Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2006, Page 88
Jim Bakker
Televangelist Jim Bakker, whose wealth and fame collapsed amid scandal and a prison
term in the 1980s, is now hosting, with his second wife, Lori Graham Bakker, the hour-long
―Jim Bakker Show‖ from the tourist town of Branson, MO, in the heart of the Bible Belt. The
daily production, which Bakker considers a church service — it involves prayer, music, and
religious messages — is carried on 50 TV stations nationwide and via DirecTV. The show will
soon move to a larger location in Branson.
Kaotians
A Northern Echo [UK] investigation has found evidence that more than 350 people in the
region, members of the Kaotians sect — who may number as many as 25,000 in Britain —
are involved in consensual slavery rituals based on a series of 1960s science fiction novels
by professor John Norman, who described a caste society in which women are kept as
slaves. Police, who raided a home owned by a member of the sect and freed a Canadian
woman allegedly trapped in the group, have discontinued their inquiry because they found
no criminal activity and all participants were consenting adults.
Lee Thompson, 31, of Darlington, who trains women as slaves, says they come to him
voluntarily and are free to leave whenever they like. They cook and clean for him. There is
also an element of sexual domination— the girls wear leather straps, chains, and leashes.
Thompson says he‘s been banned by his butcher for leading a girl into the shop on a leash.
―I have been called sick,‖ he said, ―but I don‘t think what I do is bad. I don‘t hurt anyone or
cause any damage. I‘m a very spiritual person. I think if you do good, you get good. Lots of
girls want to come and try and find out about it. They think it‘s exciting, but it‘s hard work
for everyone. Girls leave when they‘ve had enough.‖
The parents of new member Zachary Nicodemous, 18, who say he quit his job at a
computer company to live with Thompson, add that ―he had really good prospects until this
happened. He‘s been manipulated with all this deviance going on.‖ Young Nicodemous, who
met Thompson on the Internet, says the Kaotians are ―the thing I‘ve been looking for.‖
Kenja
Kenneth Emmanuel Dyers, 84, co-founder of the spiritual healing group Kenja, was
arrested last October in Sydney, allegedly for assaulting two twelve-year-old girls during
―energy conversion sessions.‖ The girls‘ family left the organization when the financial
contributions Dyers demanded became too great.
Landmark
Landmark seminar leader Gladys Palacio plans to open a charter school in Miami Beach —
Charter on the Beach — with a six-member board, three of whom are involved in the
Landmark self improvement program, as is the owner of the building that will house the
school. The idea for the school came to Palacio following a three-month Landmark course
called the Self-Expression and Leadership Program. ―One of the greatest things about
Landmark is creating possibilities,‖ she said, adding that the school will not involve
Landmark‘s intense self-improvement programs. But, ―if people come to me, I‘ll tell them.‖
Although Landmark has its roots in Erhard Seminars Training (est), Virginia Commonwealth
University‘s David Bromley says Landmark seminars have greatly moderated est‘s grueling
intensity. Landmark, he noted, is ―reliant largely on getting people who are impressed with
the results they have experienced to go out and recruit for them. That really is the only way
they can continue.‖
Jim Bakker
Televangelist Jim Bakker, whose wealth and fame collapsed amid scandal and a prison
term in the 1980s, is now hosting, with his second wife, Lori Graham Bakker, the hour-long
―Jim Bakker Show‖ from the tourist town of Branson, MO, in the heart of the Bible Belt. The
daily production, which Bakker considers a church service — it involves prayer, music, and
religious messages — is carried on 50 TV stations nationwide and via DirecTV. The show will
soon move to a larger location in Branson.
Kaotians
A Northern Echo [UK] investigation has found evidence that more than 350 people in the
region, members of the Kaotians sect — who may number as many as 25,000 in Britain —
are involved in consensual slavery rituals based on a series of 1960s science fiction novels
by professor John Norman, who described a caste society in which women are kept as
slaves. Police, who raided a home owned by a member of the sect and freed a Canadian
woman allegedly trapped in the group, have discontinued their inquiry because they found
no criminal activity and all participants were consenting adults.
Lee Thompson, 31, of Darlington, who trains women as slaves, says they come to him
voluntarily and are free to leave whenever they like. They cook and clean for him. There is
also an element of sexual domination— the girls wear leather straps, chains, and leashes.
Thompson says he‘s been banned by his butcher for leading a girl into the shop on a leash.
―I have been called sick,‖ he said, ―but I don‘t think what I do is bad. I don‘t hurt anyone or
cause any damage. I‘m a very spiritual person. I think if you do good, you get good. Lots of
girls want to come and try and find out about it. They think it‘s exciting, but it‘s hard work
for everyone. Girls leave when they‘ve had enough.‖
The parents of new member Zachary Nicodemous, 18, who say he quit his job at a
computer company to live with Thompson, add that ―he had really good prospects until this
happened. He‘s been manipulated with all this deviance going on.‖ Young Nicodemous, who
met Thompson on the Internet, says the Kaotians are ―the thing I‘ve been looking for.‖
Kenja
Kenneth Emmanuel Dyers, 84, co-founder of the spiritual healing group Kenja, was
arrested last October in Sydney, allegedly for assaulting two twelve-year-old girls during
―energy conversion sessions.‖ The girls‘ family left the organization when the financial
contributions Dyers demanded became too great.
Landmark
Landmark seminar leader Gladys Palacio plans to open a charter school in Miami Beach —
Charter on the Beach — with a six-member board, three of whom are involved in the
Landmark self improvement program, as is the owner of the building that will house the
school. The idea for the school came to Palacio following a three-month Landmark course
called the Self-Expression and Leadership Program. ―One of the greatest things about
Landmark is creating possibilities,‖ she said, adding that the school will not involve
Landmark‘s intense self-improvement programs. But, ―if people come to me, I‘ll tell them.‖
Although Landmark has its roots in Erhard Seminars Training (est), Virginia Commonwealth
University‘s David Bromley says Landmark seminars have greatly moderated est‘s grueling
intensity. Landmark, he noted, is ―reliant largely on getting people who are impressed with
the results they have experienced to go out and recruit for them. That really is the only way
they can continue.‖
