35 VOLUME 9 |ISSUE 1 |2018
Correspondents
,
Reports
the Reichsbürger, or Reich Citizens, who
seem to see a similarity between their
ideas and those of Rudolf Steiner.
Germanic New Medicine
The inventor of the Germanic New
Medicine, Ryke Geerd Hamer, died
on July 2, 2017, at the age of 82 in
Sandefjord (Norway), where he had
taken refuge to escape prosecution in
various countries. Trusting his theories
caused the death of many people who
abandoned conventional medicine.
Colonia Dignidad
Hartmut Hopp, previously a medical
doctor in the Colonia Dignidad, a
German criminal sectarian compound
in Chile during the regime of Pinochet,
is to be jailed in Germany.
Buddhism
The Diamond Path of Lama Ole Nydahl
is drawing criticism for the leader’s
lifestyle, including his claims of having
had sex with 500 women.
Bhakti Marga
This movement, led by Guru
Vishwananda from Mauritius, who
has followers in Germany, Italy,
France, Austria, Poland, Latvia, and
the Czech Republic, and who claims
to be advancing in Slovenia, is trying
to expand its property in Springern
(Germany) and to have a higher tower
than the nearby Christian church. The
guru obviously does not meet his
own spiritual and moral standards for
example, he seemingly did not read
the scriptures of recognized Buddhist
leaders, and although he originally
prescribed celibacy to his pupils, he has
same-sex relations with some of them.
Report From Poland
Piotr T. Nowakowski
On November 18, 2017, a meeting with
Mariette Lindstein, a Swedish writer,
was organized in the Warsaw bookshop
Świat Książki (“The World of the Book”).
The meeting dealt with threats from
cults. After 25 years of Mariette’s
adherence to the Church of Scientology,
she escaped from the organization,
simulating mental illness. It is said that
she was responsible for recruiting Tom
Cruise to the cult. She has described her
experiences in a bone-chilling trilogy
about her life in the cult. The first two
volumes of Lindstein’s trilogy have just
been translated into Polish as Sekta z
wyspy mgieł (A Cult From the Isle of Fogs)
and Sekta powraca (The Cult Returns).
The translator was Urszula Pacanowska
Skogqvist.
Report From Slovakia
Piotr T. Nowakowski
On September 24, 2017, the Slovakian
website interez.sk focused on the
problem of cults in this country,
publishing an article titled “Sekty máme
aj na Slovensku. Prečo majú neustále
nových členov?” (“We Also Have Cults in
Slovakia. Why Do They Constantly Gain
New Members?”). The author added in
the subtitle, “They’ll find you a partner
but they may lead you to a suicide.
These are cults in whom thousands of
people believe in Slovakia.” The number
may be exaggerated, but cults or
new religious movements in Slovakia
are not a myth. The examples given
in the article are the followers of the
Unification Church, who became active
in Slovakia just after 1989. There are
also more than 17 thousand Jehovah’s
Witnesses in this country of 5.5 million
people. Another organization is the
Mormons, who appeared there in 2006.
The author of the article writes that
there is only a thin line between cult
and religion. You can easily run from
one to the other. We read in the article
that
A cult does not violate
anything in our laws.
It is simply a religious
community that is separated
from the official Church.
These are closed groups
that, in most cases, reject
outside cooperation and
only devote themselves to
their community. … Strong
authority is gained by
the leader – a charismatic
personality, proclaiming
salvation or protection of
lost souls. To what extent
his conduct is moral, it is
questionable. (interez, n.d.,
para. 1)
Correspondents
,
Reports
the Reichsbürger, or Reich Citizens, who
seem to see a similarity between their
ideas and those of Rudolf Steiner.
Germanic New Medicine
The inventor of the Germanic New
Medicine, Ryke Geerd Hamer, died
on July 2, 2017, at the age of 82 in
Sandefjord (Norway), where he had
taken refuge to escape prosecution in
various countries. Trusting his theories
caused the death of many people who
abandoned conventional medicine.
Colonia Dignidad
Hartmut Hopp, previously a medical
doctor in the Colonia Dignidad, a
German criminal sectarian compound
in Chile during the regime of Pinochet,
is to be jailed in Germany.
Buddhism
The Diamond Path of Lama Ole Nydahl
is drawing criticism for the leader’s
lifestyle, including his claims of having
had sex with 500 women.
Bhakti Marga
This movement, led by Guru
Vishwananda from Mauritius, who
has followers in Germany, Italy,
France, Austria, Poland, Latvia, and
the Czech Republic, and who claims
to be advancing in Slovenia, is trying
to expand its property in Springern
(Germany) and to have a higher tower
than the nearby Christian church. The
guru obviously does not meet his
own spiritual and moral standards for
example, he seemingly did not read
the scriptures of recognized Buddhist
leaders, and although he originally
prescribed celibacy to his pupils, he has
same-sex relations with some of them.
Report From Poland
Piotr T. Nowakowski
On November 18, 2017, a meeting with
Mariette Lindstein, a Swedish writer,
was organized in the Warsaw bookshop
Świat Książki (“The World of the Book”).
The meeting dealt with threats from
cults. After 25 years of Mariette’s
adherence to the Church of Scientology,
she escaped from the organization,
simulating mental illness. It is said that
she was responsible for recruiting Tom
Cruise to the cult. She has described her
experiences in a bone-chilling trilogy
about her life in the cult. The first two
volumes of Lindstein’s trilogy have just
been translated into Polish as Sekta z
wyspy mgieł (A Cult From the Isle of Fogs)
and Sekta powraca (The Cult Returns).
The translator was Urszula Pacanowska
Skogqvist.
Report From Slovakia
Piotr T. Nowakowski
On September 24, 2017, the Slovakian
website interez.sk focused on the
problem of cults in this country,
publishing an article titled “Sekty máme
aj na Slovensku. Prečo majú neustále
nových členov?” (“We Also Have Cults in
Slovakia. Why Do They Constantly Gain
New Members?”). The author added in
the subtitle, “They’ll find you a partner
but they may lead you to a suicide.
These are cults in whom thousands of
people believe in Slovakia.” The number
may be exaggerated, but cults or
new religious movements in Slovakia
are not a myth. The examples given
in the article are the followers of the
Unification Church, who became active
in Slovakia just after 1989. There are
also more than 17 thousand Jehovah’s
Witnesses in this country of 5.5 million
people. Another organization is the
Mormons, who appeared there in 2006.
The author of the article writes that
there is only a thin line between cult
and religion. You can easily run from
one to the other. We read in the article
that
A cult does not violate
anything in our laws.
It is simply a religious
community that is separated
from the official Church.
These are closed groups
that, in most cases, reject
outside cooperation and
only devote themselves to
their community. … Strong
authority is gained by
the leader – a charismatic
personality, proclaiming
salvation or protection of
lost souls. To what extent
his conduct is moral, it is
questionable. (interez, n.d.,
para. 1)
