Tag: religion

Ex-Mormons Are Running a Magic Mushroom Church

As he set up for Sunday services in a dank basement lined with velvet seating and glow-in-the-dark blue tables, Steve Urquhart, founder of the Divine Assembly, tried hard not to think about the swingers’ party that took place in the space the previous night. 

“They have a lot of fun. I think it’s a rowdy crowd,” Urquhart, 57, a former Republican state senator and ex-Mormon, told VICE News with a mischievous smile, looking a bit like a lumberjack with his white beard and red flannel shirt.

On Saturday nights, the New Yorker Club has “lifestyle” parties. By Sunday morning, a few upside down pineapples (the bat signal for swingers), sticky floors, one suspiciously damp spot on a couch, and tasteful nudes on the walls remained as the Divine Assembly took over the venue. Urquhart and his wife Sara founded the church three years ago, and while the idea of congregating in a club where people likely have sex may sound counterintuitive, this group is used to bucking norms. Their sacrament, which they use to commune directly with the “divine” (which could mean god, the universe, or even family members depending on the person), is psychedelic mushrooms. 

“We have one tenet, which is you, each individual, can commune with the divine and out of that direct communion, you can receive guidance,” Urquhart explained. “You don’t need any kind of intermediary, you don’t need me, you don’t need anyone.”

But no one gets high at church. Instead, congregants participate in a range of workshops and activities that include an ice bath, a meditation room with flashing lights, and a shroom growing course called “shroomiversity.” 

The Divine Assembly is one of a growing number of churches in the U.S. whose followers worship using psychedelics like shrooms, ayahuasca, peyote, and bufo (psychoactive toad venom). VICE News has identified at least 19 psychedelic churches, though more likely exist underground and will continue to pop up as these drugs become more mainstream and legal in some cities and states. The churches operate in different ways; some have formal spaces, while others rent out venues or offer monthly retreats. Some charge membership fees and provide members with drugs—others, like the Divine Assembly, don’t. All the churches believe they’re protected under freedom of religion, although few have legal exemptions to use drugs, leaving church leaders and members responsible for defending themselves, should they ever be arrested. 

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New Details Emerge in Deaths of Daughter and Parents in Pennsylvania As Coroner Releases Findings

Three people found dead Wednesday from gunshot wounds to their heads planned their murder-suicide deaths, York County, Pennsylvania’s coroner determined.

York County Coroner Pamela Gay identified the three deceased as James Daub, 62, Deborah Daub, 59, and their 26-year-old daughter, Morgan Daub.

Based on a detailed investigation and evidence found at the scene, the coroner determined all three family members had preplanned their deaths. Communications from the family members was among the evidence, according to an ABC27 report.

Dr. Gay said in a statement that the three family members were found dead in the back yard of their 2098 Loman Avenue residence in West Manchester Township.

The daughter posted a video to YouTube the day before the three were found dead that consisted of just the phrase: “Follow me as I follow Christ.”

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Florida Megachurch Moves to Expel LGBTQ Members

A JACKSONVILLE MEGACHURCH is requiring members to sign a new, anti-LGBTQ pledge committing to adhere to “biblical sexuality” — or leave the church. Describing the oath as “an exercise in clarity… in a sexually confused world,” First Baptist Church has given members and their families until March to comply. 

The pledge compels members to renounce LGBTQ sexual- and gender- expression in favor or “God’s standard for human sexuality,” which the Florida church insists means there are only two genders, as well as that the only morally acceptable sexual “desire and expression” occurs within a marriage between one man and one woman. Unveiled last week, the mandatory pledge reads:

As a member of First Baptist Church, I believe that God creates people in his image as either male or female, and that this creation is a fixed matter of human biology, not individual choice. I believe marriage is instituted by God, not government, is between one man and one woman, and is the only context for sexual desire and expression.

Refusing to sign the pledge does not ban an individual from attending the house of worship, but it is a prerequisite membership, senior pastor Heath Lambert tells Rolling Stone.

In information accompanying the pledge, the church warns: “Your signature and updated contact information on this document is required by March 19, 2023, and will ensure your membership at First Baptist Church continues without any interruption.”

The megachurch’s effort to oust LGBTQ members is the latest manifestation of a reactionary zeitgeist now gripping Florida, one that Governor Ron DeSantis insists is making the Sunshine State the place where “woke goes to die.” The state government recently passed “Don’t Say Gay” legislation effectively outlawing LGBTQ education in public schools; it has also targeted racial minorities by banning the instruction of “critical race theory” and even blocking enrollment in a Black Studies Advanced Placement course. Despite centering the culture war in his church, Lambert insists: “I’m not a politician. I am a Christian.” 

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Scientology Strikes Back — and News Org Knuckles Under

Last week, I wrote about the media’s abject failure to tell the true story of Scientology and its relationship with Lisa Marie Presley, who lived most of her life in the notorious cult before breaking away. She died January 12 at age 54.

This week, I received an interesting email from Dodge Landesman — an anchor for KYMA, the  Yuma, AZ, NBC and CBS TV station — who also covered the Scientology angle in the Presley story. He told me that he has been fired. Like me, he wrote about Presley and her role as a possible witness against Scientology in a criminal trial for rape against another celebrity, Scientologist Danny Masterson. 

After the story aired, Landesman explained, Scientology contacted the reporter, as well as his bosses, who bounced it to the conglomerate that owns the station — and threatened to sue them.  The company pulled the story and fired Landesman. 

In place of the original article is this mysteriously vague notice:

Editor’s Note: In an exercise of editorial discretion, NPG of Yuma-El Centro Broadcasting, LLC has elected to unpublish this piece. After careful review, and given information that came to light after the piece was published, NPG of Yuma-El Centro Broadcasting, LLC has determined that it can no longer stand behind the piece because, among other things, it contained aspects of opinion by the author.

If Landesman had written something false — as proven by “information that came to light after the piece was published” — it’s odd that the editor didn’t publish a correction notice. 

KYMA News Director Ernesto Romero declined to discuss the matter, saying, “Our company does not comment on personnel matters and the editorial note included in the article speaks for itself.”  

Although the original report has been taken down, we can still view it here — with the tantalizing headline “Lisa Marie Presley was planning Scientology takedown before her death.” 

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The intertwined history of the Illuminati, Freemasons, Rosicrucians and Jesuits

Reviewing the historical context, some say the Illuminati and the Jesuits were one and the same.  Others say they were opponents, each with their own plan to dominate the world.

There are various theories about numerous secret societies.  Some are better supported by source materials than others.  Until those societies give up their secrets the public at large is left to theorise based on the best information available. 

In this article, we aren’t attempting to promote any particular theory but rather summarising two perspectives, of possibly many, relating to a time in history when the Illuminati began.  A time when the Illuminati were inextricably linked with Freemasons, Rosicrucians and Jesuits whatever the perspective.

The two sources we are using are articles, both written by authors of books, which have different perspectives on the relationship between the Illuminati and Jesuits during the 18th century:

  1. An Introduction to the Jesuit Order of Rome. A 2013 article published by Quantum Prophecies and written by Benjamin Nehemiah, author of ‘Babylon Resurrected’.
  2. Illuminati Conspiracy Part Two: Sniffing out Jesuits. A 2015 article published by Conspiracy Archive and written by Terry Melanson, author of ‘Perfectibilists: The 18th Century Bavarian Order of the Illuminati’.

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North Carolina Couple Arrested After Allegedly Performing Exorcism On Child Who Later Died

North Carolina court records allege a 4-year-old child died after suffering from severe abuse from his adoptive parents which included the young boy being subject to amateur exorcisms.

Joe Paul Wilson and Jodi Ann Wilson, the adoptive parents of four-year-old Skyler Wilson, allegedly restricted food to Skyler and performed an amateur exorcism on him and his brother.

Both are now facing murder charges for Skyler’s death.

After police conducted search warrants on the Wilson’s phones, they discovered a message Joseph Wilson sent to his wife that said he had a problem with “swaddling.”

The correspondence also revealed Joseph reportedly sent a picture of Skyler wrapped up tightly in a blanket and duct taped to the floor.

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Vatican investigating ‘sex party’ in cathedral

The Catholic Church is investigating allegations of a “sex party” that took place at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Newcastle while the rest of the UK was under strict lockdown rules, the Sunday Times reported. The probe is part of a wider Vatican inquiry into the diocese, involving multiple cases of sexual abuse.

In a letter reported by the newspaper on Sunday, the Archbishop of Liverpool said that he had been asked by the Pope’s advisers to compile “an in-depth report” into events leading up to the resignation of Robert Byrne as the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in December.

Byrne was made bishop in 2019, and immediately appointed Father Michael McCoy as the Dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Newcastle. 

When the UK was placed under strict lockdown rules the following year, McCoy allegedly approached several parishoners and asked them to attend “a party” at the cathedral, a source told the Times. This event was described by the source as “a sex party taking place in the priests’ living quarters attached to Newcastle cathedral.”

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