VOLUME 6 |ISSUE 2 |2015 3739
Kenya “miracle-healer” scandal hits deep faith in churches
Last October, the investigative news program Inside Story
exposed self-styled Kenyan prophet Victor Kanyari, who ran
the Salvation Healing Ministry, as a charlatan. The exposé
revealed the exploitation of poor people by Kanyari, a “miracle
healer” who has attracted thousands to his Nairobi “church”
with claims of being able to cure everything from childlessness
to HIV/AIDS.
Among other things, the program portrayed the elaborate
playacting by Kanyari and devoted followers who helped
perpetuate his claims through false testimonies and so-called
healings in front of the congregation. A former assistant
claims Kanyari used the chemical compound potassium
permanganate, which turns red when it comes into contact
with water, when washing the feet of congregants to convince
people that his prayer was causing blood—and the illness
carried in it—to leach out of their bodies. His assistants also
hid needles in their hands, which they then dumped into the
footbaths to add to the illusion.
John Masinde, a Pentecostal pastor in Nairobi, said, “In an
economy like this one, you’ll find … millions of people who live
on a meal a day who cannot afford good medical care, who
have gone to school but don’t have a job. Those scenarios are
fertile for people to come up and offer a miracle cure.”
Oliver Kisaka Simiyu, the deputy general secretary of
the National Council of Churches of Kenya, the umbrella
organization representing mainstream Christian churches,
says that many Kenyans hold churches in high esteem, unlike
government, media, and unions. “No one expects someone
coming in the name of the church to do this.” He argued that
the government is ultimately to blame because “…there is a
culture of misuse of opportunity and power in this country …
that … is taking advantage of the powerless.” For mainstream
Christians, the case raises concerns that faith in the honesty of
most religious outlets will decline.
Many Kenyans are outraged that Kanyari easily exploited
this widespread trust in church institutions and targeted the
poor, many of whom are desperate and willing to pay small
fees to get the aid he promised. The case has spurred a bid for
new regulation, and the attorney general has announced an
indefinite ban on registering any new churches.
All religious institutions in Kenya are supposed to register with
the government, but the process church leaders describe is lax.
Mainstream Christian, evangelical, and Catholic churches each
have umbrella organizations to represent their members. But
only a fraction of the churches in Kenya are members, and the
mainstream leaders have no authority to enforce standards or
stop malpractice, including the proliferation of “miracle healers.”
Kanyari has denied the allegations. He hasn’t been legally
charged and seems to be practicing as usual. (Christian Science
Monitor, 11/20/14)
The Church of Scientology buys land for $37 million to build
new headquarters
The Church of Scientology has quietly purchased a large tract
of land on Sydney, Australia’s North Shore where it hopes to
build a new base for the religion in the southern hemisphere.
The land will be the site of a sprawling new facility called the
Ideal Advanced Organization and Continental Base for Australia
and the Asiatic region.
David Miscavige, the chairman of the International
Association of Scientologists (IAS) and former best man of
Scientology poster boy Tom Cruise, spoke publicly last October
about the organization’s plans to kick-start a “golden age” in
Sydney.
The vast new facility will overlook Lane Cove National Park
and be open 7 days a week as both an administrative and
theological operation and a place for public worship. (The Daily
Telegraph/Sunday Telegraph, 11/2/14)
Expert contends that Scientology membership numbers are
dwindling
In November, several thousand foreign Scientologists took
part in courses and received guidance in Copenhagen, while
another 2,000 or so work permanently in Copenhagen,
according to the organization. Peter B. Andersen, a professor
in religion sociology at the University of Copenhagen, says
this stream of foreigners into the organization’s European
Headquarters in Denmark is essential.
Yet according to Peter Åkerbäck, a religion historian at the
University of Stockholm, Scientology’s membership numbers
are in decline even as the organization applies more pressure
on its members than before. “My impression is that Scientology
is experiencing problems because a lot of high-profile members
have left the organization over the last 5 years,” Åkerbäck said.
“It’s happening in all countries, but especially in the US.”
The head of communication at Scientology Denmark, Anette
Refstrup, doesn’t agree with the experts’ opinions. She says
Scientology memberships numbers “are actually on the rise.”
(The Copenhagen Post, 11/24/14)
Drug rehab center based on Scientology teachings to open
in Heathfield, UK
Narcanon, the drug-rehabilitation group that offers counseling
based on the controversial teachings of the Church of
Scientology and up until now has operated mainly out of the
United States, is to move its UK base to The Grange in Maynards
Green Road, Heathfield. Project director Sheila MacLean said
work has already started on the center to provide 18 beds, but
no date had been set for its opening.
Michael Bustard, a local resident said: “My view is there are
people who have drug problems and anything that can be
done to help them out of that situation is good. But as a local
resident one is worried about what it is going to be. Let’s keep
our minds open, but they need to communicate … to tell the
community what it is Narconon wants to do, not make a secret
of it.” (Kent and Sussex Courier, 10/23/14)
Top Scientology leaders caught in videotaped verbal
assault At LAX
A former executive of the Church of Scientology said three
members of the church’s top management, Marc Yager, Dave
Bloomberg, and Jennifer Linson Devocht, who report to
church president David Miscavige, ambushed him at Los
Angeles International Airport last October, and that he has
video footage to prove it. In the video, the first public glimpse
of the secretive church’s top management in 4 years, the
leaders are seen yelling obscenities.
Kenya “miracle-healer” scandal hits deep faith in churches
Last October, the investigative news program Inside Story
exposed self-styled Kenyan prophet Victor Kanyari, who ran
the Salvation Healing Ministry, as a charlatan. The exposé
revealed the exploitation of poor people by Kanyari, a “miracle
healer” who has attracted thousands to his Nairobi “church”
with claims of being able to cure everything from childlessness
to HIV/AIDS.
Among other things, the program portrayed the elaborate
playacting by Kanyari and devoted followers who helped
perpetuate his claims through false testimonies and so-called
healings in front of the congregation. A former assistant
claims Kanyari used the chemical compound potassium
permanganate, which turns red when it comes into contact
with water, when washing the feet of congregants to convince
people that his prayer was causing blood—and the illness
carried in it—to leach out of their bodies. His assistants also
hid needles in their hands, which they then dumped into the
footbaths to add to the illusion.
John Masinde, a Pentecostal pastor in Nairobi, said, “In an
economy like this one, you’ll find … millions of people who live
on a meal a day who cannot afford good medical care, who
have gone to school but don’t have a job. Those scenarios are
fertile for people to come up and offer a miracle cure.”
Oliver Kisaka Simiyu, the deputy general secretary of
the National Council of Churches of Kenya, the umbrella
organization representing mainstream Christian churches,
says that many Kenyans hold churches in high esteem, unlike
government, media, and unions. “No one expects someone
coming in the name of the church to do this.” He argued that
the government is ultimately to blame because “…there is a
culture of misuse of opportunity and power in this country …
that … is taking advantage of the powerless.” For mainstream
Christians, the case raises concerns that faith in the honesty of
most religious outlets will decline.
Many Kenyans are outraged that Kanyari easily exploited
this widespread trust in church institutions and targeted the
poor, many of whom are desperate and willing to pay small
fees to get the aid he promised. The case has spurred a bid for
new regulation, and the attorney general has announced an
indefinite ban on registering any new churches.
All religious institutions in Kenya are supposed to register with
the government, but the process church leaders describe is lax.
Mainstream Christian, evangelical, and Catholic churches each
have umbrella organizations to represent their members. But
only a fraction of the churches in Kenya are members, and the
mainstream leaders have no authority to enforce standards or
stop malpractice, including the proliferation of “miracle healers.”
Kanyari has denied the allegations. He hasn’t been legally
charged and seems to be practicing as usual. (Christian Science
Monitor, 11/20/14)
The Church of Scientology buys land for $37 million to build
new headquarters
The Church of Scientology has quietly purchased a large tract
of land on Sydney, Australia’s North Shore where it hopes to
build a new base for the religion in the southern hemisphere.
The land will be the site of a sprawling new facility called the
Ideal Advanced Organization and Continental Base for Australia
and the Asiatic region.
David Miscavige, the chairman of the International
Association of Scientologists (IAS) and former best man of
Scientology poster boy Tom Cruise, spoke publicly last October
about the organization’s plans to kick-start a “golden age” in
Sydney.
The vast new facility will overlook Lane Cove National Park
and be open 7 days a week as both an administrative and
theological operation and a place for public worship. (The Daily
Telegraph/Sunday Telegraph, 11/2/14)
Expert contends that Scientology membership numbers are
dwindling
In November, several thousand foreign Scientologists took
part in courses and received guidance in Copenhagen, while
another 2,000 or so work permanently in Copenhagen,
according to the organization. Peter B. Andersen, a professor
in religion sociology at the University of Copenhagen, says
this stream of foreigners into the organization’s European
Headquarters in Denmark is essential.
Yet according to Peter Åkerbäck, a religion historian at the
University of Stockholm, Scientology’s membership numbers
are in decline even as the organization applies more pressure
on its members than before. “My impression is that Scientology
is experiencing problems because a lot of high-profile members
have left the organization over the last 5 years,” Åkerbäck said.
“It’s happening in all countries, but especially in the US.”
The head of communication at Scientology Denmark, Anette
Refstrup, doesn’t agree with the experts’ opinions. She says
Scientology memberships numbers “are actually on the rise.”
(The Copenhagen Post, 11/24/14)
Drug rehab center based on Scientology teachings to open
in Heathfield, UK
Narcanon, the drug-rehabilitation group that offers counseling
based on the controversial teachings of the Church of
Scientology and up until now has operated mainly out of the
United States, is to move its UK base to The Grange in Maynards
Green Road, Heathfield. Project director Sheila MacLean said
work has already started on the center to provide 18 beds, but
no date had been set for its opening.
Michael Bustard, a local resident said: “My view is there are
people who have drug problems and anything that can be
done to help them out of that situation is good. But as a local
resident one is worried about what it is going to be. Let’s keep
our minds open, but they need to communicate … to tell the
community what it is Narconon wants to do, not make a secret
of it.” (Kent and Sussex Courier, 10/23/14)
Top Scientology leaders caught in videotaped verbal
assault At LAX
A former executive of the Church of Scientology said three
members of the church’s top management, Marc Yager, Dave
Bloomberg, and Jennifer Linson Devocht, who report to
church president David Miscavige, ambushed him at Los
Angeles International Airport last October, and that he has
video footage to prove it. In the video, the first public glimpse
of the secretive church’s top management in 4 years, the
leaders are seen yelling obscenities.
