I watched the video through again. I'd seem it before many years ago, or perhaps just parts of it, but did not remember it. It was actually made in 1984.
What I did remember was the story behind the BK involvement. It was actually BK Ellen, not Denise who was in it. I used to know her husband Derek. They were very early Western BKs and she was a bit of a rising star. I think they were introduced to BKism whilst at Findhorn New Age centre.
Of course, they had been separated by the BKs. She went to a different centre.
If I remember correctly, the basic story is that she was conned. She, or they (she and the BKs), had no idea the filming was for an anti-cult, Christian documentary and it created a bit of a stir within the BKs about 'doing media' afterwards. They became far more cautious and controlling, and continue to be so today.
I know of TV one company who approached but they were a close door to the idea. They do their own and that's about it.
I wonder what happened to Ellen? You don't hear or see anything of her within the BKWSU/BKWSO. She was an attractive woman. I wonder if she left or is still within them.
What's interesting is how nigh identical her speech is to their message even today. She's quite the Jayanti/Waddy clone in the video.
It certainly has nuggets of truth but get as many other claims so wrong, e.g. tying in Macrobiotics with Hinduism, jumbling them all up and it a little alarmist ... but it portrays the whacky nature of cultists back then pretty well.
I wonder, however, how the makers feel looking back at it now? Hinduism has not changed, but I think cultism in the West - and certainly BKism - has matured a lot since then.
"Guruism preparing world for fascism surrender to authority ... a new world religion of the coming dictator proclaiming himself to be god". I can imagine the parishioners of Middle American church clutching their chairs in fear at the ideas of Satanic collusion leading the US to neo-pagan world view directed from behind the scenes by Satan, and the very same 'snake from the garden of Eden'.
It portrays the UN as "a conditioning device that gives prestige to outlandships groups" and points a finger at Robert Muller who, most certainly in the BKs' case, was responsible for championing them. I remember him, he was quite enamoured with the Kirpalanis and went to Mount Abu ... but I rather think the UN does a lot more than just that.
The access and influence the BKs and others have is actually very, very small and to relatively insignificant areas but it is true its exaggeration by them is very great and has been highly effective in lending credibility to them and leading others into becoming initiated into their ways.
Could it all be real? Is there a "Devil", or many devils, and armies of demon servants pulling strings behind the scenes? Who knows ... it asks a lot to believe in that. If it is true that "the Devil has all the best tunes", as they say, he's also got much better at Public Relations since then.
We have not had the promised emergence of either the Maitreya or the Anti-Christ yet, and the move to 'One World Government' is not looking very likely in the short term. That's another of the American Right's bete noires. I am not sure why, as they seem to want to be it too. May be a 'One World Government' is only a good idea to them ... as long as they get to be that Government, Army, and Police force Superpower?
As insane as it sounds, the mindset represented by the documentary is widely influential within American politics and that is the way the see the world.
What I fear most about movies like that is how they play on our deeply cultural and early childhood conditioning by the Christian Church playing on that part of us that is still medieval.
But is not that medieval element within Christian just the same as BKism (or vice versa) ... using fear based control mechanisms? Fear of devils, fear of Destruction, fear of being outcast from the community?
The connection of the New Age to the return of Nazidom is pretty clumsily made. Surely they are not blaming the right parties for that? Since 1984, I can see the argument for it, what with the rise of state of surveillance and media control that the Nazi could only have dreamt of; America as the world's police force with its constant warring and arming up against its own people; the erosion of human rights and security etc.
I have no heard of the "experts" filmed by them since or recently, although I think the BKs stuck close to the multi-faith Rev. Leland Stuart guy. The rest have had their 15 minutes of fame.
There's not a good career to be had in cult awareness of anti-cultism. You might get a book or two out of it, and a few speaking invitations, but it's a pretty small and unsexy marketplace. And these days, increasingly, speakers have to pay to speak at academic events.
There's far more money, power and influence in being a guru.
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