Free Republic

Beck's Bogus Beliefs March 2011 by T. A. McMahon "Glenn Beck, the television and radio talk show host who is best known for his conservative political views, isn't someone whom we would normally address in our newsletter. Our concerns are usually directed at individuals, programs, or organizations that promote spiritual or theological views contrary to the Word of God. Beck, of late, seems to be making himself at home in that realm, and he's attracting many who call themselves Bible-believing Christians. ... First of all, Glenn Beck is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He...

The Scriptures Teach and Testify of Jesus Christ   "The Scriptures Teach and Testify of Jesus Christ", Ensign, Jan. 2011, 14–15  The scriptures contain counsel from prophets, inspired accounts of God’s dealings with people, and revelations from God to His prophets. Scriptures teach that we are children of our Heavenly Father, who loves us. As part of His plan for our eternal happiness, we have come to earth. While we are here, the scriptures are a spiritual lifeline to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.The main purpose of the scriptures is to testify of Christ, helping us come unto Him and receive...

In my last post I told you that when Jared Loughner's former friend, Zach Osler, spoke to ABC's Ashleigh Banfield, he told her that Jared did not subscribe to the left or the right in politics.  The only problem with that is Zach then told her that Jarred was profoundly influenced by Zeitgeist documentary and that it really altered his mind-set on how he viewed the world. So then what exactly is this Zeitgeist all about? Basically, the documentary, "Zeitgeist", is the propaganda arm of an organization called "The Venus Project". The Venus Project is a movement aimed at...

Have You Been Saved? Elder Dallin H. OaksOf the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles  Dallin H. Oaks, “Have You Been Saved?,” Ensign, May 1998, 55As Latter-day Saints use the words saved and salvation, there are at least six different meanings.   What do we say when someone asks us, “Have you been saved?” This question, so common in the conversation of some Christians, can be puzzling to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because it is not our usual way of speaking. We tend to speak of “saved” or “salvation” as a future event rather than something that has...

Here's an interesting primer on cults that you can find in a book on advertising. The author of Coercion: Why We Listen to What 'They' Say" describes religious cults as powerful pyramid schemes. Author Douglas Rushkoff lists 20 common steps of indoctrination in destructive cults. His steps are quoted in italics with my comments included below each step. 1. The GoalEvery cult has a stated, vague and metaphorical goal. Because this goal must serve as the "illuminated eye" of the pyramid, it cannot be attainable. Rather, it is expressed as an abstract idea - like "salvation" - which the cult...

With the leaders of thousands of different religions and churches attempting to make their beliefs appear authentic, it behooves a person to carefully ascertain truth from error. In fact, many leaders of these faiths may call themselves "Christian" and even attempt to convert Christians into their churches. After all, Jesus Himself said in Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." This is why John warned the believers in 1 John 4:1 to "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false...

A movie starring Anthony Hopkins explores exorcism. The man who wrote the book behind the film talks about what chasing the devil really entails. Matt Baglio’s curiosity was piqued. An exorcism course at a Vatican-affiliated university in Rome? It was an unusual topic. As an American journalist living in the Eternal City, he thought it might make for an interesting article; as a non-practicing Catholic at the time, he approached it with some skepticism. Taught by exorcists and experts in theology, satanic cults, criminology and psychology, the course he took challenged many of his assumptions. But what really intrigued him...

This thread is only for freepers who want Sarah Palin to be President in 2012. Please all (TROLLS)other stay out.

Folks, some introductions are in order. First, top from left to right: David Shayler; Sergei Torop, “The Vissarion”; Pastor Apollo Quiboloy. Bottom line, from left to right: Sun Myung Moon, “Lord of the Second Advent”; José Luis de Jesús Miranda, "Jesucristo Hombre"; Teófilo Vargas Seín, "Prophet Aaron."I didn’t know much about the top three until today when I watched this NatGeo documentary entitled The Second Coming. Shayler is British and the only one without followers, probably because he’s the least articulate of the trio. He went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to let people know that he...

With my classic interview with Shirley Phelps Roper becoming part of documentary movie, We decided to share that classic interview as well as the interview with Duane Dog Chapman the "Bounty Hunter" from our archives of the Conscience of Kansas radio program with host Paul A. Ibbetson. We invite you to listen and comment on the show!

Though the word "cult" may have several dictionary meanings, it is largely used to describe a religious organization that centers around a man or a group of men who claim to be God's exclusive channel of truth to the world. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries have seen an abundance of such groups, each with similar roots yet divergent paths. Typical BeginningsGroups such as the Mormons, the Worldwide Church of God and Jehovah's Witnesses all started with a man (or woman in other cases, such as Christian Science) rejecting Christianity in its historical context, and rejecting the churches as well....

If Angle had done a little homework on the net, instead of getting all starry-eyed around Scientology's Hollywood spokesholes, she might have learned that neighboring New Mexico had already dealt with that style group, minus the promised results......

CRI Statement A leading East Coast New Age magazine, New Frontier, recently ran a “dirt for sale” advertisement in its November issue. But this one had a twist — the dirt had allegedly been supercharged by extraterrestrials (ETs). It stated: UFO LANDING site radiates cosmic energy alters psychic awareness. Soil samples $5 + p&h. Not surprisingly, the Boulder, Colorado firm that ran the ad did not respond to a letter asking for proof that there was something unusual about the dirt. While it is not immediately known how many people actu­ally sent in their $5, the appear­ance of such an...

Most people know very little about Scientology aside from the fact that Tom Cruise, John Travolta and other celebrities are a part of it, and that it's had its fair share of controversy over the years. A new book is looking to pull back the curtain on the mysterious religion founded by L. Ron Hubbard, and the author certainly knows her stuff. Amy Scobee is a former Scientologist who was in the church for more than two decades, and worked in the all-important Celebrity Centers portion of the organization. In her just-released book, 'Scientology: Abuse at the Top,' Scobee details...

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Raised as Scientologists, Christie King Collbran and her husband, Chris, were recruited as teenagers to work for the elite corps of staff members who keep the Church of Scientology running, known as the Sea Organization, or Sea Org. A portrait of the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, in a church retreat center in Clearwater, Fla. They signed a contract for a billion years — in keeping with the church’s belief that Scientologists are immortal. They worked seven days a week, often on little sleep, for sporadic paychecks of $50 a week, at most. But after 13...

Even with the significant areas of doctrinal agreement between Catholics and Protestants (see Part One), a notable number of Protestant fundamentalists insist that Catholicism is an anti-Christian cult. Organizations and individuals (some of them quite popular) who classify Catholicism as a cult include: Chick Publications, Alberto Rivera's Anti-Christ Information Center, Tony Alamo's Christian Foundation, Bill Jackson's Christians Evangelizing Catholics, Albert James Dager's Media Spotlight, and Dave Hunt's The Berean Call. (This is not to say that all of these people belong in the same category — the latter three are more respectable than the former three.) Actually this is just...

They advanced to the Church of Scientology's highest spiritual level, to "Operating Thetan VIII," a vaunted realm said to endow extraordinary powers of perception and force of will.(edit)Isene left first, a decision that emboldened Leavitt, who inspired Katz. Such departures are rare among the church's elite group of OT VIIIs, who are held up as role models in Scientology. The three each told the St. Petersburg Times that they had spent decades and hundreds of thousands of dollars to reach the church's spiritual pinnacle. (edit)The three OT VIIIs said they want reform of leadership. They pointed to the revelations...

The phrase "doomsday cult" entered our collective vo cabulary after John Lof land published his 1966 study, "Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of Faith." Lofland wrote about the Unification Church. His subject could almost as easily have been the Church of Warmism. Its college of cardinals has gathered in Copenhagen amid professions of an imminent global apocalypse that allow no room for doubt or deviation. "The clock has ticked down to zero," declared UN climate chief Yvo de Boer. Yes, the end is nigh -- just as surely as when the Millerites gathered on Oct. 22,...

Brian David Mitchell and a murderous polygamous family patriarch shared many similar traits and operated in very similar ways, an expert on religious cults and their members who commit crimes testified Wednesday. Richard Forbes, a retired law enforcer for both Salt Lake and Los Angeles counties, investigated killers Ervil LeBaron and Charles Manson during his career. Forbes is an expert on LeBaron and his followers. During the third day of Mitchell's competency hearing in federal court, Forbes compared the man accused of kidnapping and raping Elizabeth Smart to LeBaron and other religious cult leaders. Both men used revelation as a...

Elementary Epidemic: 11 Uncovered Videos Show School Children Performing Praises to Obama By John Nolte Created 2009-11-04 10:29 Big Hollywood has already posted [1] a couple [2] disturbing videos of young school children singing/speaking praises to President Obama, but when eleven more dropped in our email box it came as quite a shock. What seemed like an aberration now appears to be a troubling pattern. Maybe “epidemic” is a better word. Each one of the videos below is creepier than the last because the further down you go, the younger the children — brace yourself for kindergartners – except for...