The 70's were a very fertile decade for crack-pot religions - as were the end of the first millennium and the middle-ages.
~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, "Mr. Worf" <hellomahog...@...> wrote: > > http://listverse.com/2009/09/10/10-extremely-weird-religions/Originally, I > wasn't going to post this, but I noticed that 2 of the groups were African > American. > > 10 Extremely Weird Religions > > Share This <javascript:void(0)>- Published September 10, 2009 by *JFrater* - > 318 > Comments<http://listverse.com/2009/09/10/10-extremely-weird-religions/#idc-container> > > We have previously published a variety of lists on strange religious > practices <http://listverse.com/2007/08/13/10-weird-religious-practices/>, > religions > you never knew > existed<http://listverse.com/2008/07/08/top-10-religions-you-never-knew-existed/>, > and weird cults <http://listverse.com/2007/09/15/top-10-cults/>, but not a > list of bizarre religions. This list is designed to fill the gap by > discussing ten religions that most of us have not heard of (for good reason > as you will see). Be sure to use the comments to tell us about any other > bizarre religions and, especially, your own experiences of them. > > 10 > Scientology > > [image: > Scientology1-2]<http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/scientology1-2.jpg> > > Scientology has featured on a previous list, but if I didnât include it here > the comments would be inundated with âwhereâs scientology?â questions. > The > Church of Scientology is a cult created by L Ron Hubbard (Elron) in 1952 as > an outgrowth of his earlier self-help system called Dianetics. The Church of > Scientology holds that at the higher levels of initiation (OT levels) > mystical teachings are imparted that may be harmful to unprepared readers. > These teachings are kept secret from members who have not reached these > levels. In the OT levels, Hubbard explains how to reverse the effects of > past-life trauma patterns that supposedly extend millions of years into the > past. Among these advanced teachings is the story of Xenu (sometimes Xemu), > introduced as an alien ruler of the âGalactic Confederacy.â According to > this story, 75 million years ago Xenu brought billions of people to Earth in > spacecraft resembling Douglas DC-8 airliners, stacked them around volcanoes > and detonated hydrogen bombs in the volcanoes. The thetans then clustered > together, stuck to the bodies of the living, and continue to do this today. > Scientologists at advanced levels place considerable emphasis on isolating > body thetans and neutralizing their ill effects. > > 9 > Creativity Movement > > [image: Splc Hale > 350X4501]<http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/splc_hale_350x4501.jpg> > > The Creativity Movement (formerly known as World Church Of The Creator), is > a white separatist organization that advocates the whites-only religion, > Creativity. It was also a descriptive phrase used by Ben Klassen, that > included all adherents of the religion. The use of the term creator does not > refer to a deity, but rather to themselves (white people). Despite the > former use of the word Church in its name, the movement is atheistic. > Creativity is a White Separatist religion that was founded by Ben Klassen in > early 1973 under the name Church of the Creator. After Klassenâs death in > 1993, Creativity almost died out as a religion until the New Church of the > Creator was established three years later by Matthew F. Hale as its Pontifex > Maximus (high priest), until his incarceration in January 2003 for plotting > with the movementâs head of security, Anthony Evola (an FBI informant), to > murder a federal judge. > > 8 > Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth > > [image: Picture > 2-81]<http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/picture-2-81.png> > > Obviously spelling is not a fundamental part of this religion! Thee Temple > ov Psychick Youth (TOPY) was founded in 1981 by members of Psychic > TV<http://listverse.com/2009/09/10/10-extremely-weird-religions/#>, > Coil, Current 93, and a number of other individuals. The ever-evolving > network is a loosely federated group of people operating as a unique blend > of artistic collective, and practitioners of magic. TOPY is dedicated to the > manifestation of magical concepts lacking mysticism or the worship of gods. > The group focuses on the psychic and magical aspects of the human brain > linked with âguiltless sexualityâ. Throughout its existence, TOPY has been > an influential group in the underground Chaos magic scene and in the wider > western occult tradition. TOPYâs research has covered both Left-hand path > and Right-hand path magick, various elements of psychology, art, music, and > a variety of other media. Some of the influences on the network have > been Aleister > Crowley <http://listverse.com/2009/09/10/10-extremely-weird-religions/#>, > Austin Osman Spare, and Brion Gysin. > > 7 > Nation of Yahweh > > [image: > 1Heavensfamilyufosmall]<http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/1heavensfamilyufosmall.jpg> > > The Nation of Yahweh is a predominantly African-American religious group > that is the most controversial offshoot of the Black Hebrew Israelites line > of thought. They were founded in 1979 in Miami by Hulon Mitchell, Jr., who > went by the name Yahweh ben Yahweh. Their goal is to return African > Americans, whom they see as the original Israelites, to Israel. The group > departs from mainstream Christianity and Judaism by accepting Yahweh ben > Yahweh as the > Son<http://listverse.com/2009/09/10/10-extremely-weird-religions/#>of > God. In this way, their beliefs are unique and distinct from that of > other known Black Hebrew Israelite groups. The group has engendered > controversy due to legal issues of its founder and has also faced > accusations of being a black supremacist cult by the Southern Poverty Law > Center and The Miami Herald. The SPLC has criticized the beliefs of the > Nation of Yahweh as racist, stating that the group believed blacks are âthe > true Jewsâ and that whites were âwhite devils.â They also claim the > group > believed Yahweh ben Yahweh had a Messianic mission to vanquish whites and > that they held views similar to the Christian Identity movement. > > 6 > Church of All Worlds > > [image: > Intervoz-Oberonskull-764368]<http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/intervoz-oberonskull-764368.jpg> > > The Church of All Worlds is a neo-pagan religion founded in 1962 by Oberon > Zell-Ravenheart and his wife Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart. The religion > evolved from a group of friends and lovers who were in part inspired by a > fictional religion of the same name in the science fiction novel *Stranger > in a Strange Land* by Robert A. Heinlein; the churchâs mythology includes > science fiction to this day. They recognize âGaea,â the Earth Mother > Goddess > and the > Father<http://listverse.com/2009/09/10/10-extremely-weird-religions/#>God, > as well as the realm of Faeries and the deities of many other > pantheons. Many of their ritual celebrations are centered on the gods and > goddesses of ancient Greece. Following the tradition of using fiction as a > basis for his ideas, Zell-Ravenheart recently founded *The Grey School of > Wizardry* inspired in part by *Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry*, > the school in the Harry Potter novels. > > > > 5 > Universe People > > [image: Picture > 1-131]<http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/picture-1-131.png> > > Universe people or Cosmic people of light powers (Czech: VesmÃrnà lidé sil > svÄtla) is a Czech religious movement centered around Ivo A. Benda. Its > belief system is based upon the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations > communicating with Benda and other âcontactersâ since October 1997 > telepathically and later even by direct personal contact. According to Benda > those civilizations operate a fleet of spaceships, led by Ashtar Sheran, > orbiting the Earth. They closely watch and help the good and are waiting to > transport their followers into another dimension. The Universe Peopleâs > teachings incorporate various elements from ufology (some foreign > âcontactersâ are credited, though often also renounced after a time as > misguided or deceptive), Christianity (Jesus was a âfine-vibrationsâ > being) > and conspiracy theories (forces of evil are supposed to plan compulsory > chipping of the population). > > 4 > Church of the SubGenius > > [image: 170] <http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/170.jpeg> > > The Church of the SubGenius is a parody religion that promotes slack, while > in a meta-commentarial way, satirizes religion, conspiracy theories, UFOs, > and popular culture. The church claims to have been founded in the 1950s by > the âworldâs greatest salesmanâ J. R. âBobâ Dobbs. âBobâ Dobbs > is depicted > as a cartoon of a Ward Cleaver-like man smoking a pipe. The church really > started with the publication of SubGenius Pamphlet #1 in 1979. It found > acceptance in underground pop-culture circles and has been embraced on > college campuses, in the underground music scene, and on the Internet. An > important SubGenius event occurred on July 5, 1998: X-Day. The Church had > been predicting that on this day the world would be destroyed by invading > alien armies known as the X-ists (which is short for âMen from Planet Xâ). > When the event didnât come to pass, the church administrator who predicted > it was tarred and feathered â" but allowed to continue on as administrator. > Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman) is a SubGenius minister. Patrick Volkerding, > the founder and maintainer of Slackware Linux, is also a SubGenius > affiliate<http://listverse.com/2009/09/10/10-extremely-weird-religions/#>, > and he has confirmed the Church and âBobâ inspired the name for Slackware. > > 3 > Prince Philip Movement > > [image: 43026131 > Princephillip300]<http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/43026131_princephillip300.jpg> > > The Prince Philip Movement is a cargo cult of the Yaohnanen tribe on the > southern island of Tanna in Vanuatu. The Yaohnanen believe that Prince > Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the consort to Queen Elizabeth II, is a divine > being, the pale-skinned > son<http://listverse.com/2009/09/10/10-extremely-weird-religions/#>of > a mountain spirit and brother of John Frum. According to ancient tales > the son travelled over the seas to a distant land, married a powerful lady > and would in time return. The villagers had observed the respect accorded to > Queen Elizabeth II by colonial officials and came to the conclusion that her > husband, Prince Philip, must be the son from their legends. When the cult > formed is unclear, but it is likely that it was sometime in the 1950s or > 1960s. Their beliefs were strengthened by the royal coupleâs official visit > to Vanuatu in 1974 when a few villagers had the opportunity to observe the > prince from afar. Prince Philip was made aware of the religion and has > exchanged gifts with its leaders and even visited them. > > 2 > The Church of Euthanasia > > [image: Snuffit1]<http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/snuffit1.jpg> > > The Church of Euthanasia (CoE), is a political organization started by the > Reverend Chris Korda (pictured above) in the Boston, Massachusetts area of > the United States. According to the churchâs website, it is âa non-profit > educational > <http://listverse.com/2009/09/10/10-extremely-weird-religions/#>foundation > devoted to restoring balance between Humans and the remaining > species on Earth.â The CoE uses sermons, music, culture jamming, publicity > stunts and direct action combined with an underlying sense of satire and > black humor <http://listverse.com/2009/09/10/10-extremely-weird-religions/#>to > highlight Earthâs unsustainable population. The CoE is notorious for > its > conflicts with Pro-life Christian activists. According to the churchâs > website, the one commandment is âThou shalt not procreateâ. The CoE > further > asserts four principal pillars: suicide, abortion, cannibalism (âstrictly > limited to consumption of the already deadâ), and sodomy (âany sexual act > not intended for procreationâ). Slogans employed by the group include > âSave > the Planet, Kill Yourselfâ, âSix Billion Humans Canât Be Wrongâ, and > âEat a > Queer Fetus for Jesusâ, all of which are intended to mix inflammatory issues > to unnerve those who oppose abortion and homosexuality. > > 1 > Nuwaubianism > > [image: Tama-Re 49-Filtered > 1]<http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/tama-re-49-filtered_1.png> > > Nuwaubianism is an > umbrella<http://listverse.com/2009/09/10/10-extremely-weird-religions/#>term > used to refer to the doctrines and teachings of the followers of > Dwight > York. The Nuwaubians originated as a Black Muslim group in New > York<http://listverse.com/2009/09/10/10-extremely-weird-religions/#>in > the 1970s, and have gone through many changes since. Eventually, the > group established a headquarters in Putnam County, Georgia in 1993, which > they have since abandoned. York is now in prison after having been convicted > on money laundering and child molestation charges, but Nuwaubianism endures. > York developed Nuwaubianism by drawing on a wide range of sources which > include Theosophy-derived New Age movements such as Astara as well as the > Rosicrucians, Freemasonry, the Shriners, the Moorish Science Temple of > America, the revisionist Christianity & Islam and the Qadiani cult of Mirza > Ghulam Ahmad, the numerology of Rashad Khalifa, and the ancient astronaut > theories of Zecharia Sitchin. White people are said in one Nuwaubian myth to > have been originally created as a race of killers to serve blacks as a slave > army, but this plan went awry. Here is a list of some of the more unusual > Nuwaubian beliefs: > > 1. It is important to bury the afterbirth so that Satan does not use it to > make a duplicate of the recently-born child > 2. Furthermore, some aborted fetuses survive their abortion to live in the > sewers, where they are being gathered and organized to take over the world > 3. People were once perfectly symmetrical and ambidextrous, but then a > meteorite struck Earth and tilted its axis causing handedness and shifting > the heart off-center in the chest > 4. Each of us has seven clones living in different parts of the world > 5. Women existed for many generations before they invented men through > genetic manipulation > 6. Homo sapiens is the result of cloning experiments that were done on Mars > using Homo erectus > 7. Nikola Tesla came from the planet Venus > 8. The Illuminati have nurtured a child, Satanâs son, who was born on 6 June > 1966 at the Dakota House on 72nd Street in New York to Jacqueline Kennedy > Onassis of the Rothschild/Kennedy families. The Pope was present at the > birth and performed necromantic ceremonies. The child was raised by former > U.S. president Richard Nixon and now lives in Belgium, where it is hooked up > bodily to a computer called âThe Beast 3Mâ or â3666.â > > The Nuwaubians built a city modelled on Ancient Egyptian buildings in Putnam > County, Georgia (pictured above). It has now been demolished. > > Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike > License<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>; > additional terms may apply. Text is derived from Wikipedia. > > > -- > Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! > Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ >
