26The Family International
Christian cult ‘The Children of God’ rebranded itself as ‘The Family International’ in 2004. They consider the goddess Aphrodite, the Snowman, Merlin, the Sphinx, Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Richard Nixon, and Winston Churchill to be among the “Spirit Helpers” for the spiritual war of good versus evil. Its leader Karen Zerby who once advocated sexual activity with children later also wrote for a Christian magazine under the pen name “Maria Fontaine.”
27. Lifespring was a massive American cult which became popular in 1970s and 80s. It attracted many prominent people to their new age workshops. Wife of the US Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas was a member of the cult and she later became a vocal activist against cults due to her experience in the cult.
28. When the Hale-Bopp comet was discovered in 1995, it was believed by some amateur astronomers and UFO enthusiasts that a spacecraft was trailing the comet. This led 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate cult to commit mass suicide in 1997 in an effort to teleport to the spacecraft. They used phenobarbital to kill themselves, which is also the world’s oldest anti-seizure medication. Their bodies were found with a $5 bill and 3 quarters which they believed was for the interplanetary toll. They were all also wearing Nike Decade. This line of sneakers was discontinued due to this incident.
29. The Heaven's Gate cult supported themselves by running a web design company called ‘Higher Source.’ Their clients included the San Diego Polo club and a Christian music store. The cult started when its leader Marshall Applewhite held a talk detailing the arrival of alien visitors. Most attending thought it was a joke but it was convincing enough for some to leave their families and join him. The cult was even covered by an insurance policy that would pay out $1 million per person if they were ever abducted, impregnated, or killed by aliens.
30. The Heaven’s Gate cult had rules against even thinking about sex. It got so bad that its founder Marshall Applewhite along with seven other members opted to get castrated. They were only able to find a surgeon in Mexico, who was okay with it performing the surgery.
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31Marshall Applewhite
The leader of the Heaven's Gate cult, Marshal Applewhite, encouraged castration for his followers, partly because of guilt over his own homosexuality. He recruited his first cult member in a psych hospital which he had entered to treat these urges, after being fired for having sex with his male student.
32. August Engelhardt was a German nudist cult leader who created a cult called Sonnenorden (Order of the Sun) that revolved around worshiping the sun, moving to a tropical island, become a nudist, and eat only coconuts. To him, the sun and God and the coconut were as much as the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He was eventually imprisoned after several members of his cult died of malaria and malnutrition.
33. A Christian Cult in USA which called itself, “The Children of God,” encouraged its female members to enter into sexual relationships with potential converts to lure them in. They called this tactic ‘Flirty Fishing’ and they were successfully able to lure over 100,000 men into the cult. Some of its past members include Fleetwood Mac founding guitarist Jeremy Spencer, actress Rose McGowan, as well as a 2-year-old Joaquin Phoenix.
34. In 1993, the Japanese religious cult Aum Shinrikyo released aerosolized Anthrax in a city near Tokyo over the course of 2 days. It should have killed thousands, however, they used a strain of Anthrax used for cattle vaccinations and inadvertently could have immunized everyone instead.
35. Aum Shinrikyo was officially recognized as a religion in 1989 in Japan. It originally started as a mixture of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, but gradually became a doomsday cult, who convinced its followers that World War3 was coming. It became increasingly violent and spent approximately $30 million on developing chemical weapon, including a Sarin production plant for $10 million.
