RELIGION RUN RIOT

NZ Truth, Issue 817, 9 July 1921, Page 5

RELIGION RUN RIOT

mm CULTS _AND_ CURIOUS 9EEDS ; HOLY ROLLERS," " HOLY JUMPERS," & SHIVERY " SHAKERS" $ham " Swamis " and Society Swells UPTON SINCLAIR DESCRIBES " THE CHURCH Of THE QUACKS"

Upton. Sinclair, the author of "The Jungle," "The Brass Check," and many other "best-sellers," has written a striking book about modern churohianity, which 'he entitles "The Profits of Religiorf," and describes as "a study of Bupernaturalism from a new point of view — as a source of income and a shield to privilege." In successive ' divisions of the . book he deals with "The Church of the Conquerors," "T,he Church of Good Society," "The Church of the Servant Girls," "The Church of the Slavers," and "The Church of ttie Merchants." The most entertaining part' of the book is that m which Sinclair describes the numerous freak religions which are contfnually springing up m America. This division- of the book he calls " THE ' CHURCH OF QUACKS." and from it we take the following extract: — ; All over America you will find these \veh*6j Bible-cults, some of them pathetic, some of them dangerous, some of them mer-ely- grotesque. Thus,, for exr ample, there was .John Alexander Dowie, who ' founded the "Christian Catholic Church In Zion" and dressed •himself up m scarlet and purple robes with stars on. Through his Zibn City Bank and Zion City Realty Company he became" enormously wealthy; he finally announced himself as "Elijah the Restorer." I remember as a boy how. he brought 'his gospel to ' New York, and P. T. Barnum with ,Tpm Thumb and the white elephant never made such a sensation. T'he ridicule of the metropolis overwhelmed {he old prophet, and he died* and passed on h?s robes and his tabernacle and his bank to his son; straightway, accordinr to the rule of all religions, - the followers fell to quarrelling and splitting up, and suing one another m the law- courts. Also .there are the "Holy Rollers" and "Holy Jumpers," ghastly sects which, cultivate the religious- hysterias, and have spread like a PLAGUE AMONG THE WOMEN • of our lonely prairie farms and desert ranches., The "Holy Rollers," who call themselves the "Apostolic Church," have .a meeting- place, here m Pasadena, and any Sunday evening at 9 o'clock you. may see t,he Spirit of the Lord taking possession of. the worshippers, causing moans and shrieks and convulsions; you may see a woman, iholdihg her hands aloft for seventeen minutes by the watch; making chattering: sounds like an ape. This is called "talking m tongues," and is a sign of the presence of t'he Holy Spirit. If you come back at 11. in the evening, you wilt find the entire congregation, men and women," prostrate on the floor, or hanging over the benches; and- maybe ,a child moaning m .terror, having a devil cast out. You may be interested, perhaps, to know how to throw yourself into these convulsions. Here is a paper called "Trust." which is "published monthly (D-V.) m the interests of Elim Faith Work and Bible Training School." Elizabeth Sisson writes on "The Pentecostal Baptism," and TELLS THE STORY of iher experiences. She "camped on the Word of God," she declares: I went up to Calgary m Canada, and the leader of the mission told me, "You can go down to the mission and stay there all day. There is plenty of wood, and you can stay there all right." I went down, and there was plenty of "let go" m me. I cried, and prayed all I knew, and got wonderfully loosed. . . . • Then 1 ' 5 the Lord said to me, "Now, no more praying!" God told< me it was mine. What was there left for me to pray about. He spoiled my praying and I took up praising. I praised God that He who worked m the Upper Room was • working the same m me. I praised, and I praised, and I praised. The devil said to me, "That's mechanical." I said, "I'll praise You Lord-, and if You want real praise. You'll have 'to put the wind m the sails." That's the way I came through. One morning I was just GETTING OUT OF BED, "this gibberish, this jargon," as the enemy likes to call it, began to comeThe Lord said, "Let it babble!" I let. The babble increased, and by night I was up to my neck. I let. I still let. That's all. Someone else does the work, and it does not tire you. And here is another paper. "Meat m Due season: published monthly, or as of Sen as the Lord leads." The editor quotes the Bible, "Call upon the name of the Lord," and explains that "Call means call." The word appears to have a special meaning to these •Pentecostal persons— -it means working yourself into a frenzy of agitation; as the editor puts it, "you must lay hold of the horns of the altar." He goes on to exhort — the bold face being his: Pray as if your very life depended upon it! The first few minutes seemingly all the powers of hell will contend every- word, the next few, relief sai a measure will come, more liberty in ' calling. In a very little while you will be dead to the room, dead to the chair, dead to everyone around you, dead to all and tremendously alive to YOUR DESPERATE NEED and emptyness; this conviction will grow as you ind'ease calling- upon Him. It maybe you'll weep, it maybe you'll perspire, it maybe your clothing will be deranged, it maybe your throat will get sore. Never for a moment let your mind rest on the condition of your person. Open your mouth, and God has promised to fill it. Ask persistently until the very floor seems to sink beneath you and the fountains of the deep, of your heart let loose. Like David-, "pour out your soul" like one would pour water out of a. bucket. I have seen hundreds, get through right at this point. When self- thought,, reticence, decorum, reserve, propriety, and dignity had all been thrown 1:6 the four winds of heaven- Self was then obliterated and consciousness of person gone. Draw near to Qod. and > T e v.'ill draw near to you saith the scripture, but you must draw near to Him first. These enthusiasts derive their practices from the Shakers, a sect which originated m England, but. was DRIVEN BY PERSECUTION to the New World. The Shakers call

themselves the "United Society of" True Believers m Christ's Second Coming," and were founded by Ann Lee, who variously termed herself the "Female Christ," the "Holy Comforter," and the "God-anointed Woman." They might be termed the suffragettes of religion, for they pray always to "Our Father andi Mother, which are m heaven." • They were taught the convenient doctrine that their Founder had "spiritual illumination," so that any evidence of the senses used against her. might deceive. 'She governed through terror, holding that by her mental powers she could inflict torment upon any of her followers. Fortunately she taught absolute celibacy, and so there are now only about a thousand of iher disciples. T'he "Holy Rollers" and* the rest are honest fanatics; but there are other queer cults started by mercenary impostors, Avhose only aim is TO MAKE MUCH MONEY, ' and make it as quickly as possible. Many of these impostors pose as Oriental adepts, and make a special appeal to the credulity of society wo- ] nieni who have taken up occult studies, as a fad. "As a result," says Sinclair, "we have here m America a plague of Eastern cults, with 'swamis' using soft yellow robes and soft brown eyes to win the souls of idle society ladies." Sinclair refers to the antics of Dr. Newo Newi New, who called himself Archbishop of the Newthot Church, and gathered ab6ut him a harem of devoted females m. San Francisco, rtnd was landed m gaol ior -using the mails to defraud. Then there is "Kores'h," a prophet from Chicago (of all places!), who claims to have a new "REVELATION FROM THE LORD," the gist of which is that the earth is a hollow sphere, with the stars inside. • After dealing with these and other "prophets" of a similar type, Sinclair proceeds: And hergj is another and even more startling- Revelation from Chicago, given to a seer by the name of Dr. Otoman Prince of Adusht Ha'nish, prophet of the Sun God, Prince of Peace, . Manbhm Magi of . Temple El Katman. Kalantar of* Zorpastrian Breathing and Envoy of Mazdaznan living, Viceroy-Elect, and International Head 1 of Master-Thot. If you had 'happened to live near the. town of Mendota, Illinois, and had knpxyn the German grocer-boy, named Otto Hanisch, you might at first have trouble m recognising him through this tran'smojrrification. I have traced his career m the files of t'he Chicago newspapers, and find him herding sheep, setting typo, preaching prestidigitation, mesmerism, and fake spiritualism, joiningthe Mormon Church, then the "Christian Catholic Church ,m Zion," and then the cult of Brighouse, who claimed to be CHRIST RETURNED. Finally he sets himself up m Chicago as a Persian Magi, teaching Yogi breathing exercises and occult sex-lore to the elegant society ladies of -the pork-packing metropolis- The Sun God, worshipped for two score. centuries m India. Egypt, Greece, and, Rome, has a new shrine on Lake Park Avenue, and. the prophet gives tea-par-ties, at which his disciples are fed on lilac-blossoms — "the white and pinkish for males, the blue-tinted for fe•rnales." He wears a long flowing robe of pale grey cashmere, faced with white, and flexible white-kid shoes, and he sells ,• his lady adorers a book called "Inner Studies," prjee five dollars per volume, with information on such subjects as: The Immaculate' Conception and its Repetition; The Secrets of Lovers Unveiled; Our Ideals and Soul Mates; Magnetic Attraction and Electric Mating.' A . Grand Jury intervenes, and the PROPHET GOES TO GAOL for six months; but that does not harm his cult, which now -has a temple m Chicago, presided over by a lady called Kaiantress ''and Evangelist; also a "Northern Stronghold" m Montreal, an "Embassy" m London, an "International Aryana" m Switzerland, and "Centers" all over AmericaAt the moment of going to press, the prophet himsdlf is m flight, pursued by a warrant charging him with improper conduct . witrfi a number of young boys m a Los Angeles hotel. I have dipped into Ha'nish's revelations, which are a farrago of every kind of ancient mystioism — paper and binding- from the Bible, illustrations from the Egyptian, % names from the Hindoos,' laws from 'the Confucians — price ten dollars per volume. Would you like to discover your 17 senses, to develop them according to the GaLlama principle, and to share the "expansion of the magnetic circles"? Here is the way to do it: Inhale through nostrils for ■ four seconds, and upon one exhalation, speak slowly: Open O thou world-sustaining Sun, the entrance unto Truth hidden by t'he vase of dazzling light. Again inhale -for four seconds, and BREATHE OUT THE FOLLOWING sentence upon one exhalation as before: Soften the radiation of Thy Illuminating Splendor, that I may behold Thy True^ Being. I have a clipping from a Los Angeles newspaper- telling of the prophet's arriving there. He takes . the front page with the captivating headline: ''Women Didn't Think Till They Put On ' Corsets;" The interview tells about his mysteriousness. (his aloofness, his bird-like djet, and his personal beauty. "Despite his 73 years. Ha'nish evidences no sign of age. His keen blue eyes showed no sign of wavering. There were no wrinkle* on his f&ce, and 'his walk was that Of a man of 40." JT.he humor of this becomes apparent when we mention that at Ha'nish's trial, three ,or four years ago, he was proven to be 35 years old! Being thus warned as to the accuracy of American journalism, we shall not^be taken m by the repeated statements that the Mazdaznan prophet is a millionaire. But there is no doubt that he is wealthy; and as all Americans wish to 'be wealthy. I will quote his formula .of prosperity, his method of accomplishing what might be' called ti 9 Individual Revolution: When- hungry, and you- do not . know where to get your next piece of bread, do not despair. Thy Father, all-loving, has provided you with everything that will meet ALL CASES OF EMERGENCY. Place your teeth tightly together, with tongue pressing against the lower teeth, and Jips parted. Breathe m, close. lips immediately, exhaling through the nostrilsBreatho again; if saliva forms m your mouth, hold your breath so you ran swallow it first before you exhale You thus take out of the air the metal -substance contained therein: yjau can even taste the iron which you convert into substance

required for making, the blood*. Should you feel that, although you have sufficient iron m the blood, there is a lack of copper'and zinc and silver, place upper teeth over lower, keep lower lip -tightly to lower ■ teeth, now breathe, and you can even taste the metals, named. Theni should you feel you need more gold element for your brain functions, " place your back teeth together just as if you were to grind the back teeth,. taking, short breaths only. You will then learn to know', that there" is gold- and silver all 'around us. That our bodies are filled with quite a quantity of gold. Sinclair deals at length with the cult ■ of . "New Thought,", Which' he calls '"New Nonsense"; also with ;he Christian Scientists, the Mormons, and many other' weird sects. America is certainly a land of queer religions and impudent fakes disguised as religions; but no' matter how absurd or audacious they, are, they all appear able to attract thousands .of dupes as disciples. I-nt America is not alone m this craze. To all appearance Nqq Zee bids fair to bo a close, though small, second.