Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2009, Page 65
The Masons want the public to know that they are neither a cult nor a religious
organization but a law abiding, decentralized, charitable fraternity of some two million
individuals worldwide that has included among its members George Washington, Benjamin
Franklin, Gerald Ford, and Supreme court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Some of the
continuing suspicion of the Masons, who still perform secret rituals, may stem from the
long-standing hostility of the Roman Catholic Church.
A group of self-described Messianic Israelites, called by others Messianic Christians,
met in September in a home in the central Pennsylvania town of Waterston to celebrate the
Jewish holidays. They say, ―We believe the Scriptures teach we should believe in Jesus, or
Yahshua, and keep the commandments, too.‖ Bob and Cheryl Schechterly, of Bloomsburg,
PA, who lead another Messianic Israelites teaching group, called Israel in Solidarity, have
visited Israel five times. Scott Diffendorfer, executive director of Messianic Israel Alliance,
says Messianic Christianity is a grassroots movement that supports 10 congregations in
Pennsylvania and 130 worldwide. He adds that the messianic movement is ―fairly
exponential in its growth, and noted that his alliance‘s annual conference, in Orlando, FL,
drew 1,200 people. An article in the Christian Research Journal warns that some Messianic
groups are cult-like.
Retired law enforcement officer Richard Forbes, who has investigated several cult leaders,
testified at the December federal court competency hearing for Brian David Mitchell, who
kidnapped and raped Elizabeth Smart, that Mitchell was similar to Ervil LeBaron and Charles
Manson. "They're very similar in that Brian David [also] used revelations to control the
movements of him, his wife and Elizabeth Smart. I think he used the excuse of a revelation
to get people to do things he didn't want to do." Mitchell and LeBaron, both
excommunicated from the Mormon church and claiming to be ―the mighty one and strong,‖
both used threats of death, Forbes said. When asked by authorities about the kidnapping,
Mitchell said: ―She [Smart] was able to return anytime she wanted to,‖ Mitchell asserted.
Despite Mitchell‘s bizarre actions in court, a psychiatric technician at a hospital to which
Mitchell was sent for evaluation twice, testified: ―There was nothing in his behavior that was
incompetent.‖ Two psychiatrists who found Mitchell competent during earlier hearings were
scheduled to testify later this week.
Regarding similarities between Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, sociologists of
religion recognize that ―strict‖ churches—or sub-groups within them—attract an active and
more committed membership than churches that make fewer demands on adherents. The
work of economist Laurence Iannacone explains why strict churches are strong. He
compared churches along a continuum of strictness, which he sometimes calls
―distinctiveness,‖ in matters of dress, diet, grooming, time commitments, and standards of
sexual morality. Church members who follow such behavioral guidelines gain greater
benefits, including social support and a sense of solidarity, than other congregants.
Young Orthodox Jews who were sexually abused as children spoke of their experiences
recently at synagogues in northern New Jersey, evidence that such abuse in Orthodox
communities is no longer only whispered. Indeed, panel discussions moderated by rabbis,
and victims‘ testimonies, are now attracting hundreds to meetings from Baltimore to New
York. Child advocates have criticized rabbinical courts for deciding molestation cases without
informing secular law enforcement of the crimes, which means that suspected pedophiles
get no therapy and are not monitored. But the Orthodox community in Lakewood, NJ, is
working on a plan to help prosecutors and investigators gain the trust of Orthodox residents
in order ―to bridge the [religious and secular] cultures, so the Orthodox will feel freer to
report abuses.‖
A coroner in Sydney, Australia, has called on the government to regulate self-development
counselors after finding that a woman‘s 2005 suicide was directly related to her having
The Masons want the public to know that they are neither a cult nor a religious
organization but a law abiding, decentralized, charitable fraternity of some two million
individuals worldwide that has included among its members George Washington, Benjamin
Franklin, Gerald Ford, and Supreme court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Some of the
continuing suspicion of the Masons, who still perform secret rituals, may stem from the
long-standing hostility of the Roman Catholic Church.
A group of self-described Messianic Israelites, called by others Messianic Christians,
met in September in a home in the central Pennsylvania town of Waterston to celebrate the
Jewish holidays. They say, ―We believe the Scriptures teach we should believe in Jesus, or
Yahshua, and keep the commandments, too.‖ Bob and Cheryl Schechterly, of Bloomsburg,
PA, who lead another Messianic Israelites teaching group, called Israel in Solidarity, have
visited Israel five times. Scott Diffendorfer, executive director of Messianic Israel Alliance,
says Messianic Christianity is a grassroots movement that supports 10 congregations in
Pennsylvania and 130 worldwide. He adds that the messianic movement is ―fairly
exponential in its growth, and noted that his alliance‘s annual conference, in Orlando, FL,
drew 1,200 people. An article in the Christian Research Journal warns that some Messianic
groups are cult-like.
Retired law enforcement officer Richard Forbes, who has investigated several cult leaders,
testified at the December federal court competency hearing for Brian David Mitchell, who
kidnapped and raped Elizabeth Smart, that Mitchell was similar to Ervil LeBaron and Charles
Manson. "They're very similar in that Brian David [also] used revelations to control the
movements of him, his wife and Elizabeth Smart. I think he used the excuse of a revelation
to get people to do things he didn't want to do." Mitchell and LeBaron, both
excommunicated from the Mormon church and claiming to be ―the mighty one and strong,‖
both used threats of death, Forbes said. When asked by authorities about the kidnapping,
Mitchell said: ―She [Smart] was able to return anytime she wanted to,‖ Mitchell asserted.
Despite Mitchell‘s bizarre actions in court, a psychiatric technician at a hospital to which
Mitchell was sent for evaluation twice, testified: ―There was nothing in his behavior that was
incompetent.‖ Two psychiatrists who found Mitchell competent during earlier hearings were
scheduled to testify later this week.
Regarding similarities between Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, sociologists of
religion recognize that ―strict‖ churches—or sub-groups within them—attract an active and
more committed membership than churches that make fewer demands on adherents. The
work of economist Laurence Iannacone explains why strict churches are strong. He
compared churches along a continuum of strictness, which he sometimes calls
―distinctiveness,‖ in matters of dress, diet, grooming, time commitments, and standards of
sexual morality. Church members who follow such behavioral guidelines gain greater
benefits, including social support and a sense of solidarity, than other congregants.
Young Orthodox Jews who were sexually abused as children spoke of their experiences
recently at synagogues in northern New Jersey, evidence that such abuse in Orthodox
communities is no longer only whispered. Indeed, panel discussions moderated by rabbis,
and victims‘ testimonies, are now attracting hundreds to meetings from Baltimore to New
York. Child advocates have criticized rabbinical courts for deciding molestation cases without
informing secular law enforcement of the crimes, which means that suspected pedophiles
get no therapy and are not monitored. But the Orthodox community in Lakewood, NJ, is
working on a plan to help prosecutors and investigators gain the trust of Orthodox residents
in order ―to bridge the [religious and secular] cultures, so the Orthodox will feel freer to
report abuses.‖
A coroner in Sydney, Australia, has called on the government to regulate self-development
counselors after finding that a woman‘s 2005 suicide was directly related to her having
