Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 95
him for salvation or risk eternal damnation. If they break rules they pay fines from their
government checks or from the $10 per day they get for roadside soliciting on behalf of
the church.
Such soliciting, involving meers‘ children as well, has apparently brought in millions
from donations to the 38 churches affiliated with Deeper Life from Virginia to Texas and
north to Michigan. Jefferson, meanwhile, lives in a 10,000 square foot mansion and
drives a Bentley. ―It‘s a fraud,‖ according to Keith Dixon, a former Deeper Life pastor,
who says he raised millions for the church. ―If I have a bucket that says ‗Help feed
needy women and children‘ and I take the money and go buy a Rolls Royce, that‘s
fraud.‖ (Tampa Tribune, Internet, 9/23/03 AP in the Ledger, Lakeland, FL, Internet,
9/23/03)
Destiny House (Word of Life)
Denies "Cult" Label
Destiny House (formerly Word of Life) pastor Jim Addison, fighting a landlord‘s attempt
to evict the group from it‘s facility in Aberdeen, Scotland, denies that Word of Life practices
included members‘ vomiting and screaming sessions to rid themselves of evil, and
preventing contact with people outside the congregation.
Addison denied the charges, as well as allegations that members were forbidden to watch
TV or read newspapers. He also denied he had received an eviction notice and refused to
say why Word of Life had changed to Destiny House. (Gayle Ritchie, Evening Express,
Internet, 8/3/03)
Elizabeth Smart
Captivity Not Life-Altering
Elizabeth Smart, who spent nine months under the control of kidnappers David Mitchell and
his wife Wanda Barzee, says the experience did not change her much. ―It‘s not like I was,
like, all happy and all of a sudden I come back and I‘m not, because I‘m still happy. It‘s the
same. It‘s like it never happened,‖ although she adds that she is now more compassionate
toward the homeless.
Mitchell and Barzee are charged with kidnapping Smart to be his second wife and holding
her against her will in the hills hear her Salt Lake City home and then at a California
campsite. They are also accused of sexually assaulting her while trying to strip her of her
identity. (AP in New York Times, Internet, 10/25/03)
Executive Success Programs/NXIVM
Sues Over "Cult" Label
Executive Success Programs (ESP) has sued three critics who characterized the
organization as a ―cult‖ and publicized its confidential manual. The defendants are [cult
expert] Rick Ross and his Ross Institute of New Jersey California psychiatrist John
Hochman M.D. [a cult educator] and Stephanie Franco [a former ESP student.]
Ross and Hochman have been accused of describing ESP programs as dangerous and
expensive forms of brainwashing. ESP alleges that this has been bad for their business, and
wants compensatory damages of $2.4 million and punitive damages of $7.3 million. Ross
says the suit, brought in Federal District Court in Albany, NY, is an attempt to silence critics
and will be dismissed.
ESP has a staff of 300 that trains business managers and chief executives in the U.S. and
Mexico to reach the highest level of their potential. Hochman and Ross see ESP as a
recycled version of self-help programs like Scientology and est. The New York state

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 96
Attorney General prohibited ESP head Keith Raniere — now called ―Vanguard‖ by ESP
students — from running a chain distribution business after a former company collapsed
under the weight of federal allegations that it was a pyramid scheme.
Some neighbors in the town of Halfmoon have organized to protest ESP plans to build a
facility. One neighbor said the ESP members he met at an unauthorized groundbreaking ―all
have that monotone voice. They were dressed up in business suits, fancy dresses. One
person there was in a wedding dress. They told us it was their property and they'd do as
they please," Tammy Quinn said. "I don't want them anywhere in the area.‖ (Dennis Yusko,
Albany Times Union, Internet, 8/8/03)
Faith Healing
Baby Dies from Kidney Infection
Four-moth-old Caleb Tribble died in December at his rural home near Pakotai, New Zealand,
of an untreated kidney infection. His grandfather, John Tribble, a ―faith healer,‖ prayed for
Caleb and felt he was improving just before the infant died.
Caleb‘s mother said: ―I don‘t have any regrets. I do my best. I‘m just so grateful to have
had four wonderful months with him. He was lent to us for a purpose. I can only say I
believe he is in God‘s hands now. It is God‘s will.‖ Caleb was one of eight children. The older
ones take correspondence lessons at home rather than attend a local school 6 miles away.
(New Zealand Press Association, Internet, 12/11/03)
Faith Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith
Exorcism Banned
Ray Hemphill, minister of the Faith Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith, has been
ordered, as condition of bail, not to perform any more exorcisms or spiritual healing. He had
been charged with felony child abuse in the death of 9-year-old Terrence Cottrell, who died
of suffocation during a prayer session calculated to release ―demons‖ from the child. (AP in
New York Times, Internet, 8/28/03)
False Memory
Disciplined Doctor Practicing Again
Psychiatrist Bennett Braun, who in 1999 lost his license to practice in Illinois for two years
for allegedly using drugs and hypnosis to persuade a family falsely that they had been
involved in cannibalistic and satanic cults, has resumed his practice, in Helena, MT.
Patient Patty Burgus sued Braun for persuading her that she had 300 personalities, ate
human flesh meatloaf, and was a high priestess in a satanic cult. She eventually sued him
and got a multi-million dollar settlement, but Braun in turn sued his insurer, saying the
settlement was made over his objections and violated his policy [sic]. Braun, who has since
regained his Illinois license, says he didn‘t contest the suspension because he had become
physically and financially exhausted. (Bon Anez, AP, Internet, 10/16/03)
Court Rules Memories May Be Flawed
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has, for the first time, ruled that repeated questioning by
social workers and police may induce children to report false memories of molestation.
Therefore, the court said, defendants are entitled to a pre-trial hearing to try to show the
children‘s testimony may be tainted and suggest they may be incompetent to testify.
―Common experience informs us,‖ the court said, ―that children are, by their very essence,
fanciful creatures who have difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality who when asked a
question want to give the 'right' answer, the answer that pleases the interrogator who are