tough EU Stance on Human Rights in China
10. Falun Gong not a reason for denying Olympic bid, Beijing says
11. Chinese Papers Accuse Foreign Press
12. China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists
=== Falun Gong - China's Government-Controlled Media
13. Reports from China's government-controlled media
=== Scientology
14. Cruise files for divorce after war of religion
15. Tom & Nicole's Holy War
16. Scientology - help or hindrance?
17. Scientology not behind Cruise and Kidman split
18. 15 Scientologists on Trial in Spain
19. Executive Presidium vs. Scientology
» Part 2 === Mungiki
20. Mungiki Officials Call For A Truce
=== Mormonism
21. Olympic kingdom Games provide opportunity for Mormons
22. Local writer delves into why LDS members become inactive
=== Jehovah's Witnesses
23. Jehovah's Witnesses' trial in Russia said to be legally unsound
=== Hate Groups
24. Pair in Aryan Nations suit sole bidders for compound
=== Other News
25. Death of teen in sect probed (Gen. Assembly Church of the First Born)
26 Faith healer parents probed in child death
27. Prayed-over girl died of untreated diabetes
=== Noted
28. Churches find believers in Silicon Valley
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1200+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ai-updates
(eGroups has become Yahoo Groups)
The Feb. 12, 2001 issue of Religion News Report is now archived at:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news1/an010212.html
It includes the following items:
=== Falun Gong
1. China Vows 'War to the End' with Falun Gong
2. Beijing Allies Warn Sect Members
3. Falungong folly has gone far enough
4. HK says it will not ban Falun Gong
5. Beijing Police Deny News Inquiry
6. China sees Falungong members under the spell of ''cult''
=== Falun Gong - China's Government-Controlled Media
7. Reports from China's government-controlled media
=== Scientology
8. Scientology, critics spar in weekend court
9. Leaving the Fold
10. When Scientology Is Passed Down
11. Tom & Nicole splite a question of faith
12. Scientology Founder's Family Life Far From What He Preached
13. Scientology-linked project gets city grant
14. Scientology-linked project to get scrutiny
15. Geoff Hurst launches Scientology E-meter
16. Heaven help me
» Part 2
=== Unification Church
17. The Moonies: Looking to its youth for survival
18. Continuation of the Church Will Fall to Moon's Son
19. Life as Moonchild Far From Blessed
=== Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
20. Mary's Flames'': The Long Road To Horror In Kanungu
=== Islam
21. Iranian Hard-liners Renew Death Sentence on Rushdie
=== Buddhism
22. Buddhists In Central Vietnam Claim Government Harassment
=== Mormonism
23. LDS Church Will Not Oppose Polygamy Bill
24. U. theater department denies bias
25. Judge orders Mormons to provide sex-abuse records
=== Jehovah's Witnesses
26. Jehovah's Witnesses Tried in Moscow
» Part 3
=== Paganism / Witchcraft
27. Pagans are grateful for understanding
=== Other News
28. France may further delay vote on anti-cult measure
29. Tokyo Police Identify Remains (Lucie Blackman)
30. Reps Pass Secret Cult Prohibition Bill
31. Vietnam unrest threatens to raise objections to US trade deal
32. New governor practices quiet faith
=== Noted
33. Children of a Lesser God
=== Books
34. The relationship between Japanese culture, Buddhism
35. From Leviticus to levitation
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1200+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
My apologies... I have been running behind on just about everything, and
haven't mailed an update alert in a while.
Since the last update mailing, 9 additional issues of Religion News Report have
been archived:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/apolnews.html#archive
You may want to bookmark that link, where you'll find a listing of find the 10
most recently archived issues of RNR.
Note that the Apologetics Index front page also includes daily news items:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/#latest
In addition, under the "News" graphic, two java-script links bring you current
wire services and web news reports on cults, sects and alternative religious
movements.
Throughout the site, certain listings - such as those for Falun Gong, Aum
Shinrikyo, and Scientology - also include direct links to current and archived
news reports.
I have recently added direct links to archived "Offbeat News" and "Books in the
News" items:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/#current
I have also posted, with permission, an article by Anthony C. LoBaido - an
international correspondent for WorldNetDaily:
Aum Shin Rikyo extends influence around world
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/a06a01.html
Additional updates have made throughout the site.
=== A word about our URLs
I regularly receive mail from people who are puzzled by our site's URLs.
Our main URL (and domain name) is http://www.apologeticsindex.org/
However, since Apologetics Index is a Gospelcom alliance member, the site is
hosted by Gospelcom - the most popular Christian web site (see press release
below). Thus our URLs generally resolve to:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/
In addition, Apologetics Index can be reached under these URLs:
http://www.apologeticsindex.comhttp://www.apologeticsindex.net (URL forwarding service, includes ads)
http://www.countercult.com/
http:www.graceandmercy.org (for a planned special section with articles on grace
and mercy - the two features that set Christianity apart from any other
religion)
http://www.religionnewsreport.org (currently leads to the RNR index page)
http://www.antonhein.com/org/net
For details about our linking and copyright policy, see:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/howtolink.html
In closing, a press release from Gospelcom:
:===Begin Quote===
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Chris Tromp
Gospel Communications International
(231) 773-3361, ext. 282
ctromp@...
http://www.gospelcom.net
SOURCE: Gospelcom.net
* Most popular Christian web site * Gospelcom.net users viewed nearly 23
million pages* Gospelcom.net tops religious category *
Gospelcom.net tops the list
MUSKEGON, MI., Feb. 27 -- January 2001 reports from Nielsen//NetRatings,
the fastest growing Internet audience measurement service, confirm once
again that Gospelcom.net is the most popular Christian web property among
Internet users surfing from home and work. Traffic to Gospelcom.net
totaled more than 1.2 million unique visitors in the month of January,
leading all other Christian sites. Gospelcom.net users spent an average of
eleven minutes at the site and viewed nearly 23 million pages.
Gospelcom.net also ranks higher than such well-known Internet sites as:
PetSmart.com, AutoBytel.com, BordersOnline.com, Palm.com, BeliefNet.com and
the Coca-Cola company in terms of total number of unique visitors according
to Nielsen//Netratings data.
Additionally, in January 2001 Gospelcom.net topped the religious category
from PCDataOnline, another prominent Internet rating service. Since 1995
Gospelcom.net has been faithfully using the Internet to further the
Gospel. It is thrilling to enter 2001 in such a strong position to
continue expanding the ministry of Gospelcom.net, said company President
Billy Zeoli.
Gospelcom.net <www.gospelcom.net> provides a comprehensive range of unique
applications and free resources for men, women, youth and families
including: the Bible Gateway <bible.gospelcom.net>, a fully-searchable
cross-referenced Bible and study tool with 23 Bible translations in 12
languages; CrossSearch <www.CrossSearch.com>, a full-web filtered search
directory; family-friendly movie reviews; Reverend Fun
<www.ReverendFun.com>, humorous Biblical cartoons updated daily; and other
community-building areas including chat, discussion forums and email
newsletters.
Gospelcom.net is a ministry of Gospel Communications International and
includes a strategic alliance of over 300 evangelical Christian organizations.
:===End Quote===
Regards,
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1230+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this message because you signed up for the Apologetics Index Update
mailing list. For details and subscription settings, see:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ai-updates
A page has been added on the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
For now, all you'll find there are links to current and archived news items:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/o04.html
Recently I have added a "Books in the News" link to the "News About..." section:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/#current
The link leads to a pre-defined search for archived news items that mention or
discuss books. By ordering books and/or other items from Amazon.com through a
link at the Apologetics Index site, you support Apologetics Index (the site
receives a small commission, paid in the form of book certificates that are used
to purchased research material).
The March 9 and March 13 issues of Religion News Report have been archived:
March 9
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news1/an010309.html
March 13
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/news1/an010313.html
I have changed the posting method somewhat by breaking the newsletter into its
natural sections (e.g. "Falun Gong," "Scientology," "Hate Groups," etcetera).
Consequently, pages will load faster.
The following items are included in the March 13, 2001 edition of RNR:
=== Falun Gong
1. Paper joins sect row
=== Scientology
2. The fight over photos
=== Unification Church
3. Unification's Moon Offers Social Message
4. Korean Evangelist Visits City
5. The Bush-Kim-Moon Triangle of Money
=== International Churches of Christ
6. New Rangers Star to pay for cult recruiting drive
=== Buddhism
7. Possessed Peacock Pines for Home
=== Islam
8. Voices in Muslim World Decry Taliban Vow to Destroy Statues
9. The Taliban, the Buddhas and the Saudi connection
10. Falwell's remark that Islam 'teaches hate' sparks outrage
11. The True Face of Islam
=== Mormonism
12. Court Gives Utah Clergy Protection
13. Don't call it 'Mormon'
14. (...) in Response to a Story on CNN.com
15. Mormon Is Nation's First Porn Czar
=== Hate Groups
16. Coeur d'Alene vows to arrest armed Aryans
17. Demonstrators disrupt white supremacist gathering
=== Faith Healing
18. Charges follow faith-healing death
=== Rebirthing
19. 'Candace's Law' Gains Support
=== Other News
20. False memory case has nationwide implications
21. Fla. Church Leader Found Guilty (Greater Ministries)
22. Sect leader detains girl on 'God's orders'
23. Faith Initiative May Be Revised
24. Religious Groups Warn of Bush Plan
25. Biological weapons pose threat to Canada, U.S., scientist says
=== Death Penalty & Other Human Rights Violations
26. Boy, 14, gets life for murder
27. An Extreme Sentence in Florida
28. U.S. stands out with stance on youth crime
29. Modifying Stand, Ferrer Backs Moratorium on Executions
30. Death Penalty Reform
=== Noted
31. A New Portrait Of How Americans View Religion
=== The Coffee Shop Around The Corner
32. Let There Be Coffee -- And It Was Latte
Regards,
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1280+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ai-updates
--- Archived Religion News Report issues
--- News Database Performance
--- Scientology: articles, books and special report added
=== Religion News Report
Since the last update, six issues of Religion News Report (RNR) have been
archived:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/apolnews.html
If you need news faster, sign up for the AR-talk mailing list, where RNR is
always posted first:
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologia/mainpages/aboutartalk.html
=== News Database
The news database has also been updated, and is current up to the most recently
posted issue of RNR. For an example of how the news archive works, see this
recently added A-Z Index entry:
House of Prayer (Atlanta)
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/h20.html
When you click on the news archive link, you'll find links to 13 archived news
items about House of Prayer. Some people have contacted me to let me know the
database is very slow in returning results. One reason for this is that the
free version of the program on which it runs is not really designed for
databases over 1 MB in size. The current database is 2.8 MB. An SQL version is
available, but costs $350 - something I can not afford (primarily because I live
on disability pay).
=== Scientology
A number of articles and books on Scientology format have been added:
Articles
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/s04a.html
Books
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/s04b.html
These items have long been available elsewhere on the net. However, a user of
the alt.religion.scientology newsgroup has recently reformatted the material and
has produced .pdf versions. You need Adobe's free Acrobat Reader in order to
use these files:
Download Acrobat Reader
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
In addition, Apologetics Index has received permission to post the Boston
Herald's special report on Scientology:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/s04a01.html
Regards,
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1391+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Greetings!
You receive this Apologetics Index update because you signed up for it at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ai-updates
At the beginning of this month, I changed the format of Religion News Report.
Aside from saving me some time and much-needed energy, the new approach also
provides more timely news.
Instead of compiling a newsletter, news items are now posted directly to the
website. For an example, see:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/#latest
Anton (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
--
Apologetics Index: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ / http://www.countercult.com
1510+ pages of apologetics and countercult information about cults, sects, and
alternative religious movements.
Send Email
