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F.A.C.T.Net does not sell documents, it only lends them according to the terms of your library cardholder agreement with F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. ------------------------------------------------------------------- CARD CATALOG ENTRY ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Armageddon in Waco [Professor Louis Jolyon West] On the evening of the April 19 destruction of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, UCLA Professor Louis Jolyon West, appearing on the PBS "McNeil/Lehrer Report," called David Koresh an erratic, impulsive, ruthless psychopath whose ability to manipulate and control decent and honorable people was such that they came to see him as a divine figure. [Dr. West, a psychiatrist with extensive research experience on cultism who formerly headed the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, is head of the Research Committee of the American Family Foundation, publisher of The Cult Observer.] West observed that, at bottom, Koresh was more a con man who knew the Bible than a legitimate religious leader. Koresh, said West, certainly did not live by religious criteria; his unethical treatment of his followers, including sex with young girls and the wives of many of his followers, clearly showed this. Koresh's mistreatment of people was not the action of a spiritual man. West questioned the authorities' decision to use tear gas to secure the surrender of the compound's residents. Since psychopaths are unpredictable, and a good many lives were at stake, it would have been best to continue to wait him out, West said. Believing that there was no way out once authorities launched the final assault-surrender ignominiously or perish-Koresh apparently chose to perish, and his followers joined him. Asked about the problem of cults in the U.S. generally, West said that there were perhaps 2500 in the country today, and that "some are very large and powerful, like the Unification Church and the Church of Scientology." 2 Armageddon in Waco [Stanley Cath, Steven Hassan] On a local PBS program in Boston that day ("The Group"), psychologist Stanley Cath, a cult expert, and Steven Hassan, author of Combatting Cult Mind Control, said that the lessons of Jonestown, and the government reports which followed dealing with how to approach such situations in the future, were totally ignored during the Waco drama, despite numerous calls by cult experts to authorities. The lessons of successful cult interventions during the last fifteen years found no hearing among those charged with settling the Waco dispute. This was clear when authorities brought in a minister to argue religion with Koresh. Panelists also made the point that the sound and light show mounted by the besiegers likely had the effect of confirming the notion that Armageddon was at hand, and confirming followers' allegiance to Koresh, rather than persuading them to renounce that allegiance and surrender. Indeed, the panelists suggested that the authorities' success in cutting the compound off from outside contact, with Koresh's mother for example, and ex-members of the group, probably had the same reinforcing effect. 3 Investigator Warned Authorities [Geoffrey Hossack] An Australian private investigator said he repeatedly warned U.S. authorities more than two years ago of an explosive situation inside the Waco, TX, compound of cult leader David Koresh. Geoffrey Hossack, a former Australian federal drug agent, was hired in 1990 by a group of Australians who had left the Branch Davidians earlier that year and feared for family members still inside. "I've never been so frustrated in my whole life," Hossack said. "Here were people in positions of authority and no one wanted to do anything." Hossack's final report to the U.S. Consulate in Melbourne, filed Jan. 3, 1992, included his analysis of possible threats from Koresh: a final Jonestown-style massacre; some bizarre act, such as the assassination of a public figure; armed confrontation with authorities. "Unfortunately, I guess we hit that one right," Hossack said. The U.S. consulate confirmed that it had received a lot of information about Koresh and the sect, and that they passed it on to the State Department, which, says the consulate, it passed on to the FBI, the immigration service, and the ATF. The former Koresh followers, some of whom had lived with Koresh in Texas, told bizarre tales of life with Koresh, his mercurial temper, assaults, sleep deprivation, and control of food and activities. He seemed to take pleasure in humiliating his followers, particularly if they questioned his teachings, said one couple. He swore they faced eternal damnation if they strayed from his commands. Children were expected to behave as adults. Koresh taught that 8-month-old babies were smart enough to know the difference between right and wrong. Michelle and James Tom sat and watched as Koresh fiercely spanked their 9-month-old daughter on and off for 40 minutes with a wooden paddle because she would not sit on his lap in front of a group. After a late 1990 surveillance of the Waco compound, Hossack said he presented his documentation about the group at a meeting in Waco organized by an officer of the Texas Department of Safety and attended, says Hossack, by a federal prosecutor and the local district attorney. Each said the problem was not the responsibility of his agency, Hossack said, although the federal prosecutor agreed to have the Immigration and Naturalization Service investigate allegations that Koresh arranged sham marriages between Australians and Americans and was allowing foreign nationals to use guns. (From "Investigator says he warned US. authorities about cult," by Elizabeth Ryan Sullivan, the Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/22/93, A4) 4 A Physician's Personal and Professional Report Survey Reveals Physicians' Experience with Cults Edward Lottick, MD The author, a family physician in Kingston, PA, is president of the Luzerne County Medical Society. He is a board member of the American Family Foundation, publisher of The Cult Observer, and chairman of the AFF Committee on Further Education of Physicians. The article first appeared in Pennsylvania Medicine, Vol. 96, Feb. 1993, 26-28. Reprinted by permission of the Pennsylvania Medical Society. In late June 1992, a stratified random sample of Pennsylvania physicians (5,400) were mailed a two-page questionnaire asking about experience with destructive cults, either personal, professional, or both. Professional experience was defined as "with patients or their families," and personal experience was defined as "with self, family, or friends." The survey sample group was drawn from primary care physicians (family practice, general practice, internal medicine, and pediatrics) and psychiatrists. Surveys were returned by 1,396 participants, a 26 percent rate of return. A number of the returned surveys (173) included personal observations and comments. In the survey, one of the respondents commented: "I hope you have the courage to report both the incidence of cults and the significant numbers of us who have not seen cults in our practices." To that person I would say: thank you for raising that question, and thanks to the many others who raised questions and important issues in their comments. This article contains statistical data sorting physicians into "experience" and "no experience groups," and also contains some conclusions about each group. Personal Tragedy Many of you thought the survey was a good idea but a few questioned its cost or its appropriateness. Because of these concerns, I feel I should briefly explain my involvement and how the survey came about. On May 11, 1990, Noah Antrim Lottick, our wonderful 24-year-old son, committed suicide. A brief account of Noah's death was featured prominently in the May 6, 1991, Time magazine article, "Scientology-The Cult of Greed," and again in the October 1991 Readers Digest article, "A Dangerous Cult Goes Mainstream." My wife and I cošperated with these magazines, whose circulation is over 100 million readers worldwide, in an effort to alert others to potential dangers. After these articles were published we began hearing from a number of people who had been involved in cults or who had family members involved in cults. We began to wonder just how common these problems are. Although we had learned that our family's experience was not unique, we could find very little hard data for providing a statistical model for our society. And I began to wonder about other physicians' experiences. On October 1991, I introduced a resolution to the Society House of Delegates that the State Society conduct a survey regarding destructive cults. The House of Delegates agreed and referred the resolution to the Board of Trustees, who in turn assigned the survey to the Educational and Scientific Trust. [Editor's note (in the original article): the Trust developed and conducted the survey, and the results were tabulated and interpreted by Dr. Lottick and consultants, Dr. Arthur Dole and Dr. Michael Langone.*] For the purpose of the survey, "destructive cult" was defined as, "a group which violates the rights of its members, harms them through abusive techniques of mind control, and distinguishes itself from a normal social or religious group by subjecting its members to physical, mental, or financial deprivation or deception to keep them in the group." Survey Results Of the 1,396 respondents to the survey, 21 percent (290) reported having had personal, professional, or both personal and professional experiences with cults as defined. Of the 21 percent of respondents who indicated some experience, 36 percent felt they had adequate resources at hand to deal with the experience, while the balance, 64 percent, felt that they did not. The "at sea" group generally cited either lack of knowledge or lack of access to an expert in this area. The 16.8 percent of the respondents indicating only professional experience included more psychiatrists than any other specialty, and they more often responded that they had access to resources. Of respondents indicating any experience, 47.9 percent were psychiatrists. Of primary care respondents, 3.4 percent of general practitioners indicated having experience and other primary care respondents fell within a range of 13.1 to 17.3 percent having experience. Turning to the 7.2 percent of respondents who indicated personal experience, 70 percent (5 percent of all respondents) cited a friend or acquaintance, while the remaining 30 percent (2.2 percent of all respondents) cited family. Despite the fact that respondents named 50 different groups, the largest category of response was "cult name unknown," "not recalled," or "no name available." According to further analysis, there was no significant variation by respondent's sex, number of years in practice, or location. The widespread geographical distribution of cult experiences would tend to refute the comment of the respondent who said: "I practice in a fairly affluent and stable community-middle class. I do not believe the cults would impact such a community." Discussion Sadly, I previously used similar reasoning to ignore cults during the many years that my children were growing up. Living in a predominantly middle class and family-oriented community with strong traditions and values, and reasoning that all our children were well-adjusted, career directed, and successful in school, we felt there was no need to worry about cults. We thought cults were something that affected the maladjusted fringe. My wife and I have since come to understand that people don't join cults. They are recruited from among the brightest and the best at those transition times in their lives when they are most likely to be vulnerable. We had not taken into account this active and very deceptive recruiting, nor the cults's success in being accepted into the mainstream of society. We now absolutely believe that no one is invulnerable. We also conclude that one cult or another targets every type of community, leaving no geographical location or segment of society immune. There also is much evidence, including this survey, that cults, especially larger cults, target the children of the relatively affluent and stable middle class. For Physicians With No Experience From my own personal experience, I have a message for the great majority of physicians (79 percent or four-fifths) who have had neither personal nor professional experience: you are in the position I was in before our son's death. I feel compelled to suggest that you may need some orientation to the topic so as not to be caught unaware. I think the State Society, and perhaps our specialty societies, need to provide information and education in this area. We can no longer afford the luxury of thinking, "I probably will not be touched; therefore, I can neglect this area." One-fifth of your responding colleagues have been touched in one way or another, and 2.2 percent of all respondents have had family involved. It seems to me that social pathology needs the same scrutiny as cancer or heart disease or any other malady, and we need to be similarly aware so that we might take preventive steps. Call for Suggestions and Ideas I would appreciate your suggestions about the next step for Pennsylvania physicians on this problem. Some options could include: a Society study committee to provide research, reports, and updates; society-sponsored seminars; and lists of resources and professionals in this area. Because of the Society's survey, we are now more knowledgeable about how cults affect the medical profession and our personal lives. My personal thanks to the participants. I hope now that some results are known, we can pursue suggestions from respondents and draw on the knowledge of the additional people this report will reach. I would be happy to hear from any of you at any time, but preferably within the next month or two so we can develop some proposals for the Board of Trustees and perhaps the 1993 House of Delegates. My address is: Edward A. Lottick, MD, 789 Wyoming Avenue, Kingston, PA, 18704; (717) 288-7506. _____________________________ *Dr. Dole, Emeritus Professor of Psychology in Education at the University of Pennsylvania, is a member of the Research Committee of the American Family Foundation, publisher of The Cult Observer. Dr. Langone is AFF's Director of Research and Editor of AFF's Cultic Studies Journal. 5 CUT Settlement Compared to Branch Davidians [CUT led by Elizabeth Clare Prophet] Ever since David Koresh and his Branch Davidians became news, certain other groups outside the mainstream have become publicly suspect, including the Church Universal and Triumphant, based in a small Montana community. As a result, CUT leader Elizabeth Clare Prophet says that we are seeing a repeat of the Diocletian persecution, which claimed the lives of thousands of 4th century Christians. In several recent national television and news magazine stories, CUT has been featured right alongside the Koresh group. "I don't deserve that," Prophet said. She said that she has "preached against violence for 32 years." Yet despite this record, she said, the church is being" bad-mouthed" by professional anti-cultists and many reporters. Indeed, the media often have focused heavily on two sensational aspects of the church's recent history: the construction of elaborate bomb shelters on the church's vast holdings near Yellowstone National Park and the arrest four years ago of Prophet's fourth husband, Ed Francis, on charges of violating federal weapons laws in trying to buy guns. (From "Waco Standoff's Unwelcome Limelight," The Washington Post, 3/20/93, B7, 8) 6 Cultic Thinking on Campus [Lawsuit, Dr. Margaret Singer and Dr. Richard Ofshe] The following is a commentary on a lawsuit brought by two University of California professors against the American Psychological Association and the American Sociological Association alleging that several top executives in these organizations damaged the professors' reputations as forensic experts in the fields of psychology and sociology in the area of coercive persuasion, thus preventing their testimony against cults and threatening their careers. Dr. Margaret Singer (a director of the American Family Foundation, publisher of The Cult Observer) and Dr. Richard Ofshe charged that from 1986 to 1992, the defendants resorted to improper influence of witnesses in state court litigations, filed untrue affidavits, attempted to obstruct justice in federal litigations, deceived federal judges, and committed wire and mail fraud. The professors alleged that the defendants colluded with several cults in this. The case was recently settled in favor of the plaintiffs. The commentary first appeared in the NCAF Newsletter (The National Council Against Health Fraud, Inc., Loma Linda, CA, November/December 1992, p. 2). Although we do not have knowledge of the facts in the above case, we are aware of two generalizations about cult activities on higher education campuses. One is the presence of cultists within academia who work behind the scenes on behalf of their groups. The other concerns a failing within the intellectual climate pervading many university campuses characterized by an inability to make critical judgments about ideological propositions. This failing is based upon two false assumptions: (1) nothing can be known for certain; and (2) anything is possible; therefore, tolerance is the only virtue. These ideas are so close to the open-mindedness of science that some people cannot tell the difference. In fact, physical laws represent known principles, and help us understand the limits of what is possible (science involves not only the discovery of what is, but also what isn't so.) Anti-science cults dub science as "western" and posit its methodology as "only one way of discovering truth," with "truth" being entirely subjective and personal. Physical laws of science are denigrated as just a paradigm that may someday be refuted. The usual example cited is the displacement of Newtonian physics by Einstein's theory of relativity. Its error is the failure to realize that Newtonian physics, which still explains earthly phenomena, was not refuted but only revised to reflect the physics of outer space. Scientific tolerance is a virtue which is balanced by responsibility to expose nonsense within a scientist's area of expertise, and to warn the public when such errors are being promulgated. The on-campus popularity of anti-science cults may be a reaction to the failure of a kind of "religion of science" in which science is offered as the method for answering all questions. Science's self-imposed limits reduce its ability to fulfill emotional needs. The mind control cults are most active within the academic community conducting self-serving "research," publishing intellectually-appealing materials, and, in some cases, even buying financially-strapped colleges to provide a respectable base for their operations. We believe the legal action taken by Singer and Ofshe to be highly significant and well worth watching. 7 Mrs. Moon at USC With Gifts [Unification Church] Hak Ja Han Moon, wife of Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon, took out a three-quarter page ad in the University of Southern California student newspaper, the Daily Trojan (10/23/92, 15), announcing her talk to the church-linked Women's Federation for World Peace at the Weston Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. The ad announced door prizes of 2 round trip tickets to Hawaii, a ladies watch, a $500 gift certificate, and 24 $100 gift certificates. (Cult Observer Report) 8 BCC Recruits at Harvard [Forbidden to recruit on campus] Members of the Boston Church of Christ (BCC), which is forbidden to recruit on campus, said that they have been actively encouraging Harvard students to attend an introductory meeting. The BCC, which has been called a "cult" by critics, is not a part of the Harvard-Radcliffe United Ministry since its practice of proselytizing violates Ministry policy. "I know we're very critical of the operations of the Boston Church of Christ," said Thomas M. Ferrick, the University's Humanist chaplain, "because its influence on students is a bit overpowering and it has been known to use deceptive practices." (From "Boston Church of Christ Recruiting on Campus," by Marion B. Gammill, The Harvard Crimson, 1/13/93, 1, 5) 9 How TM Will End Crime [Proposes LA pay them $165 million yearly] The $165 million per year payable to the Transcendental Meditation organization by the City of Los Angeles, in return for an end to crime, would finance 9,000 "coherence creating experts" who would seek deeper levels of consciousness through transcendental meditation and radiate peace and goodwill in our many areas of calamity. The experts, according to TM, "have been trained to create a powerful influence of harmony, balance, and positivity in the atmosphere," and thereby neutralize criminal tendencies. Leader Maharishi Mahesh Yogi said in an interview, "You must not think we are making money" [if the TM proposal were to be accepted]. The money paid by the city will go back to hotels and restaurants, except for the airline fares. The Maharishi said that the crime prevention scheme had worked in Washington, D.C. Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley said of the project: "If I could find $100 million a year, I'd use it to put more cops on the street." (From "Peace and Love . . . in LA?" by Al Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 1/7/93, B2) 10 Bible Speaks Property Sold [Carl Stevens, Lenox, MA] The former Bible Speaks property of 63 acres in Lenox, MA, has been sold to the National Music Foundation as the site of "a new, world-class center for American Music." [The Bible Speaks went bankrupt several years ago following a multi-milion dollar judgment in favor of heiress Elizabeth Dovydenas. A court found that the leader of the church , Carl Stevens, and some of his associates, used undue influence to get $5 million in donations from Dovydenas. The Bible Speaks has reconstituted itself in the Baltimore area.] From "Lenox chosen for national music center," by Judith Gaines, The Boston Globe, 1/17/93, 37, 39) 11 Guru Critical of TM Meditation [Shree Shankaracharya Swaraoop-anand Saraswati, a disciple of Swami Braahmananda Saraswati] From an interview in TM-EX (Fall 1992, 7-8) by Robert Kropinski with Shree Shankaracharya Swaraoop-anand Saraswati, a preeminent disciple of Swami Braahmananda Saraswati (Guru Dev), who is considered TM leader Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's spiritual master. The meditative process that Mahesh teaches is not good and effective because it is not preceded by pre-meditation training enabling the mind to become indifferent to outside objects and material desires. "Clearing the mind" by repeating a mantra is not enough. Without this, TM can only help people temporarily forget the world. "People here in Asia are concerned. He [Mahesh] cheated people of millions of rupees from people like [Kropinski, a former follower]." The result is that "people might lose faith in Indian spirituality. It makes me sad that some people from here [India], like Rajneesh and Mahesh, went there [to America] and they destroyed those good feelings. Mahesh has caused a severe blow to Indian culture.. . We want that people like you should tell others that he does not know anything about yoga. He is serving neither American nor Indian people. ================================================================= DOS FILENAME OF TEXT FILE: CO0393AB.TXT DOS FILENAME OF IMAGE FILES: none ADMINISTRATIVE CODE: OK SECURITY CODE: SCO DISTRIBUTION CODE: RO DESCRIPTION FOR BBS FILE LISTING: The Cult Observer March 1993 SORT TO: AFF CONTRIBUTOR: American Family Foundation (AFF) LOCATION OF ORIGINAL: American Family Foundation (AFF) NOTES: Back issues and selected reprints of the Cultic Studies Journal are available from the American Family Foundation, P.O. Box 2265, Bonita Springs, FL 33959-2265. U.S.A.STORIES | 1 Armageddon in Waco [Professor Louis | Jolyon West] | 2 Armageddon in Waco [Stanley Cath, | Steven Hassan] | 3 Investigator Warned Authorities | [Geoffrey Hossack] | 4 A Physician's Personal and Profes- | sional Report. Survey Reveals | Physicians' Experience with Cults. | Edward Lottick, MD | 5 CUT Settlement Compared to Branch | Davidians [CUT led by Elizabeth | Clare Prophet] | 6 Cultic Thinking on Campus | [Lawsuit, Dr. Margaret Singer | and Dr. Richard Ofshe] | 7 Mrs. Moon at USC With Gifts | [Unification Church] | 8 BCC Recruits at Harvard [Forbidden | to recruit on campus] | 9 How TM Will End Crime [Proposes | LA pay them $165 million yearly] | 10 Bible Speaks Property Sold | [Carl Stevens, Lenox, MA] | 11 Guru Critical of TM Meditation | [Shree Shankaracharya Swaraoop- | anand Saraswati, a disciple of | Swami Braahmananda Saraswati] For additional verification see the contributor of the document. UPDATED ON: 8/23/94 UPDATED BY: FrJMc =================================================================