New Age medicine Invades Africa: Be ware of Reflexology, Acupuncture and other so called Alternative medicine

FIRST READ: WHAT IS THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT ABOUT?

http://www3.telus.net/thegoodnews/newage.htm

NEW AGE HUMANISM INVADES AFRICA

http://www.yesumulungi.com/index.php/apostasy-watch/367-secular-humanism-invades-uganda-and-africa.html


In Uganda where I come from, TV and radio stations are wash with adverts of reflexology centers. People are being bombarded with the lie that reflexology is the solution to all health problems. Doctors are stealthily enticing Ugandans to consider reflexology. I urge born again Christians to examine the new age roots of reflexology.


THE NEW AGE IN HEALTH CARE

http://www.wayoflife.org/files/b6ffbfd7968d54821a8b4a1d81566735-25.html

Enlarged November 3, 2008 (first published June 11, 2008) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The following is excerpted from the August 2008 edition of THE NEW AGE TOWER OF BABEL by David Cloud. This book is available from Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, www.wayoflife.org (online catalog), fbns@wayoflife.org (e-mail).

To the original article published June 11, 2008 (which dealt with Reiki, Ayurveda, and Homeopathy), we have added Humors, Hypnotism, Visualization, Meditation, Reflexology, Iridology, Acupuncture, Naturopathy, Macrobiotics, Rolfing, Chiropractic, Applied Kinesiology, Neuro-Emotional Techniques, Touch for Life, and Behavioral Kinesiology.
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A study done by XE "Health Care" \b XE "Healing" David XE "Holistic Medicine" Eisenberg of Beth Israel Hospital in 1990 found that Americans were spending $14 billion a year on alternative health care, including New Age practices such as meditation, touch therapy (including Reiki), positive confession, guided imagery, polarity therapy, aromatherapy, sound therapy, gemstone healing, magnetic therapy, spiritual healing, biofeedback, reflexology, iridology, urotherapy, homeopathy, emotional freedom techniques (EFT), hypnosis, and acupuncture.

That figure has grown dramatically since then. According to a report in the U.S. News & World Report for January 21, 2008, alternative medicine has gone “mainstream.”

In 1992 only 2% of U.S. medical schools offered courses in alternative medicines, but by 2004 that figure had risen to 67% (“More Medical Schools Teaching Spirituality in Medicine,” Lighthouse Trails newsletter, March 4, 2008).

The famous Mayo Clinic XE "Mayo Clinic" has a section at its web site on “complementary and alternative medicine,” dealing with touch therapy, yoga, tai chi, acupuncture, cupping, biofeedback, and hypnosis.

Dr. Christina Puchalski XE "Puchalski, Christina" , founder of the Institute for Spirituality and Health at the George Washington School of Medicine XE "George Washington School of Medicine" , was the recipient of the John Templeton XE "Templeton, John" Spirituality and Medicine Award in 1996.

A friend who read a pre-publication edition of this book observed, “If you go into any health food store it is like going into a New Age chapel.”

The New Age has indeed invaded the field of health care.

SOME POPULAR ALTERNATIVE CARE PRACTICES

REFLEXOLOGY

Reflexology XE "Reflexology" , which is also called zone therapy, is the technique of “applying pressure to specific reflex points to stimulate the body’s own healing powers.” It is based on the concept that different parts of the foot correspond to and are somehow connected to various parts of the body. By massaging the foot (or hand) the practitioner can allegedly detect problems and help maintain physical and psychological health.

It is a very popular practice, with millions of people using it each year.

While some reflexologists are basically foot massagers and only claim to stimulate relaxation and reduce stress, most go far beyond this. TreatYourFeet.com says reflexology “creates a physiological change in the body by naturally improving your circulation” and claims that it is “an effective technique for regaining better health.” The book “Feet Don’t Lie” says that “feet are a reflection of inner health,” promises that the client will “live a healthier, happier life,” and even claims that the feet can predict the future -- “where you are going is recorded in your soles.” Body Reflexology claims to be able to reverse the aging process.

Many reflexologists work on the occultic principle that the body has an energy field that can be manipulated. They call it “life force.” William Fitzgerald XE "Fitzgerald, William" , who invented modern reflexology in 1913, called it “bioelectric energy.” He believed that ten vertical zones of this energy called meridians run through the body, and by rubbing one part of the foot the practitioner can supposedly manipulate the organs and bones and tissues in that particular zone. Mildred Carter says, “By massaging reflexes ... you send a healing force to all parts of the body by opening up closed electrical lines that have shut off the universal life force” (Body Reflexology: Healing at Your Fingertips, p. 7). She also says that reflexology is “the healing miracle of the new age we are entering” (p. 8).

Many reflexologists use the New Age technique of visualization. The Holistic Health Handbook instructs the practitioner to “visualize yourself as being a channel for healing energy that flows through your hands” (p. 184). Eunice Ingham, a disciple of Fitzgerald, describes reflexology as “opening the blocked meridians and channeling the healing power through visualization” (Stories the Feet Have Told Thru Reflexology, p. 29).

It is obvious that reflexology is based on occultic principles and should be avoided by God’s people.


REIKI

A study on alternative medicine in the January 2008 report in U.S. News & World Report focused on the rapid growth of Reiki XE "Reiki" \b (pronounced ray-key). The report says the number of Reiki practitioners worldwide is in the millions, with half million in the United States and over a million in Germany.

Reiki is an occultic practice that allegedly channels “universal healing energy” for human benefit such as relaxation and physical healing. The word “reiki” is Japanese for “spiritually guided life force energy.”

It was developed in Japan in the early 20th century by Mikao Usui XE "Usui, Mikao" . During a 21 day program of fasting, meditation, chanting, and other pagan contemplative practices he allegedly experienced “the great Reiki energy XE "Transference" entering” into him and found that he could use the energy to heal others. It came in the form of a light that moved toward him and entered the middle of his forehead (Mohan Makkar, The New Reiki Magic, p. 5). Usui allegedly began to heal with his touch and to initiate others into the “energy.” Reiki was established in Hawaii in the 1930s and from there spread to North America. The American International Reiki Association was formed in 1982.

The International Center for Reiki Training says:

“Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. ... Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect.”

That sounds harmless enough, doesn’t it?

Reiki has three levels or degrees of initiation, the third level being the master level. The degrees are called “attunements” whereby the student is brought into harmony with the reiki energy and taught how to channel it. The initiations are thought to create channels for the flow of Reiki. Paula Horan says, “Through this channel Reiki then flows in through the top of the student’s head, down through the body and out through the hands” (Abundance through Reiki, p. 18).

Reiki masters initiate people into the various levels.

Reiki is transferred or initiated by the laying on of hands. The Reiki manual is subtitled “The healing touch. XE "Transference" ” The Reiki practitioner places his hands on the same spot of the body for three minutes at a time, and the energy is supposed to be mystically drawn out by the recipient. Horan says, “... if I lay my hands on you to do a treatment, your body will naturally draw the appropriate amounts of energy it needs, and to the proper places” (p. 20).

Reiki is largely Hindu XE "Hinduism" in its philosophy. It is described as “an energy incomprehensible to the intellect which flows through everything, transforming all realms of life ... Reiki is oneness” (Horan, Abundance Through Reiki, p. 10).

Reiki is founded on the Hindu concept that God is everything and man is part of God. One Reiki Master says that “Reiki will eventually guide you to the experience that you yourself are Reiki or Universal Life Force Energy. ... you and I are that same Universal Life Force Energy” (Abundance Through Reiki, pp. 9, 23).

Reiki is thought to open the chakras of the “astral body,” which is a Hindu doctrine.

Paula Horan said that her Reiki teacher gave her a new name, Laxmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. He said to her, “I am giving you the name Laxmi, because in this lifetime, you will fulfill all of your desires” (p. 152).

The recipients of Reiki describe it as a powerful sense of warmth and security, “a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you.” It is not only supposed to provide healing but also to initiate the recipient into higher levels of spiritual transformation. The International Reiki Center says that “many people find that using Reiki puts them more in touch with the experience of their religion rather than having only an intellectual concept of it.” This is the mystical approach that bypasses thinking with an experiential connection with God or the “higher power.”

Reiki involves not only “life energy” but also spirit guides. The International Reiki Center web site says:

“Occasionally witnessing miracles. Feeling the wonder of God s love XE "Love" pass through you and into another. SENSING THE PRESENCE OF SPIRITUAL BEINGS, feeling their touch, knowing they work with you. Being raised into ever greater levels of joy and peace by simply placing your hands on another. Watching your life grow and develop as your continual immersion in Reiki transforms your attitudes, values and beliefs. Sensing that because of your commitment to help others, BEINGS OF LIGHT ARE FOCUSING THEIR LOVE AND HEALING ON YOU AND CAREFULLY GUIDING YOU ON YOUR SPIRITUAL PATH. This is the promise of a developing Reiki practice. ... THERE ARE HIGHER SOURCES OF HELP YOU CAN CALL ON. ANGELS, BEINGS OF LIGHT AND REIKI SPIRIT GUIDES as well as your own enlightened self are available to help you. ... There must be congruence, an alignment within you in order for the Higher Power in the form of Reiki to flow through you in a powerful way and in order for THE ANGELS, REIKI SPIRIT GUIDES AND OTHER SPIRITUAL BEINGS TO WORK WITH YOU.”

The Reiki practitioner is taught to get in tune with these spirit guides, to pray to them, and to yield to their control.

“Try the following prayer: ‘Guide me and heal me so that I can be of greater service to others.’ By sincerely saying a prayer such as this each day, your heart will open and a path will be created to receive the help of higher spiritual beings. They will guide you in your Reiki practice and in the development of your life purpose.”

Reiki is even said to open up “psychic communication centers”:

“During the Reiki attunement process, the avenue that is opened within the body to allow Reiki to flow through also opens up the psychic communication centers. This is why MANY REIKI PRACTITIONERS REPORT HAVING VERBALIZED CHANNELED COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE SPIRIT WORLD XE "Spirit Guides" ” (Phylameana Desy, The Everything Reiki Book, 2004, p. 144).

The Reiki Journal suggests that message therapy is an excellent tool for spreading Reiki.

Lighthouse Trails observes:

“If US News & World Report is correct in their assessment that Reiki, Yoga, and other types of healing practices are now mainstream, then Reiki is here to stay. One can only wonder if Reiki is going to become as popular in Christian circles as Yoga now has. If it does, then as with contemplative spirituality, the spiritual lives of countless people will be jeopardized and the Gospel of Jesus Christ seriously compromised.”

AYURVEDA

Ayurveda XE "Ayurveda" \b is a Hindu occultic folk healing system that claims to be four to five thousand years old. It is used by millions of people in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Fiji, and elsewhere in the East and has been growing rapidly in the West since the 1970s. New Age teacher Deepak Chopra XE "Chopra, Deepak" has helped popularize it. After meeting Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (the Transcendental Meditation guru), Chopra founded the American Association for Ayurvedic Medicine in 1985 and later became the director of the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Center for Stress Management.

Chopra’s 1989 book Quantum Healing promoted Hindu concepts, and his book Perfect Health (1991) was “the first widely read book on Ayurveda” (Wikipedia). His 1993 book Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, which quotes “ancient Indian rishis” and claims that man does not have to experience aging, went into the stratosphere of book sales after it was recommended by Oprah Winfrey. In one day 130,000 copies moved off the shelves.

Chopra says that Ayurveda not only holds the key to personal healing but to planetary rejuvination, as well:

“Ayurveda is the science of life and it has a very basic, simple kind of approach, which is that we are part of the universe and the universe is intelligent and the human body is part of the cosmic body, and the human mind is part of the cosmic mind, and the atom and the universe are exactly the same thing but with different form, and the more we are in touch with this deeper reality, from where everything comes, the more we will be able to heal ourselves and at the same time heal our planet” (interview with Veronica Hay, InTouch magazine, http://www.intouchmag.com/chopra.html).

In India, Ayurveda is a recognized medical health system governed under the Central Council of Indian Medicine. Practitioners undergo five and a half years of training to earn the Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery, and higher degrees are available.

Ayruvedia means knowledge of life and it is said to be “a science of life that deals with the problems of longevity, and suggests a safe, gentle, and effective way to rid diseases afflicting our health” (Swami Sada Shiva Tirtha, The Ayurveda Encyclopedia, 2006, p. xix).

It claims to have been handed down from Brahma XE "Hinduism" to other gods and obtained through meditation by an ancient Hindu sage named Bharadvaja and then passed along to other gurus (p. xxiii).

“It is said that they received their training of Ayurveda through direct cognition during meditation. That is, the knowledge of the use of the various methods of healing, prevention, longevity, and surgery came through Divine revelation” (p. 3).

It is one of the Hindu Vedic religious systems and is intimately associated with yoga. It was once a part of Jyotish veda, which refers to astrology. Jyoti means light.

It is based on the concept that all existence is part of God and man is divine and can achieve union with God through meditation and other practices. The objective of Ayurveda is to bring man into a divine wholeness in all areas of his life, physical, life purpose, relationships, and spirituality.

“According to Vedic philosophy life is Divine and the goal of life is to realize our inner Divine nature. AYURVEDICALLY SPEAKING THE MORE A PERSON REALIZES THEIR DIVINE NATURE THE HEALTHIER THEY ARE XE "Divinity of Man" . Thus it is the responsibility of the Ayurvedic doctor to inspire or help awaken the patient to their own inner Divine nature. ... When patients are taught they have this Divinity within themselves, they feel a connection to life and God (however each patient defines God). ... Having someone recognize one’s inner Divinity and self-healing abilities develops confidence. Experiencing positive results from self-healing and spiritual development further generates confidence, health, mental peace, and Divinity” (pp. 8, 11).

According to Ayurveda, life is composed of five essential elements: ether, air, fire, water, and earth. These are not elements in the chemical sense but are “states of matter” (Aghora II: Kundalini, p. 31).

The five elements combine to form three types of human constitutions called doshas XE "Doshas" : Vayu (or Vata), Pitta, and Kapha. Vayu is a combination of ether and air. Pitta combines fire and water. Kapha combines water and earth. Each dosha is thought to control a part of the body’s function. Vayu controls movement and basic body processes such as breathing and circulation; Pitta, hormones and the digestive system; Kapha, strength, immunity, and growth.

An imbalanced dosha is believed to interrupt the natural flow of prana, or vital energy.

The practice of Ayurveda in a nutshell is composed of identifying the patient’s dosha, determining how it is out of balance, and bringing it into harmony through various tools such as diet, massage, enema, yoga, etc.

Each type of dosha individual is thought to have certain personality traits when they are in proper balance. Healthy Vayu types, for example, are adaptable and cheerful, but if they have excess Vayu they will possibly be very thin, have dry skin or bone problems, talk fast, become easily tired, forgetful, worried, fearful, or nervous (p. 18). Balanced Kapha types are loyal and calm, but when Kapha is excessive they tend toward being overweight, having bronchitis, being lethargic, too attached, and sentimental.

It is obvious that to ascribe such a wide range of problems to an unbalanced “dosha,” which is mythical and cannot be detected in any measurable sense, leaves the field wide open to runaway quackery.

Cancer in the blood is supposed to indicate excess Pitta; Osteoporosis, too much Vayu in the bones. Muscular Dystrophy is a Kapha problem (p. 20).

Types of disorder pertaining to the dosha are thought to evidence in the stool. Hard stools indicate a Vayu disorder “from the dryness caused by gas.” Soft or liquid stools reflect a Pitta excess heat. Moderate stools indicate Kapha (p. 19).

In fact, having lived in Asia for two decades, I would say that liquid stools indicate something more along the lines of an intestinal bug!

The Ayurvedic doctor must also learn to handle ojas XE "Ojas" or life sap. You have to be really careful with this stuff, because it “pervades every part of the body” (p. 21). Ojas is depleted by excessive sex, drugs, talking, loud music, insufficient rest, and high technology. Signs are “fear, worry, sensory organ pain, poor complexion, cheerlessness, roughness, emaciation, immune system disorders, and easily contracting diseases.”

Ayurveda teaches that as the body has its three doshas, the mind has three gunas XE "Gunas" . These are sattwa, rajas, and tamas. The Ayurvedic doctor tries to determine what type of mind the patient has, understanding that an individual might have a combination of gunas.

The Ayurvedic doctor wants to get everything working harmoniously, the gunas all aligned for mental health and the doshas purring along for physical well-being and the ojas flowing nicely.

This is just the very beginning of the mysteries of Ayurveda. A skilled practitioner must learn how to deal with the five different divisions of each of the doshas, the twenty gunas, the seven dhatus and three malas, the seven chakras, and the 72,000 nadis, and that is just for starters.

Ayurvedic remedies include herbology, nutrition, enema, sun bathing, exercise, bloodletting, fasting, exposure to wind, baths, inducing sweating, inducing vomiting, snuff therapy, inhaling powder or smoke, exercise, oil message, herb plasters, relaxation, sleep, yoga, mantras, acupuncture, surgery, aromatherapy, sound therapy, color, gem and ash therapy, astrology, psychology, architectural harmony, yagya (ceremonies soliciting the aid of Hindu gods), ethics, and spiritual counseling.

There is a lengthy chapter in The Ayurveda Encyclopedia on Yoga XE "Yoga" . XE "Meditation" Yoga means union and it is the practice of meditation with the objective of manipulating the chakras in order to achieve union between the individual and God or the higher Self.

The Hindu chakras XE "Chakras" are occultic centers of psychic energy and consciousness in the “astral body” XE "Astral Body" or “subtle body.” They are “perceptible only to the enlightened mind.” There are supposed to be seven chakras, running from the base of the spine to the top of the head. They are the Muladhara (at the base of the spine, the place of kundalini), the Svadhishthana (in the pubic area), the Manipura (at the naval), the Anahata (near the heart), the Vishuddha (in the throat), the Ajna (in the center of the forehead, the Third Eye), and the Sahasrara (at the top of the head).

The chakras are symbolized in Hindu art by the lotus blossom XE "Lotus" , each chakra having a different number of petals. The Sahasrara, being the place of perfect enlightenment and union with God, is depicted as the “thousand-petaled lotus.”

The chakras are supposed to be connected by sushumna, “a spiritual tube within the spine.”

The prana, or life force or life energy or life breath, flows through the nadis, which are the ethereal nerves of the astral body. There are thought to be from 72,000 to 350,000 nadis channels. The nadis supposedly meet and connect with one another in the chakras.

Yoga seeks to direct the prana through the channels of the nadis up through the sushumna to the sahasrara and thus achieve Self-Realization or union with the divine.

Consider some statements from The Ayurveda Encyclopedia about yoga:

“Spiritually, yoga means the union of the red spirit force at the base of the spine with the white spirit force at the crown of the head; the union of the sun-spirit at the navel with the moon-spirit at the head; and the union of the small self with the Divine eternal Self” (pp. 297, 298). [What is called “white spirit” and “red spirit” here is called Shiva and Shakti in other Hindu writings.]

“The first five chakras have nadis that extend to the various organs or sense and action. The sixth chakra relates to higher mental or spiritual activity. Beyond the sixth chakra one enters the realm of the ‘non-describable’ and begins to merely ‘be’ in the state of unbounded eternity or Brahman. This is the goal of life--Brahman or Self-Realization. ... So we see that prana cleanses the nadis, and in turn the chakras. As they are cleansed, one’s spiritual life-force is allowed to flow higher, developing or utilizing the benefits of the higher chakras. As one is able to live with their higher chakras opened, life becomes more peaceful, graceful, and Divine” (p. 328).

The Ayurveda Encyclopedia explains that one can encounter internal voices through yogic mediation, and the practitioner is instructed to listen to the voices and follow their counsel.

“Just as with all spiritual experiences that are out of the norm of supposed societal acceptance, the hearing of inner sounds or voices (nada) has generally been associated with mental illness. Spiritual counseling reassures a person that their experiences and feelings are spiritual--not abnormal. Understanding nada helps persons feel comfortable when hearing any inner sounds. ... If a sound is heard, listen to it. If many sounds exist, listen to those in the right ear. The first sound heard is to be followed. Then, the next sound heard is also to be followed” (p. 343).

I have never read a more effective formula for demon possession!

Kundalini XE "Kundalini" \b is mentioned many times in The Ayurveda Encyclopedia in connection with yoga. Consider this statement:

“Like a double-tongued snake, kundalini (the essential life force) has two mouths: internal and external. One mouth is stuck in the internal sushumna (a spiritual tube, running up the spine) that leads to Self-Realization. The other mouth is open to the external passage. ... When through the grace of a Guru, the kundalini is awakened, it may appear as a flash of lightning. Once awakened, the kundalini gradually rises up the sushumna. It cleanses karmic sludge out of the spine and the chakras, just as a hot iron rod cleanses the dirt from a hookah pipe tube. Persons may have experienced quivering, shaking movements of the body, or suspension of breath during meditation. This is the experience of the kundalini shakti cleansing the inner tube and chakras” (p. 362).

Kundalini is a Hindu concept that there is powerful form of psychic energy at the base of the spine that can be “awakened.” It is described as a coiled serpent and is called “serpent power” and is depicted in Hindu art as a hooded cobra. It is supposed to be located in the first of the seven “chakras” or power centers in the body. If the kundalini is awakened through such things as yogic mediation, tantric practices (e.g., fire worship, goddess worship, and tantric rites), intensive chanting and dancing, and the laying on of hands, it can be encouraged to move up the spinal column, piercing the chakras, eventually reaching the seventh chakra at the top of the head, resulting in spiritual insight and power through “union with the Divine.”

Kundalini is called the female Shakti, which is considered the ego or self identity, and the objective of the practice is to unite her with the god Shiva and thus unite the individual into the whole of the divine which is considered the real Self. “The purpose of Kundalini Yoga is to reunite Shiva and Shakti, to create the eternal form of Shiva, Sadashiva” (Robert Svoboda, Aghora II: Kundalini, p. 69).

Kundalini is often worshipped in the form of a goddess. She is called “the Great Mother Goddess Kundalini” (Aghora II, p. 13). Hindu guru Vimalananda encountered Kundalini as a goddess of crematory XE "Cremation" fire and death. “When Kundalini awakened for him, she took the form of the Tantric goddess Smashan Tara, the goddess of the burning grounds who enables one to cross over from the reality of life to the reality of death” (p. 21).

Kundalini is occultic. Biblically speaking, it is pure devil worship, because the serpent is Satan and the worship of anything other than the one true and living God is idolatry and thus devil worship (Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:20).

It is not surprising that Kundalini has resulted in many demonic manifestations and its own practitioners issue many warnings about its danger.

The Ayurveda Encyclopedia says, “Those who awaken their kundalini without a guru can lose their direction in life ... they can become confused or mentally imbalanced ... more harm than good can arise” (p. 336). Kundalini pratictioner R. Venu Gopalan says that “wrong awakening” of Kundalini is “a very dangerous situation” that can “really hamper a person’s life” and “can cause havoc” (Soul Searchers: The Hidden Mysteries of Kundalini, p. 269). He says, “Sadhaka who tries to awaken the Kundalini in haste can cause himself some irreparable damage including psychic difficulties” (p. 262). He says that it can even cause “cancer or other dreaded diseases” (p. 263).

The book Aghora II: Kundalini warns many times that “indiscriminate awakening of the Kundalini is very dangerous” (p. 61). It says, “Once aroused and unboxed Kundalini is not ‘derousable’; the genie will not fit back into the bottle. ‘After the awakening the devotee lives always at the mercy of Kundalini,’ says Pandit Gopi Krishna ... Those who ride Kundalini without knowing their destination risk losing their way” (p. 20). Kundalini practitioner Krishna had terrifying experiences and a near death crisis. In fact, the book says “some die of shock when Kundalini is awakened, and others become severely ill” (p. 61).

Kundalini is likened to a toddler grasping a live wire (p. 58). It is said to create sensations of heat and cold, tingling, electric current, inner sounds, inner voices, compulsive movements, loss of memory, a sense of an inner eye, drowsiness, and pain.

The Inner Explorations web site tells of a man who, while dabbling in the activation of kundalini, experienced touches by invisible hands and animals that would attach themselves to him or bite him or lick his face (http://www.innerexplorations.com/ewtext/ke.htm).

Philip St. Romain XE "St. Romain, Philip" , a Roman Catholic substance abuse counselor and contemplative retreat master, wrote the book Kundalini Energy and Christian Spirituality (1990). He believes that Catholic contemplative practices put one in touch with kundalini, which is “a natural evolutionary energy inherent in every human being.” He began to have strange experiences through centering prayer, which involves emptying the mind and centering down into oneself. He said that after he had “centered down” into silence that gold lights would appear and swirl in his mind, forming themselves into captivating patterns. “Wise sayings” popped into his mind as if he were “receiving messages from another.” He felt prickly sensations that would continue for days.

If you play with fire, don’t be surprised if you get burned. The Bible warns the believer to be sober and vigilant (1 Peter 5:8), which means to be in control of one’s mind at all times, to be spiritually alert and on guard against spiritual deception. This is impossible if one tries to empty his mind and meditate on his inner being. Furthermore, the Bible says that “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9), and if we look far enough into ourselves we will find darkness and not light. The Bible says that Christ lives in the believer, but it never instructs us to pray to him inside of ourselves or to search for Him there.

To participate in practices that are contrary to God’s Word, is called presumption, and God does not bless those who do such things. “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14).

Returning to Ayurveda, it is important to understand that its Color Therapy XE "Color Therapy" and Gem Therapy XE "Gem Therapy" are associated with astrology.

“In the Vedic texts on astrology XE "Astrology" (Jyotish) and XE "Architectural Harmony" architecture (Vastu Shastra), the colors are another name for different deities. ...

“Jyotish is the Vedic astrological system of which Ayurveda was once a part. This astrological system notes that gems are related to the various planets and produce a balancing effect to counter specific diseases. ... The color or vibration of the gems affects the human body. ... In the Ayurvedic tradition these stones are used to balance the three doshas and to heal specific diseases” (The Ayurveda Encyclopedia, pp. 372, 375).

It is very clear that we are not dealing here with something biblical or with innocent “science”!

In the section on Vedic Astrology, The Ayurveda Encyclopedia says:

“Jyotish means inner light. THIS SCIENCE HELPS REVEAL ONE’S INNER DIVINE LIGHT. Ayurveda and Jyotish were once a part of the same science, but later developed into two separate forms of healing. ... By looking at the planets, the 12 houses and their relationship in the astrology chart, one can determine health tendencies, planetary causes of disease, dharma, necessities for spiritual relationships, and tools for one’s spiritual path” (p. 655).

The Ayurveda Encyclopedia also recommends Architectural Harmony as part of the whole life balance of health.

“The focus of this book has been on healing prevention, and rejuvenation through Ayurvedic balance. This balance is achieved by living in accordance with nature’s laws. ... The Vedic science of architecture, Vastu Shastra, integrates the sciences of Ayurveda and Jyotish by providing the link between humans and the astrological influences. Vastu considers the magnetic fields of the earth, the influences of the planets and other heavenly bodies essential elements when designing commercial or residential buildings, temples, and even towns, villages, and cities. IT IS BELIEVED THAT ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES ARE ALIVE, influenced by natural laws, just as the health of humans is influenced by nature. ...

“For example, in Hindu religion, the deity of the sun is said to ride on a chariot pulled by seven horses or deities. They are called the seven rays of the sun. It is important to have these rays enter eastern windows for health reasons. ... Yet these seven deities also happen to be called the seven visible colors of the spectrum ...

“Since the focus of Ayurveda is holistic (i.e., all-inclusive), it is useful to consider harmonizing or balancing the external influences involving architectural structures. ...

“Persons living or working in a Vastu-built structure experience the enhancement of health, general well being, and prosperity” (pp. 658, 659).

Ayurvedic Music Therapy XE "Music Therapy" , too, is associated with mystical union with God.

“From the earliest days in India, music was another form of attaining spiritual union ... The musical path towards Self-Realization was one lacking intellectual analysis or discussion. Merely by playing music, one would gradually merge with the eternal Divinity” (p. 367).

The Ayurveda Encyclopedia reports that musicians in the West are blending classical Indian music (which is associated with seeking union with God) with jazz and other sounds to create New Age music XE "Music, New Age" XE "New Age Music" \t "See Music, New Age" .

Healing Mantras XE "Mantra" also play a role in Ayurveda. They are said to “help balance prana, tejas, and ojas” and “strengthen the five elements” (The Ayurveda Encyclopedia, pp. 362, 364). Both the doctor and the patient use mantras during an Ayurvedic session, since “they empower all actions on a subtle level, infusing the cosmic life force into the healing process” (p. 363).

It is claimed that “Ayurvedic physicians can recognize an illness in the making before it creates more serious imbalance in the body” (p. 6).

If this were true, their patients would never get sick, never have a disease, and never die because they would always be able to catch the problem before it even had a physical manifestation.

My friends, beware. Ayurveda is pagan from beginning to end! There is no effective way to separate any true medical help it might offer from the idolatrous religious package. The best thing for the believer to do is leave Ayurveda completely alone.

HOMEOPATHY

Homeopathy XE "Homeopathy" \b is also associated with occultic principles. (We would note that the terms “homeopathy” and “naturopathy” are sometimes used interchangeably, but we are using them according to their official meanings.) It claims not only to be able to provide physical healing but also to “transform and improve a person’s emotional and mental state” (Dana Ullman, Homeopathy A-Z, p. 5).

As we will see, homeopathy is the treatment of illnesses with occultic water.

Homeopaths usually criticize the practice of traditional medicine and the use of pharmaceutical drugs. Dana Ullman XE "Ullman, Dana" , for example, accuses doctors of medical child abuse for prescribing drugs to children (Elaine Lewis, “An Interview with Dana Ullman: Treating Children with Homeopathic Medicines,” April 2005, http://www.hpathy.com/interviews/danaullman2.asp). While it is true that modern medicine is not infallible and can be wrongly used and abused, it is also true that it has provided mankind with wonderful remedies that did not exist even a few decades ago. The invention of vaccines and antibiotics alone has resulted in a tremendous increase in the quality of life in modern society. Through the practice of modern medicine, people routinely survive diseases and wounds that would have killed them 50 years ago. The negative attitude toward modern medicine that runs rampant throughout the holistic health care field is foolish.

Homeopathy was developed in the 18th century by Samuel Hahnemann XE "Hahnemann, Samuel" (1755-1843). His book Organon of the Art of Healing remains the foundational text in the field. At the 1960 Montreux International Congress on Homeopathy, the 160th anniversary of the Organon was celebrated. The congress said, “The Organon is for the homeopath what the Bible is for the Christian.”

David L. Brown observes that Hahnemann was “drawn like a magnet to occult ideas” (“New Age Medicine: Homeopathy,” Logos Resource Pages). He rejected the Christ of the Bible, identified with Eastern religions, and took Confucius as his model. One biographer says, “The reverence for Eastern thought was not just Hahnemann’s personal hobby, but rather the fundamental philosophy behind the preparation of homeopathic remedies” (Samuel Pfeifer, Healing at Any Price, 1988, p. 68). He was a follower of Emanuel Swedenborg, who taught his followers to enter an alternative state of consciousness in order to commune with spirits. Hahnemann called the occultic practices of Franz Mesmer “a marvelous, priceless gift of God” by which “the vital energy of the healthy mesmerizer endowed with this power [can be brought] into another person dynamically” (Organon of Medicine, 6th edition, pp. 309, 311). Hahnemann held to the panentheism view that God is in all things.

At the heart of homeopathy is the Hindu concept that there is a vital force or life energy that permeates all things (Keith Souter, Homeopathy: Heart and Soul, p. 19). Homeopathic remedies are thought to “act upon the Vital Force to restore balance within the body.”

David Brown says: “If you know New Age and occult philosophy you will recognize that what is in focus here is pantheism, that is, the belief that divinity or life force is inseparable from and immanent in everything. Leading homeopath Herbert Robert put it this way, relating homeopathy’s vital force to a pantheistic deity in his Art of Cure by Homeopathy. He said the ‘vital force’ of homeopathy was part of ‘the moving Energy, the activating Power of the universe,’ as being ‘passed on in all forms and degrees of living creatures,’ and as permeating the universe. Daisie and Michael Radner see the connection between homeopathy and occult energy fields. ‘Like Chinese medicine, homeopathy posits an energy field or vital force. Disease is a disorder of the body’s energy field, and the way to cure it is to manipulate that field. The energy field of the medicine stimulates that body’s own fluid to induce healing.’”

Homeopathic remedies are so highly diluted that they are nothing more than water. The dilutions are done according to the “Centesimal scale” of 1:100. 1C (or CH1) refers to one part of an original tincture of some substance mixed in 100 parts of water. One part of that super diluted mixture becomes the next “tincture.” At 3C “the mother tincture will be diluted to one in a million” and at 6C “the dilution will be one in a billion” (Homeopathy: Heart and Soul, p. 23). Homeopathic doctor Keith Souter admits that a 12C solution is “unlikely to have even a single molecule of the original compound left.” Yet he recommends 30C or 200C potencies (p. 26)!

Dr. H.J. Bopp of Switzerland, who has studied homeopathy carefully, says: “Any patient receiving a homeopathic treatment at CH30 should be under no illusions as to its composition. There is no longer any of the named material substance in his pill or liquid whatsoever.”

Homeopathic practice claims that the diluted solution is effective because it has undergone a process known as dynamization or potentialization, which makes it possible to contact and retain a hidden power in the liquid. Keith Souter calls potentialization “one of the bedrocks of homeopathy” (p. 19). Hahnemann “believed that spiritual reality was more important than material reality” and “came to regard the ‘spiritual essence’ of a drug a smore important than its physical substance” (The Hidden Agenda, p. 99). Hahnemann “insisted that not only the diluted medicine but the actual process of diluting a medicine--the shaking and mixing--imparted healing powe to the substance. ... The vial containing the medicine had to be struck against a leather pad a number of times, so that the drug could be ‘dynamized’ and act’ spiritually upon the vital forces’ of the body” (pp. 100, 102).

Homeopathic practitioner Andrew Weil says:

“Homeopaths use remedies containing no drug materials, yet they believe in the existence and therapeutic power of some other aspect of the drug--of its idea, if you will, or its ghost or spirit. Truly HOMEOPATHY IS SPIRITUAL MEDICINE consistent with its founder’s views on the relative importance of spiritual verses material reality” (Health and Healing, 1988, p. 37).

The book The Science and the Art of Homeopathy by J.T. Kent says: “In the universe, everything has its own atmosphere. Each human being also possesses his atmosphere or his aura ... it occupies a very important place in homeopathic studies” (p. 108). Kent says the homoeopath must learn to see “with the eyes of the spirit” (p. 120).

The Swiss Journal of Homeopathy says that the homeopathic cure has an occultic mind of its own. It “knows just where to locate the originating cause of the disorder and the method of getting to it” and “neither the patient nor the doctor has as much wisdom or knowledge” (No. 2, 1961, p. 56). This is exactly what is said for Reiki “energy.”

Many homeopaths use radionic pendulums XE "Pendulum" (to detect and analyze human “energy fields” and to occulticly “douse XE "Dousing" ” for answers to questions) and astrology XE "Astrology" in their diagnosis. They also communicate with spiritualists in their search for cures. Dr. Bopp interviewed a woman who prior to her conversion to Christ had worked in a homeopathic laboratory of high standing in France. She said that when she was interviewed for the job she was asked for her astrological sign and queried as to whether she was a medium XE "Spiritualism" . When she passed the interview and was hired, she learned the secret of the inner working of the laboratory, that they researched new treatments by questioning spirits during séances! This woman renounced homeopathy after she was converted.

What about homeopathic healings? They could either be demonic or psychosomatic. Dr. G. Kuschinsky, who wrote a basic course in pharmacology in German, said, “Homeopathic substances may be admitted in the realm of suggestion, seeing that they possess neither main nor secondary effect.”

Dr. Bopp concludes with this warning:

“It would be naive to expect a clear response, a telling disclosure from doctors or chemists who give homeopathic treatment. There are to be sure some honourable and conscientious ones seeking to utilize a homeopathy detached from its obscure practices. Yet THE OCCULT INFLUENCE, BY NATURE HIDDEN, DISGUISED, OFTEN DISSIMULATED BEHIND A PARASCIENTIFIC THEORY, DOES NOT DISAPPEAR AND DOES NOT HAPPEN TO BE RENDERED HARMLESS BY THE MERE FACT OF A SUPERFICIAL APPROACH CONTENTING ITSELF SIMPLY WITH DENYING ITS EXISTENCE.

“HOMEOPATHY IS DANGEROUS! It is quite contrary to the teaching of the Word of God. It willingly favours healing through substances made dynamic, that is to say, charged with occult forces. Homeopathic treatment is the fruit of a philosophy and religion that are at the same time Hinduistic, pantheistic and esoteric.

“The occult influence in homeopathy is transmitted to the individual, bringing him consciously or unconsciously under demonic influence. ... It is significant frequently to find nervous depression in families using homeopathic treatments” (Homeopathy Examined, translated from French by Marvyn Kilgore, 1984).

REFLEXOLOGY

Reflexology XE "Reflexology" , which is also called zone therapy, is the technique of “applying pressure to specific reflex points to stimulate the body’s own healing powers.” It is based on the concept that different parts of the foot correspond to and are somehow connected to various parts of the body. By massaging the foot (or hand) the practitioner can allegedly detect problems and help maintain physical and psychological health.

It is a very popular practice, with millions of people using it each year.

While some reflexologists are basically foot massagers and only claim to stimulate relaxation and reduce stress, most go far beyond this. TreatYourFeet.com says reflexology “creates a physiological change in the body by naturally improving your circulation” and claims that it is “an effective technique for regaining better health.” The book “Feet Don’t Lie” says that “feet are a reflection of inner health,” promises that the client will “live a healthier, happier life,” and even claims that the feet can predict the future -- “where you are going is recorded in your soles.” Body Reflexology claims to be able to reverse the aging process.

Many reflexologists work on the occultic principle that the body has an energy field that can be manipulated. They call it “life force.” William Fitzgerald XE "Fitzgerald, William" , who invented modern reflexology in 1913, called it “bioelectric energy.” He believed that ten vertical zones of this energy called meridians run through the body, and by rubbing one part of the foot the practitioner can supposedly manipulate the organs and bones and tissues in that particular zone. Mildred Carter says, “By massaging reflexes ... you send a healing force to all parts of the body by opening up closed electrical lines that have shut off the universal life force” (Body Reflexology: Healing at Your Fingertips, p. 7). She also says that reflexology is “the healing miracle of the new age we are entering” (p. 8).

Many reflexologists use the New Age technique of visualization. The Holistic Health Handbook instructs the practitioner to “visualize yourself as being a channel for healing energy that flows through your hands” (p. 184). Eunice Ingham, a disciple of Fitzgerald, describes reflexology as “opening the blocked meridians and channeling the healing power through visualization” (Stories the Feet Have Told Thru Reflexology, p. 29).

It is obvious that reflexology is based on occultic principles and should be avoided by God’s people.

IRIDOLOGY

Iridology XE "Iridology" is the practice of examining the iris of the eye to diagnose an individual’s state of health, both psychological and physical. Similar to reflexology, iridology claims that each part of iris represents a corresponding area in the body.

Iridologists commonly diagnose “imbalances” which they treat with vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements (“Iridology: What Can the Eyes Really Tell,” http://your-doctor.com/patient_info/alternative_remedies/various_therapy/fraud_topics/bogus_tests_tx/iridology.html).

In controlled experiments iridologists have performed statistically no better than chance in determining the presence of disease (Stephen Barrett, “Iridology Is Nonsense,” http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/iridology.html)>

ACUPUNCTURE
Acupuncture XE "Acupuncture" is the placement of needles at various points in the body to block pain and bring healing.

Its popularity has exploded in the West since the visit of President Richard Nixon to China XE "China" in 1972.

It is based on the Eastern philosophy that there are pathways in the body that facilitate the flow of occultic energy called chi XE "Chi" or qi (pronounced chee). A disharmonious flow causes physical and psychological ailments and the flow can be manipulated and harmonized through various practices, such as yoga, acupuncture, qigong, and reiki. The energy flows through the body along pathways calls meridians. There are fourteen primary channels that are (allegedly) manipulated with acupuncture (Jeffrey Singer, “Acupuncture: A Brief Introduction,” http://www.acupuncture.com/education/theory/acuintro.htm). The acupuncture points are supposed locations where the meridians come to the surface of the skin.

It is also based on the occultic concepts of yin and yang, which are the two opposite forces of the Qi energy. If the yin XE "Yin and Yang" and yang are out of balance, ill health results, and they must be brought into balance through the various occultic techniques.

There are said to be between 360 and 2,000 acupuncture points.

Acupuncture diagnosis is often done by examining the tongue and teeth, listening to the breath, smelling body odor, inquiring about fever, perspiration, appetite, defecation and urination, pain and sleep, and feeling the body for “palpation” in the mystical “ashi” points.

Other forms of acupuncture are ELECTRO-ACUPUNCTURE (the use of weak electrical impulses to stimulate the needles), AURICULOTHERAPY or AURICULAR ACUPUNCTURE (performing acupuncture on the ear), ACUPRESSURE XE "Acupressure" (applying pressure to the meridian energy points), MOXIBUSTION (applying heat to acupuncture points), and CUPPING (stimulating the points by suction).

Though some modern practitioners in the West are trying to divorce acupuncture from its occultic origins, it is not possible. It is occultic and mystical rather than medical. Felix Mann, first president of the British Medical Acupuncture Society, admitted, “The traditional acupuncture points are no more real than the black spots a drunkard sees in front of his eyes” (Acupuncture: The Ancient Chinese Art of Healing, p. 14).

Harriet Hall, a family doctor who analyzed the research into acupuncture, concluded: “Acupuncture studies have shown that it makes no difference where you put the needles. Or whether you use needles or just pretend to use needles (as long as the subject believes you used them). Many acupuncture researchers are doing what I call Tooth Fairy science: measuring how much money is left under the pillow without bothering to ask if the Tooth Fairy is real” (Stephen Barrett, “Be Wary of Acupuncture, Qigong, and ‘Chinese Medicine,’” http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/acu.html).

CHIROPRACTIC

Chiropractic XE "Chiropractic" \b is hugely popular. There are about 70,000 licensed practitioners in America alone, and several million people are treated annually.

Most patients who visit for the first time do so for lower back pain, neck pain, and headaches.

Chiropractic was developed in the late 19th century by Daniel D. Palmer XE "Palmer, Daniel" (1845-1913), an occultist who attended spiritualist meetings. He practiced magnetic healing and admitted that chiropractic was an outgrowth of this. At a coroner’s inquiry in 1905, Palmer refused to take the oath “so help me God,” protesting, “I don’t want any help from God” (“Osteopathy and Chiropractice,” Nov. 11, 2004, http://quackfiles.blogspot.com/2004/11/osteopathy-and-chiropractic-little.html).

A foundational doctrine of classic chiropractic is “vertebral subluxation.” This refers to “a myriad of signs and symptoms thought to occur as a result of a misaligned or dysfunctional spinal segment” (Wikipedia). It is not something that can be seen or measured, which is in contrast to the medical definition of spinal subluxation as “a gross misalignment of a joint that can be objectively measured.”

“The chiropractic vertebral subluxation complex has been a source of controversy and confusion since its inception in 1895 with critics both inside and outside the profession due to its metaphysical origins and claims of far reaching effects” (Wikipedia).

Palmer’s son, Bartlett XE "Palmer, Bartlett" (1882-1961), who was also involved in the occult, was responsible for popularizing chiropractic and establishing it as an acceptable medical practice. He believed that the relief of subluxations was a cure for basically all disease (“Chiropractic,” Citizendium). He was opposed to vaccination and rejected the germ doctrine of infectious disease, which is foundational to modern medicine and which has been so beneficial to mankind.

Palmer, who rejected the teaching of the Bible, believed that an intelligent natural healing energy called Innate XE "Innate" flows through the body and is connected to the “Universal Intelligence” or “Great Spirit” that permeates the universe. This is based on the pagan doctrine that God is in everything, and that man is separated from God because of sin. Palmer’s Innate is comparable to the Taoist chi XE "Chi" . He believed that Innate flows through the nervous system and can be blocked. Chiropractic, which means “done by hand,” manipulates or adjusts the spine to remove the blockages and enable the body to maintain its innate healing ability.

Chiropractic has branched into many occultic practices in recent decades. Chiropractor George Goodheart invented Applied Kinesiology. Bernard Jensen XE "Jensen, Bernard" invented Iridology XE "Iridology" . Scott Walker invented Neuro Emotional Technique. John Thie invented Touch for Health. John Diamond developed Behavioral Kinesiology.

The Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs describes why it is such a short step from chiropractic to all sorts of occultic mysticism:

“It is important to understand the logical connection between chiropractic, the potential for dabbling in the psychic world, and muscle testing. Classic chiropractic theory easily lends itself to the acceptance of a psychic realm as related to health. ... That Goodheart might have used psychic means to develop his system of applied kinesiology would not be surprising. Furthermore, although elements of the chiropractic profession are scientifically oriented and practiced responsibly, chiropractic itself often rejects the safeguards of the scientific method; historically, it has opposed medical science and rejected any findings disproving its theories. Chiropractic, for example, was founded upon a false theory of subluxations being the cause of all disease, and its early concept of the ‘Innate’ is difficult to distinguish from psychic energy in general.”

Some chiropractors themselves warn about this New Age infiltration. Writing for the Institute for Chiropractic Ethics Phillip Lawrence wrote:

“In my 20 years of practice I have painfully observed my beloved profession heading steadily toward eastern mysticism, new age, and occult philosophies and practices. I feel saddened and angered that our grand and distinguished science of healing is rapidly becoming bastardized with these quasi-science modalities. When patients tell me they’ve been to other chiropractors that have read their auras, told them to sit under pyramids, advised them to have psychic readings, or have said that their problems are the result of bad karma, I feel both disgust and anger at the sheer buffoonery of such advice. ... Crystals! Acupuncture! Yoga! Damp spleens! Visualization techniques! What’s next? A séance communicating with D.D. Palmer? The reason the medical profession has such esteem in patients’ minds is that at least they draw the line somewhere. Where is our line?” (http://www.chiroethics.com/archives/what_is_next.html).

There is no evidence for the theory of subluxations, and chiropractic diagnosis and remedy is infamously subjective.

“One committee against health fraud sent a healthy four-year-old girl to five different chiropractors for a physical checkup. One claimed the child’s shoulder blades were ‘out of place’ and that she had ‘pinched nerves to her stomach and gallbladder.’ Another said that the child’s pelvis was ‘twisted.’ A third said that one hip was ‘elevated’ above the other and that spinal misalignments might cause her headaches, digestive problems, nervousness, and other disorders in the future. Another predicted that if her ‘shorter left leg’ were not treated she would have a problem in childbirth. The fifth found hip and neck problems and adjusted them without bothering to ask permission” (Ankerberg and Weldon, Can You Trust Your Doctor, p. 234).

The problem of chiropractic dependency seems to be great. I have personally known of many people who visit their chiropracticioner regularly for adjustments. Dr. Andrew Weil says:

“Chiropractors are quite successful in making patients dependent on them. I have never heard of a patient being told he or she has a normal spine on a first visit to one of these practitioners. There are always subluxations. Must patients are told they must come in for regular manipulation to make the adjustment ‘hold.’ The tendency of chiropractors [is] to seduce patients into long and costly therapy” (Can You Trust Your Doctor, p. 235).

There are several types of chiropractors today. The article on “Chiropractic” in the Citizendium divides them into four categories: Traditional Straights deal with subluxation and promote a broad scepticism toward childhood vaccination, pharmacology, and medical care. Objective Straights also focus on correcting subluxations, but they encourage their patients to consult medical physicans when necessary. Mixers use more diverse diagnostic and treatment approaches, including naturopathic remedies and physical therapy devices. Reform chiropractors integrate their practice into contemporary medicine and do not subscribe to the Palmer philosophy or the subluxation theory.

Thus, not all chiropractors are involved in the occultic theories and practices. Some merely use physical adjustments and massage to remedy neuromusculoskeletal ailments rather than dealing at an occultic “innate” level, and they do not condemn modern medicine.

MACROBIOTICS

Macrobiotics XE "Macrobiotics" is a largely vegetarian XE "Vegetarianism" diet (some fish is allowed) that incorporates occultic principles of eastern mysticism. Its practitioners admit that it is not just a diet but “a philosophy of dynamic living.” The Bible-believer will want to know exactly what that philosophy is and whether it is in accordance with God’s Word.

The term “macrobiotic” means “big life” or “the way of longevity.”

It was brought to Europe in the early 20th century by George Ohsawa XE "Ohsawa, George" , a Japanese philosopher, and to America in the 1950s by students of Ohsawa, the most prominent of whom was Michio Kushi XE "Kushi, Michio" . Many of the first customers and owners of alternative food stores were students of macrobiotics (“Health Food: Macrobiotic Brown Rice,” Natural Museum of American History, http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object.cfm?key=35&objkey=97).

The diet itself focuses on eating whole cereal grains, such as brown rice, as staples (50-60%), supplemented with vegetables (25-30%), beans and legumes (5-10%), and miso soup (5%). It avoids the use of highly processed or refined foods (“Macrobiotic Diet,” Wikipedia).

It is not merely a dietary plan, though. Its “core teaching” is “that God, nature, the Universe and all aspects of creation are simply, One” (Verne Varona, “A Guide to the Macrobiotic Principles,” http://www.macrobiotics.co.uk/articles/principles.htm).

“Briefly put, it’s an idiosyncratic version of the ancient concept of yin and yang. According to oriental philosophy yin and yang are opposing yet complimentary forces which are presumed to exist throughout all elements of the universe. It’s necessary to maintain a balance and harmony between yin and yang XE "Yin and Yang" ... Everything is assigned yin and yang qualities. In dietary counseling and practice, these designations are used to explain how a supposed imbalance in the diet results in a health disorder. The imbalance isn’t explained nutritionally, understand. It is explained philosophically” (The Hidden Agenda, p. 107).

For example, the macrobiotic diet typically avoids tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, potatoes, spinich, beets, avacodos, sugar, coffee, honey, chocolate, commercial milk, cheese, hot spices, fruit, cream, yogurt -- because these are allegedly “extreme yin.” On the other hand, poultry, meat, eggs, and other things are avoided because they are “extreme yang.”

In the Old Testament, God’s people freely ate fruit, milk, and honey (Numbers 13:23-27), caring not a whit about their supposed “yin” qualities. God Himself described the Promised Land as a land “flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8).

There is no support for the yin/yang concept in Scripture. It is a lie of the devil and brings people into an occultic bondage. Macrobiotics is intimately associated with earth worship, self-worship, pantheism, monism, reincarnation, and many other gross and very dangerous spiritual errors.

The macrobiotic practitioner finds himself caught up in a whirlpool of legalism in regard to eating. He is told not only what to eat and what not to eat, but also when to eat it (e.g, wild plants and fresh greens in spring and round vegetables and root vegetables in winter), how many times a day to eat it, how to cook it (e.g., over a flame rather than by electricity or microwave, using only cast iron, stainless steel or clay cookware), and how to prepare it according to the time of year (e.g., steaming in spring and summer). Composition of dishes and choices of foods are adjusted according to season, climate, sex, age, and many other things. The conscientious macrobiotic practitioner is even instructed as to how he must eat his food (chewing each bite from 50 to 100 times).

Macrobiotics doesn’t stop there. It instructs the practitioner to take short baths or showers with warm or cool water, to wear only cotton clothing, to avoid metallic jewelry, to use products made only from natural ingredients, to avoid computer use, etc. etc.

The macrobiotic practitioners on the Internet claim to be free, but it is a very strange sort of freedom!

Mishio Kushi, a leading macrobiotics practitioner, says:

“We lead our life in a simple modest way, eating macrobiotically and develop a spirit of gratitude to everyone and everything. This way, it becomes easy to attain the order of the infinite universe which is our life itself--eternal and everlasting” (Kushi Institute literature and promotional materials, quoted from The Hidden Agenda, p. 108).

This is obviously a pagan philosophy that is contrary to Scripture. Observe that he is thankful to “everything” but not to the Almighty Creator God, and he believes that everlasting life is gained by a macrobiotics lifestyle rather than through faith in Jesus Christ. This is a false gospel, and the child of God should have nothing to do with it.

Macrobiotic counselors diagnose their patients through iridology and other bogus methods.

Dr. David Sneed describes a woman named Bonlyn Walls who began delving into macrobiotics after visits to a New Age food store. She says, “For one thing, I was looking for a low-sugar diet. And I liked vegetables and fruits and whole grain foods” (The Hidden Agenda, p. 103). There is nothing wrong with these foods, of course, but the problem is that she was gradually drawn into occultic idolatry. She says:

“Looking back, that diet became an idol to me. I ate macrobiotically to save myself from disease and an uncaring environment, to avoid modern fast-paced consciousness, and from a deeply spiritual connection to the earth, to my food, and to my own existence” (p. 104).

By God’s grace she came to understand the error of macrobiotics and turned away from it. In retrospect she says, “That diet was a very real snare to me.”

Sneed describes another woman who went “completely nutty” over macrobiotics, not allowing anyone to come near her while she was eating, throwing away all clothing made of non-cotton fibers, walking on stones, not answering the phone. “She had shut herself off from the real world, in a little room of anger and fear and magical thinking” (p. 31).

The Journal of the American Medical Association and the AMA Council on Foods and Nutrition have issued warnings that strict followers of macrobiotics are in “great danger” of malnutrition (Wikipedia). “Scientific studies in the United States and Europe have shown that a strict traditional macrobiotic diet can lead to a variety of nutritional deficiencies, especially in protein, amino acids, calcium, iron, zinc, and ascorbic acid. These deficiencies can result in drastic weight loss, anemia, scurvy, and hypocalcemia. In children, a strict macrobiotic diet can cause stunted growth, protein and calorie malnutrition, and bone age retardation” (Alternative Medicine Encyclopedia).

1 Timothy 4:4 says, “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving.”

NATUROPATHY

Naturopathy XE "Naturopathy" in the United States was developed by Benedict Lust XE "Lust, Benedict" , who founded the American School of Naturopathy in 1902. It is built on the following three basic principles:

“(1) The body has a natural drive to maintain equilibrium--symptoms of disease are only indications that the body is striving to heal itself. (2) The root of all disease is the accumulation of waste products and toxins due to poor life-style habits. (3) The body contains both the wisdom and the power to heal itself--provided one does what enhances rather than what interferes with this power” (The Hidden Agenda, p. 109).

All three of these principles are half truths, and half truths can be whole lies. While it is true that the body has a natural drive to maintain equilibrium, it is not true that all symptoms of disease are indicative of the body trying to heal itself. While the accumulation of wastes and toxins due to poor life-style habits is the root of some disease, it is definitely not the root of all disease. And to say that the body has “the wisdom and the power to heal itself” is only partially true, because there are dramatic limits to the body’s healing power, regardless of what diet you eat or how you live.

Dr. David Sneed says:

“A naturopath believes in a world of physical toxins in which most people are poisoning themselves through what they eat. Foods filled with addictives, high in sugar, and low in fiber are the culprits, they say. Now, as a physician, I’m certainly interested in seeing a person achieve a low fat, high fiber diet. ... What is not proven is the importance naturopaths place on various toxins, both those which occur naturally within the body and those that come from such external sources as pesticides and chemicals” (p. 109).

Homeopathy, acupuncture, and “oriental medicine” are among the set of core subjects taught at naturopathic schools. Oriental medicine refers to the belief in the occultic chi energy that allegedly flows through the meridians of the body and the balancing of yin and yang.

Many naturopaths are involved with other New Age practices such as mind control, reflexology, biofeedback, meditation, and yoga, and are “reluctant to support vaccination treatments, even for the routine prevention of such things as measles, mumps, polio, tetanus, diphtheria and pertussus” (The Hidden Agenda, p. 111).

ROLFING

The official name for this procedure is Structural Integration XE "Structural Integration" \t "See Rolfing" , and an estimated one million people have received the treatment.
The popular name Rolfing XE "Rolfing" comes from its inventor, Ida Rolf XE "Rolf, Ida" (1896-1979). She was a student of osteopathy, homeopathy, chiropractic, and yoga.

Rolfing is a type of deep massage therapy that is advertised as a treatment to ease pain and chronic stress and improve performance in professional and daily activities. At its heart, though, is the belief in an occultic energy field.

Rolf described the practice as an attempt to “realign the random body into an orderly, balanced ENERGY SYSTEM that can operate in the field of gravity” (Positive Living and Health, 1990, p. 325), and, “Rolfers organize the body that the gravity field can reinforce the body’s ENERGY FIELD” (Rolf Institute, Boulder, Colorado, 1971). This refers to the eastern occultic energy field.

Dr. David Sneed says that Rolf “reported changes in her subjects’ ‘energy bodies,’ which were confirmed by an ‘aura reader’” (The Hidden Agenda, p. 85).

Rolfing also holds to the unproven idea of muscular “armoring,” which is said to consist of esoteric barriers that are built up against one’s physical and psychic wounds in life (p. 86). Rolfing supposedly releases memories and emotions and melts the “armoring.”

APPLIED KINESIOLOGY

Applied Kinesiology XE "Applied Kinesiology" XE "Kinesiology" \t "See Applied Kinesiology" (AK) is the “alternative medical” practice of using manual muscle-strength testing to diagnose physical health. (It should not be confused with “kinesiology” or biomechanics, which is the scientific study of human movement.) It is based on the premise that every illness is accompanied by a weakness in a corresponding muscle.

It was invented in 1964 by chiropractor George Goodheart XE "Goodheart, George" (d. 2008) and is one of the most popular chiropractic techniques in the United States, with 43% of chiropractors employing it in 1998.

“Goodheart combined the occultic philosophy of early chiropractic theory concerning the body’s supposed Innate Intelligence with ancient Eastern practices designed to regulate supposed mystical life energies within the body. ... Applied kinesiology is thus a blending of the theory and/or practice of chiropractic and ancient Chinese Taoism. ... various occultic and spiritistic books ... employ [muscle testing] toward that end ... That applied kinesiology is used in occult practice is not surprising given the fact that Goodheart himself is a psychic who developed his system by psychic methods” (John Ankerberg and John Weldon, Can You Trust Your Doctor? p. 167).

Goodheart associated Applied Kinesiology with the flow of chi XE "Chi" energy along the occultic meridians. The AK book Infections: A Lifetime of Health for Your Child suggests that the Applied Kinesiology practitioner can find the reason for infection by evaluating and correcting “the energy patterns within the body.”

The most common Applied Kinesiology test is the Delta, whereby the patient resists as the practitioner exerts downward force on the arm (“Applied Kinesiology,” Wikipedia). Other tests include assessing the patient’s gait and pressing “trigger points” to analyze supposed muscle weakness,

The “tests” are entirely subjective and their interpretation depends solely upon the particular practitioner. There are no absolute standards that can be applied.

The practice involves New Age hocus pocus and visualization XE "Visualization" . In “therapy localization,” for example, the practitioner places a hand over an area suspected to be in need of therapeutic attention and “the fingertip is hypothesized to focus the mind on the relevant area,” which allegedly results in a change in muscle response (Wikipedia). “The hand is thought to become a sort of psychic ‘conduit,’ able to locate the point of impaired function, allowing the practitioner to successfully ‘treat’ the symptom. Some practitioners claim that they use their hands to ‘sense’ various energy imbalances in different organs, much in the manner used by practitioners of psychic healing” (Encyclopedia of New Age Belief).

AK is also used to test the emotional responses to situations by performing muscle testing while the patient visualizes various situations (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Applied_Kinesiology.asp).

Nutritional deficiencies are detected by placing various items on the patient’s tongue or placing the items in his hand or touching them to various parts of the body, and then re-testing for muscle strength. “If the muscle tests ‘stronger,’ the substance supposedly can remedy problems in the corresponding body parts. Testing is also claimed to indicate which nutrients are deficient. If a weak muscle becomes stronger after a nutrient (or a food high in the nutrient) is chewed, that supposedly indicates ‘a deficiency normally associated with that muscle’” (Stephen Barrett, “Applied Kinesiology,” http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/ak.html).

Applied Kinesiology even claims to be able to detect problems before they arise, which leads to a regime of preventive checkups. “In this case patients are encouraged to have a general diagnostic checkup, even when they feel fine. ... Proper treatment is then applied before the underlying ‘problem’ has a chance to manifest outward illness” (Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs).

Once diagnosis is made, the prescription typically involves massage, chiropractic “adjustments,” and often overpriced vitamins, susupplements, and homeopathic remedies.

Research has proven Applied Kinesiology to be bogus.

“A few researchers have investigated kinesiology muscle-testing procedures in controlled clinical studies. The results showed that applied kinesiology was not an accurate diagnostic tool, and that muscle response was not any more useful than random guessing. In fact, one study found that experienced kinesiologists made very different assessments regarding nutrient status for the same patients” (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Applied_Kinesiology.asp).

NEURO-EMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES

Neuro-Emotional Techniques (NET) XE "Neuro Emotional Techniques" was developed in the 1980s by Scott Walker XE "Walker, Scott" , a chiropractor XE "Chiropractic" . It is adapted from Applied Kinesiology and is based on the same pagan principle that the body’s occultic energy or chi must be kept in balance.

NET focuses on the emotions. It claims that negative emotions can create “locks” and imbalances in the nervous system called a Neuro-Emotional Complex (NEC). The NEC can also, allegedly, manifest as a spinal subluxation or an imbalance in an acupuncture meridian. This, in turn, causes ill health.

NET claims that the locks and imbalances can be tested through muscle testing, body reflex points, and semantic reactions.

The patient is instructed to think of an issue that is upsetting and is then tested.

The diagnosis and prescription are purely subjective, of course.

NET is said to be able to diagnose problems and feelings, access the subconscious, discover early traumas, and act as a biofeedback loop, to teach people what they are feeling (http://healing.about.com/od/net/a/net_jgazley_2.htm).

TOUCH FOR HEALTH

Touch for Health XE "Touch for Health" was developed by chiropractor John Thie XE "Thie, John" . It is a form of Applied Kinesiology but it moves even more deeply into the realm of the psychic. Thie claims that the life energy can be regulated and manipulated by mental power alone. This is the New Age practice of visualization. “In fact, you do not even have to make contact with the body. You can simply follow the meridians in your mind’s eye, through concentration, and produce much the same effect” (Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs).

Thie believes that “we are all one with the universe” (“Touch for Health: An Interview with John Thie,” Science of Mind, Sept.1977).

BEHAVIORAL KINESIOLOGY

Behavioral Kinesiology XE "Behavioral Kinesiology" , which was developed by a chiropractor named John Diamond XE "Diamond, John" , takes Applied Kinesiology to its highest occultic level.

Diamond says that “Life Energy” is the “source of our physical and mental well-being” and is the same as the Chinese chi. The thymus gland, which is a lymphoid gland located beneath the breastbone at heart level, is said to be the “seat of the Life Energy” and “monitors and regulates energy flow in the meridian system.”

According to BK, muscle testing can be used for basically anything in one’s life, testing what type of music to listen to, what color to paint one’s house, what foods to eat and which vitamins to take.

BK claims that life energy is depleted by things such as shaking one’s head, frowning, looking at a depiction of a cross, synthetic or refined foods, sunglasses, the musical note C, hats, cold showers, microwaves, perfume, even artificial light. “According to BK ... most things in our modern technological world are conspiring against us, depleting our ‘life energy’” (Encyclopedia of New Age Belief). Further, people with depleted energy can deplete others by being in their presence or even by appearing on television!

If BK is true, it would mean that the individual should spend much of his life testing things in order to be sure that his life energy is in proper order and scrupulously avoiding any and everything that might be destructive to his energy field. I wonder now many people have become paranoid psychotics through such a philosophy!

CONCLUDING WARNING

We are forbidden to adopt the ways of the heathen (Jeremiah 10:2). Things associated with idolatry and pagan darkness are demonic, and the Bible forbids us to participate with such things (1 Corinthians 10:19-21). The Word of God warns, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11).

Delving into secret or occultic realms is forbidden. This is the very essence of divination and wizardry. See Leviticus 19:31 and Deuteronomy 18:10-12.

As for diet, there is no biblical diet XE "Diet" that is required for God’s people today as there was in the Old Testament. Paul warned that vegetarianism XE "Vegetarianism" as a legalistic practice is a doctrine of devils, and he taught that all things are good to eat if received with thanksgiving (1 Timothy 4:1-5). For the Christian, diet is a matter of health and personal preference, not a matter of Bible doctrine.

We should beware of an overemphasis on diet. It can become idolatrous. The Bible teaches us to put our focus on the spiritual rather than the physical. “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).

We don’t live in paradise. We live in a cursed world and a body of death (Rom. 8:22-23; 7:24). Life is short at best, and no matter what kind of diet you adopt you will plenty of problems and sicknesses and will eventually die.

The Bible says we should die to self and live for Christ and for His gospel’s sake (Mark 8:35). Christ’s Great Commission instructs us to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mat. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15; Acts 1:8). Finicky eaters are a nuisance rather than a help in this work. My wife and I have lived in South Asia for nearly two decades, and I thank the Lord that we have not had to worry about maintaining some sort of strict diet.
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The previous study is excerpted from the August 2008 edition of THE NEW AGE TOWER OF BABEL by David Cloud. This book is available from Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, www.wayoflife.org (online catalog), fbns@wayoflife.org (e-mail).

Terre'Blanche Murder Reveals South Africa Racial Divide

Terre'Blanche Murder Reveals South Africa Racial Divide

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100405/wl_time/08599197789000

By ALEX PERRY / CAPE TOWN Alex Perry / Cape Town – Mon Apr 5, 6:55 pm ET

The figurehead of unapologetic white racism in Africa died as he lived. Eugene Terre'Blanche, the 69-year-old founder of the far-right-wing Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB), was hacked and bludgeoned to death on his farm outside Ventersdorp in the far north of South Africa on Saturday by two workers whom, according to South Africa's Sunday Times, he had refused to pay their monthly salary of 300 rand ($40). A 28-year-old man and 15-year-old boy were arrested and charged with murder shortly after the killing.


South African politicians of all color decried the murder of Terre'Blanche, but few would dispute that it followed the pattern of racism and violence that defined his life. Terre'Blanche set up the militant white supremacist AWB in the 1970s, resisting all moves to reform the country's apartheid system of white minority rule and vowing to take power by force if the regime gave up power. Though three of Terre'Blanche's "generals" did try to invade the former black homeland of Boputhatswana in 1994 (and were executed in the street) and though Terre'Blanche did once take matters into his own hands (in 2001, he was jailed for six years for assaulting a black gas attendant in his hometown), he was more a vainglorious blowhard than a serious threat to South Africa's fragile racial make-up. For one thing, he had no meaningful plan to run a government.

Instead, the bearded, khaki-clad Afrikaner preferred to give theatrical voice to white racism, prizing spectacle and provocation over substance. To that end, he adopted as his movement's flag a red, white and black swastika-like emblem; he arrived at rallies on horseback, carrying a gold-topped cane; and he led his supporters in a dramatic invasion of the venue where the apartheid regime and Nelson Mandela's African National Congress (ANC) were negotiating a transition to democracy in 1993.

Terre'Blanche became a figure of international notoriety less because of the power he wielded, which was inconsequential, than because his militant prejudice contrasted so poorly with the racial reconciliation personified by Mandela. But many in South Africa fear that Terre'Blanche's death does not signal the nasty end of a politics of racial demagoguery. Instead, it brings into sharp focus the racial division that continues to scar South Africa 16 years after the end of apartheid. In particular, many see a striking similarity between Terre'Blanche's white supremacy and the black chauvinism articulated by the leader of the ruling ANC's Youth League, Julius Malema. Like the slain AWB leader, Malema wields little real power and proposes no credible solutions to the crises facing the country, such as the world's largest population living with HIV/AIDS, rampaging violent crime and mass unemployment.

Like Terre'Blanche, Malema seems to regard his role as fighting a war long since over - and in which he had no part, having been just eight years old when it ended. Like Terre'Blanche, the ANC Youth League leader favors bluster, spectacle and provocation over substance; and giving voice to the kind of vengeful intolerance that Mandela so successfully kept under control. (See pictures of Johanessburg preparing for the World Cup.)


On the day Terre'Blanche died, Malema was in neighboring Zimbabwe, praising Robert Mugabe's regime for confiscating white-owned farms and businesses from whites. "In [South Africa] we are just starting," he said. "Here in Zimbabwe you are already very far... and that's what we are going to be doing in South Africa." Such apparent backing for long overdue wealth redistribution is, however, undermined by the Zimbabwean regime's habit of redistributing largely to those in positions of power - and Malema has also faced a media firestorm at home over his accumulation of substantial personal wealth despite having come from an impoverished background and having held no job outside of the ANC.

(He denies accusations of corruption). And in an incident suddenly given bloody resonance by Terre'Blanche's death, Malema has in recent weeks been at the center of a new controversy over his singing of an anti-white song at a gathering of college students. The song's lyrics describe white farmers as thieves and rapists and include the chorus "Shoot the boer." [Boer is Afrikaans for "farmer"] Following the event, the High Court declared the singing of the song illegal, categorizing it as hate speech which is prohibited by South Africa's constitution.

Opposition politicians were quick to warn that South Africa needs to finally consign racism to history. The Democratic Alliance called Terre'Blanche's murder "an attack on the diverse components of South Africa's democracy" and urged the ANC "to strongly condemn [the] racist utterances which have become synonymous with Malema and his ilk." Terre'Blanche's supporters went further, with AWB spokesman AndrÉ Visagie blaming Malema directly for their leader's murder, which he described as "a declaration of war." With just 68 days left before the start of the soccer World Cup in a country already infamous for violent crime, Visagie urged foreign teams to stay away for their own safety. President Jacob Zuma, meanwhile, appealed for calm, condemning "this terrible deed" and urging South Africans "not to allow agent provocateurs to take advantage of the situation by inciting or fueling racial hatred." Sadly, that is exactly what many South Africans expect from Julius Malema.

Racial Tension Reaches Boiling Point in South Africa: Julius Malema Calls for the Killing of Whites

Julius Malema Calls forand the Killing of Whites – Racial Tension Reaches Boiling Point

As tension mounts after high-profile murder, is a race war looming?

by Shaun Willcock

The purpose of these articles is to provide insightful comment on the contemporary South African and southern African scene from a Christian, “politically-incorrect” perspective, in order to counter the propaganda of the Reds, almost-Reds (liberals and others), religious Reds (“liberation theologians”), and all their fellow-travellers; and to encourage Christians to pray for the people of this beautiful but desperately needy part of the world, and especially for their Christian brethren living here; and to do what they can to assist them.


Julius Malema, the leader of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL), has earned a reputation in South Africa as loud-mouthed, uncouth, racist, hate-filled, vengeful, and extremely dangerous. He has regularly made shocking statements, in a very public manner, often threatening people, especially white South Africans and those within the ANC itself whom he dislikes. He is a rabid supporter of President Jacob Zuma, even famously saying that he was willing to “Kill for Zuma”! It seems, though, that no matter how vicious his statements, no matter how inciting, no one in the top leadership of the ANC dares to discipline him. He appears to be untouchable, no doubt because even the top brass fear his growing popularity and power with the black youth. Zuma himself has stated publicly that Malema has the potential to be a future president. This kind of talk fills people with dread and fear: they see, in their minds, all the terrible African despots who have come to power since Colonialism ended, and the massacres they unleashed on their countries. Nelson Mandela, despite being a terrorist at one time, managed in his old age, as the country’s first black president, to allay white South Africans’ fears to some extent; Thabo Mbeki, his successor, made some chilling and very dangerous statements and was known for his hatred of whites; Jacob Zuma, Mbeki’s successor, comes across as an affable man with the common touch, who has assured whites that they belong to South Africa, and yet he appears to be grooming the odious Malema for greatness, which bodes very ill and makes Zuma’s motives very suspect indeed. If indeed he is headed for high office in South Africa one day, this is one of the most ominous development in SA politics since the ANC came to power in 1994. For this man is dangerous. Very, very much so.

His Allegedly Extravagant Lifestyle

But as he continues to shoot his mouth off, there is a growing chorus, from all sectors of society, for something to be done about him. And recently, the Star newspaper reported on his extravagant lifestyle, despite claiming to be on the side of the “poor”. The paper claimed that Malema had bought houses with a combined worth of almost R5 million, for cash. It also claimed that he earned a salary of about R20 000 a month, and that he owns a Mercedes-Benz, an Aston Martin, and a Range Rover Sport. Furthermore, it claimed that he is the director of four companies. Yet Malema himself is on record as saying, “You must never role model a rich person who cannot explain how they got rich. In the ANC we must not have corrupt people as role models. Corrupt means a simple thing – you can’t explain the big amount in your bank account.” As journalist William Saunderson-Meyer commented, tongue firmly in cheek: “What a wonderful land of opportunity we live in. A 20-something man who failed woodwork in high school can turn his hand to running a brace of construction companies and become a multi-millionaire overnight. This is truly a vindication of the [ANC] slogan [of the 1970s and 1980s] ‘no education before liberation.’”

As Malema recently called for the nationalisation of SA’s mines, Anton Alberts, the parliamentary spokesman for the Freedom Front Plus, a conservative Afrikaner political party, said, very correctly: “If all the information is correct, then Mr Malema maintains a lifestyle which is far above his income. He cannot, just like Stalin, give himself out to be a Communist who wants to nationalise mines, but at the same time live like a Capitalist.”

Of course, predictably, Malema and the ANC denied the report, demanding a retraction and an apology from the paper, calling the reports far-fetched, untrue and deceitful. Malema said, “I’m not desperate. The ANC pays me very well – more than R20 000 a month.”

Defending Malema, an ANC Youth League official said the ANC had fought in “the struggle” (i.e. the terrorist revolution) for the sort of lifestyle that Malema enjoyed! He said: “He has a right, because these are the privileges and rights that we have fought for.” He added: “If the opportunity has come for one to prosper, why must we be jealous?” And: “We are not saying there is anything wrong with people accumulating wealth, because at the end of the day it is this African National Congress that fought for the distribution of wealth.” This statement reminds one of what a senior ANC leader said a few years ago: “We did not join the struggle to stay poor.” One is also reminded of George Orwell’s Animal Farm: “All pigs are equal, but some are more equal than others.” Communists preach about equality for all, but when they come to power the elite are as Capitalistic as any Capitalist. They became revolutionaries, not because they genuinely cared for the poor, but because the revolution was a way to eventually make themselves wealthy and powerful.

He Sings “Shoot the Boers” – and Stirs a Nationwide Reaction

In Malema’s racist outburst at a public meeting in March, he burst into song, singing, “Shoot the boere, they are rapists.” The Afrikaans word, boere, means “farmers”, but it is also the name many Afrikaners give to their people; and thus the song calls for the killing of both farmers (the vast majority of whom are white, both English and Afrikaners), and of Afrikaners as a nation. South Africa has “hate speech” laws which forbid this kind of thing. We do not believe in the definition of “hate speech” as given in the legislation, for any statement that is considered even “hurtful” to someone is considered “hate speech”, and this is pathetic and wrong. It turns people into childish cry babies, running off to the Human Rights Commission every time they feel “hurt” by something someone has said, and it stifles robust debate and freedom of the press and of expression. For this reason we do not agree with a recent court judgment that found Malema guilty of “hate speech” for saying that President Zuma’s rape accuser had a “nice time” with her. His statement was disgusting, but to label it “hate speech” was ridiculous, and illustrates precisely what the dangers are with regard to this “hate speech” legislation. But when a public figure like Julius Malema calls for white people to be killed and brands them all as rapists, this, most definitely, is speech that is “incitement to cause harm”, “incitement to violence”, which is part of the definition of “hate speech” in the legislation. And for such inciting speech, Malema should be prosecuted. It is dangerous and inflammatory and leads to the actual murder of whites by blacks.

After Malema sang the song, Pieter Mulder, leader of the Freedom Front Plus, laid a criminal charge against Malema, saying the use of the slogan contravenes Section 16 of the SA Constitution. “In terms of this section, no person may advocate hate which is based on the grounds of race, ethnicity, gender or religion and which incites action to cause harm to others,” he said. He said that the previous week, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa promised farmers (most of whom are white) that the police would try to reduce farm murders, but Malema’s speech “creates the opposite atmosphere”.

The Freedom Front Plus also stated: “The FF Plus is of the opinion that Malema’s behavioural patterns are starting to adhere to the description of enticement to genocide in terms of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.” In this it is correct, and truly, Malema’s statements could very possibly lead to an attempt at genocide against white South Africans at some point down the line, unless something is done, and done soon. It is a frightening scenario and not at all far-fetched, and people in South Africa and abroad need to understand the very real possibility of this.

The chairman of the civil organisation, AfriForum Youth, Ernst Roets, said the organisation would submit a complaint to the Equality Court in Johannesburg, and that this was not the first time Malema had sung the song, reminiscent of former ANCYL leader Peter Mokaba, who used to chant the slogan, “Kill the Boer, kill the Farmer”. Malema sang the slogan at his birthday celebrations in Polokwane, in a province where six farmers were murdered in the past month, Roets said. AfriForum said that it would seek an urgent high court interdict to stop Malema from singing the song. It said the song “describes farmers and whites as dogs, cowards, robbers and rapists, and includes a call to shoot farmers and whites.”

The SA Human Rights Commission, which in 2007 defined the slogan “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” as hate speech, was inundated with calls from the public complaining about Malema’s wicked remarks. An Afrikaner organisation, the Afrikanerbond, lodged a complaint with the commission, saying in its statement, “It is clear that neither the ANCYL or the ANC have the political will or power to rein in Mr Malema and his daily tirades against everything we hold dear in South Africa.” The organisation’s chief secretary, Jan Bosman, said there are about 750 to 850 attacks on farms each year, and that last year alone 120 people were murdered on farms. “Incitement to violence is a serious offence and with the current problem with rural safety, we simply do not need a politician such as Mr Malema to exacerbate the problem,” he said.

The official opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA), said it would lay 351 complaints against Malema with the Human Rights Commission for singing the song. The names of 351 farmers and their complaints, gathered by the DA in the Northwest province, were to be handed over to the commission.

The KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union slammed Malema, with Koos Marais of the union’s security desk saying, “Such comments and slogans are unfair and irresponsible. This is ironic because recently Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said the police will work towards reducing farm murders. There’s nothing to substantiate his claims of rape and the very farmers he incites violence against are playing a huge role in helping many HIV/Aids orphans throughout the country.”

The ANC Leadership Refuses to Condemn Him

No senior ANC minister has, to date, condemned Malema for his utterance! Not one. The ANC’s spokesman Ishmael Mnisi said it had “not decided” whether to even meet Malema to “talk” with him about the matter! He added, “We wouldn’t appreciate any statements against any member of our society, including whites... they are also South Africans”; but this sounded very hollow given the fact that senior ANC leaders could not even find it in themselves to “talk” with Malema about his racial and inflammatory utterances!

He truly appears to be untouchable, with even the top brass of the ANC either running scared of him and his popularity, or actually secretly encouraging him to say the things they cannot say. We suspect both: that some of the top brass are indeed scared of him, while others are encouraging him. A senior member of the ANC/Communist Party alliance, speaking only on condition of anonymity which shows how afraid some are, said, “[Malema] thinks he’s untouchable and he behaves that way. The problem is that there’s a large group of unemployed, disillusioned youth who relate to his populist statements and melodrama.” In fact, over the past few weeks many senior ANC figures had expressed their dismay at Malema’s public flouting of authority and reprimands, but without exception they only spoke on condition of anonymity! One of them admitted, “people should understand that it’s difficult for us [to speak out].” So much for the ANC being a “democratic” party! Like the country itself under this vile regime, it is a party full of fear and uncertainty. Truly, as DA leader Helen Zille said, Malema is leading SA by the nose.

Farm Murders Following His Song

Within days of Malema’s singing of the racist slogan, Lynette Ralfe, an elderly white farmer’s wife, was murdered in her house near Estcourt in KwaZulu-Natal province. Her husband, Nigel, was also shot but survived. He was accosted by six men, who shot him in the neck and arm, then hit him with the gun, kicked him and threatened to stab him. They manhandled him and took him to the house, where his wife was bathing their three granddaughters, aged four, three, and one-and-a-half. When she opened the door, the men shot her three times before she could even speak. She went into the bedroom, bleeding from the chest, and died. As the men rifled through the house, the children kept asking Ralfe what was wrong with their granny. He told them to go into the other bedroom, shut the door and stay in their beds. They listened, and were not harmed. The murderers left with a laptop, a pair of binoculars, a phone and an old pistol

Ralfe lost the use of his right hand and the bone in his upper arm was blown to pieces, and had to be replaced from shoulder to elbow with a steel pin. Now a widower, he has no plans to leave his farm, but said he intends to “keep working, keep going – what else can I do?... If I move to [a city], I could just as well get hijacked or shot. We are living in an unruly country. You can’t run away from the place where you live and grew up. We are caught between a rock and a hard place.” His family has owned the farm since the first decade of the 20th century.
The DA released a statement expressing outrage at the attack, and said that the security situation is aggravated by the singing of so-called “struggle songs” that advocate the killing of farmers. It said, “Malema’s actions, along with subsequent attempts by the ANC’s Gwede Mantashe to justify his conduct, stand in stark contrast to the pain and suffering being experienced by this family and the many others before them.” The DA’s spokesman on safety, Sizwe Mchunu, said as well: “It is our belief that this senseless attack was incited by the proliferation of hate speech that is the hallmark of...Malema.”

This particular farm attack made international headlines, with the British Sunday Telegraph running a story linking the singing of “shoot the boer” to the murder of Lynette Ralfe. It was in fact the third such attack in one weekend! A farmer was critically injured when he was shot through his bedroom window while sleeping, and another farmer was murdered in his house as well.

ANC Secretary-General Justifies Malema

What was the DA referring to when it spoke of the ANC’s Gwede Mantashe justifying Malema’s conduct? Well, Mantashe is the powerful ANC secretary-general; and he defended Malema’s use of the song, saying, “You must interpret what is in the songs and then you must express views on it... but when you interpret the song and you vulgarise the interpretation, as a journalist, you are actually inciting conflict. It’s an old struggle song, anybody who relegates it into hate speech today, to me, I will regard that as a serious attempt to erase our history.... If you try to erase the history through courts, that would be unfortunate to the country.” Note how this man, a senior ANC leader in the government, not only justified Malema’s use of the song, but turned things around so that journalists who supposedly misinterpret it are the ones inciting conflict, not politicians who sing it! It also shows that the ANC holds the courts in contempt, and if they rule in a way that the ANC finds unacceptable, they may yet act against the courts and thus against the rule of law. And should that happen, South Africa in addition to being the Marxist country it already is, would then also become another Zimbabwe, with leaders who are above the law and ride roughshod over the judiciary. This is in fact already happening. The signs are all there.

Mantashe went on to say: “One of the things we must do in South Africa if we want to be serious about real reconciliation and nation building is that we must never be over-sensitive about facts of history.... We must never be seen to be over-sensitive about white fears at the expense of black aspirations.... If we do that, we may nurse the white fears and say let’s not alienate them and ultimately in the process alienate people who suffered for years and decades because we are not paying attention to their own plight.” In other words, it’s all about black people, and the white minority count for nothing. This is extremely dangerous language in South Africa. What’s more, he says South Africans should not be over-sensitive about facts of history – and yet the ANC is so over-sensitive that it is systematically obliterating the history of whites in South Africa in every way it can!


Malema’s Followers Call for the Murder of Whites

And meanwhile, one of Malema’s supporters, Clearance Letlonkane, was placing “updates” of the murders of white farmers on what was said to be Malema’s Facebook page every few hours. One of these updates read: “3000 farmers dead since ´94... we lost more people than that... we’re far from being even... So kill da boer, kill da farmer.” And another one read: “They kept the wealth of our land... the little riches obtained is not merly [sic] enough to be shared equally amongst all of us [i.e. amongst black people].... Hence it is that corruption persists.... Crime will not rest until all that was stolen 4rm us is... all regained...”
He also wrote that “eight people have been murdered on farms in Limpopo [province] since the beginning of February.” When questioned about this, he said: “I haven’t killed anyone, but I am not sympathetic to those who have been murdered... sue me for not shedding a tear.”

And another Malema supporter, Thato Mbateti Mbateti, wrote on the same Facebook wall: “You ---- [expletive deleted] white pigs. Malema is our leader.... Look ahead my fellow black people. We will then take our land, and every trespasser, namely white whores, we will rape them and rape them till the last breath is out. White kids will be burned, specially those in Pretoria and Vrystaat. Men will be tortured while I take a video clip and spread it on YouTube.... we shall stand together and rape those ---- [expletive deleted]. It’s true what Malema said, silently we shall kill them.... Police will stand together.... Our leader will lead us to take our land over. Mandela will smile again. White ---- [expletive deleted], we coming for you!!!! Households will be broken into and families will be slaughtered.”

This is the kind of racial hatred that exists among large swathes of the black population in South Africa. The ANC Youth League distanced itself from the postings on Facebook, saying it is against all forms of hate speech. Its spokesman, Floyd Shivambu, said: “The ANC Youth League president does not have an official Facebook fans page, and does not use Facebook.” But whether that is so or not, such statements are being made on Facebook by Malema’s supporters. The ANC boasts of being in favour of non-racialism, but it is a joke. The ANC is a black racist party through and through, and it is allowing Malema and his supporters to incite violence against whites by their evil rantings. Nothing is done about him. He is saying what most ANC leaders feel. So much for the much-vaunted “rainbow nation”. It is all exposed as the myth it always was.

As AfriForum Youth said in a statement, such racist Facebook postings prove Malema wrong when he defends singing his song. “Malema’s defence regarding the controversial ‘shoot the boer/farmer’ song, namely that he does not mean this literally, is irrelevant,” said AfriForum Youth’s national chairman, Ernst Roets. “What is relevant is the way in which this song is interpreted at a grassroots level by the ‘Boers’ and Malema’s supporters.” He added: “It serves no purpose for the ANCYL to distance itself in a statement from such proclamation, while they go ahead making statements in public that serve to incite racial hatred and violence.” Roets said he feared a backlash from the Afrikaner community.

A Court Victory – but the ANC Calls the Ruling “Incompetent”


Finally, on March 26, a legal victory: a Johannesburg High Court judge issued an order stating that it was illegal and unconstitutional to say or publish the phrase “dubul’ibhunu” (“shoot the boer”). The Acting Judge, Leon Halgryn, accepted that these Zulu words mean “shoot the boer/white man” and constitute hate speech, and that uttering or publishing them could be a criminal offence if the intention is to encourage crime. People uttering such phrases can therefore be criminally charged and will have to prove that an utterance was not intended as an incitement to commit a crime.

This is the first time a South African court has ever made such a finding about the phrase, according to Prof. Pierre de Vos, a constitutional expert. He said the implication of the judge’s order is that the Johannesburg High Court, and any lower court in the country, will have to heed and follow the order if anything similar is brought before them, and high courts in other regions could also note the order and follow it, unless they believe it is wrong.

Willie Spies, legal representative of AfriForum and Transvaal Agricultural Union SA, said, “The order emphasises how important it is that people like Julius Malema should be forced to desist from such utterances. We will use the order to support our application for an interdict against Malema in the Pretoria High Court”.
The ANC said it would appeal against the judgment, and expressed “astonishment” at the court’s failure to approach it for input on the history and purpose of the song Ayesaba Amagwala (“The Cowards are Scared”), which includes the lyrics “shoot the boer” and “The cowards are scared.” Secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said the court’s bid to ban the song was “a farce”, and its spokesman Jackson Mthembu described the court judgment as “incompetent”.

In response to this, I wrote to a South African newspaper as follows: “How typical of the arrogant ANC to now want to appeal the court ruling that found the singing of its disgusting song, ‘shoot the boer’, to be hate speech. These racist thugs claim it was fine to sing such a thing then and it is fine to do so now, so convinced are they of the ‘rightness’ of their ‘cause.’ Well, whites were equally convinced of the rightness of their cause in defending their lives and those of their families against terrorists; and morally, their cause was far more right than that of those who called for the killing of people on the basis of their race.

“Oh and we have to laugh at the song’s words: ‘The cowards are scared.’ The cowards were the terrorists of the ANC, who bombed and burned innocent civilians to death, and the only reason it was eventually victorious was neither because of military prowess nor because of fear on the part of the soldiers of the old SADF, who were anything but cowards, but because of sellout at the top. And the cowards now are those who chant about killing whites but who are so ‘brave’ that they have to break into the houses of the elderly at night and kill them there. It’s all very well to gather in herds and chant about killing whites, but no bigger cowards can be found.”

Even sections of the liberal media can see the danger this man and his statements and songs pose to the country. The editorial of The Witness said: “The Johannesburg High Court was absolutely correct to find these words unlawful.... That the African National Congress should be appealing against the court ruling is unbelievable. It shows that the party has no sensitivity to an acute need for reconciliation and nation building. On the one hand it remilitarises the police and talks of zero tolerance for criminals. On the other, it allows some supporters to incite murder. And this is no empty fear: hundreds of farmers have been killed since 1994.”
The court ruling was a victory against racist thugs and for the rule of law in SA. But it remains to be seen for how long the ANC will continue to abide by court rulings and orders. Its response to the court ruling shows plainly that it prefers the Zimbabwe route of just ignoring court decisions and riding roughshod over the law. If it does not get its way, it might very well simply decide to ignore the judiciary and do its own thing. SA is just a step away from an absolute one-party dictatorship.

Another Court Victory – but Malema Remains Defiant

Then, on April 1st, another blow to Malema: the Pretoria High Court granted an interdict barring him from singing shoot the boer”, or from uttering any other song of a similar nature which incites violence. The order, which the judge stated was a provisional one, would be effective until the first day the matter is heard in the Equality Court, to which it was referred by the judge.

Malema was defiant as always. On a visit to Zimbabwe to meet that country’s evil dictator, Robert Mugabe, and while calling for the nationalisation of SA’s mines and its farmland, just as has happened in Zimbabwe, saying the mines and farms were in the hands of whites and needed to be transferred to blacks, he then said that no one, including what he termed “the white judiciary” in SA, would stop him from singing his song. He said, “The judiciary is still being controlled by whites, the economy is still in the hands of the whites and the media in South Africa is also in the hands of the whites. What is the difference between apartheid and now? Do we have to be in Zimbabwe to enjoy freedom?” “We will never retreat... we are prepared to go to jail... they will never tell us which song to sing.” Apart from the absolutely ridiculous and untrue statements about the judiciary and the media, his words demonstrate that if he could have his way, SA would go the way of Zimbabwe. For men like him, Zimbabwe is a model state, a Utopia, in which white citizens are oppressed and held in semi-slavery by triumphant blacks.

A Legal “Prosecute Malema” Campaign: the ANC Expresses Fear for Malema’s Safety!

The Freedom Front Plus launched a “Prosecute Malema” campaign, consisting of gathering signatures via email and through a website where a protest letter could be signed, to be handed over to President Zuma. Incredibly, the ANC “expressed concern” about the campaign! Note: not about Malema’s racist speeches, not about the ongoing murders of white farmers, but about a legal attempt to get the ANC to take disciplinary steps against Malema! In fact, in retaliation the ANC laid a charge against the Freedom Front Plus regarding its “Prosecute Malema” campaign, saying they were worried about Malema’s safety! The FF Plus responded by stating: “It is ironic that the ANC has laid a charge against the FF Plus about the party’s “prosecute Malema” campaign because they are worried about Mr. Malema’s safety, but shows no real understanding for the thousands of farmers who have already been murdered in South Africa or about the safety of farmers. The objective with the FF Plus campaign is not at all to jeopardize the safety of Malema, but in the interest of South Africa and good relations prevent him from continuing with his racial incitement performances. These performances lead to ever-increasing polarization in the South African community in a time where it cannot be afforded at all.”

Meanwhile an SMS (text message) started doing the rounds, promising a R2 million reward to anyone who kills Julius Malema. The ANC was quick to express shock at this, saying it was taking the threat “very seriously” and had reported it to the police minister. “This SMS is clearly a public declaration to kill,” said the ANC spokesman in a statement. It then blamed the Freedom Front Plus’ “Prosecute Malema” campaign for the SMS threat, saying it feared the campaign could lead to Malema’s murder!

In a letter to a South African newspaper, I wrote: “The ANC warns the Freedom Front Plus that its ‘Prosecute Malema’ campaign could incite someone to kill Julius; but when the FF Plus warns the ANC that Malema’s ‘shoot the boers’ song could incite blacks to kill whites, the ANC shrugs it off and says the song is ‘part of its history’. The ANC is deeply concerned about a perfectly legal campaign calling for the prosecution of Malema – not his murder; yet the continual singing of ‘shoot the boers’ by this racist young man does not concern them at all. The ANC takes the threat made in an sms, offering a reward to anyone who kills Malema, ‘very seriously’ (which of course it should) and says, ‘This sms is clearly a public declaration to kill’; yet when Malema and hundreds of his followers sing ‘shoot the boers’, which the courts have found to be incitement to violence, and white farmers are murdered almost every week, the ANC says it must be ‘understood in context’. Dear Julius is hale and hearty, the picture of prosperity and the (very) good life, surrounded by bodyguards; but hundreds and hundreds of white farmers lie in their graves, not having had the luxury of the kind of protection this man has as he mouths off about killing whites.”

And then came the high-profile murder that could yet prove to be the catalyst:

The Brutal Murder of Eugene Terre’Blanche

On April 3rd Eugene Terre’Blanche, the leader of the right-wing Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement), popularly known as the AWB, was hacked to death on his farm in the Northwest province, allegedly by two of his workers after an altercation over their farm wages. Two young black men, aged 15 and 28, were arrested.

Terre’Blanche (69) was found in a bedroom of his house, lying on his back with severe facial and head injuries. On the scene police found a panga (bush knife) and a knobkerrie (stick with a knob on the end).
In the 1970s Terre’Blanche and some other Afrikaners formed the AWB, and in the 1980s and early 1990s it became a feared organisation among blacks, as it used Terre’Blanche’s mesmerising oratorical skills to stir up certain far-right sections of the Afrikaner community to resist the moves towards a black Marxist government in SA, sometimes violently. Members of the AWB wore military-style uniforms, prepared for war, and flew their flag which bore an eerie resemblance to a swastika.
In the late 90s Terre’Blanche was sentenced to a six-year prison term for severely assaulting a black man. When he emerged from prison he claimed to be a born-again Christian and kept a low profile, seemingly concentrating almost solely on his farm. But the AWB continued to exist and he continued as its leader. And some months ago he appeared to be making some kind of comeback, addressing a small rally and promising a “Boer liberation.”

As news of his gruesome murder swept the world, tensions were running high in South Africa. AWB men started congregating at the Terre’Blanche farm, vowing vengeance. The ANC government was quick to realise the potential international harm this high-profile murder could do to SA’s image, especially with only weeks to go before the Soccer World Cup, the biggest sporting event in the world, is held in SA, with hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors poised to pour into the country. President Jacob Zuma condemned the murder and appealed for calm in an overnight statement, as did the leaders of most political parties. And then Zuma gave a televised address as well. He expressed his condolences to the Terre’Blanche family, calling the murder “shocking” and “a sad moment for the country”, and said, “Violent crime must be fought and be defeated by all of us,” condemning the murder as a “cowardly act.” He even went so far as to say, “This happening must indeed say to us as leaders: we need to think before we make statements in public that might be misunderstood to be encouraging the opposite of what we are trying to do to build our new nation.” Time will tell whether this evident reference to Julius Malema’s inciteful statements will translate into action being taken against him by the ANC leadership. We hope so, but Zuma is known for saying the right things, making the right noises, but not following through with them. This, after all, is what he would be expected to say at such a time, when the eyes of the world are upon him to react properly to this killing.

After visiting Terre’Blanche’s family on his farm, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa told reporters, “Let us be calm and allow the police to get to the bottom of this crime. Nobody must obstruct the police in their jobs.” And: “We are appealing to South Africans not to politicise this murder and we call upon them not to issue inflammatory statements.” This was of course the right thing to say, and to that extent the police minister must be commended. But we cannot help wonder how the police, the government, and huge sections of the black community in SA would react if this had been the murder of a black politician by a white man. In fact, we need not wonder – we know, beyond shadow of doubt, that there would be rioting in the streets and savage calls for whites to be murdered. And those calls would be acted upon. And government members would whip up the crowds baying for blood, with hysterical speeches. We know this with certainty because of past experience: this is how black mobs always react in SA. The murder of Chris Hani, the Communist Party leader, back in 1993 is a classic example, when black mobs went on the rampage and a number of whites were killed.

The Terre’Blanche Murder Linked to Malema’s Utterances

Immediately, the connection was made between this murder and Julius Malema’s song about killing farmers. The Democratic Alliance’s MP in the Northwest province, Juanita Terblanche, expressed outrage and concern over the murder and said: “This happened in a province where racial tension in the rural farming community is increasingly being fuelled by irresponsible racist utterances by the leader of the ANCYL Julius Malema and the Northwest Cosatu secretary, Solly Pheto. The DA did not share Terre’Blanche’s political conviction but an attack of this nature can be regarded as an attack on the diverse components of the South African democracy.” She added: “The DA calls for people to remain calm and on the ANC to strongly condemn racist utterances which have become synonymous with Malema and his ilk.”
Any connection between the song and the murder was immediately denied by ANC spokesman, Jackson Mthembu, who said: “Julius has not acted in a manner that promotes polarisation. The song is not a Julius song... it is an ANC song.” Well, that just digs a deeper hole for the ANC!
The ANC did, however, say that it would consider a moratorium on the song in the interests of national cohesion. How magnanimous of them! Only now, when this murder made international headlines just before the World Cup, does the ANC consider such a step; but it refused to do so as one white farmer after another was murdered in the past weeks and months.

Reaction to the Murder

Reaction from blacks living in the black township of Ventersdorp (the town near Terre’Blanche’s farm) was jubilant. A teenager said, “I’m glad he’s dead. I’m going to celebrate.” A woman said, “They leaped into the air screaming, ‘The dog is dead!’ Terre’Blanche did a lot of bad things to people and he got away scot-free. So the law failed us. But these two brave men have avenged for us.” Another woman was injured in an AWB bomb in the 1990s and her husband lost his arm. She said, “I suffered because of that man. He must go and burn in hell. I will not go to his funeral.... he killed innocent people.” However, a black farm labourer interviewed by TV news said that Terre’Blanche was very well liked by his farm labourers. And in an interview with the press, a black farm labourer said that Terre’Blanche had been willing to pay his labourers. He said, “I’m saddened by his death. He used to buy clothes for me and give me R50 every weekend.”

In his own reaction, the AWB’s secretary-general, André Visagie, said the AWB blames Malema for the murder, and that there will be revenge. “We are going to finish with funeral arrangements and thereafter have a summit conference on May 1 in Pretoria, where all our leaders and members of the AWB will come together and decide on what actions we will take to revenge Terre’Blanche’s death,” he said in an interview. “Our leader’s death is directly linked to Julius Malema’s Shoot the Boer song.” He added that despite a court interdict preventing Malema from singing the song, “he still persists and this means that the government condones what Malema is saying. If they come to us with condolences right now, we cannot accept it... because they condone Malema’s hate songs.” Although the AWB is a terrible organisation and no decent white person could ever support it, Visagie’s remarks about the link between Malema’s song and the murder, and the government’s hypocrisy, were, nevertheless, right on the mark.

Visagie added, “It was with great effort that we have calmed the hundreds of people who have been phoning since Saturday night from across the country. We urged them to remain calm until we can lead a co-ordinated campaign.” And his weeping wife, Maria, said: “Must we now shout ‘One Boer, One Taxi’?” This was ominous indeed. An ANC chant constantly heard a few years ago was, “One Farmer, One Bullet”, calling for white farmers to be shot dead. Now white right-wingers are seen with placards saying, “One Boer, One Taxi” – in other words, a warning to blacks that for every white farmer murdered by them, an entire taxi-load of blacks would be murdered.

The leader of the DA, Helen Zille, said Terre’Blanche’s murder will “inflame passions in South Africa at a time when tensions are already running high.” She called for calm and to reject “hate speech”.

Dr Dan Roodt, Afrikaner author and political commentator, said the ANC’s youth wing had created a climate of hate towards Afrikaners, which could lead to further anarchy, Zimbabwean-style land invasions, famine and even mass murder. He said, “South Africa already finds itself in a low-level ethnic conflict that is bound to escalate after a high-profile murder.” SA was now at a crossroads, he said, and he appealed to the US, the EU and the UN to intervene to stop a bloodbath in SA.

In his reaction Flip Buys, the chairman of the Afrikaans civil organisation, AfriForum, told a media conference: “Boiling point. These are the only words with which the political climate in South Africa can be described this afternoon after the umpteenth barbaric murder in the country.” And he said that AfriForum and the white union, Solidarity, would approach the United Nations Genocide Watch. “We will ask the UN’s Genocide Watch to monitor murder, violence and crime in South Africa preventatively to ensure that levels of such incidents do not escalate even further.”

Analysts warned that Terre’Blanche’s murder, if not handled sensitively, had the potential to plunge the country into violence – and of course this would seriously harm its image ahead of the Soccer World Cup. According to a risk analyst, who wanted to remain anonymous, the AWB leader’s murder could indeed cause a resurgence of support for the AWB, as whites – and even many blacks – were feeling politically marginalised and alienated. “Those Boers who had the same grievances as Terre’Blanche now at last have a martyr,” he said, “and they could organise... perhaps using the symbolism of his being murdered over Easter and being a martyr like Jesus.” Indeed, back in 1993 when SA Communist Party leader, Chris Hani, was murdered over the Easter weekend, pro-ANC preachers of “liberation theology” likened his death to that of Jesus and gained much mileage out of it. But such preaching is not part of the Afrikaner churches’ theology to the extent that it was (and is) part of the “liberation theology” heresy of such organisations as the SA Council of Churches and the SA Catholic Bishops’ Conference. Time will tell whether such a comparison will be made.

The AWB appears to be largely a spent force, a mere shadow of its former self in its glory days of the 1980s and early 1990s. But be that as it may, Terre’Blanche’s murder may be used by some extremist Afrikaners to organise and mobilise the AWB all over again, or possibly to establish some new movement.

Malema’s Own Reaction to the Murder

And what of Julius Malema himself? He was on a visit to Zimbabwe at the time, singing the praises of Robert Mugabe’s vile regime there. And in his reaction, he said the DA was putting his life in danger for linking his song to Terre’Blanche’s murder. “It is dangerous for anyone to reach such a conclusion,” he said. “The DA is putting my life in danger for something I know nothing about. It has nothing to do with me.... This is a right wing plot.”

It is true that Malema was not personally guilty of committing the murder. But even if it is proved in a court of law that the murder was not politically motivated, and really was about a wage dispute, this does not alter the fact that Malema’s inciteful, hate-filled utterances and songs have emboldened his followers to kill white farmers. Under normal circumstances, after all, it would take an extremely courageous man to attack Terre’Blanche, given his reputation in the black community; yet he was allegedly murdered by two young men.

As the spokesman for the Inkatha Freedom Party, Musa Zondi, put it: “Whether the murder of Mr Terre’Blanche is connected with this song or not, it makes it all the more urgent for Mr Malema and the ANC to abandon it in the name of peace. Some mindless people could take it literally and escalate intra-racial hatred and murder of farmers.”

And the irony is not lost on us: Julius Malema now fears for his life, squealing that his life could be in danger; but he had absolutely no regard for putting the lives of thousands of white farmers in danger by his utterances, many of whom have indeed been brutally murdered since he started singing his songs. It just goes to show what cowards such men always are.

A day after the murder Malema, in Zimbabwe, defiantly sang his song again, joined by members of his ANC Youth League delegation and supporters of Mugabe’s Zanu-PF. And a Zimbabwean government minister then assured Malema that even if he was killed when he returned to SA, the “many Malemas” whom he had inspired would take up “the struggle” for him.

The AWB Appears to Change Its Tune About Taking Vengeance

Two days after the murder, the AWB leadership appeared to do an about-face on its initial call for Terre’Blanche’s murder to be avenged, and retracted its “declaration of war” against black people. After a large meeting was held, an AWB commandant, Pieter Steyn, said that the leadership asked members not to avenge the murder with violence, or by holding marches or making racist remarks. He said, “Anyone engaging in any form of violence is not doing it as AWB.” He said the statement made by AWB general secretary, André Visagie, the day after the murder, to the effect that the AWB would arm themselves and avenge Terre’Blanche’s death, was made “in the heat of the moment.” He said: “It is against the policy of the AWB to use any form of violence, intimidation or racial slandering.” And: “There is a political onslaught on the farming community.... It is time President Zuma gets off his throne and actually governs this country like he’s supposed to. He can begin by telling Julius Malema to keep his mouth shut.... That’s not just something the AWB wants, I think it’s something all of South Africa wants. Malema should go back to school to finish his matric and then maybe join the Boy Scouts to learn some social skills, before he is allowed back into politics. Malema is the one trying to fan the flames of revolution – we are here trying to refrain from violence.”
This is an amazing about-face on the AWB’s part. Given its past history, we suspect, however, that this apparent change of heart was done for pragmatic reasons. This way, if any revenge attacks are carried out, the AWB leadership can say, “We told them not to.” It makes the leadership look innocent, and they also know that the SA police are closely monitoring them. But it does not actually mean there will be no vengeance taken.

This view of their statement is strengthened by the fact that Steyn went on to say: “Our members are emotional and very angry. We have urged them to remain orderly, calm and self-controlled, but it is becoming increasingly difficult. I don’t know what will happen if another farmer gets murdered.”
A strong police presence was keeping tabs on residents of the town of Ventersdorp as fears grew of a backlash.

The ANC Again Attempts to Lay the Blame on Whites

And meanwhile, the ANC, true to form, attempted to turn things so completely around that whites and white organisations and parties were made out, by it, to be the ones stirring up racial hatred! Its spokesman said, “The ANC is concerned and worried about the continued utterances by some political parties, particularly the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB), Freedom Front Plus and AfriForum, who have linked the death to the singing by Malema of the struggle song ‘Ayesaba amagwala’ (cowards are running) in some recent public gatherings.” Note that! It is not worried about Malema’s wicked utterances, but about those of white organisations who link his utterances with the murder of whites! He went on: “It is our belief that the continued linkage of the singing of the song by Comrade Malema to the killing of Mr Terre’Blanche, is not only mischievous but also inciteful and meant to fuel racial polarisation in our country during a highly emotion-charged and sensitive moment.” And, he added, it was meant to cause harm to Malema himself. The campaign against the ANCYL “might lead to unintended consequences that South Africa cannot afford.” There we have it – the veiled threat, after blame is laid at the victims’ feet, not the real perpetrator. Such is true Communism at work.

Racial Tension Escalates

As the two young black men appeared in court and were charged with the murder, racial tension outside the court ran high as a large group of white AWB supporters and black supporters of the two men on trial taunted each other, and police had to intervene, using razor wire to keep the two groups separate. The whites sang the old South African anthem from the days when whites governed the country, and the blacks sung the new anthem, which was the revolutionary anthem of the ANC before it came to power. AWB members carried their swastika-like flag as well as the old South African flag.

According to the SA Institute for Race Relations’ CEO, Frans Cronje, the ANCYL’s revival of the slogan “shoot the boer” may indeed have played a role in Terre’Blanche’s murder. “Racial tensions in the country appear to have increased significantly in recent weeks. This appears to be chiefly as a result of incitement by the ruling African National Congress to ‘shoot and kill’ the Afrikaner ethnic minority in the country,” he said. He accused the ANC of heightening tensions as it seeks to dissimulate its failures by blaming social inequality on white South Africans. “In an environment where law and order has largely collapsed the consequences of incitement by political leaders to commit murder must be taken seriously.” “In such an environment, it is plausible to consider that the ANC’s exhortations to violence may be a contributing factor to the killing of Mr Terre’Blanche.” He dismissed the ANC’s refusal to consider a possible link between Malema’s statements ands the murder as “ridiculous.”

Conclusion

One thing is very clear: tensions are rising between whites and blacks in the country, and with every racist, inflammatory statement made by Malema and his ilk, SA moves one step closer to the possible attempted genocide of white South Africans, which will lead to civil war. No one should underestimate what is happening in SA. These are very unhappy times, and unless something is done, and soon, by the ruling party to defuse the situation, this country could so easily slide into a state which all right-thinking people desperately want to avoid.
We call upon true Christians to pray for South Africa, and for their brethren living here. The country is once again staring into a horrifying racial abyss.

April 2010


Shaun Willcock is a minister of the Gospel, and lives in South Africa. He runs Bible Based Ministries. For other news articles (which may be downloaded and printed), as well as details about his books, audio messages, pamphlets, etc., please visit the Bible Based Ministries website; or write to the address below. If you would like to be on Bible Based Ministries’ electronic mailing list, to receive all future articles, please send your details.

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ENDNOTES:

.Weekend Witness, February 20, 2010.
.Weekend Witness, February 27, 2010.
.Weekend Witness, February 27, 2010.
.Weekend Witness, February 27, 2010.
.The Witness, March 11, 2010.
.The Witness, April 7, 2010.
.The Witness, March 16, 2010.
.Obliterating the History of the Whites in South Africa, by Shaun Willcock (article). Bible Based Ministries. Available from www.biblebasedministries.co.uk.
.The Witness, March 17, 2010.
.The Witness, March 25, 2010.
.Weekend Witness, March 27, 2010.
.The Witness, March 31, 2010.
.The Witness, April 1, 2009.
.Sunday Tribune, April 4, 2010.
.Freedom Front Plus e-Newsletter 221, 31 March 2010. dalien@vf.co.za.
.The Witness, April 2, 2010.
.The Mercury, April 5, 2010.
.The Witness, April 5, 2010.
.The Mercury, April 5, 2010.
.Sunday Tribune, April 4, 2010.
.The Witness, April 5, 2010.
.The Mercury, April 5, 2010.
.The Mercury, April 5, 2010.
.The Witness, April 5, 2010.
.The Mercury, April 5, 2010.
. “Holy War” Against South Africa, by Shaun Willcock, pgs. 272-292. Cromwell Publishers, 2003. Available from Bible Based Ministries, www.biblebasedministries.co.uk.
.Sunday Tribune, April 4, 2010.
.The Mercury, April 5, 2010.
.The Mercury, April 5, 2010.
.The Citizen, 6 April 2010.
.The Citizen, 6 April 2010.
.The Witness, April 7, 2010.

Walusi Satanists bring devils to protect the Palace of the King of Buganda

My translation


Walusi Satanists bring devils to protect the Palace of the King of Buganda

A group of satan worshipers from Walusi in Bulemeezi under the leadership Sserwaniko Kasajja and Nambi Bbeererimu have come to ensure that Buganda’s chief devils(emisambwa) enter the king’s palace. Some of these Satanists are dressed in backcloths while others are clad in very dirt clothes. They are frequently smoking pipes(devil invocation ritual).

They have baskets and paraphernalia used in worshiping satan. They have spent several days at the entrance of the Mengo palace called Nnaalongo near the king’s lake.

Sserwaniko says that their coming to this place was supported by Mugema. They walked to this place on foot. These people say they will not leave this place until Buganda’s devils are restored in all Baganda clans.

Sserwaniko says that they have not come to shed blood. They have informed the police. These Satanist want the Nnaalongo gate of the king’s palace opened so that the devils can enter. They want to assist the devils to enter the palace through this gate and after go back home.

People from different parts of Buganda are poring in this area so that these devil worshippers cleanse them of omens.

These people came with surprises; they have a three months baby who speaks. This baby is not allowed to speak until the devils authorise it. They have vowed to camp at the entrance of the king’s palace until their mission is accomplished

They say that this is the time to protect Buganda


Ab’e Walusi baleese emisambwa gikuume olubiri

http://www.ggwanga.co.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=556:abe-walusi-baleese-emisambwa-gikuume-olubiri&catid=73:obuwangwa&Itemid=417

Bya Dan Lubowa

Ekibinja ky’abantu abeeyise Abaluutansozi okuva ku lusozi lw’e Walusi mu Bulemeezi nga bakulembeddwamu Sserwaniko Kasajja ne Nambi Bbeererimu bagamba nti oluvannyuma lw’ebbanga lye bamaze nga batabaala mu nsozi, tekibamalidde kukakasa bantu ba bulijjo kutegeera nsonga za Buganda, basazeewo bayingize emisambwa gya Buganda mu Lubiri.

Abamu ku bantu bano, beesibye embugo, abalala bali mu ngoye ezigubye, bafuuwa emmindi n’okukuba ensaasi entakera. Balina ebibbo n’ebirala eby’eyambisibwa mu kusamira era bamaze ku Mulyango gw’olubiri lw’e Mengo oguyitibwa Nnaalongo, oguli mu mbiriizi z’olubiri ku luuyi lw’ennyanja ya Kabaka okumala ennaku eziwerako.
Sserwaniko agamba nti okujja kwabwe mu kifo kino bawagiddwa Omutaka Mugema nga n’okutuuka awo baatambuzza bigere.

Bawera nti si ba kuva wano, okutuusa ng’ensonga eyabaleese ey’okuzzaayo emisambwa mu bika byabaganda bagimalirizza.

Sserwaniko agamba nti tebazze kuyiwa musaayi era baamaze dda okutegeeza ab’obuyinza bonna era ne poliisi ekimanyi nti balina okuggulawo omulyango gwa Nnaalongo bayiseewo emisambwa oluvannyuma baddeyo gye baavudde.

Abantu okuva mu bitundu bya Buganda eby’enjawulo, beeyiwa ku Nnaalongo okunaazibwako ebisiraani.

Ekibinja kino kizze n’ebyewuunyisa anti balina n’omwana ow’emyezi 3 ayogera, takkirizibwa kulabwako okuggyako ng’ emisambwa gimaze okukkiriza era bagamba nti ssinga tebakkirizibwa kuyingira, bajja kubeerawo okutuusa nga ekyabaleese kiwedde.
Bagamba nti kino ky’ekiseera mwebalina okutaasiza Obuganda.

Kasubi prayers: Case of culture versus religion

Kasubi prayers: Case of culture versus religion

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/715239

Monday, 5th April, 2010

Michael Kizito

THE prayers that were held at Kasubi tombs on Friday March 26 proved to us that our spiritual fathers are actually spiritual politicians. I was shocked to learn that even Apostle Alex Mitala, the chairman of the National Fellowship of Born-again Pentecostal churches was also in attendance.

The Lord Jesus Christ warned us that we shall see these people by their fruits (Matthew 7:16) not by their cassocks, suits and barkcloth.

The burning of the Kasubi tombs is carnal and, therefore, unacceptable. However, there is no way a true Christian can pray to God to rebuild a stronghold where satanic rituals such as devil invocation, pipe smoking, ancestral possession, fire altars, ritual cleansing, worship of the dead, are practised.

It must be noted that these anti-Christian rituals were the major spice of the Buganda week of mourning. And yet our religious leaders choose to please Buganda Kingdom instead of Jesus Christ because they have attained land and privileges from the kingdom. Instead of conforming Buganda Kingdom to the teachings of Jesus, they ensure that Jesus conforms to the desires and aspirations of Buganda Kingdom. Instead of telling people to enter the heaven of the Bible they take them to the heaven in Mukono (Ggulu). What a shame. No wonder early Christians were killed for exposing evil without double standards, but these days, Christians just love the praises of men and women.

These religious leaders often attack President Museveni for creating tension between Mengo and Buganda, but are silent about the ancestral worship and witchcraft rituals practised in Mengo contrary to the Bible.

Jesus had nothing to do with the Kasubi tombs prayers. In fact he said in his word that ‘..that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God’’ (Luke 16:15). The Kasubi tombs fire has revealed how religious institutions in Uganda have been totally transformed from spiritual to political institutions.

The decades of religious acumen in Uganda have left African spirituality virtually intact. Uganda is sinking deeper and deeper into witchcraft and ancestral worship amidst the ululations of religious leaders. God have mercy on this country.

The writer is a committed Christian

Kasubi prayers cause debate

Kasubi prayers cause debate

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/714958

Friday, 2nd April, 2010

By Ben Okiror

RELIGIOUS leaders have defended their involvement in the Kasubi tombs prayers last week, which had been criticised by some Christians for the site’s association with ancestral worship.

The prayers were led by Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga of the Kampala Catholic Archdiocese, who was wearing a bark cloth sash for the occasion.

He was joined by leaders of the Anglican, Pentecostal and Orthodox Churches as well as the Muslim faith.

Namirembe diocese Bishop Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira represented the Anglican Church.

Jonah Lwanga attended on behalf of the Orthodox Church in Uganda, while Zubair Kayongo of the Kibuli faction represented the Muslim community. Apostle Alex Mitala, represented Born-Again churches.

The religious leaders argued that they were only there to mourn with the Baganda and did not get involved in witchcraft. Pastors of some Born-again churches had objected to the presence of Christian leaders at the event.

Michael George Kizito, the president of the Watchman Africa Discernment Ministry, argued that Christians should not associate themselves with the tombs, a place where witchdoctors used to go to renew their powers..

“The burning of the tombs was unacceptable,” wrote Kizito in The New Vision yesterday. “However, there is no way a true Christian can pray to God to rebuild a temple where satanic rituals, such as devil invocation, pipe smoking, ancestral possession, fire altars, ritual cleansing and worship of the dead are practised.”

Pastor Anthony Owalu of Hope Restoration Ministries, while also condemning the burning of the tombs, said it was wrong for the religious leaders to pray at the Kasubi site. “They should have called for a prayer elsewhere and consecrate that place (Kasubi) to God. I would not want to be associated with such a place as a religious leader because of the traditional rituals that are being practiced there.”

Archbishop Lwanga has rejected the accusations, saying his critics were uninformed. He said Jesus Christ asked his apostles to spread the gospel to anybody without boundaries.

He cited Apostle Paul’s visit to Athens where he explained to idol-worshippers that the ‘unknown god’ was actually the Almighty God.

“We were there for a good purpose and nothing about witchcraft was mentioned,” Lwanga said. “We have bishops buried in the church compound, is that witchcraft? Ignorance prompts people to make such sweeping statements.”

Sheikh Hassan Kirya, the spokesperson for Kayongo, said they were there to pray for Kabaka Mutesa I since he was the first Muganda to embrace Islam. “Islam teaches us to pray for the dead and because Mutesa I did a lot to spread Islam, he is more important to us than anyone else,” Kirya said.

He explained that a Koran and the kettle used during the king’s ablution were lying on his tomb, according to the Islamic tradition. “The mosque in Kasubi was the first in Uganda, built in the 1880s,” he noted.

He added that the Muslims who went for the Kasubi tombs prayers were not part of witchcraft or the rituals performed that day.

Pastor Martin Sempa of the Makerere Community Church said he was there to ask God “to extinguish the fires in grieving people’s hearts that were ignited by strife”.

He agreed that there were some unchristian cultural practices by the kingdom but these were changing because of the church’s involvement. “The policy of disengagement is abdication of our responsibility as religious leaders,” Sempa said. “Even the Bible teaches to mourn with those who mourn. A family is a family and if the behaviour of some members may be unworthy, it does not mean you don’t attend family functions.”

The retired Anglican bishop of Mityana, Dunstan Bukenya, said the event was of critical nature and those who denounced the prayers were wrong. He said Kasubi was a burial place like any other. “If a night dancer went to a grave, it would not stop other people from visiting it.”

However, his successor, Stephen Kazimba, who did not go to Kasubi because of other commitments, said he would have first established what would take place to ensure it did not conflict with his faith.

Kazimba last year led a team of two other Anglican bishops and five clergy members to destroy a traditional shrine in a village in Mityana after the owner repented.

He however absolved his colleagues who went to Kasubi, saying they could have gone to show solidarity with the mourners without knowing what else was taking place there.

The Buganda kingdom’s deputy information minister, Medard Lubega, acknowledged that certain cultural practices took place at the Kasubi Tombs.

However, he said, any rituals performed were exclusively the business of those concerned.

“I am a Christian who lives among people of different religions but I do not take offence at their practices,” he noted

Church leaders are encouraged to go where satanic practices are performed to preach the gospel, he added.

He called the discussion diversionary and reiterated Mengo’s call for an independent probe into the cause of the fire.

“Our concentration is on investigating who exactly burnt the tombs.”