NEW YORK, 2:17 PM, SAT JUL 19 | 25 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@jezebel.com | RSS
Posts Tagged “

Cults

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the week that was

This Week We Loved Our Moms, Our Undies, Ourselves

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6:20 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Jessica
1,765 views, 8 comments

clips

Cult Leader's Son Tells Larry King About Dad's Affair With Ex-Wife

Michael Travesser, formerly known as Wayne Bent, the cult leader accused of sexual molestation, sent his son, Jeff Bent to Larry King last night to do some damage control. King asked Jeff about the National Geographic documentary, Inside A Cult, during which Michael talks about boning Jeff's wife. Jeff claims that the couple were divorced by the time Michael and his wife consummated their "spiritual marriage," and besides, what they did wasn't sex as mere mortals know it. "They've been ordained by God...it was a spiritual experience illustrated by a physical act," Jeff tells King. Clip above. More »

2:30 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Jessica
4,738 views, 63 comments

Latest by Old5chool: Psycho! Hahah xD more »

clips

Teen Cult Member: "Michael Has Washed My Brain Of All My Own Corrupt Thoughts"

Remember yesterday's post about Wayne Bent, aka Michael Travesser, the prophet of a cult called the Lord Our Righteousness Church who was arrested on charges of child molestation? Well last night, the National Geographic Channel aired a documentary about Travesser and the LORs, and lordy lordy, it was bonkers. This first clip shows Michael with "Healed," one of the minors he is accused of molesting. (Michael, who in cult lore is the son of God, said that God told him to lie naked with seven virgins.) Healed's parents no longer live on the cult's compound, and although her parents have begged her to leave, Healed insists on living with "God's son." Her crazed chuckle is enough to chill anyone with a pulse. After the jump, a second clip showing two other barely-legal LORs explaining the elation they felt at lying naked with Michael, doing "God's will". More »

11:00 AM on Thu May 8 2008
By Jessica
9,421 views, 154 comments

Latest by n/a: @HeatherNumber1: uh, you're assuming that we all agree that jesus did all the great things he's supposed to have done. there's pretty strong evidence to suggest he existed but i'm not sold on the rest of it. more »

cult classic

New Mexico Cult Leader Jailed For Child Molestation

Meet Wayne Bent, aka Michael Travesser aka the Messiah. The Charles Manson-looking yahoo is the prophet and leader of the Lord Our Righteousness Church, and he was arrested on Tuesday on three counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor at the church's compound in rural New Mexico. The three allegedly molested children were also taken from the ranch. (At left is Bent with his wife, Emma. He is 66. She looks about 20, tops.) The compound is a former ranch near the Arizona border, which Bent and his followers have dubbed Strong City. According to the Associated Press, "Wayne Bent has acknowledged having sex with followers - including his daughter-in-law - and lying naked with virgins. He said the virgins asked for sex, but he refused." More »

9:30 AM on Wed May 7 2008
By Jessica
7,072 views, 141 comments

Latest by thwarted: From their website: A whole swarm of police officers came cutting their way into our land yesterday morning, and arrested my Husband, taking Him away to a jail cell. --man, those capital letters creep me out. more »

big love

Child Abuse Hearings On Texas Polygamist Sect Start Today

Child custody hearings begin today in Texas for the 416 minors who were taken from the polygamist sect Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints' compound near Eldorado. According to CNN, logistics will be decided upon today, like which cases take precedence, while the actual fates of the children will be determined on Thursday. As previously reported, over 100 mothers accompanied the children from the compound, also known as the Yearning For Zion Ranch, when they were taken by police over a week ago. Texas authorities were responding to a call from a 16-year-old who blew the whistle on YFZ child abuse, though that teen has yet to be located. The mothers and children have been living in a temporary shelter in San Angelo, Texas, and the FLDS moms are none too pleased at the treatment they've been receiving. More »

9:30 AM on Mon Apr 14 2008
By Jessica
5,544 views, 110 comments

Latest by n/a: @funnyface: I was never given a choice in the matter. This big strange dude just forced my knees open as I was clenching them with all of my little strength and crying because I didn't want him touching my genitals. more »

the week that was

This Week We Hung Out With A Lot Of Child Molesters

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6:00 PM on Fri Apr 11 2008
By Jessica
3,181 views, 17 comments

Latest by Brigit: @WhatHappenedToJohnBasedow: Can you imagine Jesus coming back and telling people he was born colorblind? more »

big love

Polygamist Sect Raided On Charges Of Abuse Of Girls

Acting on a tip from a 16-year-old church member, Texas Child Protective Services arranged a raid on Friday at the compound of the polygamist sect The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 200 miles outside San Antonio. According to the AP, the teen caller said she was married and had a baby at age 15 with registered sex offender Dale Barlow, 50 — a clear violation of Texas law, as girls under 16 are not allowed to be wed, even with parental approval. The most recent reports state that Texas State troopers removed 219 people out of the compound —a former exotic game ranch, now called Yearning For Zion (YFZ) by the controversial church — but they've been as yet unable to locate the caller who notified child protective services in the first place. More »

9:30 AM on Mon Apr 7 2008
By Jessica
12,791 views, 249 comments

Latest by n/a: I'm with GraspsAtStraws...I don't think you have to believe in hell to be a Christian. I don't, and I still consider myself a Christian, in that I think Jesus was a great and divinely inspired radical teacher. I think most more »