‘Prophet Elijah’ accused of blocking cancer treatment

AMSTERDAM — A spiritual leader who refers to himself as Prophet Elijah or Elias and ordered his followers to prepare for Armageddon faces jail in the Netherlands.

A public prosecutor asked a court in Dordrecht to sentence H van G, 69, to 12 months in jail, with six months suspended.

The leader of the Efraim community in the Dutch town of Heinenoord faces a rarely used charge of coercion for allegedly stopping one of his followers getting adequate medical treatment for breast cancer. She died.

People who have broken from the cult claim he used psychological pressure to persuade her she was healed by the power of faith. Her husband is still a member of the group and he has contradicted this suggestion.

The prosecution has further claimed that G. coerced another member in paying over EUR 300,000 to the religious group.

‘Prophet Elijah’ is also accused of slandering former members of the group on his website.

The self-proclaimed prophet from the Dutch town of Puttershoek announced in 2001 that the end of the world was approaching. He suggested his followers would be taken into the hereafter as “brides of Jesus”.

Some cancelled rental contracts or sold their homes and took their children out of school to prepare for Armageddon.

The cancer patient cancelled an operation, allegedly after the leader claimed he had healed her by the laying on of hands and prayer. He also allegedly told her she had to remain “whole” for God.

When the awaited ascension to heaven failed to materialise in 2001, the woman confronted the ‘prophet’. Her faith in the  Efraim community lapsed and she underwent the operation.

The woman also got divorced from her husband and lodged a criminal complaint against the cult leader. She died of cancer in 2004.

Read Another Article

Detective says evidence short
LDS believe Satan is real, but the stories aren’t always

Related News Articles Topic(s): Efraim Society Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Efraim Society Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog