NAKED MUSLIM FEMALES. Although not the universal experience, many people report having discovered that Muslim women will take off their clothing, leaving themselves quite naked, provided only that their face is still covered. This was noted by Dr Alberto di Pirajno, an Italian doctor who worked in North Africa prior to World War 2.  He experienced many situations where the woman would, often reluctantly, remove her clothing and lay naked on a bed as he examined her while she held a cloth about her face. Observers have reported sometimes seeing programs on Islamic television services, dealing perhaps with health issues, where women's breasts have been exposed, but not their faces. The Tuareg people follow a curious reversed version of the face covering. The men's faces are covered, the woman's uncovered.

NASRIN, Taslima. A female writer who in May 1994 outraged Muslims in Bangladesh by allegedly suggesting that the Koran should be rewritten. A former doctor and well-known feminist, Nasrin, aged 32, was quoted by an Indian newspaper as making the statement, although she denied having done so. Later she said that she had not called for changes in the Koran but in Sharia law, 'to ensure equal rights for men and women.'  Nasrin has been in trouble with Islamic fundamentalists before. Her book, Lajja ('Shame') was banned by the Bangladeshi Government claiming it was blasphemous and offended Islam.

After the newspaper article appeared Islamic fundamentalist groups called for the writer's death. On one day alone a crowd of 3,000 clashed with police as they demanded her punishment. She had gone into hiding. A fundamentalist group, Towhidi Jagrata Janata ('Rising Faithful') sentenced her to death and said she would be killed when found. The Government then issued an arrest warrant for Nasrin and said they had sealed all exits from the country. If caught and found guilty she could face two years' imprisonment according to law and would then face the prospect of being a sitting target for Islamic assassins.

Throughout July ugly crowds gathered, demanding the writer's death and on one occasion a half-day strike was called in Dhaka and all traffic came to a halt and police had to use tear gas and water cannons to control the vicious crowds. Eventually Nasrin appeared in court and was granted bail, after which she fled to Sweden with the assistance of the Pen Club there. Following this episode militant Islamics demanded that the Government should enact a blasphemy law to protect the Islamic faith. The concept of blasphemy is an interesting one, discussed more fully under: BLASPHEMY. See also: BANGLADESH. 

NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR WOMANHOOD. Front organization in the USA for Christian fundamentalist views on issues such as gender, family, teenage sexuality, abortion and other controversial areas of concern. Other bodies with similar views include the CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA and FOCUS ON FAMILY.

NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF NORTH AMERICA. The congregations of this Texas (USA) denomination, primarily made up of Indians and claimed to number about 250,000 persons, use the hallucinogen peyote cactus in their worship ceremonies. At a church conference in April 1995 it was complained that insufficient of the wild plants were available to fulfil church needs. Although Texas law forbids cultivation of the plant, the Indians were granted special permission to use it in their services in 1970.  However, they must pluck their needs from established plants and these are diminishing. The problem was cited as a genuine crisis when the members assembled together.

NEGROES IN HEAVEN. In 1926 two American clergymen, the Reverends Taylor and Dick, conducted a public debate at Edenton on the question: 'Will the Negro retain his present colour in heaven?' Mr Taylor asserted that the Negro would turn white there!  See also: SLAVERY.

NEMESIS.  A Greek goddess whose peculiar function was to 'visit the exuberant prosperity both of nations and of individuals with sudden and awful reverses.' (Sir E.S. Creasy). Ah, so like the gods! Before the Battle of Marathon the Athenians constructed a giant statue to Nemesis (minutely described in Pausanias), hewn from a huge block of marble. It was placed in the temple of the goddess at Rhamnus, about 12 kilometers from Marathon. In the event the reverses were suffered by the Persians not the Greeks, for at Marathon the latter, their goddess smiling upon them, achieved a notable victory.

NEOCATECHUMENATE WAY. (alternate: NC WAY) A Catholic fundamentalist group approved by Pope John Paul 2nd.  The group made headlines in May 1996 for stirring up dissent in the Church. They are said to be active in Australia and in Britain, and work  at converting adults to Christian faith. Opponents have claimed it is a secretive sect and operates in a manner similar to neo-Christian cults. It has been accused of brainwashing and of demanding that converts give up their material possessions, more particularly money.
 
NC Way was launched in Spain in the 1960s and in 1996 was estimated as having about one million supporters around the world. Some groups have been known to engage in open-air singing and preaching in the manner of similar Protestant bodies. 

NEW AGE FELLOWSHIP. One of the many 'front' names used by the Unification Church, whereby innocents are deceived.  See further under: MOONIES, The. 

NEW AGERS.  Examining their past lives, a favourite New Age activity, New Agers discover, surprise, surprise, they were once much more important people then than they now are! Rarely do they tell us that they were the lowest of the low! It is interesting to note also that a number of different forms of prognostication are in vogue and that seekers go from the practitioner of one to the practitioner of another.  Then another! And yet many of these systems are in conflict. After all, if astrology carries all the answers who needs numerology? And if crystal balls produce a vision of the future why bother with tarot cards? And, incidentally, can somebody tell me if the crystals, carefully sewn into the lining of clothing, still work their magic if the clothes are discarded for a a nude encounter session?

NEW AGE UNIVERSITY. See under: SANYASSIN.

NEW BLAST AGAINST THE BIBLE. A serious and well-documented book by Professor Thomas Thompson, The Early History of the Israelite People, gives the lie to the Jewish-Christian fables. Not that some of us are unaware of the bulk of what is being presented here but the Professor has brought it all together. He says, quite without reservation but not using my choice of wording, that the first ten books of the Bible are effectively BUNKUM. Fables, fairy tales, dreamed up the Hebrew people to give this small nation some status in the big world.

All those Biblical figures of fame and fortune are either pure inventions or based on other people. As are the many 'historical facts' of the early part of the Bible. Anyone who has the slightest knowledge of the Bible knows this.

NEW CHURCH, The.  The New Church, or New Jerusalem Church, was not founded by Imanuel SWEDENBORG, as is sometimes thought, but is certainly based on his doctrines. The Church believes his theological works are a divinely revealed picture of the new dispensation, or New Jerusalem in the book of Revelation. There are branches of the Church operating in Britain and congregations in several countries, including Australia.

NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH, The.  See: NEW CHURCH.

NOAH. Noah - if, indeed, he even existed, which is highly doubtful - was involved in a case of exposure. Noah got drunk and exposed himself (Genesis 9: 21-25). His sons, Ham, Shem and Japeth, were horrified. 'Their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.' They tried to cover him. However, such exposure has not always been thought of as perverted or an oddity. It was often common and considered a sign of respect towards visitors in some cultures. In a famous incident the Queen of Ulster and all the ladies of her court, totalling, it is said, 610, came to meet Cuchulainn, naked above the waist, and then - raised their skirts.
 
In any event Noah is surely a figure of mythology so I guess it matters not as to his sexual activities. The story more likely reflects the strange attitude to human nakedness among the primitive Hebrews, an attitude that has continued through time and is still evident today among many Christians and Islamics alike.

NOAH'S ARK. 
It is to be hoped that parents who foolishly allow their child to absorb the Bible's many stories will make clear to their offspring that most of what they read is myth, pure and simple. Even the alleged history of the Chosen People is almost certainly 90 percent fiction. Those fantastic stories, such as the one about Moses being found floating in a tiny boat among the bulrushes by the riverside or Daniel turning a lion off his meal are mythical. Not only so but most such stories have their origins deep within the folklore of ages past - long long before the Hebrews ever came upon the scene of history.
 
The Bible is packed with such stories, presumably thought necessary to bolster faith. Moses tapped on a rock and out gushed water. A stick thrown to the ground turned into a serpent. More amazingly and in an earlier era a serpent actually talked to humans in a garden! People crossed on dry land where there was once a sea. Later we have the miracles of the Nazarene do-gooder, Jesus. Well, he had to produce a few miracles for all holy men in those days were expected to do so. And even if he did not pull these events off in real life the disciples who wrote up the story sprinkled the New Testament pages with enough amazing events to convince readers that here indeed was the 'Son of GOD'.

For centuries men have dreamed of discovering the remains of Noah's Ark, high in the mountainous region of Ararat. After all, the Bible tells the story and the Bible is true, so some people fondly believe. Now what a coup for faith it would be if the ark were uncovered! Or would it?

This whole matter was highlighted in August 1991 when Kurdish rebels seized a party of five Western archeologists heading out on the latest search. The party comprised a Briton, Gareth Thomas, of London, Americans Dr Ron Wyatt of Tennessee, Marvin Wilson of Texas, Richard Rives of North Carolina, and an Australian, Dr Allen Roberts, 59. They belonged to a group known as the Noah's Ark Research Foundation.  I know nought of this foundation is but most probably it is a Christian institution, aiming, like the Creation Research Foundation, to prop up the shaky basis of the faith.
 

NATURAL FORCES

Let us suppose the remains of the ark are one day found, so what? Does it prove the Bible? No, it proves that somehow, due to the strange operation of natural forces, a ship got itself up a mountain. And even if this ship proves to be of the dimensions given in the Holy Book, this again proves nothing. The whole of the Old Testament draws its inspiration from other, earlier sources. There is little that is unique in the mishmash Jewish work fondly known as a 'holy book'.

The Flood story itself goes back way beyond the limits of Jewish literature and history, to Babylonian sources and almost certainly even farther back. Just as does the story of Moses in the bulrushes and other fancy Bible kindergarten fables. The very measurement given for the ark are not Hebrew but Egyptian. This is hardly surprising as much of the Jewish religious ceremonial was 'lifted' from Egyptian (and other) sources. It certainly wasn't proclaimed by Yahweh from on high, as is asserted.
 
And one would have to possess the mind of a child of five years of age to believe that all those animals went in two-by-two and seven-by-seven. And lived and ate happily together, not to mention defecating and urinating in that space for forty days and forty nights! Yuk! And all of this in absolute contrast to the true picture of the evolution of animal life on earth, including the dinosaurs. The whole fantasy is so laughable that it is hard for any intelligent critic to bring himself or herself even to deal with the subject. Yet governments acquiesce to children being taught this sort of nonsense in government-funded schools. Surely this is a form of mental child abuse!

When the aforementioned party went missing a photograph was published indicating a formation believed by the archeologists to be the site of the ark. It showed an alleged boat outline in rock formation. It is also claimed that two stone 'anchors' had been found in the area. On an earlier trip to the area Dr Roberts claimed to have identified fossilized gopherwood of the type described in the Bible's account. The site was said to have been uncovered by an earthquake in 1948. 

ANOTHER CLAIMANT

Meanwhile an American salvage expert from Maine had already in 1990 laid claim to having discovered the ark, said to have been made from papyrus rather than gopherwood. And the Turkish government has spent, so we are told via a television program, $4 million providing roads and other infrastructure so that tourists may visit the site, not on Mt Ararat but in the general area of that mountain. Fascinating! Are there any more arks out there? We might end up with rival arks just as we have rival gods.

The later group of Noah's ark men were eventually rescued. As for the archeologist, Allen Roberts, it seems he has no formal training in that field. His doctorate is in Christian Education and was awarded by one of those American institutions that have out degrees that are not recognized by anyone else! Freedom University in Florida was the source of the doctor's title. He founded the Australian College of Christian Education.
 
Roberts told the media he and another researcher had made the astonishing find of a rivet! They have already found bulkheads of a boat, ribs and a 'staggering' discovery he could not talk about. We are panting with expectation! He added, though, that the surrounding area had been destroyed overnight by villagers. Pity! It would be interesting to know what has happened to the other ark, already found and revealed on television some time back!

Dr Daniel Potts, a professor of near-eastern archeology at Sydney University, and a professing Christian, told The Sydney Morning Herald that most academic archeologists regard the many expeditions to find the ark with scepticism. It was like 'trying to find some physical testimony for a fairytale you tell your children.' Dr Potts added the comment that nothing that had ever been 'found' by previous searchers had withstood scientific scrutiny.

But Roberts remained unfazed. All that wonderful free publicity was being put to good use. During succeeding weeks he toured around the country lecturing, for a $4 entry fee (modest enough) on his find, illustrating his lecture with slides. During the meetings forms were handed out seeking donations of up to $100 (or more?) to carry on the work of uncovering the ark.

HIDING

One such meeting, shown on the Current Affair TV program, saw a member of the Australian Skeptics being forcibly ejected by police at the behest of Roberts because he dared to question some of the good doctor's specious statements. Fundamentalist Christians cannot bear the light of authentic science being shone on their pet myths.  Later, after the meeting, the doctor was introduced to a genuine geologist from Melbourne - and a genuine doctor, too - Professor Ian Plimmer. A brief encounter was cut short by Roberts as he spouted some nonsense about the location of 'his' ark.

I use the term 'his' advisedly. Professor Plimmer informed us that at least 15 different search parties have been looking for this amazing boat in the part of Turkey where it is supposed to be. With that many searchers at work surely it must have come to light by now. But maybe it has! What about the discovery already made, mentioned above? What has happened to this ark?
 
Yet another hopeful emerged in late 1995 when Porcher L'Engle Taylor 3rd of Florida (USA) announced he had been studying declassified spy satellite photographs taken over the Mount Ararat region and had discovered 'an anomaly' 4,500 metres up the mountain. This anomaly is probably the same one investigated by several other ark-seekers but never mind, Mr Taylor, thinks he has found evidence of the ark.
 
Taylor says that when he was a West Point cadet back in 1973 there were rumours that the CIA had photographed the skeleton of a timber ship in the region but that ice and snow had (conveniently!) since covered it. Interestingly, when television showed a team investigating the 'anomaly' audiences worldwide saw no evidence of ice or snow!  By August 1996 the CIA will have completed cataloguing the photographs and Mr Taylor will lead a team to examine the site. He expected to employ radiocarbon dating and DNA testing to study any remains found.  [As of early 2008 we are still waiting for someone to produce a genuine Noah's Ark.]

NORTON, Rosaleen. Known as the Witch of Kings Cross (Sydney, Australia). Norton was a very talented artist and practising witch who painted subjects related to witchcraft and the occult. There were sexual elements in much of her art which led in time to police action against her, with charges of alleged 'obscenity' being laid. She was acquitted in the end.
  
Rosaleen Norton was born in New Zealand on October 2, 1917. She died from colon cancer in Sydney on December 5, 1979. Ironically her death occurred in St Vincent's, a  Catholic hospital, but she reportedly remained a pagan to the end.

NÔTRE DAME DE CHARITÉ. In 1902 the French press erupted with outrage at revelations concerning the cruel activities of the NUNS in charge of Nôtre Dame de Charité, at Tours.  In a country where Catholicism had been long entrenched and where many outrages in schools, convents and other Church institutions had been hushed up over the years, it took a real scandal to gain such publicity.

The nuns at this school for girls had a whole range of punishments they employed.  One of the simplest was to force a girl to kiss the feet of her school-fellows. A variation of this punishment was to compel a girl to do 'tongue-crosses' on the dirty floor. To carry out this punishment she had to prostrate herself before the sister and draw crosses with her tongue in the dirt. This might take place in the kitchen, or the refectory or even in the lavatory. If a girl became ill through this experience she might have a lavatory duster thrust down her throat.

Even worse was the restraint frequently imposed on girls in the form of straitjackets. Girls would be forced into one of these constraining devices and left immobilized perhaps for hours but sometimes for days at a stretch. They were still allowed to eat but not released from the jackets to do so. Rather their food was placed in earthenware pots instead of on plates and their heads forced into the pots.
 
One sister in particular, who rejoiced in the holy name of Marie Sainte-Rose du Coeur de Jésus, often smeared the faces of her victims, unable to help themselves locked in their straitjackets, with mud. Worse, on some occasions she even stuffed her own excreta into the restrained girls' mouths. Another punishment consisted of locking girls in what was described as the 'death chamber', a form of solitary confinement in a damp cellar, without bedding. This was the place where the convent's dead were left to lie in state and the effect on impressionable young girls being confined there for long periods was one of great terror.

Finally, girls, also in straitjackets, were sometimes subjected to the 'water-trial'.  The child's head would be forced into a bucket of water and held there until her throat rattled and she nearly expired.  

NULLABOR GOD-HIKERS. Some time in 1990 a group of 'monkish figures', including some who were very young, struggled their way across Australia's notorious near-endless Nullabor Plain, refusing to talk to the media. They said they turned away offers of help and claimed that 'the Lord' would provide their needs. They made it across, although truckies and others did pass food to them! The same group was reportedly still operating a year later, endeavouring to somehow demonstrate their great faith.

NUNS. An Adelaide (Australia) physician, Professor Timothy Murrell, of Adelaide University reportedly commented: 'The first study of breast cancer, by an Italian called Ramazzini, in 1770, showed the rate was five times greater in nuns - among unmarried women, in other words.' (Quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald, February 18, 1989). Mary O'Malley, an English playwright, speaking on a television program, referred to the nuns at her school in these terms: 'There was a sort of violence underneath the habits, simmering away.' This made them hard in their outlook. And maybe, as a result, more cancer-prone? See also: NÔTRE DAME DE CHARITÉ.

OATHS. Early in 1991 a report from Britain said that 10-year-old schoolgirl, Abigail Wright, could not join the Girl Guides because she expressed a doubt about taking the oath, which included a commitment to pray to God. Her mother, a former Guide, Sarah Wright, said she had been excluded for being honest.

OBSCENE PHONE-CALLER IN CATHOLIC OFFICE. Mrs Helen Sexton, who lived on Queensland's Gold Coast (Australia), suffered from obscene phone calls over a period of five years. At times there had been up to thirty such calls in one day and the male caller has not spared her three children from this form of verbal sexual abuse. He had even talked to the children in sexually explicit terms.  On one occasion he told Mrs Sexton: 'I'm going to get your lovely daughter.' All efforts by Telecom (now Telstra) and police to trace the calls failed and Mrs Sexton did not want to change her phone number as she used it for business.

Then one day in 1992 Mrs Sexton was contacted through her number by a representative of the Catholic Education Department in Melbourne. They had been checking on phone accounts and discovered that many calls had been made by some unnamed person in their office to her number. It now seemed that the person responsible for the long saga of verbal torment was known but since then the Church has refused to advise Mrs Sexton who it was. Federal Police were investigating the case as at June 1992 [outcome not known].

OCCULT PRACTITIONERS. Figures quoted in 1988 for France said an informal census conducted by police in Paris had estimated that in that city there were then about 50,000 practitioners (mainly Africans) of magic, soothsayers, witch doctors, fortune tellers, card-readers, sellers of good-luck charms and amulets and miscellaneous practitioners of the occult. Some even ran full-page advertisements in magazines and newspapers.

O'CONNOR, Sinéad.  Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor stirred up a storm of abuse when she appeared on television's Saturday Night Live show in October 1992 and tore up a photo of Pope John Paul 2nd as she intoned the words: 'Fight the real enemy.'

OLD CATHOLIC CHURCH. In its broadest sense the term 'Old Catholic' applies to a group of national churches that separated from the Church of Rome at various points in history but, unlike the Protestants, retained most of the doctrines and ceremonies of the parent church. The chief complaint seems to have been the promulgation of the infallibility of the Pope in 1870. There are groups in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland and an English group was founded in the 1870s.

The British branch of the Church was formed by an Archbishop Mathew, who had been defrocked by Rome because he wanted to get married. In 1975 a scandal erupted over a hostel run by Roger Charles Augustine Gleaves, Bishop of Medway in the Old Catholic Church. There was in fact a nasty crime committed. A boy named Billy McPhee was brutally beaten and then murdered and three wardens at the hostel were jailed for life for the murder. Gleaves was not involved in this incident but was later convicted on two counts of assault and two counts of buggery. He was sentenced to four years' jail.

OM MANI PADME HUM. Mystic oft-repeated mantra, an incantation found inscribed on many stones throughout Tibet, Nepal and Ladakh, and chanted endlessly by millions of Buddhists. It is usually translated as: 'Hail, jewel in the lotus.' Another view has it that the first syllable represents enlightenment, the most fundamental of all mantras.  The last represents fulfilment. In between the phrase, correctly translated 'jewel in the lotus' signifies 'lingam in yoni' the sexual-mystical union of opposites. 

OPUS DEI.  (Opus dei = 'the work of GOD')  A Catholic lay religious order founded in 1928 which includes in its membership some priests along with lay people. From time to time there have been allegations that Opus Dei has a sinister side. Claims of 'mind control' and what might be termed 'subversive intentions' have been made by ex-members and others but specific allegations appear to be lacking. There have also been reports that members engage in good old-fashioned MORTIFICATION activities, including whipping themselves.
 
When Pope John Paul 2nd decided in 1990 to beatify Josemaria Escriva de Balageur (the stage before canonization), who died in 1975, many within the Church criticized the decision. Doubtless the Pope was rewarding the order for its unswerving loyalty to his person and office. With a continual falling away in membership of both laity and clergy, he needed all the support he could get!   

ORDER OF STAR OF THE EAST. In 1924, the Sydney (Australia) branch of the Order, convinced that Christ would return and actually appear in Sydney, built a large amphitheatre at the northern harbourside suburb of Balmoral, where believers could gather and watch him coming in on the water through Sydney Heads. Seats were sold for between £5 ($10) and £1,000 (2,000) each but eventually the structure was demolished. What happened to the money I know not. The rough outline of the original amphitheatre can still be seen today.   

ORDER OF THE SOLAR TEMPLE. Known in French as Temple Solaire. A neo-Christian cult founded by a Canadian Luc Jouret and having a membership in both Canada and Switzerland. Jouret was a homeopathic practitioner who spoke to meetings in Canada, gathering a small following for his muddled doctrines, which seemed to combine elements of Christianity with a number of other peculiar notions. Jouret especially spoke in apocalyptic terms about a coming 'reign of fire'. In 1993 he was convicted in his homeland on a charge of possessing illegal weapons. He moved to Switzerland, where he gathered more followers about his person.

In early October 1994 the world was startled at the news that there had been a mass suicide of members of the Order, most of whom lived in Switzerland. There were also deaths in Canada, all apparently connected. It appears the faithful thought it best to remove themselves forcibly from this evil world of 'galloping pollution and loss of values.' Altogether over 50 people died, including some children. But not all had, apparently, suicided. Police investigators later found that some had their hands tied behind their backs and had sealed plastic bags over their heads. Jouret's offsider, Joseph di Mambro, was later identified as being among those who died.
 
Investigators later determined that in a Quebec (Canada) home where followers died a baby boy aged just three months had apparently been ritually murdered, with a wooden stake being driven into his heart. It is believed the disciples thought the baby was the Antichrist. There are some other adherents to the Order but they had earlier separated from Jouret and assured authorities they had no plans to take their lives. 

ORDO TEMPLI ORIENTIS. A German occult order, known sometimes as the Order of the Eastern Templars. The order was reportedly founded by Karl Kellner, a rich Freemason who had travelled in the East and brought back to Germany, so it was claimed, knowledge of 'sexual magic'. However, there is much uncertainty about the early days, which seem to date from around the last years of the 19th century.  Kellner eventually died and his place was taken by Theodor Reuss and in time the O.T.O. emerged from its early secretive days and proclaimed openly a doctrine of sex magic.

The O.T.O. spread its tentacles for several other countries and made no secret of incorporating into its higher degrees sexually-oriented activities. Around 1912 Aleister CROWLEY was in contact with the O.T.O. and had himself appointed head of a new British division, to be called Mysteria Mystica Maxima. Crowley was given the title 'Supreme and Holy King or Ireland, Iona and all the Britains within the Sanctuary of the Gnosis.' In 1935 the Nazis banned the O.T.O. along with several other occult organizations.   

ORIGEN. An Alexandrian Christian schoolmaster, who lived around 200 CE and studied under the Greek scholar, Clement. Early in his career he emasculated himself  although he later reportedly regretted his actions.  He became one of leading Church Fathers, writing extensively, although many of his works have been lost.  Origen believed that in the end even the Devil would be saved. 

O.T.O.  See under: ORDO TEMPLI ORIENTIS.

OXFORD GROUP, The. This body was established by an American minister of religion, the Reverend Frank Nathan Daniel Buchman in 1921, and later became known as Moral Rearmament (or MRA). Buchman, who had in early life run a hospice for underprivileged boys, led parties of young men around the world preaching a form of social Gospel. One distinctive feature of the group was found in the compulsory sessions of confession when members had to relate their failings before other members. The group also believed in direct revelation.

OXFORD MOVEMENT.  See under: TRACTARIANS.  

PAGAN CONVERSIONS. Charles the Hammer forced the conquered Frisian chief Radbod late in the 7th century to accept baptism. Radbod had already immersed one leg in the font when a thought struck him: 'Where are my dead forefathers at present?' He put the question to Bishop Wolfran. 'In hell, with all other unbelievers,' was the answer.  'Mighty well,' replied Radbod, removing his leg, 'then will I rather feast with my ancestors in the halls of Woden than dwell with your little starvling band of Christians in heaven.'

PAGAN INFLUENCES. Most Armenians [members of the Armenian Apostolic Church], even those not inclined to religion, still baptize their children and participate in ancient rituals involving the sacrifice of sheep and doves.

PANTHEISM. A sort of broad belief in the presence of GOD in nature.  

PAPAL CLAIMS. It was not until the very end of the 2nd century CE that the Church at Rome tried to assert its authority over the other churches of Christendom.  By then the specious claims concerning Saint PETER were circulating and these were used to provide some sort of basis to the demand for recognition as the chief body of the faith. One of the first references we have to such an outrageous claim concerns Bishop Victor of Rome who around the year 190 CE was informed that the churches of Asia Minor did not celebrate Easter on the same day as the Romans. He then commanded them to change the date! Did the Bishops of the Churches in question agree? No, rather, according to Eusebius the historian (bk. 5: 34), they 'bitterly attacked Victor' even when he threatened to excommunicate them. There the matter rested for the time being.
 
Around 220 CE we have a most interesting light cast upon the situation when no less a person than Tertullian of Africa refers to a Roman Bishop (probably Callistus) who, he says, with disdain, 'calls himself the supreme pontiff' and 'the bishop of bishops' (On Chastity, chapter 1). In 252 CE we have Bishop Cyprian of Carthage (Ep. 55) rebuking Bishop Cornelius of Rome for holding an audience with some complainants as if he had some special role in the Church. In a later letter (Ep.72), written in the name of all the African bishops, Cyprian emphasized: 'We use no violence and make laws for none, because each prelate has the right to follow his own judgment in the administration of the Church.' There is clearly no hint here of Rome being accorded some special supreme position, but in reply to this letter Bishop Stephen asserted the Roman claim, threatening excommunication. The African bishops replied in strong language, stating that 'None of us regards himself as the bishop of bishops, or seeks by tyrannical threats to compel his colleagues to obey him.'

PAPAL MALFEASANCE.  
It would take a whole encyclopedia to detail all the immoral, inhuman and outright criminal activities of many of the Popes through the ages. The story is told of the time of Pope Alexander 6th, when a French priest and a Jew became intimate friends.  The priest, anxious for the welfare of his friend, urged him to be received into the Church, the Jew promising to consider the matter earnestly. The priest, however, gave up all hope when he learnt that his friend had been called on business to Rome, where he would see the unutterably monstrous life of Pope and clergy. To his surprise the Jew on returning announced he wished to be baptized, saying that a religion which could exist in spite of such abominations must be a true religion!

Here are just a few stories:

Pope Liberius was exiled for 'heresy' and replaced by Pope Felix, who embraced 'orthodoxy' (but which was which who can tell?). When these two passed to their supposed reward, two more rivals put in an appearance on the scene, Damasus and Ursinicus. Damasus, described by the Church as a 'saint', was a well-known womanizer, actually having been sued in a civil court for adultery. By now supporters of rival factions were taking to sword, axe and stave to enforce their favourites' claims. The year 366 was a propitious one for the struggle. The conflict raged through Rome in that year and it is said that more people died then than had perished in all the persecutions! But in spite of these scandalous goings-on the Roman bishops persisted in claiming supremacy.

GREEK CONCERNS 

So concerned were the Greek bishops that in 381 CE they met at Constantinople and expressly laid down the view that the Bishop of 'new Rome' (Constantinople) was equal in rank to the Bishop of 'old Rome'. A few years later African bishops, in a letter still preserved to us, rejected the Papal claims. And again in the fifth century the Greek Church clearly restated its previous position. Not content with this, Rome forged a copy of the Greek document to make it appear the Greeks described Pope Leo 1st as 'head of the universal Church.' It was common throughout the period of early Church history to produce convenient documents to prove this or that doctrine or support this or that view. Among the most notable are The Acts of St Silvester  (forged about 430 CE) and The Constitution of St Silvester (dating from about 500 CE), which purported to show that the Bishop of Rome had received his office as head of the universal Church direct from Constantine. This demonstrates how desperate were the Popes to prove their case.
 
In a much later era forgery continued. In the 9th century the notorious Decretals of Isidore were circulating. These documents, some genuine but many spurious, purported to support Papal claims. They were later used, together with other forged documents, at the behest of Gregory 7th (1073-1085) to wrest the investiture of the Pope from the Emperor's hands and to establish the supremacy of the Church over the State.

Throughout the centuries rival popes were elected, two by two, and at times even three! And blood at times literally flowed as one faction fought another for supremacy.  Take the year 418 CE, when two rivals vied for the Throne of Peter. The Church went through its usual ritual of imploring the Ghost for wisdom,  as a result of which Eulalius and Boniface 1st were BOTH duly elected to office! There followed an enormous outbreak of fighting as each Pope claimed the right to conduct the Easter celebrations. Not for the first time the blood of the Christians flowed in Rome's streets; at least it was appropriate, being Easter and all. Again, in 498, two rival Popes were elected. For three years a deadly feud ensued between these two, Symmachus and Laurence. And this was not the end of such rivalry. Pope came and went in lots of one, two or three, according as the prevailing winds dictated.

MORE RIVALS

In 1045 three rivals again reigned. While Silvester 2nd occupied St Peter's Church and the Vatican Palace, Benedict 9th took charge of the Lateran Palace, leaving poor Victor 3rd with only an ordinary church building, that of Santa Maria Maggiore, for his seat. Each man claimed to be the Vicar of Christ and to be occupying his seat as the choice of the Ghost! The pious and newly-installed Emperor of Germany, Henry 3rd, acted; he cleared all three out and installed a single ruler in their place, Clement 2nd.  Presumably he too was there by direction of the Ghost.

The Circus Maximus of the Papacy continued apace with the passing centuries.  Popes were installed at the whim of this or that ruler or as a result of rigged elections. And even when the elections weren't rigged they were quite often disputed.  All the while bloodshed, nepotism, bribery and immorality rent the fabric of the Church of the humble Nazarene. Let's look in on the year 768, for a snapshot of the Church going about its sacred business. A secular-clerical group, meeting in Rome, elected 'Pope' Constantine as a rival to the incumbent, Pope Stephen. There was just one small problem. Constantine was a layman at the start of the proceedings. As only an ordained person could become Pope, something had to be done. No trouble! In short order, with the help of some obliging bishops, Constantine progressed through the ranks to instant consecration. But no sooner had the poor man received this great blessing than a reaction set in. Two Papal officials, Sergius and Christopher, sought help from the Lombard army to depose the upstart. Constantine was placed upon a horse, with heavy weights on his feet and led through Rome to the jeers of the crowd (ever ready for a little sport), to be thrown into a monastery prison to await trial.
 
But Sergius and Christopher couldn't be bothered waiting. They went to the monastery and calmly gouged out the ex-Pope's eyes. In this mutilated, blinded state he was dragged before the Papal court. His ultimate fate is unknown but his brother also had his eyes cut out and one of the offending bishops lost both eyes and tongue for his trouble. But men like Sergius and Christopher play dangerous games; in time a dispute arose between Pope Stephen and his faithful henchmen and they, too, lost their eyes, on the direct orders of the good Christian Pope.

MUTILATIONS

Eye-gouging seemed to be a favourite activity among the faithful. Another Pope, Leo 3rd, suffered likewise in 799. His attackers were not content to gouge out just his eyes, though; his tongue went too! It all came about because Leo had promoted his nephews, Paschal (later to become a Pope) and Campalus to high office, although they were notorious miscreants. On April 25 of that year armed men fell upon a religious procession and seized the Pontiff, leaving him near-dead in a pool of blood. He lived, however, and was restored to his place with the help of Charlemagne. He returned the favour by crowning his saviour head of the so-called Holy Roman Empire.
 
Such were the upheavals within the Papacy throughout the Dark Ages that over forty Popes reigned for less than two years each! Nobody is sure just how many Popes were murdered; it should scarcely surprise us, then, that a recent Pope, PAUL 1st, died within a fortnight of being elected and some seriously suggest he too was murdered.
 
Pope Sergius 3rd arranged for his bastard son to become Pope after him. Leo 8th, who followed him, died in the act of adultery. Benedict 9th, elected at the age of 10, grew up as an unrestrained libertine. Balthasar Cossa, elected Pope to end the Great Schism, later admitted to adultery, incest and general debauchery. It was said that two hundred maids, widows and nuns, fell victim to his brutal lust.
 
Pope Leo 6th was elected through the machinations of his mother, Marozia, said to be the most powerful figure in the house of Theophylact. Marozia, with a reputation for sensuality, controlled Roman affairs and the Church through her son for just 7 months in the year 926. (Some believe that legends surrounding Marozia later resurfaced in the story of Pope Joan, which is almost universally branded as unhistorical by scholars.)

Pope John 12th was once described by a Catholic scholar, E.R. Chamberlin, as 'the Christian Caligula'. John maintained his grip on temporal power by recruiting armed gangs from among the Roman mob who terrorized any who opposed him. His sexual hunger was insatiable and he depleted Church funds, giving away lands and relics to his favourite mistresses.  John effectively turned St John Lateran into a brothel. He was also accused of incest, rape and adultery. Pope John also gambled heavily and reportedly invoked the names of demons to bring him luck. He was deposed in 963 CE.

POISONS AND ADULTERY

Pope John 23rd was accused by the Council of Constance (1414-1418) of poisoning his predecessor and bribing his way into office. The Council investigated the Pope and charged him with atheism, adultery and incest! It removed him from office. Later the Catholic Church, in order to play down the scandal, described John 23rd as an 'antipope'. Thereafter no prelate would accept the vacated title of John 23rd until Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli did so in 1958.
 
A brothel was run by Pope Sixtus 4th. He founded this institution in the year 1471 and it was reportedly well equipped and quite large in extent. The ladies who worked as prostitutes in the papal establishment reportedly paid to His Holiness some 20,000 ducats per year as protection money.  Doubtless such a sum of money would have aided greatly the work of proclaiming the Gospel to sinners.  At the court of Pope Alexander 6th, prostitutes were called to dance naked before the court.  Prizes were offered to those men present who could afterwards copulate with the greatest number of prostitutes.

At the time of the Council of Constance, a contemporary chronicler, Gebhard Dacher, reported that as well as 18,000 priests attending the event there were 83 wine merchants, 346 clowns, jugglers and other entertainers and no less than 700 prostitutes. Another historian placed the figure for prostitutes at 1500!

Footnote:  Up to 1977 there had been 262 popes since the first, allegedly St Peter. Pope John Paul 1st, Albino Luciani (born 1912), patriarch of Venice, was elected on Saturday, August 26, 1978. Presumably under Ghostly inspiration. He died 33 days later, during the night of September 28, 1978, in bed at 11 pm, reading a book. See also: ALEXANDER 6th, Pope.  

PARDONS. Pardons, or indulgences, are ecclesiastical declarations of absolution from particular sins. By the Middle Ages the commerce in pardons had become a major source of scandal in the Catholic Church. If the issuance of such pardons were merely a matter of forgiving 'sin' it might not have affected the world at large. However, the chief abuse arose in that pardons were handed out - for suitable payment - for those committing crimes. During the 14th and 15th century priests even engaged in trade as shopkeepers, especially in the Netherlands. Being exempt from taxation they could under-sell their competitors. But they also added a very profitable sideline - dispensing pardons or indulgences.

The trade in pardons grew to enormous - and very profitable dimensions. Lists of typical charges were posted. For the payment of eleven ducats six livres tournois one could be absolved from the crime of murder by poisoning. Murder by other means was cheaper. For incest absolution came on payment of thirty-six livres, three ducats.  Perjury was covered with a payment of seven livres, three carlines. Parricide was covered by one ducat, four livres, eight carlines. The lucrative trade by priests in pardons was one of the chief abuses attacked by Martin Luther.              

PARSEES.  The remnant Indian branch of the once large and significant Zoroastrian religion. They maintain the old rituals, including the placing of the bodies of the faithful dead on Towers of Silence, to be devoured by vultures. The Indian group is the largest single Zoroastrian body remaining today in the world. See further under: ZOROASTRIANISM.

PASSION, The. A play by Jason Orbaum staged for the first time in London in August 1994, in which Jesus of Nazareth is depicted as having sex with Mary Magdalene and having two children as a result. The play drew outraged comments from Christians.   

PAST LIVES.  In November 1973 Time magazine reported that Olivia Hussey, 23, Argentine-born actress, whose first film was Romeo and Juliet, was chosen to star as the Virgin Mary in Zeffirelli's Life of Jesus. She told reporters that two years previously a medium had told her she had been the Virgin Mary in a previous life.

PATRIARCHY. A number of former Catholic schoolgirls interviewed on a UK television program (circa 1990) thought that the overall aim of their education was to train them in 'modesty, humility and obedience, to become good wives and mothers.' 

PAULICIANS. The Paulicians, a neo-Christian sect, were accused of child sacrifice in the 8th century CE by John of Ojun, Patriarch of the Armenian Church. It was claimed that they mixed the blood of babies with flour to make a eucharistic feast to the Devil. The sect suffered severe persecution in the 9th century.

PAUL, Saint. 
St Paul, high architect of Christianity, is one of the figures, of which there are several, who appear in the Bible under two names. Such name-changes, usually dismissed casually by the editors, always occur in suspicious circumstances; and we are well justified in doubting the historical basis of the 'facts' so given. Abraham and Abram, Simon Peter also known as Cephas, Matthew also called Levi. And some even think Elisha and Elijah are one and the same person.

Paul first appears in Christian pseudo-history as Saul. Not very long after he is mysteriously transformed into Paul and no explanation whatever is given, a remarkable fact indeed! We simply have some early accounts of the man's activities, under the name Saul, then, abruptly, in Acts 13:9 we read: 'But Saul, who is also called Paul'  Thereafter the latter name is always used. This verse, then, is obviously another of those bridging passages between two accounts or documents and its presence must make us very suspicious indeed. It is quite possible that the compilers have drawn material from the lives of two distinct individuals, as they do elsewhere. This deceitful handling of historical data is endemic to the New Testament account, as any open-minded student will continually discover. But it does go a long way towards explaining inconsistencies in the life of Saul/Paul.
 
Saul/Paul is one of those larger-than-life figures thrown up every so often by the historical process. He was humourless, intense, obsessive and zealous, on his own testimony, to the point of fanaticism (Acts 26:4-11). One night I watched a television news report, where angry crowd scenes were shown, relayed from Jerusalem. Black-garbed fanatical Jewish holy men were protesting about sabbath-breaking in Israel. I immediately thought of St Paul. He would have been among their number, probably their leader.

This zealot also had another unpleasant trait - he evidently hated women. He refers on three occasions to having entered homes and not only arresting the menfolk but also dragging off the women, whom he 'bound and delivered into prison,' showing neither chivalry nor mercy. His jaundiced views on the marriage state are well known, his comments showing a certain horror of sex. And he taught that women were subservient to men. Patriarchal religion was alive and well and flourishing in Paul.

Now Jesus had said to Cephas/Peter, the fisherman, so we are told: 'Upon this rock I will build my church' (Matthew 16:18). As we shall see later, this statement was undoubtedly a spurious addition to the original (if we may use such a term as 'original') text. Spurious or no, the Popes of Rome, shrewd politicians that they are, have ever extracted great mileage out of these words. In reality the promise was not only false; it turned out to be wholly wrong! Peter, in fact, represented but one of the warring parties vying for supremacy in the early church. Paul headed the rival party, and Paul's party emerged victorious.
 

PERSONAL REVELATION

There is one more interesting and, for the purposes of our story, important facet to Paul's personality. He was a mystic, probably the Church's first one of any note (as there wasn't much of a church to speak of, anyway, until he arrived on the scene).  Like many before him and many since, he enjoyed his own personal revelation from the unseen world. And his revelation was something special; it came direct from the spirit of Jesus who, if not then an actual god, was soon about to become one. Incidentally Saul (as he was then called) had neither seen nor met Jesus in the flesh.
 
So it came to pass that Saul 'yet breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord' (Acts 9:1), was on the road to Damascus, and it was midday, and the road to Damascus at midday must have been a very hot place to find oneself upon. Now according to the first of the Biblical accounts (Acts 9:1-22), Saul was dazzled by a light even brighter than the sun. (Very hard to imagine a light brighter than the sun, but that's what is says; there is, however, an explanation but more of this shortly.) Saul fell to the ground and a voice came from heaven. It was the very voice of Jesus, who forthwith commanded Saul to travel to Damascus (blinded for the next three days) where we would receive further instructions as to the future course of his life.

Now all this sounds very impressive; it certainly impressed me in the days of my Christian obsession. In fact, I once thought it one of the most impressive passages in the whole Bible. The account appears to be from firsthand sources, presumably the writer of Acts (said to be St Luke), who gained the information from Saul himself.  Pity isn't it that this same supposed author of the book of Acts seems to be ignorant of the Epistles of Paul and even contradicts them! So much for another of the certainties of the faith.
 
It should not, then, surprise us one whit that this story takes on a somewhat different hue, disturbingly different, when it is retold by Paul in two recorded sermons (Acts 22:3-16 and Acts 26:9-18). We detect some minor discrepancies first. In one sermon Saul falls alone to the ground, in the other it is Saul together with his companions. And the message from Jesus seems to expand with the telling. Another curious point: Jesus spoke to Saul in the Hebrew language yet he had previously always spoken in Aramaic, the lingua franca of the Palestine of that time.

CONFLICTING STORIES

It may appear to be nit-picking, bringing up such matters at all, but they do seem to be important in an 'inspired' work like the Bible. All right, let's say this is nit-picking but worse follows; there is a more startling discrepancy concerning Saul's companions. In Acts 9:7 we read: 'The men that journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but beholding no man.' But in Acts 22:9, recounting a later sermon, the very clear statement is made: 'They that were with me beheld indeed the light but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.'
 
Amazing isn't it? And hard for the cleverest Christian apologist to wriggle out of.  Was Paul's memory as faulty as this? How could such a drastic mistake be made by St Luke or Mr Anonymous, whoever it was who wrote the book? What has happened to this 'inerrant' Bible that two completely conflicting accounts of this amazing encounter with Jesus' spirit are peddled as truth? We can well dismiss the encounter of Saul/Paul with a spirit-being right at this point but some people may remain uncertain so we will examine the matter a little more closely.
The suggestion, often made, that Saul suffered sunstroke (or heatstroke as it is now called) on his journey to Damascus is naturally dismissed by Christians out of hand. But there is strong evidence to suggest that sunstroke was indeed responsible for the hatching in the fevered mind of the Apostle the plot of Christianity.
 
Sunstroke is a common condition suffered by travellers and others exposed to the sun in tropical climes. But it is known to strike victims in temperate regions as well during very hot summers. And Syria, through which Saul passed, was not merely temperate but actually subtropical. In parts of the country extremes of temperature are often recorded, certainly high enough to bring on sunstroke. The journey from Jerusalem to Damascus, a distance of some two hundred kilometres, is estimated by commentators to have taken Saul about six days and at least a significant portion of the route ran through dry and arid country; conditions just right for an attack from the sun.
 
In their book, The Life and Epistles of St Paul (Longman's, 1898), two convinced Christians, Conybeare and Howson, wrote of this journey: 'Leaving now the Sea of Galilee . . . we follow the company of travellers over the barren uplands which stretch in dreary succession along the base of Antilibanus. All around are stony hills and thirsty plains, through which the withered stems of the scanty vegetation hardly penetrate. Over this desert, under the burning sky, the impetuous Saul holds his course, full of fiery zeal . . .' (p.71). This was the area known as the Wilderness of Damascus.  And it was midday, as the Bible says, with the sun at its zenith. It was dry and it was hot and the journey was a long one and Saul was a very determined, zealous man.

BRIGHT SUN

Now when we describe the brightness of the sun, we do not mean the sun seen by staring directly into it. This is, as we know, a very dangerous thing to do. Bright sunlight means light shining on us and around us directly from the sun but reflected from other objects and thus, by the laws of physics, always somewhat less than the full brightness of the actual beams of sunlight. When we catch the glare of the sun reflected from a plain white surface or from shiny metal we are receiving almost a full measure of the rays' power. But when reflected from a darker surface the rays are weaker. If now we stare straight into the sun's light then the brightness is indeed brighter than that which we normally perceive as 'bright sunlight'.
 
Sunstroke is described in medical literature as being 'an often fatal affection of the central nervous system.' Through its attack on this system it also affects other parts of the body and in extreme cases causes complete physical breakdown of many bodily functions. Some reports in the past have given a figure of 50 percent fatalities. Predisposing factors not only include high temperature (the major one) but also dry atmosphere, stress or anxiety on the part of the victim, overwork, poor nutrition and 'prolonged marches.'  And recent studies indicate that in many cases a state of mental confusion sets in, people affected not being properly aware of their surroundings.

As recently as January 1991 we have had a dramatic case of heatstroke reported in Australia. A female German tourist, 30, was critically ill after exposure to our southern sun. She had been in a coma for two days, had suffered brain damage, kidney failure and muscle-melt, or liquefaction of her muscles.
   
As I write, then, I picture the zealous, highly-strung figure of Saul breathing out his threatenings and slaughter, marching with his entourage onwards to Damascus, single-minded, intent on dragging Christians found there 'bound to Jerusalem' (9:2), to see in their suffering the release of his own pent-up hatred and contempt for them. A psycho case indeed!

But the Bible itself gives the game away for it tells us, doesn't it, that it was midday, and we know it was hot, and we know it was dry, and we know the journey was a long one. In fact, we know that all the conditions were ripe for the occurrence of a dramatic event. But that event was not Saul's confrontation by a dead rabbi, as we are supposed to believe, which is an absurdity anyway; it was the prostration of Saul beneath the awesome primeval power of the midday sun. 

GHOSTLY VISION

Caught up in a state of mental confusion and detachment, it is easy to understand how ghostly visions could trouble him. And perhaps, as he fell to the ground with sunstroke, he might have stared momentarily into that bright and burning sun and been temporarily blinded. There's another possibility. Carl Jung has pointed out that many cases of apparent blindness are psychogenic in origin and brought about by the victim's refusal to face certain facts, in Paul's case to face the possibility that the Christians he was persecuting might be right.
   
Oh, yes, I know, all of this is conjecture. We have but sketchy facts to go on but such as we have are surely of great interest. Remember Saul/Paul has already been found out giving conflicting accounts of his alleged conversion. And if he did not do so, certainly his biographer did; either way, the New Testament is discredited. So why should we believe that he really met up with a ghostly presence? The idea of sunstroke at least has logic and science on its side, more than can be said of the former notion.
 
But I haven't quite finished with this episode. It should come as no surprise to us, for example, that Saul's blindness was said to last three days - the magical mystery Biblical period again! One cannot help but be a trifle suspicious as to the authenticity of the story with the interposition of this conveniently neat three-day period.
  
We come then to the final and perhaps most significant matter - Saul's blindness.  Why do I think it is of such significance? For this reason: The Bible gives no spiritual reason whatever for the condition of blindness that descends upon Saul. But there is, of course, a probable physical reason. It is plainly obvious that Saul must have come perilously close to losing his eyesight altogether. Remember how he described the light he saw as brighter than the sun (Acts 26:13)? And we have already seen how this phraseology aptly describes the effect of staring straight into the sun's rays.

Still not convinced that Saul suffered sunstroke? Let us turn yet again to the Bible itself (which here, as in many places, gives itself away). In both his second letter to the Corinthians and the letter to the Galatians (leaving aside the interesting question as to whether Paul actually wrote these letters; a good question indeed) we have the Apostle referring, with some feeling, to 'an infirmity in the flesh' he suffered (2 Corinthians 12:7 and Galatians 4:13). This affliction bothered him often. In fact he tells us himself that he prayed for its removal. Alas, his prayers were not answered!  They frequently aren't, even though the Bible assures us that believing prayers are answered!

Now most Christian commentators seem to think this infirmity was - an eyesight problem! Perhaps Paul was part-blind or had even lost the sight of one eye. What else could he refer to but such an affliction when he says of the Galatian Christians: 'I bear you witness that, if possible, ye would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me' (Galatians 4:15). I am justified in asking my readers: Is the view I have propounded all that untenable in the light of this one verse?

Finally, when we examine closely the doctrines espoused by Paul (so far as this is possible, given the uncertainties involved - some epistles attributed to him were probably not from his pen) we uncover an important issue. Paul's doctrines breathed Hellenistic thought. He may have been a Hebrew by race but Paul was from Tarsus, was he not? For that is what the Bible itself tells us. Now Tarsus was a veritable hotbed of mystery cults, a sort of Los Angeles of the ancient world, and most of these groups taught the concept of the need for redemption and thus of a saviour, and preached the death-and-resurrection cycle, the very stuff of Christianity.

Such cults had sacramental rites, in particular baptism, one of the distinctive rites of Christianity, however performed. This was derived directly from the mystery cults, so much so that in a later era Tertullian thought the baptisms practised by the non-Christian religions were devilish counterfeits of the 'true baptism' experienced by the Christian! Thus did St Paul deceive the world with his 'revelation' on the Damascus road and thus did Paul launch upon the world the Christian faith.     

PENANCE.  Penance had developed as a sacrament in the Catholic Church by the 3rd century. It is not considered as such by Protestant Churches. In the earliest era penance was such that it could only be undergone once in a lifetime. It was treated as a matter of the utmost gravity and restoration to a good standing in the Church only resulted after prolonged prayer, fasting and almsgiving. In time the character of Penance changed into an institution closer to that obtaining today.

However, the mediaeval Church exacted something more by way of penance, a decidedly physical penance, than the Church of today. The most famous case of penance is that prescribed for Henry 2nd after the murder of Becket. He was ordered to walk barefoot (a sign of humility) on the last three miles to Canterbury and on 12 July, 1174, was scourged by the monks in the place where Becket had been slain.  Another ruler, Emperor Otto 4th, agreed on his death-bed to be whipped by the meanest of his kitchen servants as a penance. He even demanded that he be beaten harder.
 
The historian Gibbon states that it required three thousand lashes to reduce Penance by a year. According to Gibbon a famous hermit, Saint Dominic of the Cuirass, could inflict upon himself three hundred thousand stripes and thus discharge a whole century of Penance. Self-flagellation was esteemed of great value in discharging Penance and a potent means of grace. The sinner who scourged himself while chanting twenty Psalms gained one hundred years of Penance. India's Hindu holy men, or fakirs, subject themselves to various forms of penance, as do the holy men of Islam. One type of Indian holy man, known as a urdhabahur ('arms upraised') yogi journeyed through Asia with his arms permanently above his shoulders as an act of penance. For details of the sect of self-flagellators, see under: FLAGELLANTS, The.

PENTATEUCH.  The first five books of the Old Testament, traditionally ascribed to Moses. This, at least in the case of the early sections, is an absurdity as Moses, if he lived at all (and there is much doubt among scholars on that score) could not have been present to describe events that occurred before his birth!

PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT. A variant form of fundamentalist Christianity began to emerge early in the 20th century.  Growing out of the ever-turbulent 19th century American religious milieu, Pentecostalism was a sort of amalgam of 'holiness' teachings, belief in the imminent return of Jesus of Nazareth and faith healing.  However, the crowning and distinctive mark was the believer's 'baptism in the Holy Spirit'.  From now on Christians, however devout, would be politely informed that water baptism was insufficient. They had to be baptized again, in the Spirit, manifested chiefly by SPEAKING IN TONGUES, otherwise known as glossolalia.

As happened continually in the 19th century, the new movement soon began splitting up and forming factions. So many churches, large and small, derived from the initial movement that it is difficult to catalog them all. Names such as 'Apostolic', 'Four Square', 'Assemblies of God' and 'Church of God' were used and many variants of these, and others. One thing is certain about the Pentecostalists; they must be a bunch of rugged individualists - or egotists - so often do they split from one another.  As a typical example, take the split that developed in the USA when the Pentecostal Fire-Baptised Holiness Church separated from the Pentecostal Holiness Church. The issue: relaxed dress standards for men, including discarding on occasions the wearing of a necktie. See also: McPHERSON, Aimée Semple.

PENTECOSTALIST SCHOOL. On 3 March, 1992, parents of children attending a private Christian school, St Peter's College, at Waratah, Newcastle (Australia) complained that a number of children were disturbed by a lecture they attended at a camp in Sydney.  Students of year 7, aged about 13, reportedly became frightened by discussion of and activities involving SPEAKING IN TONGUES. Tongues were reportedly actually spoken. It was claimed by unhappy parents that a young lecturer told children they would go to hell if they had sex outside of marriage. It was rumoured that some teachers had threatened to resign. Students were later withdrawn from the school in protest.

PEOPLE'S TEMPLE, The.  See under: JONES, Jim.

PERSECUTION BY ROME. Between 1948 and 1962 over 120 Protestant missionaries were killed for their faith in Roman Catholic Colombia. No word of rebuke ever issued forth from the Pope during these years.

PETER, Saint. The claim that the Apostle Peter was the first Pope of Rome is a specious one. Peter may well have been in Rome, but even this is hotly disputed. After all, we have clear statements in the New Testament that St Paul went to Rome (around 60-63 CE) and that he was put to death there, but no statement asserting Peter was ever in that city. If he was such a key figure in the Church of Rome it is certainly surprising that no mention is made of his being there!

It was not until about 200 CE that the notion arose that St Peter founded the Church at Rome. His candidature as head of the Church is supposedly supported by a 'proof text' in the Gospel of Matthew, especially Matthew 16:18:  'Thou are Peter, and upon this rock [petra] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.'

Quite simply this text, upon which so much store is placed by the Church of Rome, is a late addition. For a start, if Jesus of Nazareth said such words to Peter, it was at a time when there was no such entity as the 'church'. Peter, nor for that matter any of the other disciples, would have had no idea whatever to what he referred! The language used was Aramaic and this tongue had no such word in its vocabulary. It is also obvious, if one considers these words without trying to attach any particular significance to them, that they take the form of a pun, a play on words, of the name of Peter [rock] and 'petra' [rock]. It is hard to believe that the person supposed to be the Son of God would have stooped to such a trivial mode of speech in speaking of such an all-important matter! Jesus surely didn't!

The Church that later stooped to producing all manner of FALSE DOCUMENTS would surely not be averse to inserting a few extra words in one of the Gospels to prop up its assertion of supremacy. This was probably one of its earliest forgeries. Two of the foremost Bishops, Ignatius (1st century) and Irenaeus (2nd century) make no reference to such authority in their letters. Indeed, it was not until the very end of the second century - that is at least six or seven generations after the first Christians - that anyone suggested the notion - one not readily accepted - that Rome held some sort of pre-eminence in Christianity. See further under: PAPAL CLAIMS.

Finally, in recent times it has been claimed that the tomb - and bones - of St Peter have been found in Rome. We have as much certainty as to this discovery as we have concerning the myriad false relics the Church of Rome has conveniently found hither and yon through the centuries. See further under: RELICS.     

PILGRIMS ENSLAVED. Around the year 1947, a Sudanese merchant who was a Muslim, Ahmed Beshir, decided to make the pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca). Sudan was then under British rule. Ahmed decided to take with him his wife, Khadijah, his daughter and three sons. The children ranged in age up to 15. In his own country Ahmed was well established, owning about twenty houses which he rented out. Although slavery had been abolished officially in most of the countries of that area there were still people enslaved. Sometimes there were stories of pilgrims disappearing en route to Mecca.
 
Ahmed did not like flying but an advertisement in a local newspaper caught his eye.  It offered especially cheap family fares for travel by air to Mecca. Ahmed bought tickets and eventually the family boarded the DC-3, along with eight other families.  There were in all about twenty children in the party. Along the way a steward appeared and told the passengers that they were having a little engine trouble and would, for safety reasons, land at a place called Tallil rather than go on to Makkah.
 
Apparently nobody on the plane was suspicious, just concerned about relatives waiting for them. Nobody except Ahmed, who did not say anything to his wife and children but quietly wrote out a note. It read: 'The finder of this, take it, for the love of Allah, to the nearest consul of the British.' Inside he penned the words: 'Sir, I suspect that I, Ahmed Beshir, and of Omdurman, my wife and children and many others on the Dakota plane number FG 546 are being stolen away to be slaves in the Arabias.  Help us, sir. Ahmed Beshir.' The paper was formed into a small ball and hidden in an inner waistcoat pocket.

Soon the party were on the ground, not at Tallil but in some isolated area, and awaiting them was a party of armed men. The children were now separated from their parents, who protested loudly but in vain. One man tried to hit one of the kidnappers but was struck down dead with a dagger. The plane took off again with the children on board, leaving the adults to await a second flight two hours later. All on board, children and adults alike, had been sold into slavery.

When they landed at an airstrip Ahmed took a gamble. Seeing an airport worker who appeared to be of Sudanese extraction he slipped the note into his hand. The man took it without looking up. Fortunately for Ahmed and his family the man did seek out the British consul, a shrewd and diligent man, who immediately took up the case. 

Meanwhile the couple had been put to work in the palace of an Arab sheikh, by name of Ali Aziz. They would be well treated but should they attempt to escape, they were warned, they would be tortured and possibly executed. Their children's fate was not known. In fact, they were not far away, having been taken into the household of the brother of the sheikh. After suitable diplomat approaches from the consul the couple were released and reunited with their children, then returned to Sudan. Eventually the British authorities acted to obtain the release of the other pilgrims and the man who had murdered one of them was caught and condemned to death. 

PIUS 3rd, Pope. Pope Pius 3rd was elected to follow ALEXANDER 6th (the second Borgia Pope). However, it appears that this was one of those occasions when the Holy Ghost made a mistake in guiding the cardinals to choose a new pontiff. Pius only reigned twenty-seven days before he went to receive  his heavenly reward. He was followed by JULIUS 2nd.

PLYMOUTH BRETHREN.  See under: BRETHREN, The.

POD, The. In October 1995 the 60 Minutes program on Australia's Channel NINE revealed the activities of a Sydney-based religious group known as The Pod, led by Stuart Walker. Walker claimed to be able to communicate with whales and sometimes sat on rocks by the sea talking to any what which happened to be passing by. He says he received guidance from them, to apply to his group. Walker claims to have been in past lives the Buddha, Jesus Christ, and Tutenkhamen, among others. He also claims to be able to heal various physical ailments.

Former sect members asserted on the program that Walker had used them to obtain prescription drugs for him from doctors. When cameramen caught up with Walker on one occasion it appeared by his slurred speech and lack of coherent conversation that he was under the influence of some sort of drug. Walker has also been accused by former members of attempting to brainwash children of sect members. He reportedly hit some of them and shook and threw others.
  
It was alleged by a lady who appeared on the program that a male friend of hers had been proclaimed cured of diabetes by Walker but instead had been reduced to a 'human wreck' and was bedridden, in a vegetative state. The man had drunk alcohol after being assured it would not matter, she claimed, with a female doctor who is a group member and friend of Walker's approving. The man had, under instructions, abandoned outside help from orthodox medicine. When he collapsed Walker performed another 'healing' on him, according to the claim.

POLTERGEISTS.  A long time ago a case of poltergeist activity occurred in a home in Galashiels, Scotland. The household included a 13-year-old girl, Margaret Wilson, who seemed, as is so often the case, to be the object of the poltergeist's activity. Loud rappings came from beneath chairs she sat upon and knocking sounds from beneath her bed. The local minister of religion, the Reverend Wilkie, was called in and visited several times, conducting prayer meetings. Reportedly Margaret's body levitated from her bed, even when several strong men tried to hold her down. Strange sounds were also reported and Margaret told the investigators that while she was unconscious the Devil spoke to her.

On one occasion the minister took the girl's Uncle aside and questioned him closely as regards his behaviour towards the girl. The Uncle reacted angrily, denying he had done anything such as the minister implied. According to the account of this episode the minister further pressed a question of 'one thing in particular' but again the Uncle denied responsibility. Was the mysterious thing the appearance of menstrual blood?  In any event soon after this Margaret was sent away and became a servant in Edinburgh.  Immediately all strange happenings ceased in both her own home and in the place to which she had gone. 

POLYGAMY. It was said of the Mormons: 'In the world, it takes two sets of parents to produce five children while in Mormondom the number is produced by one set.'  President [presumably Joseph] Smith had 42 children and Lorin Farr had forty. The excess of women over men in the eastern USA was an important factor helping the rise of Mormonism. 'Mormon plural marriage was never a menace to monogamy . . .  It took up the old maids . . . now accumulating.' The Mormon priests allowed plural marriage only to to men who could demonstrate they had means to support several families and 'so used used the satisfaction of polygamous instincts as a reward to unusual economic' prowess, in the words of one early commentator.
 
In the Mormon War in Missouri a mob raped fifteen or twenty Mormon girls and drove the Saints out. The locals wanted to buy, at a favourable price, a stretch of fertile land, but the Mormons refused. Allen, a missionary who worked in Asian India for 25 years commented: 

If polygamy was unlawful, then Leah was the only wife of Jacob and none but her children were legitimate . . . And yet there is no intimation of any such views and feelings in Laban's family, or in Jacob's family, or in Jewish history . . . God honoured the sons of Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah equally with the sons of Leah. (Quoted by Matilda J. Gage, in Woman, Church, and State, Chicago 1893)

POOR VICAR! Did you hear about the Anglican vicar crying over Britain's famous Steeplechase? No, he wasn't an animal liberationist. He was upset because they cancelled it and he was set to win £100 - or so he claimed.

POPE CONDEMNED. During a 1993 debate in the European Parliament the Pope was attacked for 'condemning people to death' with his teaching against the use of condoms. The Pope actually urged Africans on a recent visit not to use them. This in an area with the highest population growth rate in the world, producing more and more mouths that they cannot feed. And in an area with frighteningly high rates of AIDS infection. The Parliament passed a motion urging the Pope to change his teachings.  See also: PAPAL MALFEASANCE. 

POPES.  See under name first, e.g. ALEXANDER 6th, Pope.

POPULATION. A UN report issued in mid-1990 claimed that world population - currently 5.3 million - would increase by one billion in the 1990s, a rise which would probably prove catastrophic to the environment. It said that poorer countries, where 90% of the rise will occur, will suffer most.' In 1972 quoted that world population doubling rate as at 1950 was 35 years. As at 1968 the USA and the USSR were doubling the rate every 68 years, Denmark 88 years, United Kingdom 140 years,  Philippines 20 years, Indonesia 31 years, Costa Rica and El Salvador 15 to 20 years.  In September 1990 it was stated that the African population, then 550 million, was growing by 3.1% annually, the world's highest rate and could reach 1.6 billion by 2020.  The chief danger to the world lies in the teachings of the Catholic Church and the Islamic religion, which oppose contraception and abortion. 

PORTENTS. Han Kao-tsu was a simple peasant born in China in the 3rd century BCE. At the age of 17 he defied the might of the tyrant ruler of China, becoming a hero in the eyes of the people. It was recorded in the histories that his birth was accompanied by many outstanding celestial portents. Similar portents are recorded in connection with the birth of Jesus the Nazarene, however, curiously only in one Gospel.  According to Luke (2: 1-20), fear-struck shepherds were treated to an amazing angelic vision and saw 'the glory of Yahweh' and heard and saw 'a multitude of the heavenly host' singing a chorus which Mr Handel later used in his Messiah. Very strange, indeed, that only Luke knows about all this. The other three Gospel writers must have been off duty that day.
 
A USA report late in 1986 said a talk-show co-host on a fundamentalist TV network said God had called her to Christian television and given her a sign she was to marry by ringing her wind chimes one night.

PORT-ROYAL. Jansenism, an offshoot of Catholicism, infected the convent at Port-Royal during the 17th century and in 1709 the Pope ordered the dispersal of 22 nuns, the convent's property confiscated and the buildings burnt to the ground.  Evidently His Holiness was anxious to physically destroy the evil lurking there once and forever. So zealous were his emissaries that they even dug up the bodies in the cemetery attached to the convent and dispersed these too!

POSSESSION. Writing about a young child who was supposedly 'possessed of the devil', a Catholic apologist commented: 'We dare not investigate the laws that guide these terrible judgments of GOD; they are wrapped in impenetrable mystery.' 

PRAYER. Constant entreaties affecting GOD - see Guignebert: Jesus, 251-2 re parable of the widow and the judge. Christians have very convenient memories in the matter of prayer. The prayers that are answered are noised abroad as things of wonder while those unanswered are overlooked. 

PREDICTIONS. Late in 1990 US seismologist Iben Browning, 72, predicted a large earthquake on December 2 or December 3. It was claimed on the Beyond 2000 TV program that he has been 80% right in past predictions. He allegedly foretold the Mt St Helens eruption and the recent San Francisco earthquake. Late in November some Christians excitedly phoned talkback stations in Sydney and said GOD had told them these predictions were correct and there would be a huge earthquake. By the end of the week the excitement had died down as the eruptions had not occurred. However, Browning was then reported to have revised his date to the end of the month! And the earthquake still not occur on the new date. 

PREFERMENT. Term used to describe the promotion of a person for an office, especially the office of bishop. In the 18th and 19th centuries in England politics played a large part in the process. A typical case is that of Dr Samuel Squire, Bishop of St David's in the latter half of the 18th century. He started on his road as a Fellow of St John's, Cambridge, then became chaplain to the Bishop of Wells. From this position he went to be chaplain to the Duke of Newcastle. The Duke was well known as a manipulator of appointments and soon Dr Squire became not only Bishop of St David's, but Prebendary of Wells, Archdeacon of Bath, Rector of St Anne's, Soho, Vicar of a church in Lincolnshire and another in Greenwich, and Clerk of the Closet to George 3rd!   

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. Like most groups the Presbyterians divided among themselves. In the American colonies in the 18th century there were two groups, known as the Old Lights and the New Lights. The former were conservatives who believed reason had a part to play in Christian faith. The latter thought that many of the Old Light ministers were not even converted!

PRESSURE GROUPS.  Late in 1990 the US fast-food group Burger King published an 'Open Letter to the American People.' The group pledged in future only to support TV programs when they reflected 'traditional family values on television.'  This was in response to pressure from a religious group, CLEAR-TV (Christian Leaders for Responsible Television) headed by the Reverend Donald Wildmon.

PRIEST PROFITS FROM MURDERER'S CONFESSION. In June 1992 it was reported that a Miami Catholic priest, Lazaro Hernandez, 36, heard a confession from a getaway driver Fernando Fernandez after the murder of a north Miami policeman. The priest then tipped off authorities and collected a $US100,000 reward.    

PRIESTS MARRYING. A Catholic spokesperson, commenting in May 1992, reported that about 40 priests were leaving the Australian church each year to get married. In about the mid-1980s the Reverend Father Francis Kelly, priest in Bundarra, northern NSW, was visited by Dianne, a lady with a divorce going through, seeking spiritual guidance. After one of her visits the priest kissed her on the lips. Not long after there was a sexual encounter and four months later the priest told Dianne he loved her. He also told her not to use birth control methods and in time a son was born. Then another priest secretly married the couple in a Catholic church, although at the time Dianne's divorce had not been finalized. The Church repudiated the marriage and there followed five years of unhappiness for both, until eventually Frank Kelly had a massive heart attack and died. 

PRIEST, The.  A movie about a homosexual priest produced in Britain in 1995. The movie was condemned as being blasphemous and pornographic. However, in Poland, a country steeped in Catholicism, the film was given a big boost by the Church itself, albeit unwittingly. The bishops mounted a campaign against the film before it even reached Poland, where the people have largely been kept in ignorance of the scandalous behaviour of some of the priests.
 
So concerned were the distributors that they contemplated abandoning the movie's release. They were soon to be pleased they had not done so! The Polish people, stirred by all the controversy, flocked to see The Priest in record numbers. One Warsaw cinema was booked out three days in advance. The audiences had to enter theatres before groups of Catholic protesters waving crosses and singing hymns but this did not stop them.

PRIMITIVE RELIGION. G.A. Robinson, a Methodist missionary in the 19th century, accused Australia's Aborigines of Devil-worship. He said of Aboriginal beliefs: 'These devotees of the Devil are excessive in their devotions. They continue to chant their Devil song and perform their rites at every opportunity.'

PRINCE, Reverend Henry James.  See under: AGAPEMONE, Church of the.

PROCESS THEOLOGY. A variant form of liberal Christian thinking that takes the hard edge off evangelical beliefs and the fundamentalist position. It was popularized in several works by Professor Charles Birch, basing his writings on A.N. Whitehead, an agnostic turned religious, so we are told. Process theology seems to be in turn a variant form of nature worship, seeing 'feeling' in atoms and cells and suggesting that humans, animals and inanimate objects share some inner reality. Such a view is known as panexperientialism by Birch and others. Or maybe it is just another form of PANTHEISM.

PROCTER AND GAMBLE. In 1982 the American household products giant Procter and Gamble was subjected to an assault by fundamentalist Christians. An American Baptist group group circulated a pamphlet entitled Satan is Creeping Into your Kitchen!  The group claimed that the famous trademark of the company, representing the Man in the Moon, represented the Ram, one of the supposed incarnations of the Devil. The symbol was also alleged to contain the number 666, the supposed Number of the Beast (probably an incorrect interpretation of the passage in any event) in the Book of Revelation. By linking up the stars in the trademark the the number 666 could be made to appear!
 
At first the firm tried to laugh off this ridiculous attack but such was the power of the fundamentalists that they eventually had to act. By June 1982 the company was receiving an average of 15,000 complaints per month. They instituted legal action against four individuals alleged to be responsible for defamatory material but in the end, so far as I am aware, bowed to pressure and changed their symbol. It was another triumph of superstition over rationality.

PROMISE KEEPERS. Promise Keepers is a Christian evangelistic group based in the USA. It was founded by Bill McCartney, a former football coach from Colorado. It has since spread to several countries, including Canada. Membership appears to be limited to males only, at least the organization's rallies are all-male affairs. Participants pray and sing, sob and generally carry on enthusiastically. Members pledge seven 'promises': to follow the Bible's teachings, to pursue 'vital relationships' with other men, to build family life, to practice sexual purity, to support their church, and to evangelize.
 
PK also opposes women's reproduction rights and the teaching of evolutionary theory. It says women's place is in the home, under male authority. PK also apparently teaches that husbands should beat their wives where necessary, quoting Corinthians, where Paul reputedly said 'the wife does not rule over her body but the husband does.'

James Ryle, a board member of PK, has claimed his organization is the 'terrifying end-time army' prophesied in the book of Joel. PK is clearly a dangerous organization, opposed to democratic processes, for it says it has set out to 'end secularism in America' and impose a theocracy, much in the mould of Calvin's Geneva.

PROPHECIES. In Prophecy and Divination (London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1938), Dr Alfred Guillaume reported on a mass of information collected from among the Arabs and others on the matter of prophecy and divination, or 'second sight.' He quotes from Ibn Khaldun, al Ghazâli and Maimonides, among others. The study sheds considerable light on the Hebrew prophets. Maimonides had the theory that the strange symbols referred to by the Hebrew prophets, e.g., candlesticks, horses, mountains in Zechariah, the scroll of Ezekiel, the wall made by a plumb-line in Amos, the beasts of Daniel, the seething-pot of Jeremiah, were all seen in dreams or visions and perceived as to their meaning when the dreamer awoke.

An interesting episode occurred in the early 1990s when Grand Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, of the New York Lubavitcher faction, at the time thought by many to be the Messiah, prophesied that an Australian Jew, mining magnate Joseph Gutnick, would, by a certain date, October 1993, have a substantial find of diamonds. Certainly the area where Mr Gutnick was looking in Western Australia was diamond country. In any event no find was made, a fact not noted later by many financial writers, who directed attention instead to Gutnick's gold-mining activities. It is curious how fulfilled prophecy gets trumpeted abroad while unfulfilled is conveniently overlooked.

PROPHET, Mrs Elizabeth Clare. See under: CHURCH UNIVERSAL AND TRIUMPHANT.

PSYCHIATRY. There are a number of institutions around the world caring for priests, nuns and other clergy who need therapy. Among them is a centre for priests and nuns in Birmingham, England. Evidently the 'transforming Gospel' is inadequate for many in the Church who cannot cope with life with the aid of their religion!

A typical case: Margaret Lavery, 65, a Catholic nun who had worked in Africa as a missionary for 40 years suicided in August 1992. The English nun had returned to the Holy Cross Convent, in Chalfont St Peter, Bucks, in May 1992 after working as a teacher in Zambia. She was apparently in doubt about her faith and had been prescribed antidepressant drugs although she had not shared her doubts with others.  Three months after going on medication she took an overdose of anti-malaria pills and died as a result.

PURPLE MOTHER, The. In 1900 an American, Mrs Katherine Tingley, established an occult community on a 200-hectare property at Point Loma, near San Diego. Mrs Tingley, variously known as Purple Mother, Light of the Ledge and The Veiled Mahatma, ruled the community autocratically. Members studied esoteric subject, including yoga, ancient history, art and music, lessons being accompanied by the atmospheric sound of temple bells ringing,

The buildings were decorated garishly with amethyst doors and opalescent domes while members of the order wore Grecian-style costumes. Visitors were ushered in to the sound of the bugle and the visitors were many. People from all over the world came to the centre and paid homage to its ruler. At one point the Purple Mother claimed a following of 100,000. Certainly the cash contributions rolled in, supporting the lavish appointments.
 
Inevitably the press raised a cry against the group, accusing it of being involved in sex orgies and condoning gross immorality. The Purple Mother sued the Los Angeles Times and eventually, after some years of litigation, was awarded a substantial sum.  However, later the tables were turned on Mrs Tingley. Another lady, Mrs George F. Mohn, who lived with her husband in the community, in 1923 sued her for alienation of her husband's affections.

Mrs Mohn claimed that her husband had been induced to part with $300,000 to aid the cause but worse, that he had fallen in love with the Purple Mother. Mrs Mohn was awarded $75,000. This signalled the end for the Purple Mother. She deserted the community and fled to Europe. Not much was heard of her after this.

QUAKERS, The. 
Otherwise known as the Religious Society of Friends. A religious body founded by George Fox in 1646 and flourishing in England, Ireland, Europe and America, especially from the late 17th century and through the 18th. The popular name 'Quakers' came from the physical manifestations of religious ecstasy they experienced. They were subjected to much persecution along with other dissenters and more particularly because they were pacifists and refused service in any force that was involved in killing. They also believed in receiving inspiration by what they called the Inner Light, and because of this rejected the sacraments and the ministry. They refused to take oaths.

Under successive English administrations, including both those two good Christians, Oliver Cromwell and Charles 2nd, they were hounded and ill-treated. The Star Chamber imprisoned hundreds of Quakers and in many cases confiscated their properties and personal goods and chattels. In the period between about 1660 and 1690 some 15,000 Quakers had suffered in one way or another as a result of persecution and several hundred died.

Eventually in July 1656 two Quaker women, Mary Fisher and Ann Austin, embarked for Boston, hoping to establish the movement there free from persecution. However, the New World that had embraced so many who had fled from religious persecution in the Old did not take kindly to the Quakers. Evidently the local populace were aware of the teachings of the Friends for the women had barely set foot on American soil when they were seized by an unruly mob, stripped entirely naked, bound to the cart's tail and whipped through the city's streets. Branded as heretics they were then sent back to England on the same ship that brought them to Boston. Old engraving showing someone being whipped at the cart's tail:

Soon, however, other English Quakers also reached Boston and began preaching their message. The Puritans of New England did not take kindly to a rival faith appearing on the scene. Governor Endicot instituted a terrible persecution of these peaceful people. Men and women where hounded from their homes, whipped unmercifully in public, often stripped naked or near-naked for the purpose, branded, mutilated and imprisoned. Some were even sold as white slaves to plantation owners.  The Friends were actively persecuted in all the non-Quaker colonies except Rhode Island.

KNOTTED CORD

There are endless accounts of men and women being seized. In 1657 Mary Clark was given twenty stripes with a whip made of thick cord with knots at the ends of each cord and thrown into prison for 12 months.
 
Soon after the knotted whip fell on the backs of two male preachers, Christopher Holder and John Copeland. They were gagged for the occasion and Holder nearly chocked to death on his gag while the blows were so vicious that onlookers were said to have fainted. They were then locked in en empty cell in midwinter, with no bedding, for the next nine weeks. Other women were locked up and starved for days, being only taken from their cell to be whipped. Some of the floggings were in public and the women suffered the extra humiliation of appearing without upper garments before the crowds of ill-willed onlookers. An early account by John Whiting (Truth and Innocency Defended Against Falsehood and Envy, 1702) reported on a typical incident:

Mary Tomkins and Alice Ambrose were cruelly ordered to be whip'd at a cart's tail through eleven towns at one time, ten stripes apiece on their naked backs, which would have amounted to 110 in the whole, and on a very cold day, they were strip'd and whip'd through three of the towns (the priests looking on and laughing) and barefoot through dirt and snow, sometimes half leg deep, till Walter Barefoot, of Salisbury, got the warrant and discharged them.

Another writer from the same era, George Bishop (in his New England Judged by the Spirit of the Lord, 1703) told the story of the exceeding cruelty suffered by a Quaker, William Brend:

The jailer put him in irons, neck and heels, lockt so close together, as there was no more room between each, than for the horse-lock that fastened them on; and so kept him in irons for the space of sixteen hours (as the jailer himself confessed) for not working; and all this without meat, whilst his back was torn with the whipping the day before, which did not satisfy the bloodthirsty jailer, but as a man resolved to have his life, and by cruelties to kill him, he had him down again the next morning to work, though so many days without meat, his back beaten, his neck and heels bruised, by being bound so long together, because he could not bow to his will; yet he laid him on with a pitch'd rope twenty blows over his back and arms, with as much force as he could drive so that with the fierceness of the blows the rope untwisted and his arms were swollen with it.

Presently after this, the jailer having either mended his old, or got a new rope, came in again; and having hailed him downstairs with greater fury and violence than before, gave his broken, bruised, and weak body fourscore and seventeen blows more, foaming at the mouth like a madman, and tormented with rage; unto which great number he had added more blows, had not his strength and rope failed him, for now he cared not what he did do: and all this, because he did not work for him, which he could not do, being unable in body and unfree in mind. So he gave him in all 117 blows with a pitch'd rope, so that his flesh was beaten black, and as into a jelly, and under his arms the bruised flesh and blood hung down, clodded as it were in baggs, and so into one was it beaten, that the sign of one particular blow could not be seen.

OUTLAWED

The New Englanders eventually passed legislation to outlaw the Quakers altogether in the following terms:

That whosoever of the inhabitants should directly or indirectly, cause any of the Quakers to come into that jurisdiction, he should forfeit an hundred pounds to the country, and be committed to prison, there to remain till the penalty be satisfied.  And whosoever should entertain them, knowing them to be so, should forfeit forty shillings to the country for every hour's entertaining or concealment, and be committed to prison rill the forfeiture be fully paid and satisfied.

And further, that all and every of those people that should arise among them there should be dealt withal and suffer the like punishment as the laws provided for those that came in - viz, that for the first offence, if a male, one of his ears should be cut off, and be kept at work in the House of Correction till he should be sent away on his own charge. For the second, the other ear, and be kept in the House of Correction as aforesaid. If a woman, then to be severely whipt and kept as aforesaid, as the male for the first. And for the third, he or she should have their tongues bored through with an hot iron and be kept in the House of Correction close at work, till they be sent away on their own charge.   

The Governor of Plymouth said that in his conscience he thought the Quakers to be a people that deserved to be destroyed, men, women and even children, along with their houses and lands, 'without pity'. The Dutch were equally vindictive when it came to Quakers. Robert Hodshone, for preaching the Friends' message, was sentenced to be chained to a wheelbarrow, which he had to work with a Negro overseeing him. The Negro was permitted to whip him as he thought best and eventually Hodshone was so badly bruised and swollen that he was quite unable to work at all. Dragged before the Governor for his failure to perform, he was stripped of his upper garments, taken into a room and hung by the wrists with a heavy log of wood bound to his feet and was caned by the Negro. He was then thrown into a cell and two days later brought out and the same procedure repeated. In 1659 and 1660 four members of the Friends were hanged on Boston Common while in Virginia another member died from neglect after he had been flogged.
 
Back in England, the Quakers continued to suffer persecution. George Fox, the founder, was in and out of prison but managed to maintain his strength of purpose. The ordinary Quakers continually fell foul of the authorities over their refusal to attend the services of the Established Church.  Men and women alike were whipped for his terrible offence. In 1654, for example, Barbara Blangdon, was hailed before the Mayor of Great Torrington, the parish priest urging that she should be whipped as a 'vagabond'. She was lodged in a noisome prison at Exeter and eventually sentenced to be flogged. The local parish beadle carried out the sentence with such zeal that the blood reportedly ran down the lady's bared back in streams.

There was, however, another side to the Quaker attitudes of pacifism. In the period of the terrible wars between the American settlers and the Indians, this pacifism led to the capture, torture, rape and slaughter of hundreds of innocent settlers, not themselves imbued with the Quaker ideals. In the 1750s the people on the borderlands of Pennsylvania were ravaged by Indian attacks and cried out continually for aid from the capital. But the Quakers went out of their way to hinder anyone taking up arms and forming militias to combat the Indians.
 
Wrote William Trent, one frontiersman, imploring aid: 'Two and forty bodies have been buried on Paterson's Creek; and since they have killed more, keep on killing.' Soon after this message was received news reached the capital that one hundred more had died. War-parties were attacking men, women and children and those who escaped were left naked and hungry. Adam Hoops wrote of the shocking sight 'for the husband to see the wife of his bosom her head cut off, and the children's blood drunk like water, by these bloody and cruel savages.' Eventually aid of a sort was given the people of the frontier regions but much against the will of the Quakers.

By the beginning of the 18th century some degree of toleration had become the order of the day. It is as a result of Quaker dissent that the English Affirmation Bill of 1696 was passed; this allowed for the giving of an affirmation in legal cases as an alternative to swearing on the Bible. A Toleration Act was passed in England in 1689, which greatly improved the situation of Quakers in that country. For their part the American Quakers early freed such slaves as they had held so that by 1800 Quakers generally held no slaves. They also worked for prison reform in both Britain and the USA and during and after the wars engaged in massive relief works. As at 1992 a figure of 1032 was quoted for membership in Australia. In the United Kingdom membership stood at 17,000 and worldwide it was 250,000. 

RABANNE, Paco. The famous couturier stepped right outside of his field of expertise and got himself infected with Endtime madness late in life and around 1993 produced a book, Has the Countdown Begun? Mr Rabanne suffered alarming visions since childhood, he said, and at the age of 7 the boy's spirit left his body and rose into the heavens and met with the 24 elders of the book of Revelation! Here, his instinct told him, he was on the Seventh Vibratory Plane, whatever that is. His heavenly tour-guides showed him survivors of the coming holocaust [due to happen Real Soon Now] roaming about like wild beasts, tearing each other to pieces and engaging in cannibalism.

Mr Rabanne also said he believed the ANTICHRIST was living in downtown London.  His idea about the Mark of the Beast was not original, though. Many have suggested, as he has, that credit cards, with their magnetically-implanted numbers, represent the Mark of the Beast. Some folk are in deep trouble; they have so many of them! The War, he thought (back in 1994) would begin in earnest in 1996.  

RACISM. Some of the Protestant churches on the USA in former times established separate churches for Negroes. Such a church might, for example, be known as the Baptist Church Coloured, which was in fact one such, in Baltimore, functioning under this title in the early years of the 20th century. See further under: SLAVERY AND RELIGION.   

RADIO CHURCH OF GOD. When I was much younger than I am now and there was no box in the corner the lounge-room, the steam radio provided our household entertainment. And one of the most entertaining performers of them all was Herbert W Armstrong, with his Radio Church of GOD. His announcement: 'This is Herbert W Armstrong' will forever echo in my head.
 
Why I listened to the man at all is something of a mystery. Fascination may be the explanation. Herbert W. Armstrong had built a mighty religious empire almost wholly through his radio talks. These were the days before television and the TELEVANGELISTS and no doubt many of them learnt from Armstrong. They, too, were to build mighty empires but, placed in the context of his times, Armstrong outshone them all. And, like many of today's air-wave prophets, he had his problems, one of them being his own son, Garner Ted Armstrong, who headed his personal roadshow, The Church of God, International. (Not to be confused with the Assemblies of God or assorted other Churches of God, all claiming to be the genuine bearers of the truth.) Dad and Garner T. fell out for a time but I think they were reconciled in the end.
 
In Australia today the church goes by the name The Church of God, International, headed by Armstrong's son, Garner Ted. Apart from the Plain Truth  magazine, freely distributed at airports and other transport outlets, the church has also engaged in newspaper advertising. Those little ads headed 'High Holy Days' come from the group, and clearly indicate the ritualistic Jewish-Christian nature of the faith. Jewish Feasts, Tabernacles, the Day of Atonement, and all the rest, are observed, in a curious mixture of Christian and Jewish doctrine. Many of these are based on the worship of lunar deities, such as the Jewish faith indulged in and later sanitized into festivals in honour of the tribal deity Yahweh. The Church of God, International keeps the holy days of the Hebrew religion. In this it goes much farther than even the Seventh-Day Adventist Church (see under: SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM) does in observance of Jewish law.
 
RAINMAKING. During a bad 1982 drought in Australia a Gold Coast (Queensland) lawnmower dealer employed a well-known Indian, Bill Mitter, known as Cherokee Bill, son of a Cherokee Indian chief, from Arizona. He did a 20-minute rain dance, 'praying to his ancestors and the four winds' with the mowers arranged in a semicircle. It rained that night. Which just goes to show that Christian prayers are not the only means of gaining needed rainfall. 'Any god will do.' 

RAJNEESH, Bhagwan Shree. An Indian guru who preached a light-hearted faith and gathered a large following. Bhagwan = God, in Hindi. He said he had become 'enlightened' at the age of 21. His followers grew in numbers in many countries, including Australia and the USA. Eventually he settled in the USA and formed a large commune but was ultimately expelled. From there he travelled to several countries but kept getting moved on by opponents, usually other religions. He died a few years back and with his death so died the movement he founded.   

RALE, Sebastien. Sebastien Rale was born in Franche-Comté in 1657 and became a Jesuit missionary, sent to the American missions by his Order in 1689, at the age of 32. For a while he worked among the warlike ABENAKI tribe in Canada, then settled near the mouth of the Chaudière, later working in Illinois. He eventually returned and ended his days among the Abenakis.

Rale proved to be a very able teacher and worker for his faith. He became skilled in several native tongues but was to prove a thorn in the side of the English to the south.  The Abenaki people at that time sided with the French against the Britishers and, although many Indians had been converted to Catholicism, did not eschew to use violent means to attain their ends. Rale did not teach them otherwise, rather, on one occasion in 1703 he told the Governor of Canada, Vandreuil, that the Abenakis were ready, at a word from him, to lift the hatchet against the English. Indeed, they were to do so soon, not long after this date.

In 1721, by which time Queen Anne's War had died down, Father Rale took a party of Catholic Indians to a parley, or perhaps, to make war if the parley failed. They were to meet with the English at Georgetown. Soon threats were being made by Rale and his Indians against the other side, although at the time the Canadian authorities did not want trouble. Then, on Arrowsick Island, a hostile demonstration provoked the English to seize one of the Indian chiefs. Charged with rebellion, he was taken to Boston, although was eventually released. Soon, however, the rest of the Indians began burning houses, murdering settlers, and committing other acts of violence, in the traditional manner, largely stirred up by Rale.

The English reportedly offered a large reward for the capture of the Jesuit priest but this is doubted by some historians. Three hundred men were despatched to the area and a demand made that the Indians should deliver Rale up to them. Rale, warned of the approach of the English, swallowed the consecrated wafers, hid the sacred vessels, and headed for timbered country. Rale had been in the habit of writing down his experiences and some of his own writings fell into the hands of the English [preserved today in the Archives of Massachusetts] at this time. They proved conclusively that Rale was acting as an agent of the Canadians in inciting rebellion against the British.

Now the Indians attacked in large numbers, burning the village of Brunswick and taking prisoner nine families at Merry-meeting Bay. A small war had broken out. More farmhouses were burnt, more settlers killed and people terrorized. It was not until August 1724 that the battle drew to a conclusion. Rale was still somewhere on the loose, working behind the scenes. A large British force with whaleboats, managed to locate an Indian village in which Rale was hiding. They made a surprise attack at 3 am and soon battle was joined. The Indians were chased off and the English returned to find Rale in a house. He was just then engaged in firing on his own comrades! They had failed to join in pursuing the English and he was punishing them for their defection; one was already wounded.

Rale was just loading his gun for another shot when he was called upon to surrender.  He refused and was shot dead. The English for their part acted with some brutality towards the Indians who were left. They murdered a squaw and her two children and plundered the village. The PURITAN militia then proceeded to smash the Catholic 'idols' and carry off the sacred vessels. In the morning the dead Indians were collected, 26 in all, and ceremonially scalped.

It was with great relief that the border settlers learnt of the fate of Rale. The Jesuit priest had been an incendiary for too long, inciting hordes of bloodthirsty Indians to do his bidding against the English. He had used his Indian converts to further political ends, instruments of worldly policy. Not only did many white settlers suffer as a result of his acts but numbers of the Indians themselves died in pursing his doubtful aims. The Canadians, however, treated his as a martyred saint.

RAMA.  Hero-god, his cause being promoted by Tulsi Das, a Brahmin who lived in the mid-16th century.  In contrast to KRISHNA, Rama was depicted in a poem, the Ramayana, by Tulsi Das as not being the subject of 'prurient and seductive stories'. 

RAMPA, T. Lobsang.  See under: LOBSANG RAMPA, T.

RAPTURE, The. The Koreans in modern times have been obsessed with the Rapture. Is it something in Korean life or the modern world that drives these people into the arms of every two-bit hellfire preacher who comes along? In 1992 and again in 1995 there was a major outburst of hope. Not one but several different Korean sects had prepared themselves for this terrible yet glorious event.

They waited in their churches in the Easter period in 1992. But as no Jesus rose from the grave on the first Easter Day so now no Jesus came to catch up his people in the air. Some of the faithful had been so convinced of the coming end that, like thousands before them through the centuries, they had sold off their property, left jobs and schools and even deserted military posts.

Alas, came the dawn and the people were waiting, but nothing happened. Wild lot those Koreans, some of them, sometimes (witness the massive student riots and suchlike events). These poor Christians were not to be denied their protests. The preacher felt the full force of their wrath as holy books hurtled through the air and church furniture was smashed. A few disappointed folk committed suicide.

Ah, but nothing stops the Christians when their minds are obsessed with belief.  Already, even although some of the little churches were disbanded after this disappointing time, they were preaching again. Some said it was quite certain that the Rapture would occur before 1995.
Ah, dawn on Easter Day (not, incidentally, Easter Sunday, an incorrect designation. It is to the orthodox Christian Easter Day), as Jesus himself rose from the dead, so now they too would rise to meet him in the air. Then would follow seven years of tribulation for the world, followed by the actual return of the god Christ - the Second Coming so long delayed.

At one of these Christian boiler-rooms - known as the Kangrim Church, which name apparently means 'the Advent of Christ', the congregation, meeting above a karaoke bar, the minister, the Reverend Kim Jae-ku, preached a last message. Leave your cameras behind, he told the people. The message was as faulty as the original RESURRECTION myth. But then Christians have been promising such things for two thousand years. There was no riot, just disappointed people filing out. But, just in case, some police had been standing by.

REAGAN Family, The. Ronald Reagan, while president of the USA, and his wife, Nancy, made much of his being a 'Born Again Christian' and adopted a conservative approach to moral issues. Since leaving office it has been revealed from several sources that he and his wife constantly consulted astrologers for advice. Included among those testifying to this fact has been White House chief of staff, Donald Regan. The chief astrologer was Joan Wiley who has told all in a book published at the end of 1990. Nancy Reagan warned her never to reveal her role in the presidential palace. According to Wiley Reagan chose dates for various important meetings and activities according to his charts. As Christian faith and astrology are opposed to one another it is hard to reconcile the claims made by the First Family while in office. In 1992 Patti Davis (Re