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If you desire to reproduce less than 500 words of this data file for resale or the enhancement of any other product for resale, please give the following source credit: Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute, P.O. Box 500-TC, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "News Watch" (articles from the News Watch column of the Christian Research Journal, Winter/Spring 1989, page 5) by William M. Alnor. The Editor-in-Chief of the Christian Research Journal is Elliot Miller. ------------- "Government Pressing Six Child Death Cases Against Christian Scientists" Authorities in four states are prosecuting *Christian Science* parents on manslaughter, murder, or child abuse charges for refusing medical care to their dying children. The cases -- six of them in all, including three in California -- represent the largest assault in history against Christian Science reliance on prayer instead of medical treatment to cure disease, according to *Rita Swan* of the Sioux City, Iowa-based organization, *Children's Health-care Is a Legal Duty (CHILD).* Christian Science began in 1875 with the publication of *Mary Baker Eddy's* Science and Health. About the same time the organization of "Christian Scientists," an association of Mrs. Eddy's students, formed to learn the finer points of her mind cure techniques. In 1879 the organization incorporated under its official name -- The Church of Christ, Scientist. Although 44 states have enacted laws to prevent prosecution of Christian Scientists on the basis of religious beliefs, a growing number of prosecutors are going after parents on the basis of _child abuse_ statutes. Child abuse is not directly alluded to in most of the statutes protecting Christian Scientists. The Massachusetts law protecting Christian Scientists passed by the state legislature in 1971 is similar to that of other states. Prosecutors argue that although it shields parents from charges of child neglect, it does not deal with child abuse. It reads: "A child shall not be deemed to be neglected or lack proper physical care for the sole reason that he is being provided remedial treatment by spiritual means alone." One of the two most publicized cases in recent months is taking place in Massachusetts. It involves *Nathan Talbot,* the top legal and public relations official working out of the church's worldwide headquarters in Boston. Talbot allegedly advised Christian Science parents *David and Ginger Twitchell* to not give their dying boy medical treatment. This case was recently highlighted on the CBS program "60 Minutes." According to the "60 Minutes" report, *Robin Twitchell,* 2, died on April 3, 1986, after suffering for five days from a congenital bowel obstruction. Consequently, his parents were charged with manslaughter. On "60 Minutes" Mr. Twitchell said he blamed himself for his son's death, not for failing to seek a doctor, but because he "failed" in his "belief". He said he prayed over his baby every night. But *District Attorney Newman Flanagan* takes a dimmer view of the parents' actions: "They've lost a child," he said. "But that child had an awful, awful death....When parents act wanton and reckless and allow their child to die it's a crime and they'll be prosecuted for it." *David Rodman* of the *Suffolk County (Boston) District Attorney's office* said the case will not be decided for some time; motions are scheduled to be filed by mid-March, and a long trial could follow. The other highly publicized case involves charges of third-degree murder and child abuse. *William and Christine Hermanson* of Sarasota, Florida, are accused of killing their diabetic daughter by denying her insulin injections. *Amy Hermanson,* 7, died in September 1986. She had been ill for eight days and her diabetes worsened before an anonymous complaint alerted authorities. A local court ordered medical intervention, but the girl was dead by the time paramedics arrived at the Hermansons' home. In December the Hermansons tried to block their prosecution on grounds of religious freedom by appealing to the *U.S. Supreme Court.* But *Justice Anthony M. Kennedy* denied the emergency request without comment. The case is scheduled to be tried before *Sarasota Circuit Judge Alan Dakan,* and is expected to be heard in the upcoming months. The door for the above and other cases to be prosecuted was opened by a recent ruling by the *California Supreme Court* involving the three active cases in its jurisdiction. The same ruling also opened the door for potential legal action generally against religious groups accused of child abuse. That recent ruling stated that Christian Science parents who attempt spiritual healing and fail to the loss of life can be tried for manslaughter. In all three cases the children involved died of the same ailment -- bacterial meningitis, and the parents were all charged with felony child endangerment and involuntary manslaughter. The parents charged included *Laurie Walker* of Sacramento, whose four-year-old daughter *Shauntay* died in March 1984; *Elliot and Lise Glaser* of Santa Monica, whose 16-month son *Seth* died in March 1984; and *Mark and Susan Rippberger* of Santa Rosa, whose 8-year-old daughter *Natalie* died in December 1984. The most recent case to be publicized is perhaps the most gruesome. *Elizabeth Ashley King* died of bone cancer near Phoenix, Arizona, on June 5, 1988. At the time of her death, the 12-year-old girl, who had been out of school for seven months, had a 42-inch-round tumor on her leg that had eaten through her bones and genital area. Elizabeth's parents, *John and Katherine King,* were charged with child abuse for letting her die. Prosecutor *K. C. Scull* said he recommended that manslaughter charges also be filed against the Kings, but the county Grand Jury would not go along with it after hearing tearful testimony from them. "We're not prosecuting them to attack their religion," said Scull in a telephone interview. "But when your beliefs contradict or come into conflict with the child's right to live, we think it's the government's responsibility to intervene." Scull expects a trial to take place within the next six months. Rita Swan, the co-founder of CHILD, is a former Christian Scientist who watched her 15-month-old son *Matthew Swan* die of bacterial meningitis in 1977. She said she is "encouraged" by the increased willingness to prosecute over unnecessary deaths. "When my son died nobody cared," she said. "There wasn't even an obit in the paper. Mentally I thought that wasn't right. In those days that's the way it was when a Christian Science child died -- there was no press coverage and autopsies were seldom ordered. The deaths were all swept under the rug." She added that after her son died she and her husband, Douglas, began to realize that their church was partially responsible. They withdrew from membership and eventually formed CHILD to oppose groups whose doctrines or practices endanger children's mental or physical health. ------------- "Homosexual Rights Groups Are Making Their Presence Felt in Mainline Protestantism" Evangelicals in the *United Methodist Church (UMC)* thought they'd won a major victory in beating back the powerful homosexual rights caucus at the church's *General Conference* in St. Louis last spring. Delegates voted 676-293 to retain the denominational ban against ordaining homosexuals. Similar lopsided votes came in two other areas: retaining restrictions against use of church funds to promote acceptance of homosexuality, and preserving language in the UMC _Book of Discipline_ that asserts that homosexuality is "incompatible with Christian teaching." After such decisive victories, some thought the issue, which had been increasingly dominating the church for the past ten years, would soon fade. It hasn't. At the same conference, delegates from the 9.6-million-member denomination empowered a task force to study homosexual issues and to give the church its recommendations. Some, such as *James V. Heidinger,* editor of _Good News_ magazine (which represents the UMC's evangelical caucus), believe the commission may have been deliberately stacked against the wishes of the denomination. He lamented in the January/February issue that "perhaps only eight to ten of the 26 members of this task force would affirm the church's present standards on homosexuality." What is going on inside the UMC is representative of events transpiring in virtually all of the mainline Protestant denominations as they grapple with the issue of homosexuals and ministry. Most of the denominations have their own gay and lesbian rights organizations networking with each other, determined to push their agendas through. What they want is full assimilation and endorsement of homosexual practice and lifestyle in all areas of the church. "The issue will not go away because we will not go away," stated a 1988 *Affirmation* (the UMC's gay caucus group) document called "Faith or Fear." "_We_ are the more than one million United Methodists who are gay, lesbian or bisexual, or whose son, daughter, sibling, mother or father is lesbian, gay or bisexual. We have been raised in this church, love it in spite of its sins of heterosexism and racism, and refuse to surrender it to the most fearful and narrow-minded among its members." Due to prolonged pressure some denominations have gradually eliminated restrictions on homosexual practices, while others have quietly endorsed the homosexual lifestyle. Here is a summary of key events in recent years affecting Protestants: * The Quakers supported the October 11, 1987, march on Washington for lesbian and homosexual rights. The *American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)* also called on other religious groups for support. Goals of the march were an affirmative action plan for homosexuals, public funding for AIDS research, passage of a Congressional lesbian and homosexual rights bill, and abortion rights. Recently the AFSC produced a gay rights/lifestyle advocacy book called _Bridges of Respect.* * In January 1988 the *Episcopal Diocese of Newark, New Jersey,* under the advocacy of *Bishop John Spong,* gave full recognition and blessing to those engaging in nonmarital sexual relations and homosexual relationships. The resolution endorsing "persons living out alternate patterns of sexuality and family life" passed 115-35 among clergy and 234-128 among laity at the annual convention of the diocese. * In March 1988 three self-avowed "openly gay" seminarians were certified for ministry in the new *Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.* The students at *Pacific Lutheran* seminary in Berkeley, California, were certified by their respective Lutheran denominations prior to the recent merger that created the Evangelical Lutheran Church. As of this writing, however, it is unclear whether they will become ordained if called to a church. News of their certifications provoked a furor in the church resulting in an official request for them to sign a statement that they will not practice their homosexuality if ordained. * The *United Church of Christ* spoke out against *sodomy laws.* Meeting in St. Louis in March 1988, the 43-member *Executive Council* objected to "sodomy laws" on the grounds that they result in an invasion of privacy. The council was following a 1987 resolution of the *General Synod* (the denomination's highest deliberative body) that affirmed the "right to privacy for adults in their private, consensual and sexual relationships, free from government intrusion." The council also urged the repeal of a portion of *Missouri statute 566.090,* which makes homosexual conduct between consenting adults a crime. * Homosexuality "may be a sin for some but not for others,"according to a statement last summer by *Ellert Frerichs,* a gay chaplain, and *Clarke MacDonald,* former moderator of the *United Church of Canada (UC).* The statement was drafted due to the controversy in the UC over ordained practicing homosexuals. ------------- "'Name It and Claim It' Style of Buddhism Called America's Fastest Growing Religion" What is the fastest growing religion in America? According to a recent report in the _Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion_ it's the Japanese Buddhist sect *Nichiren Shoshu of America (NSA).* Since coming to America in 1960 NSA has launched an aggressive proselytizing program. In 1967 it built a national headquarters and *World Culture Center* in Santa Monica, California, and has since established offices in most major U.S. cities. According to NSA's figures the sect, which is part of the Japan-based umbrella organization *Soka Gakkai* (Value Creation Society), now claims a half million members in the U.S. -- _up 100,000 from a year ago._ Furthermore, NSA is likely to continue its rapid growth due in part to the recently publicized conversions of prominent jazz and pop musicians. Included in these ranks are *Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter,* and *Larry Coryell,* according to a November 24 Reuters News Service dispatch, and *Tina Turner,* according to a September 27 _Los Angeles Times_ article. The Nichiren Buddhist movement has shown explosive growth worldwide as well, claiming 17 million members (including 10 million in Japan) in over 117 countries. The movement has also attracted its share of critics everywhere who charge that it exercises mind control over its followers. What is NSA? Leaders trace it to a thirteenth-century Japanese monk named *Nichiren Daishonin* who claimed to have found the "true Buddhism." According to an NSA pamphlet, the first Buddha, Shajyamuni, who lived in India 3,000 years ago, predicted that his own teachings would lose their "validity and fall into confusion." He predicted that "a great teacher would propagate the correct form of Buddhism for the new age....(and) Nichiren Daishonin...fulfilled all the conditions of the prophecy." The pamphlet further states that Nichiren Shoshu was founded on April 28, 1253, when Daishonin "began chanting and propagating NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO" (which is said to mean "glory to the lotus sutra of the mystical law"). Despite its early roots Nichiren Shoshu didn't take hold with any kind of strength until the 1930s, when Soka Gakkai was formed as a lay branch. Today the Soka Gakkai is reported to be the largest single religious group in Japan. In 1960 *Diasaku Ikeda* became president of Soka Gakkai and rapidly became the driving force in the movement. A prolific writer, Ikeda has penned over 100 books. As the current honorary president, his picture is prominently placed near Nichiren Shoshu altars worldwide. On such altars rests the object of morning and evening chanting, the *Gohonzon,* which is a scroll of sacred writings contained in a black box. Herbie Hancock said such chanting "gets your life in tune for the day." A May 6, 1986, _Wall Street Journal_ story on the movement noted that this style of Buddhism differs from others in that many members chant to "focus right here on the here and now. They chant for a better job, a new coat, a white BMW," and other material blessings. *Cynthia Kisser* of the *Cult Awareness Network* of Chicago said this is a reason for NSA's fast rise in America. "It's like a Buddhist 'name it and claim it' movement" that appeals to the upward bound, she observed. ------------- *Notice:* Though he was not misquoted, John Ingalls, an elder in the "local church" movement led by Witness Lee, would like the following clarifications to be made concerning the JOURNAL article "Turmoil in the Local Church" (Fall 1988): 1) None of the information in that story came from him -- when we contacted him he would not elaborate on _any_ specific problems. 2) The Church in Anaheim has not broken with Witness Lee, nor does it wish to do so. ------------- End of document, CRJ0053A.TXT (original CRI file name), "News Watch" release A, March 25, 1994 R. 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