Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 125
Evangelist [sic] Charles, brother of school owner Otis McIntyre, denied the abuse
accusation, saying: ―These kids were in a controlled environment, where they are not
allowed to have their way as they were able to do at home. There are a million reasons why
these kids would do anything and say anything they could to get back home.‖
The school apparently recruited students by contacting parents at juvenile courts, as well as
through ads. It charged up to $14,000 per year, with the promise of schooling, tough
discipline, and counseling. Parents were shocked to hear the recent allegations they only
saw their kids at the school‘s church on Sundays. A few of the children said they wanted to
remain in the school rather than return to chaotic home lives.
Being accredited by neither the state nor the Association of Christian Schools (of which it is
a member), no agency monitored Ministerial Christian Academy. (Carla Rivera, Los Angeles
Times, Internet, 3/31/04)
Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy/Palm Lane Academy
Schools Closed Over Discipline Issues
Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy, in southeast Missouri, and Palm Lane
Academy, in Florida, related boarding schools that relied on Christian fundamentalist
teachings, strict discipline, and corporal punishment to reform troubled teens, have closed
following years of criticism of their practices. Last month, a former student was awarded
$20,000 by a jury for an injury suffered at Mountain Park. He alleged that he was falsely
imprisoned at the school, that discipline there violated his civil rights, that he was denied
outside communications, and that the school let [sic] students sleep as little as five hours a
day.
The Mountain Park lawyer called the allegations ―part of a crusade by a few individuals
against fundamentalist Christian schools.‖ Mountain Park founder, the Rev. Bob Wills, once
ran a school in Hattiesburg, MS, that was sued for allegedly paddling pregnant teens and
detaining a 19-year-old against her will. A settlement required changes in the school, but
Wills closed it and relocated to Missouri. (AP in New York Times, Internet, 5/30/04)
Movement for Spiritual Integration into Absolute (MISA)
Yoga “Master” Arrested for Practices
Gregorian Bivolaru, yoga ―master‖ of the Bucharest-based Movement for Spiritual
Integration into Absolute, has been arrested by Romanian authorities following
complaints from parents and several of his disciples that his discipline involves sexual
practices and urine-drinking therapy. The movement, which has attracted thousands of
followers from around the country since its founding in 1990, allegedly recruits mostly
young people with ―adaptation problems,‖ promising it will help them ―get to know
themselves,‖ which usually includes abandoning school and family. (Dan Carbunaru, Violeta
Fotache, Internet, 3/19/04)
Native American Church
Ritual Peyote Use Legalized for All Members
The Utah Supreme Court in June ruled that James ―Flaming Eagle‖ Mooney, of the Native
American Church, can legally give peyote to members of his church, regardless of race.
The ruling went against a 1994 law that restricted the sacramental use of peyote — said to
be a thousandth as powerful as LSD — to members of federally recognized tribes.
People in Utah have been suspicious of the Native American Church because its prayer
space can be a tepee, or a riverbank, or a patch of grass, and it has no officers or records.
In addition, some participants in the church‘s ceremonies have paid much more than the
Evangelist [sic] Charles, brother of school owner Otis McIntyre, denied the abuse
accusation, saying: ―These kids were in a controlled environment, where they are not
allowed to have their way as they were able to do at home. There are a million reasons why
these kids would do anything and say anything they could to get back home.‖
The school apparently recruited students by contacting parents at juvenile courts, as well as
through ads. It charged up to $14,000 per year, with the promise of schooling, tough
discipline, and counseling. Parents were shocked to hear the recent allegations they only
saw their kids at the school‘s church on Sundays. A few of the children said they wanted to
remain in the school rather than return to chaotic home lives.
Being accredited by neither the state nor the Association of Christian Schools (of which it is
a member), no agency monitored Ministerial Christian Academy. (Carla Rivera, Los Angeles
Times, Internet, 3/31/04)
Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy/Palm Lane Academy
Schools Closed Over Discipline Issues
Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy, in southeast Missouri, and Palm Lane
Academy, in Florida, related boarding schools that relied on Christian fundamentalist
teachings, strict discipline, and corporal punishment to reform troubled teens, have closed
following years of criticism of their practices. Last month, a former student was awarded
$20,000 by a jury for an injury suffered at Mountain Park. He alleged that he was falsely
imprisoned at the school, that discipline there violated his civil rights, that he was denied
outside communications, and that the school let [sic] students sleep as little as five hours a
day.
The Mountain Park lawyer called the allegations ―part of a crusade by a few individuals
against fundamentalist Christian schools.‖ Mountain Park founder, the Rev. Bob Wills, once
ran a school in Hattiesburg, MS, that was sued for allegedly paddling pregnant teens and
detaining a 19-year-old against her will. A settlement required changes in the school, but
Wills closed it and relocated to Missouri. (AP in New York Times, Internet, 5/30/04)
Movement for Spiritual Integration into Absolute (MISA)
Yoga “Master” Arrested for Practices
Gregorian Bivolaru, yoga ―master‖ of the Bucharest-based Movement for Spiritual
Integration into Absolute, has been arrested by Romanian authorities following
complaints from parents and several of his disciples that his discipline involves sexual
practices and urine-drinking therapy. The movement, which has attracted thousands of
followers from around the country since its founding in 1990, allegedly recruits mostly
young people with ―adaptation problems,‖ promising it will help them ―get to know
themselves,‖ which usually includes abandoning school and family. (Dan Carbunaru, Violeta
Fotache, Internet, 3/19/04)
Native American Church
Ritual Peyote Use Legalized for All Members
The Utah Supreme Court in June ruled that James ―Flaming Eagle‖ Mooney, of the Native
American Church, can legally give peyote to members of his church, regardless of race.
The ruling went against a 1994 law that restricted the sacramental use of peyote — said to
be a thousandth as powerful as LSD — to members of federally recognized tribes.
People in Utah have been suspicious of the Native American Church because its prayer
space can be a tepee, or a riverbank, or a patch of grass, and it has no officers or records.
In addition, some participants in the church‘s ceremonies have paid much more than the
