Understanding Young Adults: Articles an explosion of interest and involvement in religious cults in America and aroundthe world. For instance, 39 members of the Heaven s gate, including their http://www.lifeway.com/Understanding/Adult/youngadults/article_temp.asp?ArticleI
Mass Media Bunk 3 some of the fundamental beliefs of these cult members and the beliefs of membersof mainstream religions? belief and the beliefs of the Heaven s gate cult. http://skepdic.com/refuge/bunk3.html
Extractions: March 28, 1997 (Good Friday). It is clear to all of us, that to the Anti-Christ those propagators of sustained faithfulness to mammalian humanism we are, and will be seen as, their Anti-Christ. This is certainly to be expected, and it will not delay our return to our Father's Kingdom. It might even accelerate that return. We will, between now and our departure, do everything we can for those who want to go with us. But we cannot allow them to interfere with or delay our return to Him. The Present Representative Do a.k.a Marshall Herff Applewhite , a.k.a. Bo of "The Two" Bo and Peep a.k.a. Bonnie Lu Trousdale By now everyone has heard of the suicides by 39 members of a UFO cult known as "Heaven's Gate," but sure to be deemed the Comet Cult by the media. The news reports focus on the cult's "weird" beliefs in such things as
Cults which appear to share significant features with religious cults. to Amway and LandmarkForum as cults, but I 74 suicides in 1984), Heaven s gate (39 suicides http://skepdic.com/cults.html
Extractions: Click to order from Amazon Faculty cult expert helps explain Smart case Cults in our Midst by Margaret Thaler Singer A delusion held by one person is a mental illness, held by a few is a cult, held by many is a religion. The term 'cult' expresses disparagement and is usually used to refer to unconventional religious groups, though the term is sometimes used to refer to non-religious groups which appear to share significant features with religious cults. For example, there are some who refer to Amway and Landmark Forum as cults, but I think the term is best reserved for groups such as Scientology the Order of the Solar Temple (74 suicides in 1984), Heaven's Gate (39 suicides in 1997), the Raëlians the Urantians the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation program, the followers of Sathya Sai Baba , and the group that followed the Rev. Jim Jones to Guyana where more than 900 joined in a mass murder/suicide ritual in 1978. Three ideas seem essential to the concept of a cult. One is thinking in terms of us versus them with total alienation from "them." The second is the intense, though often subtle, indoctrination techniques used to recruit and hold members. The third is the charismatic cult leader. Cultism usually involves some sort of belief that outside the cult all is evil and threatening; inside the cult is the special path to salvation through the cult leader and his teachings. The indoctrination techniques include
AskWhy! On Jesus Cults And Heaven's Real Gate - Christianity Revealed of today 39 members of the Heaven s gate cult in San of the times is that today religiousfanatics in For the Heaven s gate sect the comet was bringing with it http://www.askwhy.co.uk/christianity/0840JesusCults.html
Extractions: Better with Javascript on! Contents Updated: Thursday, May 10, 2001 The Christian religion began as a tiny cult within the Roman Empire which captured the imaginations of some of the poor and disadvantaged of the time and was spotted by certain men as a reliable meal ticket. Since the sixties successive generations of youth have arisen who rejected authority and hierarchy socially, politically and even in terms of religion. They were disillusioned with the establishment in general but those who had been brought up to be Christians or sought a spiritual outlet in what they saw as an increasingly materialistic world also rejected orthodox Christianity. Orthodox priests and ministers supported the values that young people questioned. The cult has a charming and charismatic leader usually a man. Members leave their families and might give up their jobs to devote their lives to the cult. However, members usually have to prove their dedication by giving almost all their money and possessions and much of their expertise and time to the cult. Sometimes they pursue careers to help the cult, giving their expertise and their earnings willingly to the organisation. The leader will benefit most plainly from this but communal money is often spent on large country houses or even guns and poisons since they often have an eschatological outlook.
Recommended Books On Heaven's Gate and beliefs, Cosmic Suicide places Heaven s gate within a are revealed about the cult slifestyle, including the truth behind this strange End Times religion. . http://www.factnet.org/cults/heavens_gate/Recommended_Books_on_Heaven's_Gate.htm
Heaven's Gate Property Dispute Continues The contents of that container includes computers, white plastic patio chairs, religiouswritings such as a cult manual and How and When Heaven s gate May be http://www.factnet.org/cults/heavens_gate/property.htm?FACTNet
Anti-Cult Movement's Involvement In The Heaven's Gate Tragedy their part, but the confrontational approach of anticult groups have The post wasmade by an Heaven s gate member in the alt.religion.scientology newsgroup http://bernie.cncfamily.com/heaven.htm
Extractions: CAN and COS Extreme groups are of course the primary responsibles in case of mass suicides or in case of other forms of violence on their part, but the confrontational approach of anti-cult groups have for effect to worsen the groups' paranoia and push them towards an irrevocable decision. The "investigation" of Leo Ryan in Jones' camp in 1978, with NBC camera et all, helped to precipitate the Jonestown tragedy. In Waco , the FBI and BATF, made hysterical by alarmist rumors from anticultists, have most probably caused the tragedy in which 75 men, women, and children were burned alive. The following post shows the same kind of confrontational approach at work towards the Heaven's Gate, how it prevents the possibility of a peaceful resolution of conflict but on the contrary helps to reinforce the group's feeling of estrangement from the outside society. The post was made by an Heaven's Gate member in the alt.religion.scientology newsgroup, to thank Scientologists for having busted CAN.
A Transpersonal And Existentialist In the Heaven s gate classroom students come to know Not surprisingly the cult standsup for topics mental search of Eastern religions, astrology, metaphysics http://www.meta-religion.com/Psychiatry/Consciousness/transpersonal_and_existent
Extractions: to promote a multidisciplinary view of the religious, spiritual and esoteric phenomena. About Us Links Search Contact ... Back to Psychiatry Religion sections World Religions New R. Groups Ancient Religions Spirituality ... Extremism Science sections Archaeology Astronomy Linguistics Mathematics ... Contact Please, help us sustain this free site online. Make a donation using Paypal: A Transpersonal and Existentialist View of the Heavens Gate Cult Neal Lemon Augustana University College From: http://www.sawka.com/spiritwatch/lemon.htm A paper submitted to Dr. Jayne Gackenbach as part of the course requirements for Psy 473 (Sleep and Dreams), April, 1997 Most people look at the recent mass suicide of members of the Heaven's Gate cult as a tragic occurrence. Why would so many intelligent, seemingly healthy people take their own lives with such enthusiasm? This action of self-destruction/birth is not unprecedented. One may look at a similar instance of a devout Jewish sect committing mass suicide at Masada around 73 A.D. or more recently the Jonestown disaster. This paper will look at the theology and actions of the Heaven's Gate cult members and explain these in a context of existentialist and transpersonal thought.
IllumiRate Directory Society Culture Religion Spirituality the developments in the Heaven s gate suicide aftermath Doomsday Destructive Religiouscults Includes common factors found in this type of cult, group profiles http://www.illumirate.com/cat_items.cfm?Cat_ID=411202
UFOs And NRMs; Heaven's Gate: Bibliography ed. The gods have landed new religions from other milieu in joining a UFO cult. American Behavioral 1997. The keepers of Heaven s gate the millennial madness http://home.uchicago.edu/~ryancook/un-hgbib.htm
Extractions: 12 May 2002 rj-cook@uchicago.edu TOP OF PAGE discussion links Most every printed item HG ever turned out has been collected in the following: The group provoked a mountain of of journalistic output, both in their initial appearance and recruitment drive (1974-5) and in the aftermath of their 1997 mass death. I will only list off articles that are important or readily available, in chronological order. "Flying saucery in the wilderness." Time 27 August, 1974. Pp. 58 James S. Phelan. New York Times , 29 February, 1976 Joel Aschenbach, Laurie Goodstein, Marc Fischer. "Group Awaited Spacecraft Behind Comet; Members Designed Web Sites, Saw Hale-Bopp as 'Marker' to Trip 'Home.'" Washington Post , 28 March, 1997. p. A01.
Heaven's Gate Or Hell's? to make a distinction at this point, from non Christian religions and Christian themass suicides of 39 people involved in the Heaven s gate cult, there has http://www.sermons.org/sermons/sermon57.html
Extractions: Download the ASCII text version of this sermon Text: 1 John 4:1-3 Introduction: There has been much interest lately about cults and the like. I preached a message this last Sunday night that I thought might be of interest to some of you. The Scriptures tell us that in the last days there will be many false Christs, many that try to turn people from the truth to follow "cunningly devised fables." The Christian should not be surprised nor alarmed at the rise of cultist type religious groups. Nor should we feel as if we must shrink from God given, Bible truth because of these cultist activities. We need to make a distinction at this point, from non Christian religions and Christian type or Bible-based cults. While many of the same things are true of each, our main difficulty is with those that use the same Bible we use, or at least a version of it. With the mass suicides of 39 people involved in the Heaven's - Gate cult, there has risen a new thrust of conversation in journalism concerning the seriousness of cults and what they do to its people. I am as opposed to the cults as just about anybody I know. Ibelieve they are devilish, destructive and disobedient to God. But, at the same time, I am concerned that the media is training the masses to believe that almost ANY church organization is cultish and dangerous. *** We have seen, in the last few days, video clips of cult leader David Koresh, teaching the Bible in much the same fashion (even if he was teaching a false doctrine) as we would in a Baptist church.
The Watchman Expositor: Heaven's Gate Tragedy interview with Watchman Fellowship, former Heaven s gate member Dick But the samecult structure is there. and unquestioned loyalty in a religious leader or http://www.watchman.org/na/heavengt.htm
Extractions: SITE DIRECTORY Home Page About Watchman Fellowship Free Subscriptions Church Presentations Weekly News Subject Index Profiles State Offices Watchman Staff OVERVIEW OF CULTS Articles JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES Articles MORMONISM Articles NEW AGE Articles OCCULT Articles SCIENTOLOGY Articles OTHER RELIGIOUS TOPICS Articles Vol. 14, No. 2, 1997 Articles on the New Age by James K. Walker In the days following the first thirty-nine Heaven's Gate suicides, the staff at Watchman Fellowship was barraged by the news media. Nightline, ABC World News Tonight, CNN, USA Today, Time, Newsweek and a host of other international, national and local journalists interviewed our staff. At one point there were three network news teams setting up cameras and lights simultaneously in Watchman's offices. They were all asking crucial questions: "How could these people be so deceived?" "Could more suicides follow in the coming months?" "Don't these people have the right to choose death?" "By voluntarily giving their lives for their faith, were Applewhite and his followers really different than Christian martyrs?" One of the frustrations in working with television news media is the necessity of reducing significant and complex discussions to the infamous ten second "sound bite." Difficult and important questions need a more thorough discussion. This issue of the
Heaven's Gate Actions the label cult, such as the Branch Davidians and the more recent Heaven s Gategroup they are based on Christian tenets, not Pagan. Few Pagan religions even http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5883/action.html
Extractions: Letters we have written Date: Tue, 1 Apr 1997 10:16:47 -0500 From: Corbie To: "'cnn.feedback@cnn.com'" , "''Good Morning, America' Feedback'" , "''Good Morning, America' Producer'" , 'Today Show Feedback' Cc: "'FIRE:danica@mills.edu'" Back to current causes Back to "What have we done?" Back to Fire main menu Email us
Heaven's Gate #1 (Intro) all minority or fringe religions, including Paganism, as having major cult potential.They are also capitalizing on Heaven s gate s cyberspace activities http://www.witchvox.com/cases/heavensgate.html
Extractions: Chapters WhoisWho Traditions Basics Books Bardic Cats Essays-A Essays-T Earth Festivals Fest Tips Gay Holidays Issues Military Music Opinions Parenting Protection Site Notes TV/Movies Traditions Unity Weekly U WitchVox WitchWars White WrenRants Your Area Your Town Adults Teens Military New Groups-A Groups-C Groups-T Events Shops-Net Shops-Loc 5000 Links Local Web Your Info articles
The Keepers Of Heaven's Gate basis for the mystical teachings of the Heaven s gate cult. the true details of thereligious beliefs of statements, documents and interviews by cult members. http://www.earthpulse.com/products/heaven.html
Extractions: The Religion Behind the Rancho Santa Fe Suicides The Keepers Of Heaven's Gate: The Millenial Madness The Religion Behind The Rancho Santa Fe Suicides is an attempt to elucidate the mystical and prophetic happenings which are fueling the furor of new millennial cultists. The end of the last millennium brought suicides and a rash of prophetic ideas surrounding "the end of the world." Today history is again repeating this pattern. Is this the "age of the end" as some are suggesting, or the beginning of a "new heaven and a new earth" as others believe? Only history will reveal the actuality of future events as yet unwritten. This book presents the time line of escalating events that led to the suicides in Rancho Santa Fe, California. The time line begins in November, 1996, with the first radio talk show and news reports about a space ship hiding behind the comet Hale-Bopp. The author presents the facts behind this new millennial "end of the world" thinking. Through painstaking research conducted throughout the 1990's, the author presents a thorough understanding of the belief structures of these new millennial groups. This book includes: The complete Hale-Bopp story.
Books On Cults And Cult Recovery On MAAR The Keepers of Heaven s gate The Millennial Madness, the Religion Behind theRancho Rare Book Messengers of Deception Ufo Contacts and Cults http://www.maar.us/books_on_cults_and_cult_recovery2.html
Extractions: Cosmic Suicide gives more than a glimpse into a bizarre realm of alien messiahs, their doomsday prophecies, and their starry-eyed eunuchs. By distinguishing between media disinformation and the grisly truth, the authors thoroughly examine the weird belief system and the transcendent demise of Heaven's Gate. Supplemented by the group's Internet propaganda and Marshall Applewhite's autopsy report, Cosmic Suicide also unveils the dark secrets of apocalyptic groups while it explains humanity's ongoing obsession with the end of the world.
Social Psychology Of Cults The News Coverage of the Heaven s gate Suicide. New religious Movements Index. Thisexcellent resource can link you directly to websites dealing with cults. http://cla.libart.calpoly.edu/~cslem/Wizdemo/16-WizCults.html
Extractions: This site is under construction during Spring Quarter. Check back frequently as we add in additional resources and more elaborated links. As usual, browse at your own risk and use your good judgement. Some sites may seem offensive to some individuals. We are often struck by what appears to be the senseless acts of mass suicide by large groups of people who belong to cults...Jonestown, Order of the Solar Temple, and now Heaven's Gate. The more recent incidents suggests that most of these people were bright, competent, and productive individuals. There are powerful social forces that can distort one's perception of reality and influence people to do things that they would normally not even consider as responsible individuals. As you will find in the links below, the social psychological effects of groups can produce alterations in personality (a dissociative state), post traumatic stress disorder, and the commission of illegal acts. News Coverage of Heaven's Gate Psychological Issues ... Article: CULTS AND THE MEANING OF LIFE CNN News Summaries MSNBC Coverage This excellent resource can link you directly to websites dealing with cults. It is associated with a Sociology course at the University of Virginia. In the words of the teacher, Professor Jeffrey Hadden:
Monroe County (NY) Library System - Religion - Cults Destructive, and religious Cults Examines destructive doomsday cults such as AumShinri Kyo, The Family (Charles Manson), Heaven s gate , Jeffrey Lundgren http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/religion/cults.html
Heaven S Gate many of the beliefs of Heaven s gate with one such group is the International CultEducation Program surprised by the many fringe religious groups popping up http://www.earthportals.com/fringe.html
Extractions: Insights Earth Portal Controls Home May 8, 1997 T he search for spiritual fulfillment, whether in the form of a god or a set of beliefs, is as old as the species. It has tamed societies, nurtured civilizations, launched wars and played muse to philosophers and artists. Now the age-old quest is making its way, sometimes in a bizarre fashion, to the World Wide Web. Cyberspace is emerging as the staging platform of choice for religious fringe groups to dispense their precepts, raise money and if their critics are to be believed recruit new members. While the Web sites mounted by the vast majority of religious fringe groups do not overtly encourage actions as extreme as those of Heaven's Gate, whose leader and 38 followers committed mass suicide this spring, many share the basic beliefs of Heaven's Gate an aggregation of ancient mysticism, extraterrestrial redemption, modern Eastern and Western religious doctrines and millennialism. For example, Stargate and the International Raelian Movement link God, alternative lifestyles and alien life forms. Until now, they and groups with similar beliefs have been geographically isolated curiosities, but with the emergence of the Web as a populist medium for publishing and distribution, these groups are finding each other and reaching out to proselytize.