Showing posts with label Cults. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cults. Show all posts
Protesters say BattleCry has poisoned young children
Group's founder says he wants to combat messages about casual sex, violence, drug use
Matthai Chakko Kuruvila, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, March 9, 2007
Lord Daniel Freeman, left, who said he was a Jewish witne... Wearing an I "heart" Hardcore Christian Guys sweatshirt, ... Maria Caruana, Pastor of the Freedom in Christ Church in ... Members of a pro pot-smoking organization called Axis of ... More...
(03-09) 15:04 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- A few dozen people gathered in front of San Francisco's City Hall today to protest "BattleCry," a weekend gathering of 22,000 evangelical Christian teens.
Holding signs that read "War Mongers for Jesus" and "Imagine No Religion," protesters said "BattleCry" had "poisoned" and "preyed upon" the minds of young children, who have been "indoctrinated" with hatred for gays and abortion rights. Many said they believe that BattleCry is part of a larger effort to establish a theocracy in America.
"I see this as a movement of intolerance," said Joel Cook, 47, an Alameda resident, who was walking around with a bullhorn and said he'd never talked to a BattleCry participant before today. "These groups come to San Francisco because it does draw attention to their cause."
The two-day BattleCry is the largest public event of Teen Mania, a group founded by Ron Luce, who believes that youth are being "assaulted" by incessant messages about casual sex, violence and drug use. In addition to three BattleCry events around the country, Teen Mania also puts on 35 smaller "Acquire the Fire" events.
All of the events are intended to teach and minister to Christian youth about how to stand up to the immorality of popular culture. BattleCry's 3 p.m. rally today is scheduled to have graffiti artists and "hip-hop evangelists" who say they will demonstrate a Christian alternative to mainstream culture.
"Teenagers are the victims at the behest of people who are making a lot of money," Luce said in an interview earlier this week. He said BattleCry intended to "bring some awareness and give some answers: Let's re-create (culture) with our own creativity."
Today's protesters said Luce had more sinister intentions.
"Ron Luce is here convincing the kids of San Francisco that they are lost and he is the way to salvation," said Michael Dean, 53, a Colma resident who said he had belonged to an evangelical church in Southern California for 20 years. "He's telling them that they need to control the actions of San Francisco legislatively. That's why they're coming here, to oppose the immorality of San Francisco. It's hate speech."
Luce said BattleCry is staged in San Francisco because it needs a large venue, which AT&T Park offers.
Some BattleCry participants had come early to the city, and stood on the fringes of the noon to 2 p.m. protest. They said BattleCry's critics were hypocritical.
"They don't want to be judged for what they believe in," said Alexis Jauregui, 31, a youth leader at New Harvest, a Sacramento church. "But they want to judge Christians for what we believe in -- the love of God."
E-mail Matthai Chakko Kuruvila at mkuruvila@sfchronicle.com.
Cult leader killed in siege
U.S. and Iraqi forces unravel a plot to assassinate top Shiite clerics in Iraq
By Joshua Partlow
and Saad Sarhan
Published: Tuesday, January 30, 2007
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Shiite cult leader, who claimed to be a revered Muslim figure who vanished in the 10th century, was killed Sunday along with scores of fighters who were poised to attack a holy city in southern Iraq and assassinate the country's Shiite religious leadership, Iraqi officials said Monday.
Information about the scope of the encampment and the aspirations of the fighters emerged as Iraqi and U.S. troops inspected the rural battleground and hauled out those captured and killed during the daylong siege that began Sunday.
The discovery of a heavily armed Shiite-led cult, intent on attacking venerated Shiite symbols and leaders, startled Iraqi security officials who already were contending with rival religious factions battling for supremacy in the country.
``This is a new step in the annals of terrorism,'' Iraq's minister of national security, Shirwan al-Wahli, said in an interview. Wahli said the fighters were led by a man known as the Judge of Heaven, who claimed to be a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali.
Wahli said the man also declared himself the Mahdi, the reappearance of the 12th imam, or leader of the faithful, who many Shiites believe vanished in the 10th century and whose return will mark an era of redemption and peace.
The cult leader killed Sunday probably sought to assassinate conservative Shiite religious leaders because they probably would have disputed his claim to be the Mahdi, said John Voll, a professor of Islamic studies at Georgetown University.
The most recent comparable event occurred in 1979 in Saudi Arabia, Voll said, when a man claiming to be the Mahdi took over the holy sanctuary in Mecca. He and his followers were killed.
Wahli said the cult leader came from southern Iraq and had written a book laying out his ``supernatural, unbelievable'' ideas. Over a matter of months, he recruited the estimated 700 people, known as the Soldiers of Heaven, who lived in tents and huts on farmland near Zarqaa, about eight miles northeast of Najaf, Wahli said.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said the man's name was Samer Abu Kamar, but other Iraqi officials assigned him different names.
Iraqi officials said Monday that they had not finished removing explosives or counting casualties from the siege, and their estimates of the number of fighters killed ranged from 200 to more than 400. The U.S. military, which provided backup ground troops along with helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft support, said more than 100 fighters were captured. Two U.S. soldiers died when their helicopter crashed during the operation.
Wahli said the structure of the group was Shiite, but it involved Sunni fighters and ``based on the level of training, support and financing, it obviously has received support from outside Iraq.''
About 10 Iraqi soldiers and police officers also died in the battle, the Reuters news service cited Wahli as saying.
A Washington Post special correspondent who approached the farm where the fighters had hidden witnessed 10 ambulances travel into the encampment and saw Iraqi soldiers drive out corpses and lead away women and children among the captured.
Ayad Abu Galal, the brother of the governor of Najaf, showed the correspondent a 53-minute videotape recorded inside the compound.
The footage showed a wide trench ringing the encampment and a series of tunnels or bunkers dug into earthen mounds to offer protection. The video showed at least eight vehicles mounted with antiaircraft machine guns. Dozens of dead bodies, some burned, could be seen lying amid mortars, AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weaponry.
Iraqi and U.S. military officials characterized the attack as a positive signal that the Iraqi security forces were able to lead a major battle and were willing to target extremists from the same Muslim sect that runs the central government. The U.S. military handed over primary control of Najaf province to Iraqi security forces last month.
``This is a very clear message from the government that no one except the government carrying arms is acceptable, whether Shia or Sunni,'' said Sadiq al-Rikabi, a political adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. ``It reveals the firm commitment of the prime minister that any outlaw will be dealt with very strongly.''
According to a statement issued by the U.S. military, Iraqi army and police forces deployed to the area of the encampment after a tip that gunmen were moving toward Najaf among Shiite pilgrims traveling to observe the religious holiday of Ashura, which culminates Tuesday. More than 200 gunmen attacked the joint patrol using small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades, the military said. U.S. ground troops and aircraft were called in for support.
``The aggressive manner in which the Iraqi soldiers performed north of (Najaf) going after the anti-Iraqi forces was impressive,'' said Col. Michael Garrett, commander of the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division.
U.S. and Iraqi forces unravel a plot to assassinate top Shiite clerics in Iraq
By Joshua Partlow
and Saad Sarhan
Published: Tuesday, January 30, 2007
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Shiite cult leader, who claimed to be a revered Muslim figure who vanished in the 10th century, was killed Sunday along with scores of fighters who were poised to attack a holy city in southern Iraq and assassinate the country's Shiite religious leadership, Iraqi officials said Monday.
Information about the scope of the encampment and the aspirations of the fighters emerged as Iraqi and U.S. troops inspected the rural battleground and hauled out those captured and killed during the daylong siege that began Sunday.
The discovery of a heavily armed Shiite-led cult, intent on attacking venerated Shiite symbols and leaders, startled Iraqi security officials who already were contending with rival religious factions battling for supremacy in the country.
``This is a new step in the annals of terrorism,'' Iraq's minister of national security, Shirwan al-Wahli, said in an interview. Wahli said the fighters were led by a man known as the Judge of Heaven, who claimed to be a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali.
Wahli said the man also declared himself the Mahdi, the reappearance of the 12th imam, or leader of the faithful, who many Shiites believe vanished in the 10th century and whose return will mark an era of redemption and peace.
The cult leader killed Sunday probably sought to assassinate conservative Shiite religious leaders because they probably would have disputed his claim to be the Mahdi, said John Voll, a professor of Islamic studies at Georgetown University.
The most recent comparable event occurred in 1979 in Saudi Arabia, Voll said, when a man claiming to be the Mahdi took over the holy sanctuary in Mecca. He and his followers were killed.
Wahli said the cult leader came from southern Iraq and had written a book laying out his ``supernatural, unbelievable'' ideas. Over a matter of months, he recruited the estimated 700 people, known as the Soldiers of Heaven, who lived in tents and huts on farmland near Zarqaa, about eight miles northeast of Najaf, Wahli said.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said the man's name was Samer Abu Kamar, but other Iraqi officials assigned him different names.
Iraqi officials said Monday that they had not finished removing explosives or counting casualties from the siege, and their estimates of the number of fighters killed ranged from 200 to more than 400. The U.S. military, which provided backup ground troops along with helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft support, said more than 100 fighters were captured. Two U.S. soldiers died when their helicopter crashed during the operation.
Wahli said the structure of the group was Shiite, but it involved Sunni fighters and ``based on the level of training, support and financing, it obviously has received support from outside Iraq.''
About 10 Iraqi soldiers and police officers also died in the battle, the Reuters news service cited Wahli as saying.
A Washington Post special correspondent who approached the farm where the fighters had hidden witnessed 10 ambulances travel into the encampment and saw Iraqi soldiers drive out corpses and lead away women and children among the captured.
Ayad Abu Galal, the brother of the governor of Najaf, showed the correspondent a 53-minute videotape recorded inside the compound.
The footage showed a wide trench ringing the encampment and a series of tunnels or bunkers dug into earthen mounds to offer protection. The video showed at least eight vehicles mounted with antiaircraft machine guns. Dozens of dead bodies, some burned, could be seen lying amid mortars, AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weaponry.
Iraqi and U.S. military officials characterized the attack as a positive signal that the Iraqi security forces were able to lead a major battle and were willing to target extremists from the same Muslim sect that runs the central government. The U.S. military handed over primary control of Najaf province to Iraqi security forces last month.
``This is a very clear message from the government that no one except the government carrying arms is acceptable, whether Shia or Sunni,'' said Sadiq al-Rikabi, a political adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. ``It reveals the firm commitment of the prime minister that any outlaw will be dealt with very strongly.''
According to a statement issued by the U.S. military, Iraqi army and police forces deployed to the area of the encampment after a tip that gunmen were moving toward Najaf among Shiite pilgrims traveling to observe the religious holiday of Ashura, which culminates Tuesday. More than 200 gunmen attacked the joint patrol using small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades, the military said. U.S. ground troops and aircraft were called in for support.
``The aggressive manner in which the Iraqi soldiers performed north of (Najaf) going after the anti-Iraqi forces was impressive,'' said Col. Michael Garrett, commander of the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division.
Modbee.com
Students, experts mixed over teacher
By MICHELLE HATFIELD
BEE STAFF WRITER
Students and experts are divided over how a California State University, Stanislaus, lecturer's religious past might influence his teaching.
Barry Gerard-Prendergast acknowledged this week he was a member of The Family International, a controversial group formerly known as the Children of God. Some ex-members say it's a cult.
The sociology lecturer denies that his experience with The Family affects his teaching.
"No past group influences," he wrote in an e-mail to The Bee on Wednesday. "I teach using my academic knowledge and study of sociology which I have attained at graduate school."
He was replying to questions The Bee had e-mailed to his attorney.
Some experts believe membership in a controversial religious group does not necessarily affect teaching ability; others say students can provide a pool of potential converts.
Students have said they know little, if anything, about Gerard-Prendergast's personal life or religious beliefs.
Students who took classes from Gerard-Prendergast last semester vary in their evaluation of his teaching style. The Bee interviewed a few of his students last semester and received e-mails from others after a Bee story about him appeared in December.
One student said he loved Gerard-Prendergast's boisterous lectures while another called him unprofessional, unqualified and chauvinistic.
Gerard-Prendergast's effectiveness as a teacher depends on whether he denounces the group's beliefs or is a cult apologist, according to Rick A. Ross, an international cult expert based in New Jersey. He has studied controversial groups and interviewed former members for 25 years.
"The question is, how is this teacher influencing his students?" Ross asked. "Is he in a role as a cult apologist, minimizing the damage they do, apologizing for their behavior, minimizing what the group has done?"
Cult experts say people can live normal lives once they leave the lifestyle. Several former cult members have landed jobs teaching at universities.
Ross called the group "one of the most destructive cults in the history of the United States."
Colleen Russell, a Mill Valley therapist who specializes in helping former cult members recover, said she'd be wary of teachers who are or were members of cultlike groups.
"I know from what former members have told me that often a teacher was responsible for getting them involved in a cult," Russell said. "The main focus of every cult I know of is to recruit more members."
Expert: Attracts the vulnerable
The groups attract people going through vulnerable times in their lives, such as going off to college or surviving personal losses, said Russell, who belonged to a new age cult in the 1970s.
Officials should keep track of a former or current member's research topics and where research grant money comes from, Ross said.
Ross is concerned about former members teaching sociology classes because some topics cover the emergence of cults.
"Sociology, unlike math or science, is a particularly relevant area of study," Ross said. "It may color the way in which he teaches his students in the manner of cults."
But Ross also said that depending on Gerard-Prendergast's detachment from The Family, his experience could be helpful to students.
"He's seen them from the inside out. He does have something he can share that is meaningful," Ross said.
Bee staff writer Michelle Hatfield can be reached at 578-2339 or mhatfield@modbee.com.
Posted on 01/26/07 00:00:00
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/13233079p-13869801c.html
Students, experts mixed over teacher
By MICHELLE HATFIELD
BEE STAFF WRITER
Students and experts are divided over how a California State University, Stanislaus, lecturer's religious past might influence his teaching.
Barry Gerard-Prendergast acknowledged this week he was a member of The Family International, a controversial group formerly known as the Children of God. Some ex-members say it's a cult.
The sociology lecturer denies that his experience with The Family affects his teaching.
"No past group influences," he wrote in an e-mail to The Bee on Wednesday. "I teach using my academic knowledge and study of sociology which I have attained at graduate school."
He was replying to questions The Bee had e-mailed to his attorney.
Some experts believe membership in a controversial religious group does not necessarily affect teaching ability; others say students can provide a pool of potential converts.
Students have said they know little, if anything, about Gerard-Prendergast's personal life or religious beliefs.
Students who took classes from Gerard-Prendergast last semester vary in their evaluation of his teaching style. The Bee interviewed a few of his students last semester and received e-mails from others after a Bee story about him appeared in December.
One student said he loved Gerard-Prendergast's boisterous lectures while another called him unprofessional, unqualified and chauvinistic.
Gerard-Prendergast's effectiveness as a teacher depends on whether he denounces the group's beliefs or is a cult apologist, according to Rick A. Ross, an international cult expert based in New Jersey. He has studied controversial groups and interviewed former members for 25 years.
"The question is, how is this teacher influencing his students?" Ross asked. "Is he in a role as a cult apologist, minimizing the damage they do, apologizing for their behavior, minimizing what the group has done?"
Cult experts say people can live normal lives once they leave the lifestyle. Several former cult members have landed jobs teaching at universities.
Ross called the group "one of the most destructive cults in the history of the United States."
Colleen Russell, a Mill Valley therapist who specializes in helping former cult members recover, said she'd be wary of teachers who are or were members of cultlike groups.
"I know from what former members have told me that often a teacher was responsible for getting them involved in a cult," Russell said. "The main focus of every cult I know of is to recruit more members."
Expert: Attracts the vulnerable
The groups attract people going through vulnerable times in their lives, such as going off to college or surviving personal losses, said Russell, who belonged to a new age cult in the 1970s.
Officials should keep track of a former or current member's research topics and where research grant money comes from, Ross said.
Ross is concerned about former members teaching sociology classes because some topics cover the emergence of cults.
"Sociology, unlike math or science, is a particularly relevant area of study," Ross said. "It may color the way in which he teaches his students in the manner of cults."
But Ross also said that depending on Gerard-Prendergast's detachment from The Family, his experience could be helpful to students.
"He's seen them from the inside out. He does have something he can share that is meaningful," Ross said.
Bee staff writer Michelle Hatfield can be reached at 578-2339 or mhatfield@modbee.com.
Posted on 01/26/07 00:00:00
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/13233079p-13869801c.html
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