Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18, 2001, Page 63
2000). As a symbol of renewal, the letter Aleph is used in Japan in the name of many
companies, a Japanese restaurant chain, even a prep school – all of which were thrown into
turmoil by this move on the part of the cult. Each of these legitimate enterprises felt very
threatened by any possible connection to Aum.]
Members of the small Concerned Christians cult, who went to Jerusalem in 1998, predicted
that the Second Coming of Christ, their reason for being in Israel, would be preceded by an
earthquake in Denver (their home base) in October 1998. Three months later, they were
expelled by the Israelis who claimed that members of the group were planning to cause
some catastrophe in Jerusalem to expedite that Second Coming (Kifner, 1999). There was
no such earthquake, and virtually nothing was heard of the group following its expulsion,
except for a report in February 1999 that a number of the group‘s members had leased
homes in Greece (Associated Press, 1999). They were expelled from Greece in December
1999 for overstaying their residence permits (Kifner, 1999). The leader of the group, Monte
Kim Miller, a former business executive who has claimed that he spoke with ―the voice of
God,‖ and who predicted that he would die in Jerusalem in 1999, was not in Jerusalem when
his followers were deported and he has not been heard from or seen since then.
Of course, if the world doesn‘t end as predicted, a variety of creative reasons may be
developed to explain the delay. Although a failed prophecy may have a negative impact on
some aspects of cultic groups, research has shown that, on the whole, the members remain
with the group. The theory of cognitive dissonance explains how they modify and adapt
contradictory information and their belief systems so that incongruence is resolved
(Stewart, 1999).
One of the major concerns in government here and abroad in the years immediately
preceding 2000 was the possibility of acts of international terrorism by politically-driven
cult-type groups (Medd &Goldstein, 1997). This concern may have contributed to some of
the more hotly criticized anti-cult actions such as those taken at Waco, Texas. On the other
hand, one cannot blame the authorities entirely when they are confronted with groups
predicting attacks, such as one series of press releases in the period August 1993 through
October 1994 by a spokesman for a religious cult based in Missoula, Montana. This group
claimed to have Biblical references that supported and predicted the bombing of the World
Trade Center, retributive acts by Saddam Hussein, and so on (Chase, 1995). Certainly the
World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and plans subsequently discovered for exploding the
Lincoln and Holland Tunnels between New Jersey and New York were enough to cause acute
anxiety in any government agency, and the well-known ―copycat‖ format of psychologically
disturbed people would elevate that anxiety significantly.
The more recent attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11,
2001, are yet another example of terrorism by a politically-driven group led by a man with
many of the characteristics of a cult leader, Osama bin Laden. The magnitude of the
attacks in this instance, however, have been regarded as an act of war, with military action
undertaken against bin Laden and his group, the al-Queda, as well as heightened security at
airports and other locations, and concentrated searches for possible terrorists in both the
United States and a number of European countries.
Another very real cause for anxiety has been the proliferation of weapons, even nuclear
weapons, which can certainly create an apocalypse. Jim Jones began his ministry and
People‘s Temple in the late 1950s when a nuclear holocaust was indeed a sword hanging
over our heads, and his self-described effort was to protect his followers from a nuclear
holocaust. Asahara, four decades later, was willing to use nuclear weapons to wipe out his
enemies – most of the world, that is. With detailed instructions for making bombs of all
kinds available on the internet, the possibility that a deranged scientist, or any deranged
but reasonably intelligent person, could build a nuclear bomb with which to bring on
2000). As a symbol of renewal, the letter Aleph is used in Japan in the name of many
companies, a Japanese restaurant chain, even a prep school – all of which were thrown into
turmoil by this move on the part of the cult. Each of these legitimate enterprises felt very
threatened by any possible connection to Aum.]
Members of the small Concerned Christians cult, who went to Jerusalem in 1998, predicted
that the Second Coming of Christ, their reason for being in Israel, would be preceded by an
earthquake in Denver (their home base) in October 1998. Three months later, they were
expelled by the Israelis who claimed that members of the group were planning to cause
some catastrophe in Jerusalem to expedite that Second Coming (Kifner, 1999). There was
no such earthquake, and virtually nothing was heard of the group following its expulsion,
except for a report in February 1999 that a number of the group‘s members had leased
homes in Greece (Associated Press, 1999). They were expelled from Greece in December
1999 for overstaying their residence permits (Kifner, 1999). The leader of the group, Monte
Kim Miller, a former business executive who has claimed that he spoke with ―the voice of
God,‖ and who predicted that he would die in Jerusalem in 1999, was not in Jerusalem when
his followers were deported and he has not been heard from or seen since then.
Of course, if the world doesn‘t end as predicted, a variety of creative reasons may be
developed to explain the delay. Although a failed prophecy may have a negative impact on
some aspects of cultic groups, research has shown that, on the whole, the members remain
with the group. The theory of cognitive dissonance explains how they modify and adapt
contradictory information and their belief systems so that incongruence is resolved
(Stewart, 1999).
One of the major concerns in government here and abroad in the years immediately
preceding 2000 was the possibility of acts of international terrorism by politically-driven
cult-type groups (Medd &Goldstein, 1997). This concern may have contributed to some of
the more hotly criticized anti-cult actions such as those taken at Waco, Texas. On the other
hand, one cannot blame the authorities entirely when they are confronted with groups
predicting attacks, such as one series of press releases in the period August 1993 through
October 1994 by a spokesman for a religious cult based in Missoula, Montana. This group
claimed to have Biblical references that supported and predicted the bombing of the World
Trade Center, retributive acts by Saddam Hussein, and so on (Chase, 1995). Certainly the
World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and plans subsequently discovered for exploding the
Lincoln and Holland Tunnels between New Jersey and New York were enough to cause acute
anxiety in any government agency, and the well-known ―copycat‖ format of psychologically
disturbed people would elevate that anxiety significantly.
The more recent attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11,
2001, are yet another example of terrorism by a politically-driven group led by a man with
many of the characteristics of a cult leader, Osama bin Laden. The magnitude of the
attacks in this instance, however, have been regarded as an act of war, with military action
undertaken against bin Laden and his group, the al-Queda, as well as heightened security at
airports and other locations, and concentrated searches for possible terrorists in both the
United States and a number of European countries.
Another very real cause for anxiety has been the proliferation of weapons, even nuclear
weapons, which can certainly create an apocalypse. Jim Jones began his ministry and
People‘s Temple in the late 1950s when a nuclear holocaust was indeed a sword hanging
over our heads, and his self-described effort was to protect his followers from a nuclear
holocaust. Asahara, four decades later, was willing to use nuclear weapons to wipe out his
enemies – most of the world, that is. With detailed instructions for making bombs of all
kinds available on the internet, the possibility that a deranged scientist, or any deranged
but reasonably intelligent person, could build a nuclear bomb with which to bring on
