19AR24-44

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AR 24:44 - Beware of false technologists in sheep's clothing

In this issue:

ABORTION - unexpectedly shocked by discarded human life

OCCULTISM - as a business of witches' work

TECHNOLOGY - "scaling new religions beyond the cults of personality"

Apologia Report 24:44 (1,452)

November 8, 2019

ABORTION

"House of Horror" (no byline, The Week, Oct 4 '19, p7) -- "Medically preserved remains of 2,246 fetuses in the home of deceased abortion doctor Ulrich 'George' Klopher left police investigators shocked and bewildered at the grotesque scene. More than 50 detectives searched the home of Klopher, who died Sept. 3 at age 75, finding 70-plus cardboard boxes with remains from [just] 2000 to 2002. 'He was a hoarder,' said Kevin Bologer, an attorney for Klopher's relatives, who discovered the remains before calling the police. ... Klopher performed tens of thousands of abortions for 43 years in South Bend, Gary, and Fort Wayne, Ind., where fetal remains must be buried or cremated. He lost his medical license in 2016 for poor record keeping and for allegedly flouting other rules. There's no evidence he performed abortions at home."

It begs such questions as, "How easy is it to snatch a fetus?," "If this guy could grab thousands, how many have others taken?," and ... "If stolen for profit, how have they been parceled out?" Or simply, "Why?"

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OCCULTISM

Initiated: Memoir of a Witch, by Amanda Yates-Garcia [1] -- the early notice from Library Journal Prepub Alert (Apr 1 '19) [interesting date] explains: "Garcia was initiated into Wicca at age 13 by her mother, herself a witch, but truly turned to the practice as a means of empowerment after she had endured poverty, sex work, and abusive male relationships. Here she shows how Wicca helped her heal, linking Wicca and feminism and exploring key socioeconomic issues in an assuredly different context." However, the Los Angeles Times (see the end of this item) suggests she may really just be in it for the hustle.

Publishers Weekly (Aug 19 '19) adds: "Garcia, self-proclaimed 'Oracle of Los Angeles,' shares the series of initiations that led to her practice as a professional witch, writer, and healer in her superb debut. ... She also reveals times of personal 'darkness,' such as working as a stripper and pursuing toxic relationships, crediting witchcraft for helping her escape...."

The publisher would like you know that this memoir is "about finding meaning, beauty, and power through a life in witchcraft. ... Initiated stands squarely at the intersection of witchcraft and feminism. With generosity and heart, this book speaks to the question: is it possible to live a life of beauty and integrity in a world that feels like it's dying? Declaring oneself a witch and practicing magic has everything to do with claiming authority and power for oneself, of taking back our planet in the name of Love. Initiated is both memoir and manifesto calling the magical people of the world to take up their wands: stand up, be brave, describe the world they want, then create it like a witch."

Kirkus (Sep 1 '19) awards Initiated a "starred" review, gushing: "A professional witch recounts the trials she endured in finding her vocation. ... A seventh-generation Californian, the author has made a name - and a remunerative career - for herself as the 'Oracle of California.' ... Her mother is a practicing witch and raised the author within her own tradition, a mix of Unitarian Universalist feminist theology, neopaganism, and political activism. While Yates Garcia's account of her own magical coming-of-age includes mystical experiences and glimpses of rituals she has crafted, it is also a forceful critique of capitalism and patriarchal culture. Her philosophy of witchcraft emphasizes collective action and social justice. But this is not a manifesto. It's a tale of adventure, a heroine's journey to find her own power. Along the way, she chronicles her encounters with fairies, monsters of various kinds, and at least one demon lover."

Then there's the June 11, 2019 Los Angeles Times profile on Garcia, which takes a more tongue-in-cheek approach. Try it on for balance: <www.lat.ms/2JxEPmw>

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TECHNOLOGY

"The Cult of Digital: Technology-Oriented Religions Are Coming" by Stan Stalnaker <www.bit.ly/323ZR2p> (Quartz, Oct 9 '19) -- interspersed with the blithe assumptions typical of a futurist monologue are features both interesting and suspect.

Stalnaker, who is "founding director of Hub Culture and a noted expert <www.bit.ly/2PZQ239> on the impact of social globalization", writes: "Modern society has been unsuccessful in scaling new religions beyond the cults of personality or the niches of Scientology. But as the digital and virtual worlds evolve, this is set to change. The 21st century is setting the stage for a new type of widespread faith: technology-based religions. ...

"Techno-oriented religious movements represent a big departure from the strategies of 20th-century-style cults, which could make them even more dangerous. The foundations for this growth are governed by three factors: the internet, which allows for rapid scale; quantified-self technologies, which promise self-betterment; and new surveillance methods, which ensure a whole new type of peer-pressured submission."

As for "rapid ability to scale," Stalnaker explains: "Tech-backed movements like the Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, and #ClimateStrike scaled by tapping into a growing sense of social injustice. ... Social agreement is powerful, and represents a type of group-think that can evolve quickly into action when it reaches a tipping point. ...

"There is a huge audience of lonely people looking for spiritual answers to social injustice. A 2018 Cigna report <www.bit.ly/36IPtRs> indicated 47% of Americans feel lonely "sometimes or always," while a PRRI 2017 study <www.bit.ly/2qxzYeq> further showed that 18% of Americans are spiritual but not religious, and 69% are some combination of the two. And it's not just in America: 84% of the global population identifies as religious, according <www.pewrsr.ch/2K1U1bL> to Pew Research Center, which makes it relevant globally, from Beijing to Lagos to Ohio."

Regarding "augmented mindfulness," Stalnaker writes that "Over the last several years, mindfulness - defined as paying attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them - has exploded into popular consciousness. It is a part of a wellness movement focused on inward explanation, breath work, yoga, and meditation that has brought people tools of personal growth and empowerment."

Last, in reference to "peer surveillance," he observes: "The third component is related to AI and its insatiable need for large amounts of data, which coincides nicely with the work of governments around the world installing pervasive surveillance systems in the fight against terror, speeding, or human freedom, depending on your domicile. ...

"Peer surveillance and group think is a hallmark of religious pressure, especially in cults, where the enforcement of principles handed down by the leadership is performed by the crowd. Setting these norms and enforcing them in this emerging world becomes the responsibility not of individual peers, but by the algorithmic decisions of vast data inputs from the crowd.

"The outline of this alpha network is taking shape, with monolithic corporate tech control in the West, a party-controlled AI network in China, and even plans for a pan-Islamic AI system, announced by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman at his annual investment conference in 2018. All of these systems seek to process the large data sets of aggregated surveillance (benign or otherwise) in order to provide shared intelligence about their respective societies, and will eventually be applied in wider circles among differing actors, until it's inescapable.

"Together, these trends point the way to fertile ground for digital cults and religions in methods and ways foreign to our past. Is Greta Thunberg's climate revolution the beginning of a movement, and a new ecological mandate? ... And most importantly, how will any of us resist the temptation to just follow along when everyone else in your social network has joined [the] current mashup ...?

"We feel pressured into joining whatever new social media platform is de jour or downloading whatever buzzy app everyone else is using - what happens when these forces coalesce into social movements that demand more from us? The technological tools are there, and so is the social pressure to enlist - as well as our lack of individual ability to resist.

"At some level, everything is about control. It is worth being wary of how these technologies are being used, who is advocating for them, and who owns them, to make sure their evolution is in our best interest. Religions can be a wonderful and inclusive tool pushing society forward - but the line between the freedom to pursue religion and the pressure to conform to a new one should be carefully guarded.

"Beware of false technologists, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." <www.bit.ly/2qYgK1S>

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - Initiated: Memoir of a Witch, by Amanda Yates-Garcia (Grand Central, 2019, hardcover, 352 pages) <www.amzn.to/34ffCVL>

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