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Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute.
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"What's New In The Headlines" and "Scientology Celebrates
Worldwide Growth" (articles from the Headline News and
International columns of the Christian Research Newsletter,
Volume 6: Number 2, 1993) by Ron Rhodes and Paul Carden.
The editor of the Christian Research Newsletter is Ron
Rhodes.
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*A New Dutch "Right-to-Die" Law Makes Euthanasia and
Doctor-Assisted Suicide Easier.*
The February 22 issue of _Time_ magazine reports that the
parliament in the Netherlands "approved the world's most liberal
rules on euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide. Both practices are
still technically illegal, but doctors won't be charged if they
notify coroners of their actions and if they follow certain
guidelines. Among them: the patient must be mentally competent;
must be suffering unbearable pain and request euthanasia
repeatedly; and the doctor must consult a second physician before
proceeding."
Dr. Hans Wessel, who has taken part in euthanizing patients,
said: "Doing euthanasia, I'm sick for a week afterward...Is the
patient manipulating me? Am I playing God? I'm quite ambivalent
about it," the March 14 _Los Angeles Times_ reported.
-------------
*The Children of God -- A Sect that Fled from the United States in
the Mid-1970s Amid Controversy -- Has Resurfaced in the United
States as "the Family."*
The March 21 _Los Angeles Times_ reports that in earlier years
the sect's "gospel of free love outraged critics. Under fire from
deprogrammers and child-abuse authorities, the cult virtually
disappeared. It's back -- calling itself 'the Family' and saying it
has changed. But former members are skeptical."
The article notes that "in the beginning, there was
controversy: predictions that Comet Kohoutek signaled God's
destruction of America, claims that Douglas MacArthur and the Pied
Piper were speaking from beyond the grave, and charges that Jews
and blacks were conspiring to ruin the world....There was also sex.
Lots of sex. All in the name of Jesus." The cult's free-love gospel
"urged women to use their bodies to hook new converts." This was
called "flirty fishing."
Some twenty years ago, "Berg and other members fled the U.S. --
partly because of Kohoutek, partly because of the New York attorney
general's charity fraud division. Its 1974 investigation accused
the Children of -- among other things -- tax evasion, rape,
polygamy, draft dodging, incest, and kidnapping."
The article reports that disciples have been filtering back to
the United States since 1989. "Berg, now 74 and reportedly living
in Japan, is said to have urged the return as preparation for the
Second Coming of Christ."
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*Medical Schools Are Increasingly Teaching Students about the
Alleged "Mind-Body Connection."*
The March 8 issue of _Newsweek_ magazine reports that "one half
of medical schools now offer some sort of mind-body instruction,
says Dr. Herbert Benson of Boston's Deaconess Hospital." Benson is
a proponent of the "relaxation response" for treating insomnia,
hypertension, and other symptoms.
The article notes that Dr. David Eisenberg of Beth Israel
Hospital has developed an "unconventional medicine" course in which
he teaches about homeopathy, acupuncture, and massage. "Eisenberg
and colleagues recently reported that 34 percent of the people they
surveyed had used at least one unconventional therapy in the past
year, mostly for chronic conditions such as back pain, insomnia,
and headaches. That works out to 61 million Americans."
America's interest in the mind-body connection is also evident
in Bill Moyers's recent _Healing and the Mind_ television series,
which scored ratings almost double PBS's usual ratings for this
time of year. His accompanying book is now at the top of the
bestseller lists.
As well, this past summer the newly formed Office of
Alternative Medical Practices, part of the National Institute of
Health in Bethesda, Maryland, began hearings with practitioners of
unconventional medical practices such as "acupuncture, homeopathy,
naturopathy, therapeutic touch, psychic healing, Chinese and Indian
herbs, chiropractic and spinal manipulation, and transcendental
meditation," the March 10 _Orange County Register_ reports. The
office's director, Dr. Joseph Jacobs, said: "We're not into
licensing; forget about that...The bottom line is, how can these
things work together for the betterment of the patient?" The office
has received $2 million from Congress to carry out this study.
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*Dominican Priest Matthew Fox Was Expelled by the Vatican on March
3.*
The March 13 _New York Times_ reports that "Matthew Fox, a
Roman Catholic priest who has tweaked church traditionalists with
his blend of historic Christianity with New Age philosophies, has
been formally expelled by the Vatican from the religious order he
joined 34 years ago."
Dominican officials said the expulsion was simply a matter of
discipline. "Our decision," said the Rev. Donald J. Goergen, who
heads the Dominican's Midwest Province, "was never a judgment on
his theology, spirituality, or ministry." Rather it was over Fox's
refusal to return to Chicago in his home province. As reported in
the March 24-31 issue of _The Christian Century,_ Fox's expulsion
came as a result of "illegitimate absence from his religious
community." Goergen said that Fox will remain a priest, but is
prohibited from celebrating mass or performing sacraments publicly.
-------------
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*Scientology Celebrates Worldwide Growth; _Opponents Are Troubled_*
"Scientology Expands in All Corners of the World," trumpets a
headline in Issue 29 of _International Scientology News._ The
magazine, which bills itself as "News for all Scientologists [TM]
from International Management," announces that "in 1992, 34 new
missions opened and SMI [Scientology Missions International]
missionaries opened an additional 25 new pioneer area groups and
missions in 17 new countries including: Ivory Coast, Argentina,
Honduras, Ecuador, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Jamaica, Nicaragua, El
Salvador, Cameroon, Slovenia, Gambia, Morocco, and Zambia."
The magazine describes budding Scientology efforts in the
Philippines, Poland, India, and Pakistan -- further claiming that
founder L. Ron Hubbard's booklet _The Way to Happiness_ "has now
been translated into 18 languages and is available in 55 countries,
with more than 34 million copies distributed worldwide."
_International Scientology News_ paints a glowing picture of
Scientology activities in Russia, reporting that there are already
Hubbard Colleges of Administration in Moscow and in Irkutsk,
Siberia -- with a third proposed for Ukraine. It further claims:
The Russian Academy of Economics in Moscow, a
25,000-student institute for studies in management,
determines the educational programs for universities and
business schools throughout Russia. In looking for the
best curriculum for management training, they rejected
proposals from several American universities and voted to
use [Scientology's] LRH admin tech as their new
curriculum. LRH admin tech now sets the standard for all
aspects of administration and management education across
Russia.
Hubbard's disciples are now hard at work in tiny Albania, where
"leaders have called for immediate implementation of LRH admin
procedures in the Albanian government, thousands of LRH books
have been delivered to the National Library system...and LRH admin
tech is now the required curriculum for students at the Albanian
National University's Department of Business Administration."
Scientology's spread across Eastern Europe and the former USSR
has attracted the scrutiny of its critics. In the February 1993
issue of _Update & Dialog,_ former Scientologist Jon Atack writes
that Scientology "has been particularly successful" in establishing
itself in the former East Bloc nations. "Hubbard's 'Road to Total
Freedom' is available at centres in Prague, Breslau, Dresden,
Leipzig, Budapest, Szolnok, and St. Petersburg. There are also
centres in Yugoslavia and Bulgaria."
Atack reports disdainfully that Moscow State University has
awarded Hubbard its first posthumous doctorate -- in Literature.
"Worse yet, the University has renamed its Library of Journalism
the 'L. Ron Hubbard Reading Room'" -- which was opened by no less
an official than Boris Yeltsin's first aide. He adds that
Scientology's Narconon drug rehabilitation program has been
welcomed by prominent Russian officials, and a 400-bed Narconon
facility is planned for Moscow.
But the sect's aggressive growth campaign faces serious
resistance in Germany. On February 25 the major newsweekly _Stern_
published a blistering, 14-page special section charging the sect
with "turning people into psychological cripples while extracting
money from their pockets." The magazine, which has a circulation of
over 1.5 million, estimates Scientology's German membership at
300,000 and describes recent government attempts to investigate and
restrict the activities of Scientology and such affiliate groups as
Narconon and WISE. One German legislative body has called for "a
battle against Scientology because its only concern is profit and
because it is a profit- and power-oriented organization which
disguises itself as a religion."
-- _Paul Carden_
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End of document, CRN0068A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"What's New In The Headlines" and "Scientology Celebrates
Worldwide Growth"
release A, July 15, 1994
R. Poll, CRI
(A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help in
the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS circulation.)
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