Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2005, Page 42
News Summaries
Amadon/Living Love
Parents Say Daughter Lost to Guru
Johannesburg, South Africa, couple Karen and Ian McMillan say their 18-year-old daughter,
Diane, was lured via the Internet to Oregon by guru Amadon, whom she has now married,
vowing never to return home. The Oregonian newspaper has published accounts describing
Amadon as a ―foul-mouthed zealot who psychologically controlled‖ his employees, two of
whom won sexual harassment suits against him. They said he would evaluate their spiritual
and psychological states daily, frequently touching them and asking about their sex lives.
Diane, a devout Christian whose involvement with Amadon began while her mother was
suffering a health crisis, wrote to her parents: ―Amadon is everything I always thought he
was. Now that I have left home and am a married woman, I am no longer under your
control…If you reject my husband and these people, then you have rejected me. I don‘t
think that under those circumstances it‘s possible for us to have any workable
relationship.‖(Kashiefa Ajam, Independent Online, Internet, 4/2/02)
Girl Removed from Guru
A former South African policeman, identified only as André, has told how he rescued a 16-
year-old Warmbaths girl who ran away two years ago to be with Amadon, the Oregon-
based head of the Living Life Fellowship (LLF). The law officer came forward in the wake
of news reporting on the case of another South African girl, Diane McMillan, whom Amadon
recently recruited over the internet and allegedly married when she arrived in the U.S.
The former policeman said he got no help from South African Interpol or the U.S. Embassy,
but found an American policeman to assist him in confronting Amadon at his Oregon farm
and threatening to arrest him for possession of pornography if he did not produce the girl.
―She was definitely there against her will because, when we told her she had to come with
us, she did not argue. Amadon gave us her passport, which he had kept. ..She had to
have extensive counseling. ..We found out that she had been sexually abused.‖
Cult expert Luke Lamprecht describes LLF teachings as ―idle ramblings‖ that appeal to
teenage angst. ―The girls who are lured would be white, achievers at school, very religious,
and exceptionally bright—people looking for the meaning of life, and love. This guy
(Amadon) provides it.‖ (Keshiefa Ajam, IA, Independent Online, in Johannesburg Star,
Internet, 5/7/05)
Mother Says Her Daughter “Indoctrinated”
The mother of Diane McMillan, a young South African who left home for Oregon to marry
Amadon, guru of the Living Love Fellowship — he wooed her over the Internet starting
when she was 15 — says her daughter may not be drugged or brainwashed. But ―I feel she
has been indoctrinated because she can see no wrong in Amadon. The two of them feel
completely blameless. She listens to everything he says and does not question it.‖ (Kasheifa
Ajam, Saturday Star in IOL, Internet, 6/11/05)
Appalachian Wilderness Camp
Counselors Fired in Child’s Death
Five counselors at the state-run Appalachian Wilderness Camp [for troubled children]
have been fired following the death of a 13-year-old whom they restrained for 90 minutes
allegedly to curb his belligerency. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into the
death, and the state officials who oversee the camp say counselors will be given more
training on how to deal with unruly children. (AP in New York Times, Internet, 5/14/05)
News Summaries
Amadon/Living Love
Parents Say Daughter Lost to Guru
Johannesburg, South Africa, couple Karen and Ian McMillan say their 18-year-old daughter,
Diane, was lured via the Internet to Oregon by guru Amadon, whom she has now married,
vowing never to return home. The Oregonian newspaper has published accounts describing
Amadon as a ―foul-mouthed zealot who psychologically controlled‖ his employees, two of
whom won sexual harassment suits against him. They said he would evaluate their spiritual
and psychological states daily, frequently touching them and asking about their sex lives.
Diane, a devout Christian whose involvement with Amadon began while her mother was
suffering a health crisis, wrote to her parents: ―Amadon is everything I always thought he
was. Now that I have left home and am a married woman, I am no longer under your
control…If you reject my husband and these people, then you have rejected me. I don‘t
think that under those circumstances it‘s possible for us to have any workable
relationship.‖(Kashiefa Ajam, Independent Online, Internet, 4/2/02)
Girl Removed from Guru
A former South African policeman, identified only as André, has told how he rescued a 16-
year-old Warmbaths girl who ran away two years ago to be with Amadon, the Oregon-
based head of the Living Life Fellowship (LLF). The law officer came forward in the wake
of news reporting on the case of another South African girl, Diane McMillan, whom Amadon
recently recruited over the internet and allegedly married when she arrived in the U.S.
The former policeman said he got no help from South African Interpol or the U.S. Embassy,
but found an American policeman to assist him in confronting Amadon at his Oregon farm
and threatening to arrest him for possession of pornography if he did not produce the girl.
―She was definitely there against her will because, when we told her she had to come with
us, she did not argue. Amadon gave us her passport, which he had kept. ..She had to
have extensive counseling. ..We found out that she had been sexually abused.‖
Cult expert Luke Lamprecht describes LLF teachings as ―idle ramblings‖ that appeal to
teenage angst. ―The girls who are lured would be white, achievers at school, very religious,
and exceptionally bright—people looking for the meaning of life, and love. This guy
(Amadon) provides it.‖ (Keshiefa Ajam, IA, Independent Online, in Johannesburg Star,
Internet, 5/7/05)
Mother Says Her Daughter “Indoctrinated”
The mother of Diane McMillan, a young South African who left home for Oregon to marry
Amadon, guru of the Living Love Fellowship — he wooed her over the Internet starting
when she was 15 — says her daughter may not be drugged or brainwashed. But ―I feel she
has been indoctrinated because she can see no wrong in Amadon. The two of them feel
completely blameless. She listens to everything he says and does not question it.‖ (Kasheifa
Ajam, Saturday Star in IOL, Internet, 6/11/05)
Appalachian Wilderness Camp
Counselors Fired in Child’s Death
Five counselors at the state-run Appalachian Wilderness Camp [for troubled children]
have been fired following the death of a 13-year-old whom they restrained for 90 minutes
allegedly to curb his belligerency. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into the
death, and the state officials who oversee the camp say counselors will be given more
training on how to deal with unruly children. (AP in New York Times, Internet, 5/14/05)
