Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2009, Page 61
News Summaries
Details on these and other news reports are available in the ICSA E-Library.
Tony Alamo was sentenced in November by a U.S. District Court judge in Arkansas to 175
years in prison. The jurist said it was ―hard to imagine‖ the damage inflicted on the young
girls Alamo took as ―wives‖—one as young as 8—and kept under strict control. ..―May he
[God] have mercy on your soul,‖ he told Alamo. Two longtime Alamo followers testified that
the defendant had changed their lives for the better and helped needy people around the
world. ―If he hadn‘t taken a bold stand and been a shining light in a world of darkness,‖ said
one, ―I‘d be lost.‖ Authorities say they will monitor Alamo‘s communications from prison
with followers because they expect him to continue giving orders, as he did while serving an
earlier prison term. Local prosecutors, meanwhile, will work with federal and state
authorities to file charges against church members who were complicit in Alamo‘s crimes.
Jim Ritter, of the Watsontown Baptist Church, in Pennsylvania, does not consider the local
Assemblies of Yahweh ―to be a part of the Christian community. ―Should Christians
beware of this group? Yeah, definitely. They say some very nice, almost flowery, things
about Jesus. But it‘s about what they don‘t say.‖ He thinks that groups like the Assemblies
of Yahweh are run like dictatorships, with no accountability or oversight. ―Then,‖ he added,
―the mechanics are in place for abuse of power and control.‖ When a group sets itself up as
a lone ranger, he concluded, ―I start getting nervous. It‘s the makings of a cult.‖
Prominent televangelist and healer Benny Hinn said, during an ABC-TV interview in
October: ―The anointing, which is God's power, comes on me. ..I can actually feel it. And
people start getting healed.‖ Asked if he was taking unfair advantage of profoundly religious
supplicants who are especially vulnerable because of their illnesses, he added: ―I would not
do this for money. ...I think that if I was fooling the people over 35 years of it now, I
would be caught already fooling them."
As to failed healings: ―I am human like you. I make mistakes like anybody else." He said
that God heals people in their seats [at his meetings], and that he, Hinn, is not responsible
for what people claim [about being healed] once they get onstage. "I do believe it's possible
for individuals to mentally convince themselves they are [healed], but that does not deny
the real healings. That doesn't dismiss the fact that a lot of people are really cured."
As to Sen. Charles Grassley‘s concern that Hinn and some other evangelists are using tax-
exempt donations to fund lavish lifestyles, Hinn said he is "absolutely" confident that he is
using the money appropriately. ―Look, you know there's this idea supposedly that we
preachers are supposed to walk about with sandals and ride bicycles. That's nonsense. ..
It's a necessity for me to have my own private plane to fly so I can go and do what God
called me to do around the world. If I should fly commercial I would wear out. With my
schedule? It would be madness."
Elizabeth Claire Prophet, a founder and the former spiritual leader of the Church
Universal and Triumphant (CUT), died in Bozeman, MT, in October at the age of 70,
having suffered from Alzheimer‘s for a number of years. She was born into a Christian
Science family in Red Bank, NJ, and by the age of nine, she said, she‘d gone ―to every
church in town‖ and found that none taught ―the whole truth ...I found that within
myself.‖ In 1986, former CUT member Gregory Mull was awarded $1.5 million in a suit
against her and the church alleging, among other things, that he had been subjected to a
form of thought control. At a memorial service, Prophet‘s daughter Tatiana said: ―I think
what my mom did on balance was positive for the world. But people who still believe she‘s a
perfected being, that‘s really hard for me.‖
News Summaries
Details on these and other news reports are available in the ICSA E-Library.
Tony Alamo was sentenced in November by a U.S. District Court judge in Arkansas to 175
years in prison. The jurist said it was ―hard to imagine‖ the damage inflicted on the young
girls Alamo took as ―wives‖—one as young as 8—and kept under strict control. ..―May he
[God] have mercy on your soul,‖ he told Alamo. Two longtime Alamo followers testified that
the defendant had changed their lives for the better and helped needy people around the
world. ―If he hadn‘t taken a bold stand and been a shining light in a world of darkness,‖ said
one, ―I‘d be lost.‖ Authorities say they will monitor Alamo‘s communications from prison
with followers because they expect him to continue giving orders, as he did while serving an
earlier prison term. Local prosecutors, meanwhile, will work with federal and state
authorities to file charges against church members who were complicit in Alamo‘s crimes.
Jim Ritter, of the Watsontown Baptist Church, in Pennsylvania, does not consider the local
Assemblies of Yahweh ―to be a part of the Christian community. ―Should Christians
beware of this group? Yeah, definitely. They say some very nice, almost flowery, things
about Jesus. But it‘s about what they don‘t say.‖ He thinks that groups like the Assemblies
of Yahweh are run like dictatorships, with no accountability or oversight. ―Then,‖ he added,
―the mechanics are in place for abuse of power and control.‖ When a group sets itself up as
a lone ranger, he concluded, ―I start getting nervous. It‘s the makings of a cult.‖
Prominent televangelist and healer Benny Hinn said, during an ABC-TV interview in
October: ―The anointing, which is God's power, comes on me. ..I can actually feel it. And
people start getting healed.‖ Asked if he was taking unfair advantage of profoundly religious
supplicants who are especially vulnerable because of their illnesses, he added: ―I would not
do this for money. ...I think that if I was fooling the people over 35 years of it now, I
would be caught already fooling them."
As to failed healings: ―I am human like you. I make mistakes like anybody else." He said
that God heals people in their seats [at his meetings], and that he, Hinn, is not responsible
for what people claim [about being healed] once they get onstage. "I do believe it's possible
for individuals to mentally convince themselves they are [healed], but that does not deny
the real healings. That doesn't dismiss the fact that a lot of people are really cured."
As to Sen. Charles Grassley‘s concern that Hinn and some other evangelists are using tax-
exempt donations to fund lavish lifestyles, Hinn said he is "absolutely" confident that he is
using the money appropriately. ―Look, you know there's this idea supposedly that we
preachers are supposed to walk about with sandals and ride bicycles. That's nonsense. ..
It's a necessity for me to have my own private plane to fly so I can go and do what God
called me to do around the world. If I should fly commercial I would wear out. With my
schedule? It would be madness."
Elizabeth Claire Prophet, a founder and the former spiritual leader of the Church
Universal and Triumphant (CUT), died in Bozeman, MT, in October at the age of 70,
having suffered from Alzheimer‘s for a number of years. She was born into a Christian
Science family in Red Bank, NJ, and by the age of nine, she said, she‘d gone ―to every
church in town‖ and found that none taught ―the whole truth ...I found that within
myself.‖ In 1986, former CUT member Gregory Mull was awarded $1.5 million in a suit
against her and the church alleging, among other things, that he had been subjected to a
form of thought control. At a memorial service, Prophet‘s daughter Tatiana said: ―I think
what my mom did on balance was positive for the world. But people who still believe she‘s a
perfected being, that‘s really hard for me.‖
