Radio Rhema. Mostly
- sometimes
- occasionally
(which is a great pity). A national Christian radio network owned by Rhema
Broadcasting Group Inc. Excellent value for the most part, but very occasionally
something slips through - eg, advertisements for their own programmes
that feature very irresponsible (and even illegal) driving behaviour,
advertisements for colloidal silver
(especially for taking it internally - DO NOT TAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER
INTERNALLY!), for water absorbing "the vibrations of the planet",
a talk by Hugh Ross (as part of the Focus
on the Family show), or Bob Cornuke promoted
by Focus on the Family. See also Life
FM and Southern Star. Incidentally,
the Greek word rhema is pronounced "rayma" and means "good news".
Radionics.New Age healing method using "black boxes"
- fancy but basically useless electronic devices claimed to have amazing
healing properties. According to a Quackwatch
article"Radionics is a pseudoscience based on the notion
that diseases can be diagnosed and treated by tuning in on radio-like
frequencies allegedly emitted by disease-causing agents and diseased organs."
Founded by Albert Abrams, M.D. (1864-1924), who was called the "dean
of gadget quacks" by the American Medical Association. Quackwatch
concludes "radionics devices have no value for diagnosing or treating
anything."Rife Therapy is a spin-off treatment
that uses radionics ideas.
Rael.
Assumed name of the international leader of the Raëlian
"UFO" cult. A Frenchman, he was born Claude Vorilhon in 1946,
out of wedlock, and changed his name to Raël in the 1970s after claiming
he had encountered a UFO in a volcano. His first wife (of 15 years) claimed"He destroyed my life and our children's lives. They were so young
and innocent. They should never have been exposed to the debauched and
wicked things that went on in our home." After many further years
of involvement, the two children have now thankfully left the cult.
Raëlians.
Cult, probably started as a con, and is now self-sustaining. Nicknamed
"The UFO Cult" for their belief that people (and all other living
things) were originally placed on Earth by 1.2m tall extraterrestrials,
about 25,000 years ago. They believe Maori legends provide evidence of
this. Founded by Claude Vorilhon (known as Raël)
in the mid 1970s. Raëlians plan on enabling people to live forever
by making a "disk" copy of a person's memories then installing
those memories in a clone of the person, about 20 years old. The process
is repeated when the clone gets old. In 1997 the Raëlians founded
Clonaid in the Bahamas (a tax haven). Notable
beliefs and practices include the encouraging of every sort of (legal)
sexual practice. Documentary maker Abdullah Hashem has stated
the cult's activities "include brainwashing members and using
sex as coercion to gain access to its members' finances". The
Raëlian logo is particularly offensive to Jews,
as it combines a swastika with a Star of David. Detractors have claimed
that "the movement intentionally stirs a moderate level of controversy
to maintain membership." The logo and the claims of clone babies
(see Clonaid) may be examples of this. In
a similar vein, a claim has also been made that Claude Vorilhon admitted
to a friend that he had lied about meeting extraterrestrials - the whole
story was fabricated to bring him the fame and fortune he had long wanted.
There are about 100 members in New Zealand, led by Mark
Woodgate. For another UFO religion see Aetherius
Society (which is also a group probably started as a scam and is now
self-sustaining).
Ramtha.
Con. An entity allegedly channeled by Judy Zebra Knight (born Judith Darlene
Hampton, 16 March 1946). From the Wikipedia Ramtha
article, emphasis added to what appears to be a vandalised article:
According to Knight, Ramtha was a Lemurian warrior who
raised an army of pirates and fought against bunny rabbits, and
the tyrants of the times, the Atlantians, over 35,000 years ago.
(Being Lemurian I'm surprised Ramtha didn't fight against monkeys
or perhaps chimps. But I digress - Editor.) Much of Ramtha's "teaching"
is about God within us, a central New Age belief.
It seems that sometimes Ramtha's advice can have serious consequences,
possibly depriving J Z Knight's own husband of years of his life. Wikipedia's
entry on J
Z Knight has this chilling account:
In the early 1990s, Knight's high-profile divorce case
appeared in the tabloids. In Knight vs Knight, 1992-1995 Knight's ex-husband
Jeff Knight alleges that he lost years of his life by postponing modern
medical treatment for his HIV infection, due to advice from his wife that
Ramtha could heal him — he died before he could appeal the court's
decision against him.
In another court case, J Z Knight sued a woman named Judith Ravell in
Austria who also claimed to be channeling Ramtha. After several years
Judy won and Judith was ordered to pay US$800 in damages. (Of course Judy
wanted much much more.)
Ramtha's School of Enlightenment.
Con. New Age outfit founded by run as a business
by over 50 employees. Ultimately it's just a money making scheme exploiting
the gullible.
Rastafari.
Group that believes that a certain Ethiopian king (Haile
Selassie) is the second coming of Christ. "Rastafari" comes
from Ras (meaning Prince or Duke) Tafari Makonnen, Haile Selassie's original
name. Rastafarians are characterised by their Reggae
music, their dreadlock hair styles, the colours black, green, red and
yellow, and cannabis use. (And that was written before reading Watchman
Fellowship's Rastafari
profile!) True Rastafarians are vegetarians.
Ratana. Submissions for this listing are
now being accepted. Please see the Contact page.
Recovered Memory Syndrome.
Also called False Memory Syndrome. False (and often ridiculous) memories
are "recovered" in therapy, when no hint of such a memory existed
prior to the therapy - the claim is that they were repressed below the
level of conscious recall. There are various simple ways false memories
are created ("recovered"), but it can give rise to things like
Satanic Ritual Abuse claims. The therapist in
many cases feels no responsibility to verify the truthfulness of the memories
they help the patient "recover" and thus the therapy ends up
harming the patient, by lumbering them with more problems than they started
with. See also Multiple Personality Disorder.
For more information see Apologetics
Index's False Memory Syndrome page.
Reflexology.New Age practice, which claims that parts of
the feet are linked to body organs and that manipulating the particular
part of the foot can heal the organ it is supposedly associated with.
In other words, a bunch of baloney. For more information see Quackwatch's
Reflexology:
A Close Look.
Reggae.
Style of music that Rastafarians (and others) listen
to. Bob Marley was the most famous Reggae musician. (FWIW he would have
played for Jamaica's national soccer team if he hadn't made music.)
Reiki Massage.
Pronounced like the English words "ray-key". An occult, New
Age practice involving the impartation of "healing energy"
or lifeforce (ki/qi) into the recipient either through massage or "hands-off"
massage, without any physical touch involved. Some practitioners believe
the "healing energy" can be transmitted long distance. The Ankerberg
Theological Research Institute says"In essence, Reiki is an occult technique designed to influence
and/or manipulate patients through the use of unadvertised or undiscerned
spiritistic energy." Ignoring the occult aspects - for which
Christians should stay well clear of Reiki - Wikipedia points
out"The strongest research conducted as of 2008 has failed
to demonstrate that Reiki is an effective treatment for any condition.
... there is insufficient evidence to indicate that reiki is effective
as sole or adjuvant therapy for any medical condition, or that it has
any benefits beyond possible placebo effects." See also placebo
effect in the Glossary.
Reincarnation.
The false belief that people go through several lives, perhaps including
animals, insects, etc. Often connected to karma
- supposedly if a person, animal, etc works off enough karma during their
life they will be reincarnated to a higher life form on their next life.
Reincarnation is a lie.
Religious Society of Friends.
More commonly known as Quakers, they are considered a Christian sect or
cult depending on the branch. The three branches are Conservative
Friends (sect), Evangelical Friends
(sect), and Liberal Friends (Christian
cult). Actual ratings for the different branches vary. See the individual
listings for more information on the differences. It is generally accepted
that the Religious Society of Friends was founded in 1652 by George Fox.
Members are strongly opposed to violence. Meetings for worship are characterised
by extended periods of complete silence - sometimes with whole meetings
in silence. Perhaps ironically George Fox was imprisoned in 1649 for interrupting
a church service. Apparently if he had waited until the end everything
would have been fine. He was in prison again in 1651 (under a 1648 blasphemy
law), and from 1664 to 1666. (He was imprisoned a total of eight times,
most often for refusing to join the army.) Quaker classic literature (that
most modern Quakers haven't read) includes No Cross, No Crown by
William Penn, The Apology by Robert Barclay, and The Inward
Journey by Isaac Penington.
Religious Technology Center.
Name used by Scientology. Stay well clear
of it.
Rich
Dad, Poor Dad.
Title of a book by Robert Toru Kiyosaki. Personality cult/scam. (Perhaps by
coincidence it was published in paperback on 1 April 2000.) Some people have
claimed the books contains some good ideas from the point of view of helping
people whom have not had a good "economic" upbringing. This is highly
arguable, and may be said by people who don't know a lot about money. It actually
contains many bad ideas. In the words of John
T Reed (publisher of Real Estate Investor's Monthly newsletter):
"Rich Dad, Poor Dad contains much wrong advice, much bad advice,
some dangerous advice, and virtually no good advice." The serious stuff
starts with "Rich Dad" never actually having existed. To explain this
lack of a Rich Dad Robert T Kiyosaki is quoted as saying "Is Harry
Potter real? Why don’t you let Rich Dad be a myth, like Harry Potter?"
New Zealanders should note that not all the same tax laws apply in New Zealand
as in the US. If Christians read the book they should exercise caution for the
following reasons.
Breaks the 9th Commandment "Do not lie." Examples:
He never even hints in the book that Rich Dad never existed. (The sequel
Rich Kid Poor Kid now has the disclaimer: Although based on
a true story, certain events in this book have been fictionalized for
educational content and impact.)
I always make offers with escape clauses. In real estate, I make
an offer with the words "subject to the approval of business partner."
Most people do not know the partner is my cat.
Claims to have been a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. His military records
show no flight school or pilot's wings.
Breaks the 10th Commandment "Do not covet." (Robert Kiyosaki's
problems seem to have started because of this.)
Denigrates educated people, including his own father, the "Poor Dad"
of the title, thus breaking the 5th Commandment - "Honour your father
and mother."
Very unbiblical in its basic premise. The Bible tells us to be content with
what we have. (Of course it also tells us to be wise as serpents and harmless
as doves.) "But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy
6:6 (NIV).
Flawed premises such as:
Education is bad. (Truth: Most rich people ARE well educated.)
Education is unnecessary and undesirable to make money. (Truth: Bill
Gates didn't drop out of Harvard because education isn't important. He
dropped out because he wouldn't have enough time to make money and grow
his business if he stayed. The person in the intro to the book making
these false claims about education was lolling on the couch while saying
it, NOT making money. It appeared he had no physical abilities that he
could capitalise on with lots of hard work and training - and the desire
to do so - like the two sports stars he used as examples. Therefore he
had no basis to make the claims about education.)
Dissatisfaction with one's life means the lifestyle (or whatever) is
wrong. (Truth: It may mean one's materialistic values are wrong, not what
one currently has.)
Having plenty of money means success. (Truth: In whose sight? God's?
No. Money is irrelevant to being successful in God's sight, but may make
it more difficult.)
Being a doctor or a teacher is not successful because all they do is
make money and pay taxes. (Truth: No one would be a doctor or a
teacher if this selfish view of success was embraced by all. Thankfully
it isn't - according to Robert Kiyosaki's own father: "Schoolteachers
really don't think about being rich. We just like to teach."
Without people paying taxes only rich people would be able to afford even
a basic education and healthcare. Furthermore, God does not rate success
on wealth.)
Offers much bad advice, and apparently encourages insider trading: The
reason you want to have rich friends who are close to the inside is because
that is where the money is made. It's made on information. ... the sooner
you know, the better your chances are for profits with minimal risk. That
is what friends are for. (Page 154.)
Simplistic arguments, such as saying the national debt is largely caused
by politicians who have little finance training. This sort of argument also
panders to the dissatisfactions of the reader.
Uses straw man arguments:
Misquotes the biblical "the love of money..."* and contrasts
it to his other "dad"'s advice.
Compares "I can't afford it" to "How can I afford it?"
(which may be a good attitude) without considering "Do I need it?"
or more seriously "Is this (in) God's will (for me right now)?"
* FWIW the Bible actually says "For the love of money is a root of all
kinds of evil." (1 Tim 6:10a.) Note that it doesn't say that having money
is evil - just risky. But note the verse immediately before that: "People
who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and
harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction." (1 Tim 6:9.)
Rife Therapy.
Rife Therapy was started by Royal Raymond Rife (inspired by radionics),
who claimed to be able to distinguish good and bad bacteria based on the
colour of their auras, and then to be able to destroy the bad bacteria
by targeting them with radio waves of just the right frequency (based
on the colour of their aura). Quackwatch has an article about a Rife
therapist sued for claiming she could cure cancer. The article mentions
"The American Cancer Society has pointed out that although sound
waves can produce vibrations that break glass, radio waves at the power
level emitted [by] a Rife generator do not have sufficient energy to destroy
bacteria."
Ring, Ken.
Astrologer weather predictor, believes the moon is the main influence
on the weather. A few of his ideas are quite interesting, but he is not
particularly accurate, getting the weather right only about 10% of the
time in one informal analysis. In March 2002 he made a major prediction
that there would be extremely bad weather on (or around) 17 April 2003,
based on the moon being at it's southern-most point in its orbit while
being at perihelion. The weather in Auckland on that day was fine and
sunny with the odd very light shower (not unusual for Auckland), as shown
in the below photo looking toward Mt Roskill (which had a cross atop it
especially for Easter the following day):
Another prediction made at the same time was for extreme weather around
3 June 2004. 3 June was overcast with a few scattered showers in the morning
- again, not unusual for Auckland winter weather, and arguably a little
better than normal.
Ringatu.
Maori spiritualist church. Founded in the 1860s by the Maori guerrilla
leader Te Kooti (1830-1893). Submissions for this listing are now being
accepted. Please see the Contact page.
Roleplaying Games (RPGs).
Generally, any game which involves the players taking the role of a fictional
character by pretending they are that character to complete the game.
This may be on computer, a board game, etc. More specifically, a role
playing game is one in which one player is a referee, guiding the other
players (and their made-up characters) through an imaginary mission, normally
in a fantasy-based world although all sorts of RPGs exist. Dice are used
to resolve fighting and other chance-based activities. The most popular
RPGs involve very realistic battles and the use of magic. Examples are
Dungeons & Dragons and (the not quite as popular and now out of
print) Middle-earth Role Playing. Much discussion has been made
about the merits of RPGs and their relation to suicides and suicide rates,
and their links to the occult. There is no
doubt that Dungeons & Dragons is very occultic and should be avoided
by those concerned about such things, but statistics from the USA have
shown that RPG players have lower suicide rates than the general population.
No good New Zealand information has been found on that issue. Non-occult
(and low-occult) RPGs exist and are useful for encouraging the imagination.
(At the least, the low-occult games should provide plenty of teaching
opportunities for Christian parents.)
Rolfing.
Also known as Structural Integration. Do not confuse with ralphing (a
slang term for throwing up) or ROFLing. Rolfing is a form of massage based
on the idea that not only our physical well-being depends on correct spinal
alignment, but also our emotional well-being. We have no doubt that (most)
people will feel better after a good rub-down but Rolfing practitioners
make many unsubstantiated claims. As is typical for alternative health
therapies, anecdotal testimonies are heavily relied on for evidence it
works. See chiropractic and Feldenkrais
for other practices with similar teachings. For more information see the
Skeptic's Dictionary Rolfing
article, which also mentions the related Hellerwork
Structural Integration.
Roman Catholic Church. A very old, institutionalised
denomination of Christianity, and one of the largest Christian denominations
in New Zealand. The church does some good in the community and at a political
level, especially relating to the very important issue of abortion,
but theologically it has several very major problems, such as:
Transubstantiation
- the belief that the elements of communion (bread/wine) turn into the
actual body and blood of Christ when blessed by a priest, before
being eaten. This in turn means that the elements are worshipped, now
being God. (Around the time of the Reformation many Christians were
burnt at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church simply for refusing
to believe this nonsense.)
Idolatry - worship of Mary,
veneration of the saints, relics in churches, etc.
Deification - Mary is elevated to an equal standing with Jesus; she
was herself immaculately conceived, is sinless, is perpetually a virgin,
was taken bodily into heaven ("the glorious assumption"),
intercedes with God the Father on our behalf, etc.
Occultism, necromancy - praying to dead people (saints and Mary),
apparitions of Virgin Mary.
Apparently at the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) the Roman Catholic
Church gave up its teaching that it is the only way for people to be saved
(about time!). However, many Roman Catholics do not believe all the teachings
of the Roman Catholic Church anyway. Whether this makes them any more
Christian than those who do believe it all we leave to others to debate,
who have more time on their hands (eg, Are
Roman Catholics Christian?"CARM's position is simple. If
a Roman Catholic believes in the official Roman Catholic teaching on salvation,
then he is not a Christian since the official RCC position is contrary
to scripture."). Similarly for what rating the Roman Catholic
Church deserves (although there may seem an obvious choice to many).
Rosicrucian Order, Rosicrusianism.
Cult. See AMORC.
Ross, Hugh.
Christian astronomer. Believes in an old universe, and is responsible
for creating huge confusion in Christian teaching circles (nicknamed the
Hugh Confusion), largely due to his apparent greater faith in the secular
astronomical establishment than in the Bible. Hugh Ross does not see any
discrepancies between the order of events in Genesis 1 and the order
defined by evolution.
Rowling, Joanne Kathleen.
J K Rowling is the author of the Harry Potter
series of books. Born on 31 July 1965 (some unauthorised biographies say
1966). She used to be a housewife in England and is now one of the richest
women in the world. She lives in Scotland with her second husband and
two children.
Ruegg, Albert.
Albert Ruegg is a follower of false prophet William
Branham, and evangelistically distributes Branham's false teachings
in person, in print, on DVD, through his own web site, and indirectly
through Gospel Tape Ministry (a ministry
he says he is not personally involved with, but evidently wholeheartedly
supports). He pastors Christian Believers Church
in Tauranga, where he teaches modalism,
and that people need to be baptised in the name of Jesus (only, not in
the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit) in order to be saved and to avoid
the Mark of the Beast. He is assigned a Danger rating here because
he teaches and actively promulgates the seriously bad doctrine of William
Branham, not because he's considered physically dangerous in any way (although
some of his teachings are legalistic, such as that women should have long
hair).
- sometimes 
- occasionally 
(which is a great pity). A national Christian radio network owned by Rhema
Broadcasting Group Inc. Excellent value for the most part, but very occasionally
something slips through - eg, advertisements for their own programmes
that feature very irresponsible (and even illegal) driving behaviour,
advertisements for 
Group that believes that a certain Ethiopian king (
Style of music that 
More commonly known as Quakers, they are considered a Christian sect or
cult depending on the branch. The three branches are 
Title of a book by Robert Toru Kiyosaki. Personality cult/scam. (Perhaps by
coincidence it was published in paperback on 1 April 2000.) Some people have
claimed the books contains some good ideas from the point of view of helping
people whom have not had a good "economic" upbringing. This is highly
arguable, and may be said by people who don't know a lot about money. It actually
contains many bad ideas. In the words of 
Maori spiritualist church. Founded in the 1860s by the Maori guerrilla
leader Te Kooti (1830-1893). Submissions for this listing are now being
accepted. Please see the 