Religion News, Opinion & P.R.
The Church of Scientology has sued its longtime Clearwater leader Debbie Cook after she publicly questioned the church’s aggressive fundraising tactics and other practices. Last November a number of former Scientologists also claimed the church uses coercive fundraising tactics to feed its voracious appetite for cash. »
Hate Groups • Homosexuality / Lesbianism / Bisexuality / Transgenderism • Islam • RNB's Religion News Blog:
Three Muslim men in England have been found guilty of stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation after distributing a leaflet that said Islam called for anyone caught committing homosexuality to be executed. Ihjaz Ali, Kabir Ahmed and Razwan Javed handed out the pamphlet, called The Death Penalty?, which showed an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose and quoted Islamic texts that said capital punishment was the only way to rid society of homosexuality. »
Cult Experts • Cults • RNB's Religion News Blog • Scientology:
After 25 years in operation, the Cult Information Centre in England fears it may no longer be able to work effectively. The Cult Information Centre (CIC) was granted education charity status in 1992 but has recently run into difficulties with the commission after complaints were received from the Church of Scientology that it is in breach of the rules governing status. »
Hate Groups • Homosexuality / Lesbianism / Bisexuality / Transgenderism • Islam • RNB's Religion News Blog:
Five Muslim men from Derby, UK, have gone on trial for allegedly handing out leaflets calling for gay people to be killed in the first ever prosecution under new legislation making such actions a hate crime. They are accused of stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation. »
Eric Bikubi and Magalie Bamu • RNB's Religion News Blog • Witchcraft:
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Eric Bikubi and Magalie Bamu • RNB's Religion News Blog • Witchcraft:
Eric Bikubi and Magalie Bamu, both 28, killed 15-year-old Kristy Bamu in their east London flat after violently abusing him for several days, and repeatedly attacked the victim’s two sisters, whom they accused of sorcery, the Old Bailey heard on the opening day of the trial. »
Calvary Chapel:
The congregation at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, California, were stunned last Sunday when Pastor Chuck Smith, its senior pastor, announced during his Sunday morning services that he has lung cancer and will have a biopsy on Tuesday and surgery the following week. Chuck Smith, now in his eighties and the father of the Jesus People Revolution in Southern California, said that he has never smoked in his life. »
Haredi • RNB's Religion News Blog:
Tensions ran high in Beit Shemesh, Israel, Tuesday night as thousands of people gathered to protest against the rise of ultra- Orthodox extremism. They spoke out against a growing frequency in attacks against a local religious-Zionist girls’ elementary school and the broader trend of haredi exclusion of women from the public domain. »
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Religion News Blog
Police in South Korea arrested a pastor and his wife Saturday after three of their four children were found dead.
According to a report by AFP, police say the pair are faith healers who attempted to treat the children’s illnesses only with prayers.
But according to The Korea Herald the couple has been detained on suspicions of assaulting and starving their children to death.
Relatives found the children, aged five, eight and 10, at their home next to the pastor’s church.
Police indicated the children died ten days ago.
When the children showed flu-like symptoms the unordained pastor, identified only by the surname Park, chose to pray over them rather than seek medical attention.
The parents are also accused of beating the sick children to “exorcise” them and made them fast, he added. A preliminary autopsy found multiple bruises on their bodies, but no sign of food in their stomachs.
It is suspected that the children hadn’t eaten since Jan. 23 up until they died between late Feb. 1 or the morning of Feb. 2. The parents said they had started a fast and prayer on Jan. 23.
The couple’s fourth child, a year-old baby, has been placed in protective custody.
Cult Experts: If your loved-one is caught up in a manipulative cult, abusive church, or destructive relationship (so-called 'one-on-one cult') you may need a cult expert. Avoid the bad apples. Here's how to select a cult expert.
The granddaughter of Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Paul and Jan Crouch has accused the world’s largest Christian broadcaster of unlawfully distributing charitable assets worth more than $50 million to the company’s directors. Koper’s complaint is directed against two attorneys who handle some of TBN’s legal work. »
Just one day after parents in Washington were charged in the faith healing death of the teenaged son, an Oregon couple belonging to the same church have been arrested in the faith healing death of their 16-year-old son. They belong to a church is known for its unbiblical teachings beliefs regarding faith healing. »
The former spokesman for the polygamous sect led by Warren Jeffs says in a new lawsuit that sect leaders arranged a nighttime burglary that gutted his business after he was excommunicated for refusing to falsify sect records on Jeffs’ marriages to underage girls. Willie Jessop, a onetime Jeffs bodyguard and sect spokesman, is seeking more than $100 million in damages for business losses, repayment of money he loaned for sect legal expenses and compensation for abuse his family has suffered since leaving the group. »
Parents in Carlton, WA who police say unsuccessfully tried to faith-heal their son back to health have been charged with second-degree murder. The charges against Gregory P. Swezey, 47, and Garnet JaLea Swezey, 45, in Okanogan County Superior Court come nearly three years after Zachery, 17, died of a burst appendix at their home on March 18, 2009. »
The pastor of a scandal-plagued church in Toronto, Canada, was found not guilty of sexually assaulting a member of his congregation. Jae-Kap Song had been accused of telling a parishioner that evil spirits would turn her into a hunchback-like creature, before sexually assaulting her. »
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Two years ago today: Parents found guilty in Oregon City faith-healing trial, Muslim Mob Storms Pakistan Church; 65 Injured and Based on a true story: TV Movie Portrays Dark Side of Scientology
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Religion News Blog (RNB) is published by Apologetics Index. It highlights news items and other resources on world religions, cults, religious sects, new religious movements, alternative religions, abusive churches and - to a lesser extent - related issues (e.g. ethics, human rights).
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