40 ICSA TODAY 38
‘Prophet’ convicted of two sex offenses claims God
told him to start ministry
Walter Masocha, a Zimbabwean-born preacher, claims the
Lord spoke to him through a “cloud” that appeared at the
Balcomie Links Hotel in Scotland. Masocha described his
vision of God at the hotel in an “exclusive interview” for a DVD
produced by his church, Agape Ministries, which took in more
than 3.3 million pounds sterling during the past 4 years. In
April of 2015, Masocha was convicted of several sex offenses,
which took place between January 2012 and January 2014.
The convictions included “sexually assaulting a 32-year-old
deaconess of the church” and “kissing and caressing a 14-year-
old girl at the church’s base.” Two other charges involving
sexual behavior toward minors did not result in guilty verdicts.
(Nehanda Radio, 9/29/15)
Court hears that Maoist cult leader “raped female
followers and imprisoned daughter for 30 years”
A Maoist revolutionary cult leader, Aravindan Balakrishnan,
has been charged with child cruelty and false imprisonment
for holding his daughter against her will for 30 years. He
is also charged with raping and indecently assaulting two
female members of the group. Balakrishnan is the leader of a
communist collective, founded as the Worker’s Institute in
Brixton. He is accused of brainwashing his women followers
into believing that he was all-powerful and all-seeing.
Balakrishnan would keep his followers in line by using threats,
violence, and sexual degradation. His daughter rarely left the
house because of fear of the outside world, which Balakrishnan
used as a tool to keep her submissive. The case continues,
and Balakrishnan denies all charges made against him. (The
Independent, 11/12/15)
“I was God who created Christ”: Whipping cult leader
held with $4 million in cash stash and a crocodile
Cult leader Andrey Popov, or “God Kuzya,” has been accused
of torturing women from his group. Popov reportedly punished
his followers for “offenses” such as communicating with the
outside world, taking medicine, or making a phone call to
relatives. Popov claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ,
Russian saint and spiritual leader Sergey Radonezhsky, 19th
century Russian occultist Yelena Blavatskaya, and the Archangel
Gabriel. Investigators searched his seven apartments and found
more than $4 million worth of items. The Russian Orthodox
Church accused Popov’s cult of setting up shops at their fairs
and offering to perform various religious services for money.
Russian media have compared Popov’s cult with the notorious
Tokyo sarin attackers, the infamous religious organization Aum
Shinrikyo, which killed 12 people and left 50 others severely
wounded and 1,000 visually impaired. (RT, 09/10/15)
A major witness in the rape case against an Indian
guru has been shot dead
Kripal Singh, a key witness in an ongoing rape case against
Asaram Bapu, was killed in July 2015 following a string of
attacks against those testifying against Bapu. Singh was
shot by two assailants in the district of Shahjahanpur, in the
country’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The assailants were
on a motorcycle and warned Singh not to testify against the
“godman,” Asaram, before they shot him and fled. The 74-year-
old self-styled guru had been in prison since September 2013.
He and his son had also been accused of a second rape by two
sisters at another of his ashrams. (Time, 7/14/15)
Atheist church mocks Christianity by worshipping
bacon attracts members with free weddings
In Las Vegas in 2010, John Whiteside created the United
Church of Bacon “to fight discrimination against atheists.”
The group has become increasingly popular because it offers
free weddings and baptisms as long as the couple who is
getting married or person getting baptized stands in front
of something that is “real,” which to them is bacon. Within 3
months of creating their organization, the group gained 12,000
members as a result of the free-wedding ad. On its website,
the group has its own list of rules, which are laid out on stone
tablets to mimic the Ten Commandments. The United Church of
Bacon is one of a few religious organizations that have named
themselves after a food or drug. (Christian Post, 09/18/15)
Alien Jesus cult “has secret Loch Ness base”
The Aetherius Society, founded in 1955 by George King,
is a UFO religion that came about as a result of what King
described as “contacts with extraterrestrial intelligences” or
”Cosmic Masters.” A cottage on the eastern bank of Loch Ness is
owned by the cult, where members apparently cooperate with
the gods from space, according to the Herald. The property at
Inverfarigaig, which has four bedrooms, is about sixteen miles
from Highland capital Inverness and has its own private pier
that members launch boats from. The group, headquartered
in Fulham, has also confirmed that it purchased the cottage
sometime in the 1970s. (Scotsman, 07/24/15)
Court denies copyright for yoga guru’s moves
Bikram Choudhury, the infamous yoga instructor who
developed Bikram Yoga classes, has sued Evolation Yoga for
copyright infringement, claiming that his “sequence of poses
and breathing exercises” are subject to copyright. However,
a federal judge found that the sequence was not entitled to
copyright protection, and a three-judge panel of the Ninth
Circuit upheld the ruling. Evolation attorney Eric Maier with
News Desk
‘Prophet’ convicted of two sex offenses claims God
told him to start ministry
Walter Masocha, a Zimbabwean-born preacher, claims the
Lord spoke to him through a “cloud” that appeared at the
Balcomie Links Hotel in Scotland. Masocha described his
vision of God at the hotel in an “exclusive interview” for a DVD
produced by his church, Agape Ministries, which took in more
than 3.3 million pounds sterling during the past 4 years. In
April of 2015, Masocha was convicted of several sex offenses,
which took place between January 2012 and January 2014.
The convictions included “sexually assaulting a 32-year-old
deaconess of the church” and “kissing and caressing a 14-year-
old girl at the church’s base.” Two other charges involving
sexual behavior toward minors did not result in guilty verdicts.
(Nehanda Radio, 9/29/15)
Court hears that Maoist cult leader “raped female
followers and imprisoned daughter for 30 years”
A Maoist revolutionary cult leader, Aravindan Balakrishnan,
has been charged with child cruelty and false imprisonment
for holding his daughter against her will for 30 years. He
is also charged with raping and indecently assaulting two
female members of the group. Balakrishnan is the leader of a
communist collective, founded as the Worker’s Institute in
Brixton. He is accused of brainwashing his women followers
into believing that he was all-powerful and all-seeing.
Balakrishnan would keep his followers in line by using threats,
violence, and sexual degradation. His daughter rarely left the
house because of fear of the outside world, which Balakrishnan
used as a tool to keep her submissive. The case continues,
and Balakrishnan denies all charges made against him. (The
Independent, 11/12/15)
“I was God who created Christ”: Whipping cult leader
held with $4 million in cash stash and a crocodile
Cult leader Andrey Popov, or “God Kuzya,” has been accused
of torturing women from his group. Popov reportedly punished
his followers for “offenses” such as communicating with the
outside world, taking medicine, or making a phone call to
relatives. Popov claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ,
Russian saint and spiritual leader Sergey Radonezhsky, 19th
century Russian occultist Yelena Blavatskaya, and the Archangel
Gabriel. Investigators searched his seven apartments and found
more than $4 million worth of items. The Russian Orthodox
Church accused Popov’s cult of setting up shops at their fairs
and offering to perform various religious services for money.
Russian media have compared Popov’s cult with the notorious
Tokyo sarin attackers, the infamous religious organization Aum
Shinrikyo, which killed 12 people and left 50 others severely
wounded and 1,000 visually impaired. (RT, 09/10/15)
A major witness in the rape case against an Indian
guru has been shot dead
Kripal Singh, a key witness in an ongoing rape case against
Asaram Bapu, was killed in July 2015 following a string of
attacks against those testifying against Bapu. Singh was
shot by two assailants in the district of Shahjahanpur, in the
country’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The assailants were
on a motorcycle and warned Singh not to testify against the
“godman,” Asaram, before they shot him and fled. The 74-year-
old self-styled guru had been in prison since September 2013.
He and his son had also been accused of a second rape by two
sisters at another of his ashrams. (Time, 7/14/15)
Atheist church mocks Christianity by worshipping
bacon attracts members with free weddings
In Las Vegas in 2010, John Whiteside created the United
Church of Bacon “to fight discrimination against atheists.”
The group has become increasingly popular because it offers
free weddings and baptisms as long as the couple who is
getting married or person getting baptized stands in front
of something that is “real,” which to them is bacon. Within 3
months of creating their organization, the group gained 12,000
members as a result of the free-wedding ad. On its website,
the group has its own list of rules, which are laid out on stone
tablets to mimic the Ten Commandments. The United Church of
Bacon is one of a few religious organizations that have named
themselves after a food or drug. (Christian Post, 09/18/15)
Alien Jesus cult “has secret Loch Ness base”
The Aetherius Society, founded in 1955 by George King,
is a UFO religion that came about as a result of what King
described as “contacts with extraterrestrial intelligences” or
”Cosmic Masters.” A cottage on the eastern bank of Loch Ness is
owned by the cult, where members apparently cooperate with
the gods from space, according to the Herald. The property at
Inverfarigaig, which has four bedrooms, is about sixteen miles
from Highland capital Inverness and has its own private pier
that members launch boats from. The group, headquartered
in Fulham, has also confirmed that it purchased the cottage
sometime in the 1970s. (Scotsman, 07/24/15)
Court denies copyright for yoga guru’s moves
Bikram Choudhury, the infamous yoga instructor who
developed Bikram Yoga classes, has sued Evolation Yoga for
copyright infringement, claiming that his “sequence of poses
and breathing exercises” are subject to copyright. However,
a federal judge found that the sequence was not entitled to
copyright protection, and a three-judge panel of the Ninth
Circuit upheld the ruling. Evolation attorney Eric Maier with
News Desk
