From the Chicago Tribune
Other cultists believing in UFOs and angels see group
as heretical
By Peter Kendall
TRIBUNE STAFF
WRITER
It was not an easy week for believers in flying saucers,
aliens and outer-space angels.
The mass suicide of 39 Heaven's Gate cult members,
who had hoped to board a spaceship hidden behind a comet, somehow left
a stain on the fringes where many have found their beliefs.
Now, some of the uncounted thousands of groups espousing
everything from astrology to alien abduction are trying to show how very
different they are from the cult that been holed up in a mansion in Rancho
Santa Fe, Calif.
The Internet home
page of a group that believes aliens are not from outer space at all,
but are really fallen angels in genetically engineered bodies, posted this
statement:
``To connect us in any way with `Heaven's Gate'
or any New Age cult is outrageous,'' the statement said. ``We are Christian
fundamentalists. The suicide cult has fallen for the very deception the
watcher has been
warning about.''
Colman VonKeviczky, director of the Inter-Galactic
Spacecraft UFO Intercontinental Research and Analytic Network, said the
Heaven's Gate members couldn't have been further from the truth about alien
spacecraft.
``UFOs, or, correctly, intergalactic spacecraft,
are observing, not visiting--that is a stupid idea,'' VonKeviczky said.
``They are observing and controlling humanity since the
Second World War.''
The members of Heaven's Gate were able to be led
astray, VonKeviczky said, because the government refuses to release the
truth about UFOs.
``They should be telling the public about the phenomenon
to eliminate the risk of panic,'' he said. ``They have the documentation
in their hand.''
From California, the Church of Scientology issued
a statement pointing out that its roots are in Eastern spiritualism, while
the Heaven's Gate cult was based on Western biblical teachings.
``Apocalyptic Christian groups believe that true
happiness lies only in the afterlife--whether that be in heaven or on another
planet,'' (WRONG! What a misrepresentation
of Christians-watcher) the statement said.
``In Scientology, taking one's own life is so repugnant
to what we stand for that many Church services are unavailable to those
who have in the past attempted or even threatened suicide.''
In Atlanta, Linda Vephula, editor-in-chief of Angel Times,
found the news distressing. Not only were 39 people dead, but they had
besmirched something holy to her.
``They were referring to themselves as a cult of
angels,'' she said. ``I don't want angels to get a bad rap.'' So Vephula
issued a statement, distributed to some news media, which said:
``It is the editorial opinion of Angel Times that
suicide is not the solution of choice for our earthly dilemmas.''
She wrote that while angels can appear in human
form--then suddenly disappear--the group seemed to be confusing angels
with ``extra-terrestrial beings.''
Then, she suggested that we ``love them beyond the
grave'' and not judge them for committing suicide.
``As human beings, we, all of us, however, do have
free will,'' she wrote. ``And as such, we must not give in to our mortal
emotion of wanting to judge others who, of their own free will, choose
much differently than we would.''
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