To begin, I'd like to read an excerpt from the last book Carl Sagan wrote before he died, entitled The Demon Haunted World and subtitled Science as a Candle in the Dark. He quotes from a pamphlet entitled A Candle in the Dark written about 350 years ago: ". . . the Nations [will] perish for lack of knowledge" and then goes on to say: "Avoidable human misery is more often caused not so much by stupidity as by ignorance, particularly our ignorance about ourselves. I worry that, especially as the Millennium edges nearer, pseudoscience and superstition will seem year by year more tempting, the siren song of unreason more sonorous and attractive. Where have we heard it before? Whenever our ethnic or national prejudices are aroused, in times of scarcity, during challenges to national self-esteem or nerve, when we agonize about our diminished cosmic place and purposes, or when fanaticism is bubbling up around us—then, habits of thought familiar from ages past reach for the controls.

"The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles. Darkness gathers. The demons begin to stir."

Two years ago, what was apparently a group of Christian extremists bombed a building in Oklahoma City. If I remember the numbers correctly, 168 people, including a lot of innocent children, were killed A victory for ignorance and superstition.

Last week, Tom Bopp and I had the illustrious honor of being the "people of the week" on ABC's World News Tonight. I watched the broadcast in order to see how much of me the ABC editors threw onto the cutting-room floor. Before that segment of the broadcast was reached there was a report from Tel Aviv, where what was apparently an Islamic extremist, if I remember the details correctly, went into a restaurant with some dynamite strapped to himself, and then detonated it. I watched the various images of the bloodied and bleeding bodies, and one image which really struck me was that of a screaming young baby, who now will have to live with the experience of growing up without her mother, who was killed in the blast. Another victory for ignorance and superstition.

And now—the reason we're all here, of course—this week in Rancho Santa Fe, California, 39 individuals committed a mass suicide, apparently—from what information I've been able to gather so far—so that their "inner beings" could rendezvous with another group of "beings" on an alien spacecraft traveling alongside Comet Hale-Bopp. Score another victory for ignorance and superstition. Before I go any further, I'd like to offer my condolences to the families and loved ones of the 39 individuals who lost their lives in such a senseless and tragic manner.

Ignorance and superstition have been with us all along; the bloodbaths that have occurred throughout human history offer ample testimony to that. A lot of this ignorance and superstition has been focused upon these celestial objects we call "comets." If we put ourselves into the. shoes of those who lived 500 years ago, it isn't all that difficult to understand why. The people then were familiar with the stars, and with the motions of the planets. But every once in a while one of these comets, which can really be quite impressive in the sky, would appear from out of nowhere, hang around for a couple of weeks or so, and then essentially disappear back into nowhere. It was all too easy to connect these objects in the sky with whatever bad events were occurring here on Earth, and as a result the comets acquired a reputation as being harbingers of doom and portents of disaster.

Folks, this isn't 500 years ago; we've learned quite a bit about these objects in the years that have elapsed since then. Back at the turn of the 18th century Edmund Halley showed that comets are members of the solar system and are subject to the same laws of physics that everything else in the universe is subject to. Earlier this century Fred Whipple hypothesized that comets could be described as "dirty snowballs," and all the scientific evidence we've gathered since then supports this. That's all a comet is: a dirty snowball. They are no more portents of doom than are the snowballs that my sons and I throw at each other after the snowstorms we get here in Cloudcroft.

But ignorance and superstition still exist, even now, as we are approaching the dawn of a new century and a new millennium. Some of you I spoke with on the phone yesterday, and some of you hopped on an airplane and flew over here. Images of me and recordings of my voice are now being transmitted all over the planet. All of this would have been completely inconceivable to the people who lived 500 years ago. And yet the ignorance and superstition still persist.

Some of this ignorance and superstition is retaining its old form. I've had people tell me that Hale-Bopp is "an angel from God," and I even had one person say that Hale-Bopp is God. I've seen lots of discussion referring to Hale-Bopp as one of the "signs of the end times" and claims that it is a fulfillment of the prophecies in Revelation or the prophecies of Nostradamus, or other such prophecies.

Some of this ignorance and superstition has mutated into a newer form. Almost from day one I have heard claims that Hale-Bopp is an "alien mothership" or is "under intelligent control" or some such. And then, of course, there is this business of the "mysterious Saturn shaped companion" following Hale-Bopp that broke last November. According to the claims, this was an "alien spacecraft, four times larger than Earth," coming to do one of various things to us.

After that story broke out, received a number of inquiries from the press, almost as many as I received yesterday. It didn't take me long to figure out what was going on: the object that was photographed was nothing more than a bright background star that the comet happened to be located next to on the night in question. Once I had determined this I posted this explanation, along with the photographs to prove it, on the World Wide Web.

But ignorance and superstition didn't want to hear this. I was called a "traitor to Earth" for "withholding information." I was called a lot of other names that I can't repeat in this company. Even now I still get questions about this, and I still encounter people who are adamant that there is a "companion" following Hale-Bopp. I've even pointed out the comet to these people and asked them to show me where this "companion" is, something they can't do, of course. And now, this has been carried to an extreme: 39 people have now lost their lives as a result of this ignorance and superstition.

I guess it's been about 30 years now, since Bob Dylan asked the question "How many deaths will it take 'til we know, that too many people have died?" How many more Oklahoma Cities will we have to endure? How many more Tel Avivs? How many more Rancho Santa Fes are we going to have before we finally say "Enough!" to ignorance and superstition? How many more of these types of reports are we going to have to listen to before we finally decide that we are going to use the candle of science, and the reasoning skills that we have, to take back the darkness from the ignorance and superstition that is enveloping us?

I hate to sound like I'm saying "I told you so," but I'd like to read the last paragraph of the explanation I posted to the Web after this business of the Saturn-like object broke out last fall. I remind you that this is dated November 16, 1996. After explaining that the "object" was nothing more than a bright star, I wrote: "There are many 'fringe' people who are trying to attach apocalyptic significance to Comet Hale-Bopp, and incidents like this one . . . are sure to increase as we get closer to the comet's perihelion. I ask readers to treat all these irresponsible reports with the disdain they deserve, and instead enjoy the beauty of the comet for its own sake."

I really meant that last sentence. What I want everyone to do—and I mean everyone who is here today, and everyone who is seeing my image and listening to my voice—is, tonight, to drop what you're doing, forget about the world for a minute, go outside, look up in the northwest, and take a look at this comet. It's a beautiful object. It's lovely. It's one of the most magnificent celestial objects you will ever see. But for all its beauty, its magnificence, its splendor, all it is is a dirty snowball that's orbiting the sun. Nothing more. It has no influence on Earthly events. It has no power to affect anything that happens here on Earth. It has no power, but we do. We have the power to build a world for the 3rd Millennium that is free of the ignorance and superstition that are so rampant in our society today. We have that power. What I'd like you to do when you're looking at the comet tonight is to think of some ways to make that happen. I'd like to hear what you come up with.

Permission granted to reprint my statement and to distribute it to whomever you wish; I wrote that statement for the express purpose of delivering it to anyone and everyone who's interested in hearing it.

The first misfortune to befall modern cults occurred to the People's Temple led by Rev. Jim Jones with the mass suicide of its followers in Jonestown, Guyana. Then catastrophe transpired in Waco, Texas as BATF agents stormed the compound of the Branch Davidians led by David Koresh. Another chapter was added to the history of cults with the unexpected tragedy that happened on October 5, 1994 to the members of the Solar Temple founded and led by Luc Jouret which has left investigators sifting through charred rubble in Switzerland and Canada. Now we are faced with the grievous events in San Diego as investigators piece together the circumstances surrounding the mysterious Heaven's Gate cult and the mass suicide of the followers of Marshall Applewhite's delusional gospel. These poignant events demonstrate that life within a cult can not only be devastating to the psyche of an individual but may also be life threatening if the leaders have severely warped personalities. Moreover, in the next few years, be prepared, as irrationality and superstition will continue to produce more senseless acts as cult leaders prepare their followers for the "final judgment" and the "end of the world" merely because we will start a new millennium.

Most people are already aware that many cults and their twisted leaders brainwash members through a program of mind control and mass hypnosis. To begin with, these inductees are often controlled by the cult's set of beliefs and authoritarian structure. Members are instructed to submit their will to the leaders of these cults who pronounce themselves as God's major prophet, His chosen apostle for the apocalypse, or even the Messiah returned. Hence,

any refusal to obey the cult's leadership is considered a rebellion against God and a blasphemy. Further, they are instructed that if they follow their leader's instructions which are also God's will and adhere to the group's dogma, they will be saved and those outside of the cult will be condemned. Then, to further appease the megalomania of the cult's leader and increase his own wealth by the necessary surrender of personal possessions, the cult's proselytes are sent forth to witness and evangelize to others in order to acquire new sheep for the fold.

Obviously, these poor souls do not possess the life skills necessary to prevent themselves from falling into the clutches of these cultists. In the first place, most of these devotees come from dysfunctional families, have poor interpersonal relationships and suffer from low self-esteem. Additionally, they desperately seek approval from others and have a need to be controlled and directed by an authority figure. They lack the ability to be masters of their own lives, to think for themselves, and to face uncertainty with courage. In other words, they are almost entirely dependent rather than self-sufficient. Thereupon, the culpability should rest with our educational system and the values we as parents instill into our children.

Nevertheless, young people should be educated to prevent them from falling victim to these sinister cults. Such tragedies may possibly be prevented if our children are taught from a young age how to think critically and reason rationally. First, children should be taught about the scientific method and logical thinking so that they have the tools to survey their world. In addition, they should be allowed self-directed exploration and thus begin to take responsibility for their own lives. Equally important, they must be encouraged to accept ambiguity and uncertainty in this world and learn to separate fantasy from reality. Otherwise, they may turn to unscrupulous spiritual leaders for simplistic answers. With all this, we as parents and educators must also cultivate the qualities of tolerance, flexibility, and self-acceptance within them. Furthermore, the self-esteem of these children should be raised in order that they may reach self-actualization. Accordingly, one of the worst things that we can teach our children is that they are condemned from the moment of birth by original sin, are by nature sinful and unclean, and unable to save themselves.

Unfortunately, our society glorifies such self-abasement and self-defeating irrational beliefs. Many who are involved in traditional religions are taught the values of submission, obedience, and blind religious belief which leaves some as potential victims of cults. Likewise, religion also inculcates those who succumb to its teachings with the concepts of shame, blame, fear, and guilt. Thus, many pursue their religious convictions with fervid fanaticism by relentlessly evangelizing to others, never taking a moment to candidly examine their own belief system. This type of rationale produces followers and sheep rather than emotionally happy and healthy individuals who would rebel against the authority of such cults. Accordingly, many religious leaders stand opposed to teaching children to think critically for fear their members may defect. After all, didn't all mainline religions once begin as cults too? The only difference is that cult members kill themselves, while members of the major religions kill each other.

We can blame neither the comet nor the Internet for the circumstances that happened with the Heaven's Gate cult, because cults have existed since man has searched for meaning in his life. The fault lies within ourselves and our culture that teaches powerlessness instead of self- empowerment, faith rather than skepticism and belief over reason. Therefore, we must reassess our values and priorities and seriously consider educating our children to be freethinkers and focus on reason in the classroom lest we face the consequences of more headlines about cult tragedies.

—Zoltan L. Simsay is a former president of the Humanist Fellowship of San Diego and continues to be an activist for human concerns.

Ever since the dramatic suicide of 39 members of "Heaven's Gate," people have wondered if it were a cult and what a cult really is. Were those 39 people brainwashed? Were they mentally deranged? And what about their leader, Applewhite? Was he a saint, a mystic, or a madman?

As a psychiatrist and author of Are You Getting Enlightened Or Losing Your Mind? I am deeply interested in these questions.

First, let's examine the notion of brainwashing. It's far too easy to claim these 39 were merely victims of brainwashing. Brainwashing in the military is called "discipline"; in government "loyalty" or "patriotism"; in organized religion "piety"; and in the world of business, it's simply "good marketing." So we must be careful in leaping to the conclusion that the members of Heaven's Gate were any more brainwashed than the rest of us.

I do not believe that the philosophy of Heaven's Gate was rooted in genuine spirituality, in time tested disciplines and beliefs that are common to all the world's great religions. It is my belief that the followers of Applewhite had one major flaw. They weren't brainwashed and were no sicker mentally that a great number of "normal" Americans. They simply "bought in" to a diseased belief system. Once one buys in to a belief system, the actions that follow are automatic, or semi-automatic. Even in my field, medicine, once doctors "buy in" to a belief system, they will practice medicine based on that belie— As we know, "scientific" medical beliefs are forever changing and transitory. So the beliefs that we doctors hold to be "self-evident" are not entirely true. They are not based on eternal truth.

We may believe that we are far beyond such strange, destructive beliefs. But let's take a look at one of the most dramatic examples of "brainwashing" of normal citizens in the 20th century, namely, Hitler's Germany. Although Germany, prior to World War II, was suffering economically, and there was a malaise in the air, the average German was no different from the average American. Nazi Germany simply bought into a very sick belief system, which ultimately resulted in a war that claimed around 50 million lives. Who was sick: the average German citizen or Adolf Hitler? The answer is obvious. Hitler may not have been "technically" mentally ill, but he was clearly "morally ill." And beyond Hitler's Germany, we know that the 20th century has lost between 100 and 150 million people to war . . . people killed by "nominal" people with "normal" religious beliefs.

Without a great deal of study, we don't know if the Heaven's Gate followers of Applewhite were "deranged" or not, although evidence thus far points to the latter conclusion.

How does one know if a spiritual leader is legitimate? How would we know the difference between Applewhite and Jesus? Would any of us recognize Jesus, or would there still be only a dozen who believed he was a genuine spiritual leader? Both Jesus and Applewhite claimed to be messengers of God, with Jesus going on to claim that "I and my Father are One."

Applewhite believed he was on a mission from God and was, in fact, an angel. Here's where truth and deception become clearly known. The genuine spiritual leader, the mystic, the saints all have had similar messages: "Practice love, service and sacrifice. Develop character. Practice humility, honesty, charity, nonviolence, love and the urge to serve mankind." The real spiritual leader shows a coherence of thought, word, and deed. If they talk about love, love manifests in their actions, in their thoughts, and in the behavior of their devotees.

Hearing voices is not necessarily a sign of insanity. Sixty percent of normal Americans believe in angels and forty percent believe they have been in contact with them. Forty-two percent report having had contact with the dead. So hearing the voice of God, an angel, or the dead is not a sign of insanity. If such a profound experience leads one to become more whole, more generous, more selfless, more loving, then we can generally say that the experience was a genuine spiritual experience.

One cannot conclude from observing Applewhite that his claims of spiritual experience were legitimate. First of all, no legitimate religion in the history of the planet encourages mass suicide (except perhaps certain groups who were under attack and were facing certain slaughter). Secondly, one look into his eyes conveys a sense of strangeness, aloofness, fear and distance—not a good indication of a true spiritual leader. The face and eyes of saints always radiate light and love and inspire all those around them.

In assessing the sanity of a religious group, in determining whether it is a cult or not, all of these issues must be assessed . . . in addition to a few more. Does the group leader demand money? Is he interested in power for power's sake? Does he tell the truth? Applewhite said he was dying of cancer, but he was not. Clearly, his character was severely flawed. Finally, before we cast stones, we must ask ourselves if we hold this opinion: "My religion is the only real one." If such is our opinion, we have missed the point of genuine religion and spirituality and are not much better than a so-called cult.

April 15, 1997—Asheville, North Carolina—The Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (CSETI) successfully inaugurated its Project Starlight briefing of more than two dozen congressional offices with several VIPs from the Executive branch, The Pentagon, representatives of the Dutch Embassy, the National Academy of Sciences, two state Governors' offices and others on April 9. The following evening, April 10, news media were given a similar briefing, which included reporters from The Washington Post Writer's Group, US News e & World Report, The Boston Globe, The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), WTNH-TV, an ABC affiliate in New Haven, CT, United Press International, Strange Universe TV and other invited guests. A producer from CBS' 60 Minutes and USA Today were briefed prior to the event.

Using a Best Available Evidence (BAE) package that contained numerous government and military documents, a video and photographic summary tape and 15 first-hand witnesses to UFO events and/or projects, Dr. Steven Greek urged attending members of Congress and the news media respectively "to move forward on this subject through open hearings leading to a full public disclosure" and "through responsible news and programming coverage given the weight of evidence presented here this week. If news media devoted even a fourth as much time to finding out the facts on this subject as they did in the O.J. Simpson trial, the public would be well served."

Greek, the International Founder and Director of CSETI, was joined by Dr. Ed Mitchell, the former Apollo 14 astronaut who walked on the moon, and [who] echoed Greer's assessment about the evidence by noting that "initially I was skeptical about this reality but I believe today that the force of evidence commands an honest, scientific look at the facts."

Among the witnesses who provided testimony were Donna Hare, a former subcontractor in the photo labs of the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Hare said she saw one NASA technician airbrush a UFO out of a space satellite photo and "that it was done routinely," according to her colleague. Stephen Lovekin, a lawyer from North Carolina who worked with a Top Secret security clearance in the Pentagon during President Eisenhower's White House term in the '50s as a trained cryptologist, says he saw material from a downed ET craft and saw apparent ET writing on the material. Lovekin says the President was regularly briefed about the UFO issue.

Other military witnesses gave dramatic testimony about more recent UFO/ET events in the Atlantic Command under Admiral Trane "that had the place in chaos for several hours, while others described events at numerous Air Force bases, including one report of an alien being shot at the end of the runway at McGuire AFB and later removed by a C-41 Transport plane flown in from Wright-Patterson AFB to retrieve the body."

According to Greer, "there are more than 100 other witnesses— some who would need protection to testify under oath to Congress and some who are best described as 'hostile' witnesses who need a subpoena to appear—most of whom are ready to tell their stories before they die. Many are service men and women who are heroes of our country and willing to make one last courageous act in order for this important subject to come to light." Project Starlight will move forward with another round of briefings in the nation's capital if necessary, or until someone from the first briefing decides to sponsor hearings on this matter. Several offices expressed such an interest.

Project Starlight is an international coalition effort that includes current and former government personnel, aerospace executives, military officials, intelligence operatives, American astronauts, Russian cosmonauts, UFO/ET researchers, civilians, and others.

For more information or to interview Dr. Greer, please contact Martin Keller [email: kelmart@aol.com; phone: (612) 7298585] or Dr. Greer [email: Dr—ET@compuserve.com; phone: (704) 274-5671] or visit the CSETI web site at http://www.cseti.org

SAN FERNANDO, Philippines, March 22 (UPI)—At least nine people, including a woman, have signed up to be "crucified" as part of the Philippines' traditional Holy Week holidays next week, officials said Saturday.

Authorities said preparations were underway for the annual event, which gathers thousands of foreign and local spectators to a small village in San Fernando town in the province of Pampanga, 50 miles (80 kms) north of Manila, to witness what is considered by many as a pagan and deadly ritual.

Tradition in the only predominantly Catholic nation in Asia calls for "penitents" to reenact during Good Friday the suffering of Jesus Christ under the Romans to atone for one's sins.

The penitents are made to wear a crown of thorns while dragging makeshift wooden crosses. Others inflict wounds on their backs with a whip sometimes laced with broken glass.

The braver ones opt for the actual crucifixion, as belief has it "the greater the pain the more one is forgiven of his sins," said an organizer. Those who do are taken down minutes after being nailed.

Penitents who do not want to be recognized are made to mask their faces with black cloth over costumes passed from one generation to the next.

Zoilo Castro, village chief of San Pedro Cutud where the crucifixions are carried out, said four- inch stainless steel nails have been soaked in alcohol since last week to avoid infection once they pierce the palms and feet of the penitent.

The influential Catholic church does not sanction the bloody ritual and often warns of its dangers. However, it has not issued an official ban on the event. Although nobody has died from the ritual, organizers in recent years have commissioned town doctors to the site.

Officials said more are expected to volunteer for crucifixion with the event still several days away. Official holiday begins on March 27 through Easter Sunday on March 30.

Enterprising residents in the area have also begun putting up temporary stalls to be used in selling a wide range of wares from local food fare to souvenir caps and shirts.

An estimated 5,000 spectators flocked to the village last year, when 12 "sinners," including a 28-year-old Japanese man, were crucified.

Copyright 1997 by United Press International / Sat, 22 Mar 1997 0:31:19 PST