New Zealand Cults, Sects, Religions, Christian Organisations, and other groups.

Groups List: K

Hot picks: Karma, Robert Kiyosaki, Kosmic Fusion, Krishna Consciousness, Kundalini

K

Kabbalah. Jewish mystic cult. Submissions for this listing are now being accepted. Please see the Contact page.

Kairos Foundation. Founded by K Bradford Brown, PhD. Runs the courses More to Life Program, Power of Purpose and Power of Self Esteem, Life Training Program and Life Training Mastery Course. It's yet another Large Group Awareness Training (LGAT) program. Said to be "similar [to] Landmark", and is in competition with that LGAT. This Testimonial on an Experience with the Kairos Foundation (broken link) lists many mind control techniques, including behaviour control (including diet control, sleep control, and time control – eg, toilet breaks), information control (including course content and outright lying), thought control (including loaded language), thought stopping techniques (including chanting and meditating), and emotional control (including manipulating attenders' feelings, guilt, and ritual confessions). The testimonial also claims No critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy [are] seen as legitimate. No alternative belief system [is] viewed as legitimate, good or useful. Submissions for this listing are now being accepted. Please see the Contact page.

Kangen Water. Scam. Makes false medical claims such as ""Disease cannot survive in an alkaline environment}" (sic). Makes false scientific claims, such as "Through electrolysis an ordinary water molecule is broken down into hexagonal water which is the same shape as our cells." And "Molecular hydrogen [H₂]... penetrates easily through the cell membranes since it is the smallest and lightest element. It can reach cell organs within minutes." See alkaline diet.

Karate. A Japanese martial art.

Karma. The belief that what happened in a person's past life/lives determines what happens to them in their present one. People slowly work off their own sins from previous lives. One of the biggest lies there is, and a huge excuse for apathy and inaction, since it says we should not help those less well-off than ourselves because any person being helped is not working off their own karma when we help them. To repeat: Karma is a lie. In countries where the Hindu belief of karma is prevalent (eg, India) we see horrendous instances of poverty and deprivation as a result of people turning a blind eye to others' needs thinking that the suffering person deserves to be in the state they are in. Related to reincarnation.

Kawai Purapura Retreat Centre. A community/retreat at Albany, Auckland, and referred to as KP by its occupants. Owned by the Prema Charitable Trust, which has no connection to the former occupant of the site, the Centrepoint commune. See this Newshub article for what KP is up to.

Kelmarna Centre. Owned by Catholic Family and Community Services.

Ki Health International/Ki Institute. Also known as Chun Do Sun Bup. Submissions for this listing are now being accepted. Please see the Contact page.

Kinesiology. Submissions for this listing are now being accepted. Please see the Contact page.

King, George. Founded the Aetherius Society UFO cult in 1955. George King is probably best summed up as "London taxi driver turned con man." His wild claims included preventing a massive earthquake on the San Andreas Fault thereby saving thousands of lives. Claimed to be a prince and to have titles including Reverend, Dr and Sir, none of which are verified (although if you start your own cult you can arguably claim any religious title you like). He was born 23 January 1919 and died 12 July 1997.

King, Patricia. Canadian founder of Extreme Prophetic in Arizona (?), USA. She claims she was heavily involved in the occult before professing to become a Christian. However, she is still very involved in the occult, including having a mint-green angel appear to her. She has changed her name several times, sometimes (she claims) under God's leading. She ordained and mentored Todd Bentley. Patricia King is rated Danger for her occult teaching.

Kingdom Hall. The name of a branch of the Jehovah's Witnesses. (Refers to the building.)

Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Phillipine-based cult. Also goes by the name Name Above Every Name Inc. For more information see the listing for its founder, Apollo C Quiboloy.

Kingdom Now Theology. A branch of Dominion Theology which teaches that God is looking for people to take dominion of the world back from Satan. For ordinary people this is supposedly achieved by submitting to God's apostles and prophets. See New Apostolic Reformation.

Kingfishers. A "Bible discussion" group run by the International Christian Church cult.

Kiyosaki, Robert T. Robert Kiyosaki is the author of several popular books on money and investing, including Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Rich Kid, Smart Kid, Retire Young, Retire Rich, Cash Flow Quadrant, and Guide To Investing.

Knight, Judy Zebra. J Z Knight (born Judith Darlene Hampton, 16 March 1946) is the founder of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment and claims to channel a spritual entity called Ramtha. She is anti-Christian and anti-Jew (for example, calling Christianity a backward religion) and because of reincarnation believes murder is not really wrong or evil. She has claimed to be clairvoyant, telepathic, and telekinetic but has failed to provide any scientific evidence. She has been married six times, five of which ended with divorce. (One of J Z Knight's former husbands Jeff Knight alleged in a divorce settlement court case that he lost years of life after delaying treatment for HIV on her advice that she, or Ramtha, could heal him. He won expenses only, then died before he could appeal.)

Koran. See Qur'an on the Books page.

Kosmic Fusion. This is an extreme example of a New Age scam cult, similar in some ways to Gentle Wind Project (GWP). Founded in New Zealand in 2011 by an Indian couple named Kaveeta Bhavsaar (wife) and Sunil Kumar Porumamilla (husband). Within the group they normally go by their "holy names" Sree Maa and Shri Ji respectively. There are followers scattered around the world, with up to 400 at its peak popularity. The core followers of the group have numbered up to 12, mostly in Auckland, New Zealand, but there are said to be just two core followers now.

The huge amount of jargon and gobbledegook this couple uses in their teachings, along with the inconsistency of spelling, capitalisation, trademarking, and the way terms are used are all good signs it's not on the level. Former members of GWP have said "it gets our award for mindless (but dangerous) babble; even scores higher than GWP in some ways." At least one social media post featured the writer laughing at her own psychobabble – a feature of Hermes Far Eastern Shining scam. False medical claims have been made, including that faulty genes are cleared. Former members describe mind control used by the leaders to control their social lives and financial affairs. For more information see the Kosmic Fusion Closeup. At the end of July 2018 Stuff published Bad Vibrations: The implosion of a New Age cult, an in-depth article about the group.

This group is rated Danger because of the mind control used on its members/followers, because of the false medical claims, and also because the gobbledegook they use in their teachings is so bad that the only people who get deceived by it (or realise the deception but don't care) are likely to be completely taken in – see Why Do People Join Cults in the CultFAQ. In that sense it's a little like how Nigerian email scammers include plenty of spelling mistakes and other inconsistencies in their scams – they are generally easy to recognise as a scam, which means the scammers don't waste time with people who are unlikely to go all the way.

Kotuku Models. A front group for Nikau Church, which is a Wellington branch of the Providence cult.

Krishna. A person who lived several thousand years ago (traditional birthdate 18 or 21 July 3228 BC). Some legends say he died after a hunter mistook his foot for a deer and shot him with an arrow. Other legends say he ascended to heaven or that his body was just spiritual the whole time anyway. Now worshipped as a deity in many Hindu traditions and by Hare Krishnas. Some traditions believe him to be a manifestation of Vishnu, the supreme god, while others believe Krisha to himself be the supreme god. Having started as a human, Krishna is a false god (demon). Krishna's name comes from the Sanskrit word Krsna meaning black, dark, or dark blue, as Krishna is normally depicted with blue (or sometimes black) skin. The normal reason given for this is something along the lines of "sky is the reflection of Krishna's effulgence". However, various legends say Krishna's skin turned blue from drinking poisoned water in order to save humanity after he killed a multi-hooded snake which had poisoned a river. The blue-black skin that develops from serious cases of argyria would easily explain it. See colloidal silver for more information.

Krishna Consciousness. See Hare Krishna.

Kundalini. Extremely nasty New Age, occult stuff. Kundalini is a Sanskrit word meaning "coiled" and comes from the belief that there is a sleeping serpent force coiled at the base of the spine. For more information see Comparison between Kundalini and Toronto Movement or Todd Bentley, Fires of Kundalini. Andrew Strom has also made some mini documentaries about Kundalini manifestations within the False Revival Movement, with his latest video being the most controversial – and providing some great examples.

Kung Fu. A martial art that involves five different basic types of movement, based on the tiger, crane, snake, leopard, and dragon. Other animals get a look in as well depending on the particular school.

Kurare, Wadan. Wadan Kurare was the general manager of the Hermes Far Eastern Shining cult/scam in Australia. In that role he actively promoted and defended the scam. He apparently left the group in 2006.