Conviction upheld in FLDS sexual assault case
In his appeal, Abram Harker Jeffs claimed that the state had insufficient evidence to prove that a sexual relationship had occurred between him and his wife, whom he married when she was 14 years old.
He was one of 12 men indicted after a 2008 law enforcement raid on the sect’s Texas-based ranch.
Religion [...]
‘This was not a faith healing death,’ lawyer tells jury
Gregory and Garnet Swezey of Carlton, Washington are on trial on charges of second-degree murder in the death of their 17-year-old son.
Their lawyer: if you ask the Swezeys what they would have done if they knew it was a ruptured appendix, and that their son was dying, “They both say, they [...]
Faith Healing trial begins for Church of the First Born members
The second-degree murder trial of a faith healing couple whose teenage son died of a burst appendix is underway.
17-year-old Zachary Swezey died of a burst appendix while his parents and other members of the Church of the First Born prayed for his recovery, and failed to call a doctor or ambulance.
Religion News Blog
Second woman raped during ‘spiritual cleansing,’ officials say
A man charged in April with raping a woman in a Santa Ana, California motel room under the pretense of performing a “spiritual cleansing” involving raw eggs has been charged with sexually assaulting a second woman using the same ruse.
The second victim came forward after seeing reports of the first case on [...]
‘The time is finished’: sect says its ’666′ leader will be ‘transformed’
Followers of José Luis De Jesus Miranda — a man who has claimed to be both Jesus Christ and the Antichrist — claim they and their leader will be ‘transformed’ on June 30th.
And, according to one of the cult members, “All those that are not believers are going to be destroyed.”
Religion News [...]
US ‘pastor’ burns Korans, protestesting Iran’s detention of Branhamite clergy man
Controversial pastor Terry Jones has burned copies of the Koran and a depiction of the prophet Mohammed to protest the imprisonment in Iran of ‘Christian’ clergyman Youcef Nadarkhani — a follower of a cult of Christianity.
The tiny church headed by Jones is considered a hate group.
Religion News Blog
Bible School, Church Buildings Attacked in Sudan
Christians faced increased hostilities in Sudan over the past few weeks, culminating in an attack on a Christian compound in Khartoum by a throng of Muslim extremists armed with clubs, iron rods, a bulldozer and fire.
Breaking down the compound wall with a bulldozer, the assailants set fire to the Gerief West Bible School [...]