« Saudi King for tolerance? | Britain should look to its own 'occupied territories' before criticizng Israel »
PrintNovember 12, 2008
The Seven Aphorisms
This one is almost too weird to write about. A cult has sued to force a small city in Utah to post the cult's "Seven Aphorisms," next to the Ten Commandments, in the city park. SCOTUS will hear the case next week.
The International Herald Tribune describes the cult thus:
Followers of Summum meditate on their Seven Aphorisms, fortified by an alcoholic sacramental nectar they produce and surrounded by mummified animals.In 2003, the president of the Summum church wrote to the mayor here with a proposal: the church wanted to erect a monument inscribed with the Seven Aphorisms in the city park, "similar in size and nature" to the one devoted to the Ten Commandments.
The seven aphorisms comprise a list of new age nonsense. The third aphorism is:
"Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates."
The cult's founder Corky Ra (I am not kidding that's the name) was given the Seven Aphorisms through telepathic communication with the "Summa Individuals." Or, at least, that is Corky's claim.
It will be interesting to see how the five liberal members of the Supreme Court wrestle with this First Amendment challenge.
