Sometime ago a TV series about cults (on the Vice channel) was titled True Believers. Though not all the cults were new, I’d not heard of any of them—despite having researched this stuff forever! Sheesh. The Teal Swan group was mentioned in this “Starstruck?” post. Here’s a tiny look at four other cults featured in that TV series.
Universal Medicine (UniMed)
The founder claims to be the reincarnation of Leonardo DaVinci. Or maybe he just channels him… it wasn’t quite clear. For women there are “ovarian readings” and “esoteric breast massage.” (Esoteric means for an initiated, private, confidential inner circle.) That’s enough for me to back away. But one other thing stood out. The founder works from “principles of The Ageless Wisdom,” with the organization’s aim being to “assist the hierarchy.” The average person might think (if they notice at all), What in the world is the hierarchy? But I associate “the hierarchy” with the “mother of the New Age,” Alice Bailey, because of her book The Externalisation of the Hierarchy. Bailey’s dark predictions (channeled through a demon) call for a new world order that will necessitate “the elimination of hindrances.” That likely means Christians hindering a one-world religion. (I don’t want to link to her writings. If you decide to look more on your own, don’t wander around in there too long.)
3HO International (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization)
The founder had a background in Sikhism. A key point for his group is “You create God’s will in you.” And the program focuses on kundalini yoga (site-search here for more on kundalini). The founder reportedly told certain followers that, basically, they should be so devoted to him that they’d kill if he asked them to. (That’s reminiscent of the notorious Charles Manson cult!) The episode reported that, upon this yogi’s death, US Congress had hailed him as “a wise teacher… champion of peace.”
Modern Mystery School
The founder claims to be descended from Thor and with 1,000 lifetimes. He studied the occult and secret societies. His third wife was a psychic; they said an alien abduction gave them knowledge. The TV reporter described the group’s practices in terms of three Ms: “martial arts, metaphysics, and magic.” The founder sure left no stone unturned, as far as drawing from every possible spiritual persuasion:
- “energy” being sent through a rod that has the Egyptian ankh symbol;
- a drum and a “fan” made of feathers that looked Native American—and the waving fan resembled how it looks when a Catholic priest dispenses holy water;
- lotus symbol (Buddhist/Hindu);
- art on letterhead featured a Shinto shrine gateway; and
- talk of karma.
There were “tantric sessions”: former members described going to an X-rated show, then were assigned to one or more sex partners. A (now former) member had been chosen to have sex with one of the VIPs “to save souls.” (I’m not brilliant enough to discern how that would cause salvation.)
Members who decide to leave are threatened with demon possession, disease, or some other kind of trouble.
OneTaste
This deal is totally sexual. People submit to a group session with various pairs of strangers engaging in casual sexual pleasuring. As time goes on, more practices are introduced—and with pressure to deliberately participate in things you’re “averse to.” There are also separate sessions with pairs, which reports say went further and amounted to prostitution. (See also “What’s Next—Temple Prostitutes?”.)
(Note: At some point there was an FBI investigation, and this group was rebranded as “Institute of OM,” and maybe even relabeled again later. At the airing of the broadcast, the founder’s location was unknown.)
Should you look further into any of those groups (but please don’t!), you would see:
- Bits of teachings/practices that are outright false, some bits that evoke a “Hmm—could be true,” and some bits that actually are true. There’s enough truth and enough hmm-ing to keep people interested and hopeful. Clever.
- Promises of solutions/success in a variety of categories: health, connection to “the divine,” financial, true love, impacting world peace, secret spiritual knowledge…
- Exotic objects or rituals mixed from assorted religions, claims of reincarnations or cosmic origins—all of which convey a sense of the magical and of power.
Wondering what to do with all this?
Stop right now and take 20 minutes to read ALL of 1 and 2 Timothy. Seriously! The apostle Paul was helping Timothy (the young evangelist) keep believers on track amid the dark and wild spiritual practices in Ephesus (where the pagan temple of Artemis/Diana was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World). A couple of sample verses: “Evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13). And “to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (4:3). Sounds like those cults described above, doesn’t it?
It was also Paul who said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16). The next time we hear someone accuse the Bible/Christianity of being silly or old-fashioned, let’s recall flimsy substitutes like those above. And then be bold enough and care enough to testify about (even brag on?) the truth, power, and wonder of the Lord’s way!
