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Cody Mercer
Criminal Administration 3310
June 9, 2008
Cults Corrupting Human Consciousness
Cults have been around since the beginning of civiliation! As cults members
consider it their "od given right to #ractice their #articular idea of religion, others may
consider it blas#hemous corru#tion! Atrocities carried out by secular cults in the name of
"od seem to be the largest concern among those not associated $ith cults! Anyone
$anting to give u# the ty#ical social structure and devote their lives to living on a
secluded trac% of land and serve their deity is ones o$n #rerogative! &hen heinous acts
of crime such as bombing abortion clinics, #olygamy, and statutory ra#e are #resent
certain actions must be ta%en in order to right the $rongs! Most disturbing is the fact that
these #articular acts are considered 'ust and honorable in the minds of these individuals(
$hile in actuality are to be considered e)tremely ominous! *uicide bombers and murder
of the masses is 'ust another element of this life $hich is un+esca#able! &e must as%
ourselves $ho or $hat can 'ustify these crimes, and $ho are $hat can classify them as a
crime,
Mentioning murder in the name of religion can be verified in almost any history
te)tboo% that you encounter! Christian crusades $hich murdered millions of #eo#le
along $ith Adol#h -itler $ho almost eliminated an entire race of human beings can all
be lin%ed to that in the name of religion! .n reading the bible $e find countless acts of
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crime in the name of Jesus Christ! /he ma'ority of the bible is a recollection of $ar
stories centrally based around crime related to "od and Christianity! .s it the /en
Commandments or the 0ill of 1ight2s la$s that can define $hat is morally acce#table
$hen it comes to secular religion, .s it u# to the eye of the beholder and that #erson2s
#ersonal #hiloso#hy $hich $ill define 'ustice, .s a Muslim someone $ho follo$s or
#ractices the .slamic religion or 'ust another terrorist, *uch 3uestions have #lagued us
for many years, yet these unans$ered 3uestions have led to the death of millions!
A#ril 19, 1993 mar%ed a day of great tragedy in a little to$n called &aco, /e)as!
4avid 5oresh, a 0ranch 4ividian leader, orchestrated the 61 day standoff $hich ended in
the death of 78 4ividian cult activists! /he 0ranch 4ividians are religious sect that
originated in 1936! 1esidents of the 0ranch 4ividians had bought large amounts of semi+
automatic guns $hich the 0ureau of Alcohol /obacco and 9irearms :0A/9; had reason
to believe that they had been converting these guns into fully automatic $ea#ons! A
$arrant had been rendered in order to investigate the com#ound for any illegal activity of
this sort by 0A/9! -o$ever, members of the cult had been #reviously ti##ed off of the
forthcoming raid $hich allo$ed the 4ividians to be fully #re#ared for the attac%!
0eginning 9ebruary 28, a long dra$n out attem#t of negotiations and bargaining finally
led to com#lete disaster 61 days later! Much $as to be learned from this fatal stab at
'ustice! *ome consider this a ne$ understanding of $hat a religious sect, or cult, $as
ca#able of and $illing to go through in order to #reserve their faith! 4ee# research and
evaluations brought authorities to the conclusion that matters could have been handled
3uite differently! "overnment cover+u#s and the $ithholding of vital information
#revented the media from truly being able to #oint fingers, and further left many
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3uestions and little ans$ers! &ho $as to be blamed for this tragically historical event,
self+righteous religious fanatics, or over ealous blood thirsty la$ officials, <ot only are
the 0ranch 4ividians a cult, but it goes beyond acts in the name of religion! 1ebelling
against everyday society and claiming inde#endence of selfhood, acts of #olitical
violence and revolutionary ideas are 'ust the start of this right+$ing e)tremist grou# and
many other e)tremist grou#s! America2s eyes $ere finally o#en to the severity and
ca#abilities of these so called e)tremist grou#s! =ven though the 0ranch 4ividians $ere
%ee#ing to themselves in their segregated grou# of religious ideas on a small tract of land
in the middle of no$here, they $ere still technically brea%ing state la$!
According to John /aylor, >&e believe in honesty, morality, and #urity( but $hen
they enact tyrannical la$s, forbidding us the free e)ercise of our religion, $e cannot
submit! "od is greater than the ?nited *tates, and $hen the "overnment conflicts $ith
heaven, $e $ill be ranged under banner of heaven and against the "overnment!@ Jon
/aylor is said to be considered one of the oldest Mormon Church leaders! Mormons are a
religious sect that #ractices #olygamy, $hich is the act of having more then one $ife! As
in the bible, it $as not uncommon for a man to have more then one $ife! 5ing *olomon
$as estimated to have over 700 concubines and $ives in his time! Af course today it is
fro$ned u#on to have more then one $ife, it is rather uncommon and almost considered
boding evil! /he 9undamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Batter 4ay *aints is a sect
branched off from the Mormon religion! =ven though the Mormon religion disavo$ed
the #ractice of #olygamy, cults such as the 9undamentalists began to develo# in order to
continue there right to honor #olygamist ideology! /he 9undamentalist Church of Jesus
Christ of Batter 4ay *aints is 'ust one of the many sects that continue their #hiloso#hy in
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having several $ives at a time! &ho has the right to ma%e the final decision on ho$
many $ives a #erson can #osses at any given time, /he #roblem that arises in the
conce#t of #olygamy is if one is occu#ying many $ives in the name of Jesus Christ, or
'ust some dirty old man $anting to have se) $ith multi#le #artners and trying to find a
$ay to 'ustify his cause! Jose#h *mith the founder of Mormonism claimed that
#olygamy $as >the most holy and im#ortant doctrine ever revealed to man on earth!@
*mith stated that a man had to have at least three $ives in order to attain com#lete
s#iritual fullness! Morality is at the sta%e of this argument, but $hat decides morality,
each individual, or the la$s for $hich $e must follo$ to create conformity!
Ane of the largest issues that have currently been in the headlines is the act of
secular cults committing statutory ra#e! -aving se) $ith girls under the age of eighteen
is a crime not matter $hich $ay you cut it! .n the name of the Bord a cult leader has been
given divine intervention to have se) $ith a minor! Af course they are only doing it
because "od told them to, not because they $ant to! &arren *! Jeffs $as convicted to
face life in #rison on *e#tember 26, 2007! A highly recognied #ro#het leader of /he
9undamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Batter 4ay *aints $as found guilty of ra#e! A
fourteen year old female church member of the Bater 4ay *aints $as coerced into
marrying Mr! Jeffs! Mr! Jeffs claimed it to be an act of "od $hich $ould bring her closer
to s#iritual revelation! /he girl, $ho $e $ill call Jane 4oe, made the statement >/he trial
has not been about religion nor a vendetta, it is sim#ly about child abuse and #reventing
further abuse!@ Jane 4oe, $ho is no$ 21, testified that she $as #ushed into
consummating a >celestial marriage@ $hich $as something that she did not $ant to do!
/he #olygamist community of -ildale, ?tah is acce#ting of these acts and claims that it is
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a ma'or as#ect of their right to #ractice their religion! Mr! Jeffs faces another charge in
Ariona related to the same crime of under+age incestuous marriages! -e fled the state in
order to avoid #rosecution and $as later trac%ed do$n in Bas Degas after being on the
90.2s most $anted list! .t seems hard to believe that a man of "od such as Mr!Jeffs
$ould try to avoid his #unishment if he $as only carrying out $hat he believed his
#ermissible religious #ractices!
*uicide bombers and the bombing of abortion clinics are both terroristic attac%s
have been carried out to honor religion! According to Muslim #ractice, Jihad $ill
guarantee you automatic acce#tance into heaven! Jihad is the religious cam#aign that
$ill go through any means necessary in order to re#resent their faith and #reserve the true
and only religion acce#table in this $orld according to the believers of the faith!
/herefore, in the name of A#eration =nduring 9reedom, $e have soldiers dying everyday
in the Middle =ast to #rotect Americans from terrorism of Jihad activity!
-ate crimes and violence are #art of the inesca#able #resent day culture $e reside
in! /he Christian .dentity is a right $ing e)tremist grou# that carries out random acts of
hate crime to give tribute to "od! .n last fe$ decades the racist and anti+*emitic
movement has been lin%ed to numerous crimes involving terrorism, hate crime, and
bombings all for the sa%e of religion! A su#remacist terrorist grou# %no$n as /he Arder,
a branch of the Christian .dentity, have committed co#ious amounts of armed robberies
not to mention counterfeiting and assassination in order to #ro#el their radical belief
system! According to the Anti+4efamation Beague, >.n the 1990s, .dentity criminal
activity continued a#ace, including efforts by an A%lahoma .dentity minister, &illie 1ay
Bam#ley, to commit a series of bombings in the summer of 1996 in the $a%e of the
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A%lahoma City bombing by /imothy McDeigh!@ &e all %no$ the conse3uences of the
A%lahoma City 0ombing, thousands $ere %illed and families are still #aying the #rice for
this atrocious event! /hroughout the centuries man%ind has managed to validate his
reasons for murder and morally corru#t actions! As these crimes $ill continue to occur
#ast our e)tent on this earth, . su##ose the 3uestion $e must as% ourselves is $ho is right
and $ho is $rong $hen it comes to these crimes carried out in the name of "A4,
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&or%s Cited
1! htt#EFF$$$!a#ologeticsinde)!orgFfFf39aa!html
2!htt#EFF$$$!nytimes!comF2007F09F28FusF28'effs!html,
GrH1Isc#H3Is3Hra#eJinJcultsIstHnytIorefHslogin
3! htt#EFF$$$!adl!orgFlearnFe)tGusFChristianG.dentity!as#,)#ic%edHCIitemHChristianG.4