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convicted of reckless homicide because they didn‘t seeking medical help for their seriously ill
newborn, but relied instead on faith healing.
In states like Ohio, the Schmidt‘s would not have been indicted because religious based
neglect that leads to death is exempt from prosecution. Even in Indiana, parents who shun
medical treatment won‘t be charged so long as the child survives, no matter the severity of
the disability that remains.
Iowan Rita Swan, a former Christian Scientist who now heads Children‘s Health Care is a
Legal Duty, says she was taught as a child that adult diseases stemmed from parents‘ sins.
(Robert King, Indianapolis Star, 5/15/05)
Guruism
Possible Harm in Motivational Programs
Advice from some of the gurus who present motivational programs may help some people,
but sometimes it can be dangerous. ―The search for self-improvement is a worthwhile thing,
and many people could be doing more with their lives,‖ says psychologist Sarah Edelman,
author of Change Your Thinking. ―But the danger is in swallowing everything you hear and
not questioning whether or not it‘s valid for you,‖ Edelman added.
―Unfortunately,‖ says Australian motivational speaker Mark McKeon, ―there are a lot of
people seeking answers who are also willing to give up their responsibility for their lives to a
guru.‖
Oxford psychiatrist Dr. Anthony Storr says: ―I think one of the things we ought to educate the
young about is not to fall for the doctrines of people who are terribly forceful in personality.‖
(Helen Hawkes, Sunday Telegraph in News.com.au, Australia, Internet, 5/29/05)
Hosanna Church
Devil-Worshipping Cult Investigated
The Tangipahoa Parish (LA) sheriff has arrested four more people in connection with his
investigation of an offshoot of the Hosanna Church, suspecting they were involved from
1999 until 2003 in a cult that sexually abused children and animals. ―This is hard to talk
about and harder to believe,‖ he said, ―but some of the suspects have told us their intention
in all of this was devil worshipping.‖ (Steven Ward, Baton Rouge Advocate, 5/21/05)
Alleged Sexual Abuser Beaten by Inmates
Nicole Bernard, extradited from Ohio recently on the suspicion that she was involved in the
alleged pedophile ring run inside Louisiana‘s Hosanna Church, was beaten by female
cellmates when they heard that several children had been raped by members of the now
defunct church. (MSNBC News in NBC4, 5/31/05)
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishna)
Visit to New Vrindaban
A recent visit to the Moundsville, WVA, establishment of the International Society for
Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) (Hare Krishna) found the settlement of New
Vrindaban ―overflowing with Western devotees and Indian Hindus who had converged from
across the country to celebrate the birthday of ISKCON founder Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. During a visit several months earlier for a Sunday feast, ―the temple and the
grounds had been almost deserted.‖ Nonetheless, the palace is one of the most visited
tourist attractions in West Virginia. (Dan Eldridge, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Internet,
5/29/05)

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Jesus Christians
Is It a Cult?
About half of the 30-member Jesus Christians, an international group led by Australian
David McKay, have donated kidneys at transplant centers across the U.S. in the past two
years. ―There is a real euphoria that seems to follow the operation that is contagious,‖ said
McKay, who donated a kidney at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, MN, in 2003.
The donations, as well as the group‘s lifestyle, lead some to call the Jesus Christians a cult.
It‘s a nomadic group that travels across the world in campers and RVs, and maintains a Web
site instructing followers to ―forsake all,‖ including family, friends, and jobs.
McKay responds that the group is not involved in ―doctrinal heresy, sexual misconduct, mind
control, or a leaning toward mass suicides.‖ He says he‘s been unjustly depicted as a ―mind-
control manipulator‖ who coerces members to donate kidneys so he can gain publicity.
The Jesus Christians say that by donating organs they are following Scriptural teachings, such
as the apostle Paul‘s plea to Romans to present their bodies as ―living sacrifices,‖ and John
the Baptist‘s appeal to people who possessed two of anything to prove that they had repented
by giving one of those things to someone who had none.
Member Rene Gonzalez said organ donation was the way out of his spiritual rut. ―I was
praying to God to use me. Even if I had died while donating, then it would have been dying
for something positive.‖ (St. Louis Post Dispatch, Internet, 5/9/05)
Kabbalah Centre
Cult-like Aspects
Some of Kabbalah Centre founder Philip Berg’s estimated 5,000 followers around the
world believe that the popularizer of Jewish mysticism can resurrect the dead. Berg and his
extended family, who are at the apex of a highly profitable network of businesses founded
on religious objects and cures, and boosted by star followers like Madonna, live in luxury, in
stark contrast to four-to-a-bedroom conditions and $35-a-month stipends offered to full-
time volunteers who cook and clean for them. The Centre‘s use of cult-like techniques to
control members include sleep deprivation, alienation from friends and family, and
Kabbalah-dictated matchmaking. (Mim Udovitch, Radar Online, Internet, 6/17, 6/20, 6/21/,
6/22, 2005
Kingdom of Jesus Christ The Name above Every Other Name
Suit to Recover “Brainwashed” Teenager
The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) in Baguio City, Philippines, is suing to recover 19-
year-old Arlene Rillon from the Kingdom of Jesus Christ The Name above Every Other
Name, led by Apollo Quiboloy, who allegedly brainwashed her (when she was a minor)
and other underage devotees.
Arlene, whose mother has complained to the city council about her daughter‘s situation,
appeared on TV indicating she did not want to leave the group, but FLAG lawyers maintain
that she ―has been programmed by [the church] and her mind is being controlled by ...
Quiboloy.‖
Although she is an adult now, the lawyers contend that Arlene is ―no longer capable of
making decisions that are the product of her consent, as her will has been subverted. ..
Quiboloy and members of the Kingdom use the Bible and select verses‖ to control the young
people. (Vincent Cabreza and Donna Demetillo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Internet, 5/7/05)