Trust is something that must be earned with time. It must be awarded to people based on merit, and nothing else. Unfortunately, religious people are often easily fooled, for when when people cloak their intention under the guise of spiritual enlightenment, they can easily override our instinct to reluctantly grant it. The result can often be tragic.
In Gwinnet County, Georgia, the community is reeling from the harrowing details of the torture and death of a South Korean woman at the hands of a cult called the “Soldiers of Christ”. Following a tipoff from one of the cult members (now in custody), the body of Se Hee Cho was found in the trunk of her car. She was emaciated and starved to a paltry 70lbs, and her body had been burned in an effort to conceal her identity.
Details are still murky, but it appears that the matriarch of the family, Mihee Lee, had convinced the victim to immigrate to the United States. Se Hee thought she was joining a religious group on a mission, but their only goal was to extort her for money, beating and starving her in the process. After coercing her into wiring them thousands of dollars, the cult ultimately killed her, and tried to conceal their crime.
As the trial begins, I’m sure more horrifying details will emerge (and I’ll be sure to keep my eyes open for more information). One thing is for sure, though: so long as religion is granted their underserved status, and automatic trust, more tragedies of this kind will continue to occur.
In the 1970’s, a recent convert to Christianity named Rama Behera moved to the town of Shawano after a “vision” had told him to spread the word of the Lord. Like many grifters and opportunists before him, this mission would require the control over the lives of others. Behera’s targets had been primed with the idea of God, and the belief that to fill their spiritual angst, total submission to “the word”, generously interpreted by him, was required. To gain legitimacy, he needed only to give himself a new name and an impressive title. He chose Dr. Rama Chandra Samanta Roy, and his congregation was called “The Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ”. In a 1970’s disillusioned with the spiritual messaging of the free love generation, which had failed to deliver on it’s promises of spiritual fulfillment, the rigid discipline of an “old fashioned religion” might have appealed to hippies looking for something new.
The world evolved and changed, and Roy was not about to let a chance to rebrand slip by. As the 21st century dawned, the excitement of the future, and the promises of new technology represented a deep well of credibility and gravitas that was ripe for exploitation. Enter the Samantha Roy Institute of Science and Technology. Not content with only changing the name of his organization, Rama eventually followed suit with a brand new moniker, this time to Avraham Cohen. Not only does such a change allow for a brand new start, it also tends to help mask ones activities. The name change also reflected the constant flux of his religious doctrine. Followers have described his theology as “confusing” [2] It also signifies his changing ideology, from a mutated form of Christianity to an unrecognizable Judaism.
Their acronym, which is pronounced “cyst”, has much in common with the medical condition. Like a cancerous growth, when left to its own devices, it can become malignant and dangerous, two words that perfectly describes Mr. Cohen. There is much about the man that is a mystery, but what is known of him, and his actions, indicate the classic signs of a malignant narcissist.
His grueling prayer meetings, which last sometimes up to 8 hours, are exercises in bladder control. He forbids his members from leaving to go to the bathroom, with some people actually soiling themselves as a result. He frequently enforces long fasts, only to break them with inedible or often spoiled food that he forces his members to eat. It is unclear if this type of torture is meant simply for continued control or for his sick pleasure. Neither answer would surprise me.
Before you think that everyone enraptured by this man is a victim, keep in mind that the man in the video was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing his daughter. He claims that he had long lost control of his actions due to Cohen’s domination, with others testifying on his behalf. He pleaded guilty, but maintained his innocence, blaming group pressure for the abuse. No charges, however, involved anyone but him.
“One of the problems we ran into was the statute of limitations,” said Sheriff’s Department Investigator Randall Giese, who was part of that investigation. “And people involved in the group during the time frame that would put it in the statute of limitations won’t talk to us.”
You’ll find there’s a common thread when hearing the stories of victims of cults; usually they are searching for answers. This vulnerability is something very few of them are aware until they meet with someone charismatic that offers a set of beliefs and behaviors that appear, at first, to fulfill their desires. This is the mechanism these predators employ in order to exert their will upon others.
In Roy’s business dealings, he takes over the businesses of his followers, and withholds the funds they receive, presumably to himself alone. His finances are a mystery, but he’s become the most powerful figure in Shawano.
People do not have ideas. Ideas have people. This is the inherent danger of ideology. It seems that certain ideas have a way of overriding our common sense or even our notions of right and wrong. This is what makes religion so dangerous; it claims divine authority over every aspect of life, and its invented ideology often directly conflict with the needs of the individual, and the proper functioning of society. The tragedy is that people still think that religion is essential for the survival of society. And yet by every available metric, societies that have rejected faith have a higher standard of living. The evidence seems clear.
List of abuses and lawsuits against the group
[1] https://culteducation.com/group/1111-rama-behera.html
Woman being tortured with cattle prod for “not listening” to leader
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItLKMxnCHZ8
The business dealings of the cult
[3] https://archive.jsonline.com/business/followers-put-their-faith-in-his-hands-8k2b55o-133308973.html/
Remember these guys? The Heaven’s Gate people had a penchant for Nikes and a pretty unhealthy obsession with the Hale-Bopp Comet. In total, 39 poor saps took their own lives, convinced that doing so would ensure their safe passage aboard a spaceship trailing the comet. After they purchased alien abduction insurance (the logic of this still baffles me) from Lloyd’s of London, they prepared a weird mixture of pudding, applesauce, arsenic and cyanide, and finally washed it all down with vodka. It took days before their bloated corpses were found. Hey, at least their insurance worked!
The cult leaders, Marshall Applewhite (above) and his partner Bonnie Nettles, had spent years feeding into each other’s delusion that they were celestial beings. But when they first started their cult, they only managed to convince one person, and it was like that for several years. I have to wonder if there was a moment, back in the mid seventies, where Bo and Bonnie started to wonder if they weren’t just nutbags, given the lukewarm response of potential followers. Was there a time of brief sanity when they might have popped out of their delusion and seen the truth? Well, judging by the video above, I’d say he had checked out from reality long ago.
This week Ryan and I talk about the history of Halloween, and the hysteria of Satanic Ritual Abuse in the 80’s and 90’s (and how crazy evangelicals were behind most of it). We also talk about the coming election, and finally we discuss my nasty mustache for Movember.
If you haven’t listened to the podcast recently, you might have missed a subject I briefly talked about last show. I was talking about a little known organization called the Cult Awareness Network, and their ties with Scientology. It’s a bit of a complicated story, so you’ll have to bear with me while I explain it.
In 1978, the tragedy of Jonestown led to the creation of an organization dedicated to identifying and combating cults. It was dubbed the Cult Awareness Network, and it became the largest organization of its kind in the US. One of their big opponents was Scientology, which they correctly identified as being a dangerous cult of greed.
In 1995, a young man named Jason Scott was kidnapped by a deprogrammer named Rick Ross, and because Jason’s mother had been referred to Mr. Ross by CAN, they were sued successfully for US$1 million. Around the same time, the Church of Scientology organized a massive litigation campaign, convincing 50 of their members to sue the organization simultaneously. The suits crippled the organization, which had to declare bankruptcy.
But this was not the end of the Cult Awareness Network. Shortly after they went bankrupt, Steven Hayes, a Scientology attorney and the man behind the suits, bought CAN in bankruptcy court for $20,000. Now, the “New” CAN puts all of its focus on fighting for “religious tolerance” (go visit their website; it’s fucking creepy). What was once a thriving organization fighting against destructive cults has ironically enough been commandeered by one of the most aggressive cults in the world. It’s no joke that if you call them up, you’ll probably be talking to a Scientologist.
This is just one small example of how Scientology uses the court system to try and bully, intimidate, silence, and occasionally destroy their opponents. They are simply following the advice and edict of their pseudo-god, L. Ron Hubbard:
The purpose of the suit is to harass and discourage rather than win. The law can be used very easily to harass, and enough harassment on somebody who is simply on the thin edge anyway . . . will generally be sufficient to cause his professional decrease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly.
The usurpation of CAN is a sad testament to the fact that so far, these scumbags are winning. Feeling depressed yet? I know I am…
The Good Atheist survives because of patronage, but unlike my religious counterparts, I have to rely on reason and logic to convince people to shell out a few dollars. José Luis de Jesús doesn’t have this limitation. He’s convinced millions of people he is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, and every year, his church makes roughly 1.4 million in donations. People give him large cash sums, cars and even homes to the man they think is the second coming.
In terms of a racket, it’s a pretty sweet one. José doesn’t need to do more than simply quote the Bible, say a few charming speeches, and the droves eat it up. He doesn’t need to worry about such trivial details as truth or integrity; he has money to spend, and people to convert.
José targets proud Hispanics, as he claims the children born in his congregation are a ‘super race’. It’s kind of the Latino version of the Aryan race. He also claims to simultaneously be Jesus and the Antichrist, and has managed to convince people these two things are not mutually exclusive, so his bullshit technique must indeed be strong. His followers even tattoo 666 in their arms in solidarity.
Here I was trying to spread reason and common sense, and barely scraping by. Seems like the money is in nonsense, so starting today, The Good Atheist will be changed to ‘The Good Jesus’, and will be taking donations from suckers patrons interested in the New, New Gospel (which includes a special provision to allow all hookers into heaven).
If you’re interested in reading about more Jesus wannabes, here’s a list of other guys who have made similar claims. The most interesting is Hong Xiuquan, who called himself the ‘Little Brother’ of Jesus, and led a rebellion killing over 24 million people. And who could forget Charles Manson? Yep, people who call themselves Jesus are usually pretty messed up.
A cult that incorporated more elements of the Old Testament? Toys and enjoyment are considered sin? Physical and verbal abuse is commonplace (with a cattle prod apparently)…Sounds like a damn hoot. The woman in this video shares her experience living in a small, creepy cult. Some pretty insane stuff.
Your average, moderately religious person is deathly afraid of cults. It’s not the brainwashing they are afraid of, but rather the type of brainwashing that is used. After all, the most distinguishing characteristics of cults is that they usually take a very literal approach to their religion, and this uncomfortable reality often reminds the faithful there is a dark side to their own belief system.
Consider the following case in Baltimore: a mother denies her 16 month old son food and water because he did not say “Amen” at mealtimes. This of course may seem harsh by modern ethical standards, but in most old world religions, this type of stuff happened all the time. It’s not uncommon for parents to commit filicide (murdering your own child has a name, so you know it happens quite a bit), and the Bible has special rules about disobedient children that demands they be stoned to death.
If this was the end of the craziness, it would be only another sad tragedy brought to you by religion, but this case is special: The mother along with other congregants of the ‘One Mind Ministries’ prayed over the boy’s body for days thinking they could resurrect him. The court psychiatrist concluded before the trial the mother was not insane since she was following religious doctrine, and her beliefs were shared by others who also participated in the neglect of the child (see, if one person believes they are Napoleon, he’s crazy. If 20 people agree with him, he’s a prophet). If this sounds like a massive cop out, consider what their ‘expert’ psychiatrist said before the trial:
Although an inability to think critically can be a sign of brainwashing, experts said, the line between that and some religious beliefs can be difficult to discern.
“At times there can be an overlap between extreme religious conviction and delusion,” said Robert Jay Lifton, a cult expert and psychiatrist who lectures at Harvard Medical School. “It’s a difficult area for psychiatry and the legal system.”
It’s only difficult because we refuse to admit all religious convictions are a form of delusion. Most of the time these delusions are benign, but when books like the Bible are suddenly taken literally, the result is often sad, tragic, and terrible. To some degree or another, all religions are cultist in nature; how much devotion and uncritical thinking they encourage will determine whether or not they can coexist with society. Personally, I find them all equally revolting, but for vastly different reasons.
Another sad death caused by religious stupidity, gullibility, and the unenlightened words of the Bible. Why are we still reading this fucking book in the 21st century? If it’s any comfort, the woman in this story agreed to cooperate, but asked that the sentence be reduced if her son is resurrected during her incarceration. Yep, totally sane woman here, doc.
