Short audio presentation on crazy cults on my birthday

From:

http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/top-10-crazy-cults.html







ANKERBERG, JOHN AND JOHN WELDON (1999) Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions, Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House Publishers.

MARTIN, WALTER (1965)(1997) The Kingdom of The Cults, Minneapolis, Bethany House Publishers.

A more academic presentation from my other theology blog:

thekingpin68: hell

Additional:


Aimee Semple McPherson, the founder of the Foursqaure Church. I am not stating she was cultic or her church was or is cultic. But to me her outfit was weird and over the top.

I realize the Foursquare Church is Christian.

I find this presentation too theatrical. My religious skepticism is ignited.



From:

womenshistory

'Aimee Semple McPherson was the first famous Pentecostal evangelist, seeking publicity to broaden the audience for her religious message, using modern technology (including the automobile and radio) -- truly a pioneer in religious history. The Foursquare Gospel Church which she founded is now a movement with more than two million members around the world. But most people know her name mainly for an infamous kidnapping scandal.

Aimee Semple McPherson disappeared in May 1926. At first Aimee Semple McPherson was presumed drowned. When she reappeared she claimed to have been kidnapped. Many questioned the kidnapping story; gossip had her "shacked up" in a romantic "love nest," though a court case was dropped for lack of evidence...."

'In May 1926, Aimee Semple McPherson went for a swim in the ocean, accompanied by her secretary who stayed on the shore -- and Aimee disappeared. Her followers and her mother mourned her death while newspapers featured the continuing search and rumors of sightings -- until June 23, when Aimee reappeared in Mexico with a story of kidnapping and captivity a few days after her mother received a ransom note that threatened that Aimee would be sold into "white slavery" if the half million dollar ransom was not paid.

Kenneth G. Ormiston, who was a radio operator for the Temple, disappeared at the same time, leading to suspicion that she had not been kidnapped but had instead spent the month in a romantic hideaway. There had been gossip about her relationship with him before the disappearance, and his wife had moved back to Australia, claiming her husband was involved with McPherson. There were reports that a woman who looked like Aimee Semple McPherson had been seen in a resort town with Ormiston during McPherson's disappearance. Suspicion led to a grand jury investigation and charges of perjury and manufacturing evidence against McPherson and Ormiston, but the charges were dropped the next year without explanation.

Her ministry continued. If anything, her celebrity was greater. Within the church, there were some repercussions to the suspicions and scandal: Aimee's mother even split from her.

Aimee Semple McPherson married again in 1931. David Hutton, ten years her junior and a member of Angelus Temple, filed for divorce in 1933 and it was granted in 1934. Legal disputes and financial difficulty marked the next years of the church's history. McPherson continued to lead the church's many activities, including her radio talks and her preaching, and the financial difficulties were largely overcome by the 1940s.

In 1944, Aimee Semple McPherson died of an overdose of sedatives. The overdose was pronounced accidental, complicated by kidney problems, though many suspected suicide.'