This month has been a busy one for cults. I said before that I don't intend for this to become a political blog, and I certainly don't intend for it to become a cult blog, but when the big news stories of the month include the end of the world and political scandals involving a world leader, it's difficult to write about something else.
I'll start with the end of the world. Now this is a little confusing depending on where in the world you are. You see, if you are in the Americas then the rare appearance of a black moon occurred last month, but in Europe, Asia and Oceania it occurs this month due to different time zones. "What is a black moon and why does it herald the end of the world?" you might ask. Well, a black moon is the appearance of two new moons in the same calendar month. It occurs about every 30 months or so, which means it is not particularly rare but just rare enough to be interesting. The reason why some cults have claimed that this one is going to end the world is that there was also a solar eclipse at the start of September. Doomsday cults have decided that the two rare events occurring in the same month matches descriptions in the Bible of the end of the world and have been spreading the word accordingly. The problem with their theory is that the solar eclipse was only visible in Africa in September, but the black moon makes an appearance in Africa in October... so their not in the same month at all. Obviously it's nonsense and the two events occurring around the same time is just a coincidence, but cults have never needed a particularly strong reasons for spreading doomsday prophesies, which encourage new members to sign up and hand over all of their earthly possessions. The supposed Mayan prophesy that predicted the end of the world in 2012 didn't just inspire a mediocre movie, it also inspired plenty of cons and outlandish claims.
I read about evangelical Christian leaders calling on their followers to hand over all their money because possessions would hold believers back when the day of judgement arrived. I'm not sure how many returned their ill-gotten gains after the prophesy proved to be false, but I'm guessing it was a nice round number. Li Hongzhi tells us that we are living in the dharma ending period and that he alone can save. In fact, he claims to have been responsible for postponing the end of the world, which is rather convenient for him as it means he can announce that the end is coming as many times as he likes and just claim to have saved us once his prediction fails to materialize. You wouldn't think that people would fall for this sort of thing, but not everyone has access to good education and these cults have a way of drawing you in and dulling your critical reasoning. Falun Gong is particularly cunning with this as their main activities involve sitting in uncomfortable poses and emptying your mind for long periods of each day. The more you do that, the higher level you become... but also less questioning and more susceptible to suggestion. These cults tell you that black is white and up is down and eventually you believe them. This means that they can get you to go along with anything, even if it goes against your own self interest. When someone tells you that a black moon means that the world is coming to an end, you might laugh at them but you should probably make sure that they seek help.
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One person who sought the wrong kind of help is the President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye. President Park is the first female president of South Korea, but it seems that she is also under the influence of cult leaders. A recent scandal has broken out in South Korea surrounding Park's friendship with Choi Soon-Sil, who is the daughter of the late mysterious cult leader Choi Tae-min. Mr. Choi has been described as a Rasputin like character and the leader of a Shamanistic cult. He also happens to be the man that President Park thought of as her mentor. The scandal boils down to undue influence wielded by Ms. Choi and money inappropriately obtained and used by her. It has been claimed that Ms. Choi edited speeches written for the Park, despite not having security clearance, and that she used her lofty position in Korean politics to obtain large donations for her two non-profit organizations. President Park has decided to sack all of her senior aids in response to the scandal, which is an odd move which hasn't quietened the public outrage or improved her approval ratings. The whole situation is odd and calls into question who exactly has been running that country since 2012.
Things didn't end well for Rasputin. I doubt that Ms. Choi will meet such a violent end, but a political career has likely been murdered by the greedy fingers of a cultist.
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