DOCSLIB.ORG

Challenges in the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Zimbabwe in Intergrating and Evangelising Minority Groups After Independence

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Challenges in the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Zimbabwe in Intergrating and Evangelising Minority Groups After Independence CHALLENGES IN THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH IN ZIMBABWE IN INTERGRATING AND EVANGELISING MINORITY GROUPS AFTER INDEPENDENCE by SIKHUMBUZO NDLOVU submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF THEOLOGY in the subject MISSIOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF W A SAAYMAN CO-SUPERVISOR: PROF P H GUNDANI NOVEMBER 2013 ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS First and foremost would like to salute my beloved Professor, Willem Saayman for the persistence and sometimes “the push to the limits”. I also take my hat off to him, because indeed he was both able to challenge and encourage me. I thank the University of South Africa for the financial assistance-(maluphakanyiswe uphondo lwayo!). I also wish to express my gratitude to sister Rose Sibanda. I wish her manifold blessings. I would also like to pause and thank Dr. Mazibisa, he was a comrade in arms indeed in the academic battle field. My appreciation also goes to Elder Jack Jecobs and his wife Mercy Jecobs, it is indeed my prayer that, “surely goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life”. I cannot over emphasize the parental guidance and sacrifice given by Pastor Basil Hall to make this work a reality. I also wish to thank Elder Sydney Tombs, for a job well done and wish God’s choicest blessings for him and the family. Pastor Hall (Gweru) God give you more days. Sister Rose Khuphe, you are a great treasure. To all the Pastors, Elders and leaders in various capacities in the multicultural churches I salute you. To the members who took their time to fill in the questionnaires, I am humbled. Truly, umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. How on earth could such a mammoth task be accomplished without you? God bless you. I wish also to extend my gratitude to the members of the Sabbath Keeping Adventists, brothers and sisters and especially elder Albert Hall, you allowed me to see far beyond my own limitations and prejudices. Thank you for that. The Methodist church, the Baptists (specifically Dr/Rev Mosti), Selbourne Park Pentecostal church, Revival Fellowship & the Harvest House International, I thank you so much for the information and your time. I will not forget the gallant academic soldier Rachel Mhlanga who was also instrumental in the crafting of this document. Also Dr John Dumisani Hlatywayo for the encouragement at the initial stages of this thesis. Mama Mrs Mart, for the editorial work, well done and God bless you. My dear wife who volunteered temporary singleness for a season and my beloved three daughters who sometimes missed the fatherly smile. The West Zimbabwe Conference officers, colleagues and staff, comrades and friends including umnawami uNda, Regal Sibanda, I thank you, ngiyabonga, ndatenda, obrigado. Precious Mdlongwa khula uze ukhokhobe. Your knowledge of statistics came handy. For graphical designs VJ mnawami ukwanda kwaliwa ngabakhunkuli. Lawe Bheki kaMathema, oka Jama ngiyakubonga kakhulu. Above all humanity-Glory to God, Maranatha, Shalom and Sola Dei Gloria! i DECLARATION I declare that Challenges in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Zimbabwe in Integrating and Evangelising Minority Groups After Independence is my own work and that all sources that I have used and quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. Signed: Name: Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu Student Number:33201250 ii DEDICATION My beloved wife Duduzile, my lovely daughters: Nomqhele, Nokusa, Yomusa, Nobukhosi and Thabolwethu, Ntombizodwa, I dedicate this thesis. To all missiologists, missionaries and all who are spreading the Good Tidings of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. iii Abbreviations CCJP...........................................C atholic Commission for Justice and Peace GC..............................................General Conference HUP............................................Homogeneous Unit Principle MDC...........................................Movement for Democratic Change NAAC........................................National Association for the Advancement of Coloureds SDA............................................Seventh -day Adventist SKA............................................Sabbath Keeping Adventists ZANLA......................................Zimbabwe African Liberation Army ZANU PF...................................Zimbabwe African Union Patriotic Front ZAPU.........................................Zimbabwe African Peoples Union ZIPRA…….............................. Zimbabwe African People’s regular Army EZC............................................East Zimbabwe Conference CZC............................................Central Zimbabwe Conference WZC...........................................West Zimbabwe Conference ZUC...........................................Zimbabwe Union Conference . iv SUMMARY The integration and evangelisation of the minority groups in Zimbabwe in general, and in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in particular poses a challenge. The situation has become more acute after independence. Evidently, the socio-political atmosphere in Zimbabwe has not ameliorated the condition. Certainly, challenges stem from issues concerning racial prejudice, finances, cultural differences, as well as worship styles. While the efforts of the current multicultural ministries are appreciated, the results of the survey indicate that a lot still needs to be done. First, the organizational structure of the ministry needs to be reviewed. Such a review is relevant in order to check and regulate the balance and distribution of power, control and authority. Second, the need for the recruitment of leaders from within the minority groups themselves especially from the white population was clearly articulated. Third, it may be necessary to approach the whole issue from a social standpoint, so as to formulate theological strategies. Apparently, the social distance is more pronounced than the theological one. In addition, integration and evangelisation specifically among the Coloured population is further compounded by the split, which occurred in the early 1990s. Most of the Sabbath-Keeping Adventists from this group anticipate challenges if they would opt to merge with the national Conference. Some of the major barriers to such a step revolve around issues of properties, finances, and positions as well as the general upkeep of the workers. Unless, these apprehensions are clarified and the fears are allayed, integration seems enigmatic. Ecclesiological unity and theological unity in diversity seem to be eclipsed by racial solidarity and socio-economic and political expediency. Similarly, the reconciliation among the black majority itself, also needs a close and deliberate attention from both the church and society in Zimbabwe. For that reason, tribalism, racism, ethnicity, nepotism and any other discrimination should not be tolerated, first and foremost by the church and second, by all peace loving Zimbabweans (Gal 3:28). The reconstruction of the cultural landscape in Zimbabwe demands an affirmation of the common destiny for all Zimbabweans. Key Words; Challenges, Seventh-day Adventist, Zimbabwe, Minority, Integrating, evangelisation, independence v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS ......................................................................................... I DECLARATION .......................................................................................................... II DEDICATION ............................................................................................................ III ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................... IV SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. V TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... VI LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... X LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... XI CHAPTER 1 .................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH QUESTION.................................................. 1 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY .............................................. 1 1.1 THE MINORITY GROUPS LANDSCAPE IN ZIMBABWE .............................................. 2 1.2 THE KNOWLEDGE GAP ............................................................................................ 3 1.3 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY ................................................................................... 4 1.4 KEY TERMS IN THE RESEARCH ................................................................................ 5 1.5 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 7 1.6 DEMARCATION OF THE STUDY ................................................................................ 8 1.7 SOURCES FOR THE STUDY ....................................................................................... 8 1.8 THESIS STATEMENT ................................................................................................ 9 1.9 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 9 1.10. SEQUENCE OF CHAPTERS ....................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Seventh-Day Adventism
    CHRISTIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE P.O. Box 8500, Charlotte, NC 28271 / www.equip.org / tel.704.887.8200 / fax.704.887.8299 STATEMENT DS410 SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM The main emphasis of ministry at the Christian Research Institute is to provide inform ation which will help those who are evangelizing the millions of people presently entangled in cults, the occult, and various false religions. Because of this, and because Dr. Walter Martin did some pioneer research on Adventism in the late 1950's, we are frequently asked what our position is on the subject of Seventh-day Adventism (hereafter "SDA" for short). Though several capable Christian scholars (e.g., Anthony Hoekema, J.K. Van Baalen, John Gerstner) have concluded that SDA is a non-Christian cult system, CRI has continued to assert that this is not the case. We take this position based on the content of the doctrine which was stated in an official SDA publication (1957) entitled Questions on Doctrine. It should be noted that in 1983 W. Richard Lesher, vice-president of the General Conference, affirmed that SDA stood behind the publication Questions on Doctrine. Since SDA does accept the foundational doctrines of historic Christianity (the Trinity, Christ's true deity, His bodily resurrection, etc.) we do not believe that it should be classified as a non-Christian cult. It is our conviction that one cannot be a true Jehovah's Witness, Mormon, Christian Scientist, etc., and be a practicing Christian in the biblical sense of the word; but it is possible to be a Seventh-day Adventist and a true follower of Jesus, despite certain distinctive Adventist doctrines which we consider to be unbiblical.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Cloning and the Raelians in the Spanish Newspaper El País
    Science Communication Volume 30 Number 2 December 2008 236-265 © 2008 Sage Publications Human Cloning and 10.1177/1075547008324429 http://scx.sagepub.com hosted at the Raelians http://online.sagepub.com Media Coverage and the Rhetoric of Science Miguel Alcíbar University of Seville, Spain In this article, the author analyzes the reported coverage on human cloning and the Raelians in the Spanish newspaper El País. On December 27, 2002, Brigitte Boisselier, the director of the biotechnology company Clonaid, part of the International Raelian Movement, announced they had successfully cloned a baby girl. This news report enlivened the controversy on human cloning, which originated in February 1997 with the news of Dolly’s birth. El País constructed the controversy as a fundamental problem of scientific policy. This study sug- gests that El País wants to persuade policy makers to establish limited regula- tions on experimentation with embryo stem cells for therapeutic purposes. To achieve this goal, this newspaper used scientific sources selected ad hoc and a series of well-defined rhetorical strategies. Keywords: human cloning; newspaper coverage; Raelians; El País; actor network theory; framing n December 27, 2002, Brigitte Boisselier, the director of the Obiotechnology company Clonaid, run by the International Raelian Movement (IRM), announced they had successfully cloned a baby girl who they called Eve. The claims of the IRM members not only enlivened the ethical debate surrounding human cloning but also provoked the reaction of the “scientific community,”1 calling for science as the legitimate repository of knowledge and source of future development of research using human embryos (Table 1).
    [Show full text]
  • France Page 1 of 8
    France Page 1 of 8 France International Religious Freedom Report 2006 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor The constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right in practice; however, some religious groups remain concerned about legislation passed in 2001 and 2004, which provided for the dissolution of groups under certain circumstances and banned the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols by public school employees and students. A 1905 law on the separation of religion and state prohibits discrimination on the basis of faith. Government policy continued to contribute to the generally free practice of religion. A law prohibiting the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols in public schools by employees and students entered into force in September 2004. Despite significant efforts by the Government to combat anti-Semitism and an overall decline in the number of incidents, anti-Semitic attacks persisted. The Government has a stated policy of monitoring potentially "dangerous" cult activity through the Inter-ministerial Monitoring Mission against Sectarian Abuses (MIVILUDES). Some groups expressed concern that MIVILUDES publications contributed to public mistrust of minority religions, and that public statements from the new president indicated the organization would take a harder line against minority religions. The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief issued a report indicating that the Government generally respected the right to freedom of religion or belief, but expressed concern about the application of the 1905 law, the treatment of cult groups and certain new religious movements, and the 2004 legislation regarding religious symbols in schools. The generally amicable relationship among religious groups in society contributed to freedom of religion.
    [Show full text]
  • Priests and Cults in the Book of the Twelve
    PRIESTS & CULTS in the BOOK OF THE TWELVE Edited by Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer Ancient Near East Monographs Monografías sobre el Antiguo Cercano Oriente Society of Biblical Literature Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente (UCA) Priests and Cults in the Book of the twelve anCient near eastern MonograPhs General Editors alan lenzi Juan Manuel tebes Editorial Board: reinhard achenbach C. l. Crouch esther J. hamori rené krüger Martti nissinen graciela gestoso singer number 14 Priests and Cults in the Book of the twelve Edited by lena-sofia tiemeyer Atlanta Copyright © 2016 by sBl Press all rights reserved. no part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permit- ted by the 1976 Copyright act or in writing from the publisher. requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the rights and Permissions office,s Bl Press, 825 hous- ton Mill road, atlanta, ga 30329 usa. library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data names: tiemeyer, lena-sofia, 1969- editor. | krispenz, Jutta. idolatry, apostasy, prostitution : hosea’s struggle against the cult. Container of (work): title: Priests and cults in the Book of the twelve / edited by lena-sofia tiemeyer. description: atlanta : sBl Press, [2016] | ©2016 | series: ancient near east monographs ; number 14 | includes bibliographical references and index. identifiers: lCCn 2016005375 (print) | lCCn 2016005863 (ebook) | isBn 9781628371345 (pbk. : alk. paper) | isBn 9780884141549 (hardcover : alk. paper) | isBn 9780884141532 (ebook) subjects: lCSH: Priests, Jewish.
    [Show full text]
  • Researching New Religious Movements
    Researching New Religious Movements ‘The most important “first” that this book achieves is its bold questioning of the whole intellectual apparatus of the sociology of religion as it has been applied to the understanding of the new religious movements. I am confident that Elisabeth Arweck’s study will quickly become required reading in the sociology of new religious movements.’ Professor David Martin, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics, University of London ‘Powerful and original . it succeeds triumphantly in being at the same time an important, high-quality academic study and a book for our times.’ Professor David Marsland, Professorial Research Fellow in Sociology, University of Buckingham New religious movements such as Scientology, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Unification Church (Moonies) are now well established in mainstream cul- tural consciousness. However, responses to these ‘cult’ groups still tend to be overwhelmingly negative, characterized by the furious reactions that they evoke from majority interests. Modern societies need to learn how to respond to such movements and how to interpret their benefits and dangers. Researching New Religious Movements provides a fresh look at the history and development of ‘anti-cult’ groups and the response of main- stream churches to these new movements. In this unique reception study, Elisabeth Arweck traces the path of scholarship of new religious move- ments, exploring the development of research in this growing field. She con- siders academic and media interventions on both sides, with special emphasis on the problems of objectivity inherent in terminologies of ‘sects’, ‘cults’, and ‘brainwashing’. Ideal for students and researchers, this much- needed book takes the debate over new religious movements to a more sophisticated level.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to the ICSA 2007 Annual Conference
    Introduction to the ICSA 2007 Annual Conference Michael Langone, Ph.D., Executive Director, ICSA Michael Kropveld, Executive Director, Info-Cult About the International Cultic Studies Association and Info-Cult Founded in 1979, the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) is a network of people concerned about cultic, manipulative, and abusive groups. As the leading professional organization in the field, ICSA strives to increase understanding and awareness of such groups and to help people that they harm. ICSA seeks to apply academic and professional research and analyses to the practical problems of families and individuals harmed by cultic experiences and to the professionals who seek to help them and/or forewarn those who might become involved in harmful group situations. ICSA is funded by individuals and foundations. Founded in 1980, Info-Cult is a non-profit charitable organization whose objectives are to: • Promote the study of cultic phenomena; • Inform, raise awareness and educate the public about these phenomena; • Help people with problems related to these phenomena. Info-Cult is funded in part by the Quebec Provincial Ministry of Health and Social Services and operates in both English and French. It houses one of the most unique collections of materials on "cults", "new religious movements" and related groups and subjects. Definitional Issues A central component of ICSA’s mission is to study psychological manipulation and abuse, especially as it manifests in cultic and other groups. Different people, attach different and usually imprecise meanings to the term “cult.” Those who have sought information from ICSA and Info-Cult have – properly or improperly –used “cult” to refer to a wide variety of phenomena.
    [Show full text]
  • 6 Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church
    CULTS – Sunday School Notes – 6 Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church The cults that we have discussed so far are very close to orthodox Christianity in the sense that they are easily mistaken as “the real thing” by those who do not know the Word of God very well. We will now come to those cults that mix in elements from other religions and make claims that are simply absurd from the Christian perspective. Nevertheless, they find enough followers, particularly among those who feel spiritually needy but are quite distant from the Christian faith. They promise them a spiritual solution to their problem, inner healing, and true fellowship – and all this sounds so much more believable than the preaching of the many lifeless Christian churches. They are usually backed up by a powerful organizational structure with a lot of financial support, and a strong public presence – particularly on the World Wide Web, which they use to recruit new members. Today, we want to talk about Sun Myung Moon’s Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, briefly called the Unification Church or sometimes simply the Moonies. They claim that We now have the means to heal all modern-day human problems, exalt every human soul, and bring the kingdom of God within the reach of every man. According to Reverend Sun Myung Moon, a title he gave to himself when he founded his church in 1954, this all-embracing claim is based on new revelations from God which were given to him in order to “complete the task of establishing God’s kingdom on earth and bringing piece to mankind”.
    [Show full text]
  • Cult Recovery: a Clinician’S Guide to Working with Former Members and Family
    St. John's University School of Law St. John's Law Scholarship Repository Faculty Publications 2018 Cult Recovery: A Clinician’s Guide to Working With Former Members and Family Robin Boyle St. John's University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/faculty_publications Part of the Law Commons This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. understand and cope with a loved one’s involvement in what Cult Recovery: A appears to be a problematic group (Chapter 1). He provides a helpful explanation of what exit counseling and intervention Clinician’s Guide to mean today: “…a successful intervention with a cult counselor will only give the cult member the opportunity to make an Working With Former informed choice of whether to stay in the cult or leave” (p. 14). Another approach is appropriate when loved ones’ exiting Members and Family a group seems unlikely. Then, as Patricia Millar and Cristina Caparesi explain, mediating disputes among family members Edited by Lorna Goldberg, William Goldberg, Rosanne Henry, within and outside the group using a relational conflict- and Michael Langone resolution model may be an option (Chapter 2). Finally, Carol Bonita Springs, FL: International Cultic Studies Association. 2017. ISBN-10: 0931337097; ISBN-13: 978-0931337093 (paperback). 500 pages. 79.00 (Amazon.com). ...the average length of one’s stay Reviewed by Robin Boyle in a cult has more than doubled: This timely collection of essays provides an overview of current approaches to understanding and treating cultic trauma.
    [Show full text]
  • Egoism, the 'Cult of Man' and the New Age Movement
    Free Inquiry In Creative Sociology Volume 30 No. 2 November 2002 177 EGOISM, THE 'CULT OF MAN' AND THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT Gayle K. Berardi, University of Southern Colorado, and Thomas W. Segady, Stephen F. Austin State University Time, events, or the unaided individual ac­ charismatic or even paternalistic patterns tion of the mind will sometimes undermine (Mitchell1974). In contrast to the private be­ or destroy an opinion without any outward liefs and practices of those belonging to the sign of change ... No conspiracy has been New Age, Jacobs (1989 5) has further ar­ formed to make war on it, but its followers gued that widespread membership in alter­ one by one noiselessly secede. As its oppo­ native religions represents • ... the desire to nents remain mute or only interchange their ei<perience both the ideal family and the fa­ thoughts by stealth, they are themselves thering of a protective and loving male au­ unaware for a long period that a great revo­ thority figure." As opposed to more formally lution has actually been effected. based alternative religions, the New Age is also characterized by an amorphous body of This quote from Tocqueville's Democracy regular, sustainable, and even fully identifi­ in America is heralded by Marilyn Ferguson able communication. The lack of leadership, in her book The Aquarian Conspiracy (1980) absence of prescribed public ritual, and rou­ as the expression of the shibboleth and so­ tinized patterns of communication have led cial consequence of a new, loosely organized several observers to conclude that efforts to "spiritual revolution." This "silent conspiracy" capture the full range of meanings imputed of religious values and beliefs would soon to the New Age Movement is futile.
    [Show full text]
  • Cults and Cosmic Consciousness: Religious Vision in the American 1960S
    Cults and Cosmic Consciousness: Religious Vision in the American 1960s CAMILLE PAGLIA 1. eclipse by politics Commentary on the 1960s has been mas- sive. Law and politics in that turbulent decade are well doc- umented but remain controversial, and the same thing can be said of contemporary innovations in mass media and the arts. One major area remains ambiguous or poorly assimi- lated, however—the new religious vision, which for a tanta- lizing moment in the American sixties brought East and West together in a progressive cultural synthesis. Its promise was never completely fulfilled, for reasons I will try to sketch here. But the depth and authenticity of that spiritual shift need to be more widely acknowledged. A political model currently governs interpretations of the sixties because of the enduring reform movements born in that period, including environmentalism, feminism, and gay liberation. Their mobilizing energy, as well as the organiza- tional style that would also be adopted by antiwar protests, initially came from the civil rights movement sparked by the us Supreme Court’s 1954 decision declaring segregation in public schools unconstitutional. In that crusade, it must be remembered, ordained Protestant ministers such as Martin Luther King, Jr., played a leading role, as they also had in nineteenth-century abolitionism. The civil rights movement, with its hymns and anthems, appealed not just to secular standards of social justice but to a higher moral code. An expanded version of a lecture delivered on 26 March 2002 at Yale University, sponsored by the Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion at Yale.
    [Show full text]
  • The Worlds Religions
    The Worlds Religions Following is a partial listing of the various belief systems for you to consider and investigate if desired. Remember, an open and inquiring mind is a powerful tool to have with you on your journey. You won’t make the correct decisions all of the time and when a change is needed, make that change after a full study is completed. None of what you experience and learn will be wasted. Only when you select an organization to belong to and then blindly follow it without question are you wasting your time and stifling your evolution and perhaps even placing yourself in danger. This is also essential advice when considering a spiritual or religious organization, a career path or a political affiliation. Your most valid spiritual outcomes will be based not only by what you are experiencing now but also by what you have absorbed from previous incarnations. The following description of religious or spiritual organizations or tenets is not a complete listing nor should they be considered absolutely accurate in their descriptions. The information describing each of them was gathered from various writings as diverse as the dictionary or discovered on the world-wide-web from Wikipedia and other sources. The information offered herein should be used as a starting point for the reader to select a religious entity that they might be interested in finding out more about. We here at The Emerald Crystal are not theologians or scholars or experts in the vast study of religions. If your desire is to acquire accuracy and a superior degree in this vast field of religiosity, you must go elsewhere.
    [Show full text]
  • Eileen Barker the Cult As a Social Problem
    Eileen Barker The cult as a social problem Book section Original citation: Originally published in Barker, Eileen (2010) The cult as a social problem. In: Hjem, Titus, (ed.) Religion and social problems. Routledge Advances in Sociology . Routledge, New York, USA, pp. 198-212. ISBN 9780415800563 © 2010 The Author This version available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/50874/ Available in LSE Research Online: November 2013 LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website. This document is the author’s submitted version of the book section. There may be differences between this version and the published version. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it. Page 1 of 13 The Cult as a Social Problem Eileen Barker Jesus was undoubtedly a problem – as were the early Christians, Mohammed and the early Muslims, and Wesley and the early Methodists. Today, L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology, Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, Li Hongzhi and Falun Gong; Osama bin Laden and Al Qaida have all been considered a threat not only to their individual followers but also to the very fabric of society.
    [Show full text]