Radical Life Mastery Training. Scam/business cult. Based in Hamilton. Also called Human Evolution Specialists.
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, talks
by Hugh Ross (as part of the Focus
on the Family show), or Bob Cornuke promoted
by Focus on the Family, advertisements
for colloidal silver (especially
for taking it internally – DO NOT TAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER INTERNALLY!),
heavy and ongoing promotion of The Freedom Diaries, and perhaps the most ridiculous, for water absorbing "the vibrations of the planet". Radio Rhema also consistently promotes through its advertising New
Age, naturopathic treatments, despite biblical warnings concerning the practice of witchcraft. 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.
Raël. 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. In his testimony
of why he left the Raëlians, former New Zealand leader Mark
Woodgate says of Raël:
There have always been clever hoaxers and con-men throughout
history, and Rael will not be the last.
Rael is a very intelligent man, a masterful orator, persuasive
and cunning. His hidden agenda and the conviction with which he has committed
himself to his cause is masterful – and his ability to manipulate
and deceive without conscience is truly disturbing...
For these reasons I have no doubt that Claude Vorilhon
will be remembered as one of the greatest hoaxers of modern times.
Ellipsis and emphasis in original. Mark Woodgate includes several pertinent
quotes from Raël:
• Even if it isn't true, it is still beautiful.
• If it is only a dream, then my dream is better
than their reality.
• Even if it isn't true, will you stay with me to
build this dream? Good! Then it doesn't matter if it is true or not!
• You know, I love comedy, and I love playing jokes – and
one day, maybe when I take my last breath, I will share with you the
greatest joke of all.
Raëlians. Cult,
almost certainly started simply as a con in 1974, 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, formerly led by Mark
Woodgate. For other UFO religions see Aetherius
Society and Scientology (also
groups almost certainly started as scams and are now self-sustaining).
Ramtha. Con.
An entity allegedly channeled by Judy Zebra Knight. 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. Scam cult. New
Age outfit founded by J Z Knight and run as a business by over 50 employees. Ultimately
it's just a money making scheme exploiting the gullible. One of J Z Knight's former husbands Jeff Knight called it "a very dangerous, very evil corrupt thing".
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. New Zealand church and political movement founded by Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana in 1925.
Ratna, Alanna. Alanna Ratna is a conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer who has threatened New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with death by lethal injection. She is a retired GP and is a member of NZDSOS. She is rated Danger for death threats and the risk of death and long-term disability her disinformation poses to the general public.
Reality Check Radio. Web-streamed audio platform (not an actual radio station) funded by Voices For Freedom. Uses the catchphrase "RIP woke media". See this Stuff article for a review.
Reasons to Believe. Christian ministry which teaches an old Earth creation (progressive creationism) and attacks people and ministries which teach young Earth creation. Founded and led by Hugh Ross. Creation Ministries International lists some of the reasons progressive creationism is bad in this article:
‘Progressive creationism’, in accepting the secular time-scale for Earth history, seriously undermines the Gospel by putting death, disease and suffering in God’s very good creation (Genesis 1:31) before Adam and Eve sinned and brought about the curse of death and the corruption of the whole creation (Genesis 3:19; Romans 8:20–22). So it undermines the reason for and meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection (Romans 5:12 ff.; 1 Corinthians 15:21–22). This is no trivial matter. See Some questions for theistic evolutionists (and progressive creationists)
Recovered Memory Syndrome. Also
called False Memory Syndrome. False (and often ridiculous) memories are "recovered" in
therapy (or even during interrogation), 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. The video that page links to of Elizabeth Loftus explaining false memories is particularly informative.
Reddick, Lynn and Linda. Lynn Reddick and his wife Linda Reddick misquote scripture to support their false teachings. Lynn Reddick is the author of the book 2 Minute Miracle, in which he falsely teaches that we are like God in that we can create and call things into existence with our words. Linda Reddick has falsely taught that Deuteronomy 28 says we will be blessed for unity and cursed for disunity. Deuteronomy 28 actually teaches we will be blessed if we obey God. The Reddicks have visited New Zealand. See Word Faith Movement and New Apostolic Reformation.
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.)
Reid, Melanie. Melanie Reid is a journalist who has shown a preference for reporting anti-vax stories in a favourable light without pointing out the anti-vax beliefs are physically dangerous. Reporters have a responsibility to report truth, not condone and embrace falsehood and lies, and not present the disseminators of those lies as being worthy leaders. Melanie Reid is not respecting the responsibility her job holds. In her history of misreporting truth she has deliberately ignored evidence that she was on the wrong track. Any reports from her related to vaccines should be treated with strong caution. For more information see this RNZ story.
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 Diversity Centre in Aotearoa New Zealand Trust. A trust set up in 2015 (in their own words) "To foster appreciation, understanding and deeper relationships among the religious, spiritual and secular communities in Aotearoa New Zealand, and provide an independent and informed voice in religious and spiritual issues in the public sphere."
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. The World Council of Churches has some history of the Quakers which mentions William Penn: "In 1682, William Penn received a royal grant of a colony now known as Pennsylvania, and founded its capital, Philadelphia, which remains a centre of American liberal Quakerism." The name Philadelphia is Greek for "brotherly love" – friendship. The History Channel has some more details of the history of Quakers.
Religious Technology Center. Name
used by Scientology. Stay well clear
of it.
Restored Church of God. Founded by David C Pack in the USA in May 1999 as a non-reformed continuation of the Worldwide Church of God. According to Wikpedia's RCG listing "The Restored Church of God claims to retain the tenets, style, and structure of the earlier Worldwide Church of God, before the death of Herbert W. Armstrong in 1986." The RCG publishes The Real Truth magazine and The World to Come weekly video programme. The RCG's presence in New Zealand is unclear, although their TV show The World to Come is screened here.
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 claimed by people who themselves don't know a lot about money. The book 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 – or 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.)
Update: The link between wealth and greed, and the willingness to take unethical actions, is supported by a study reported in the LA Times.
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.
Ken Ring is an 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 its southern-most point in its orbit while being at
perihelion (the point in its eliptical orbit where it's closest to Earth).
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. Ken Ring makes his extremely
vague "predictions" seem much more accurate by his use of
the Forer
effect and post-hoc (after the event) analysis, leading to hindsight
bias and postdiction.
David Winter sums this up perfectly in his article Ken
Ring can’t predict the weather (link not working):
Reading Ring’s website, you can see he is pretty
generous when he estimates his own accuracy, like the Texas sharpshooter who shoots the side of
a barn then paints a target around the bullet hole to show his prowess
with a shooting iron, Ring uses any vaguely similar weather event to
prop up the accuracy of his predictions. My particular favourite from
that page is his prediction for 100 mm or rain in New South Wales, which
was accurate, it’s just that it arrived further West, two days
later and was a only 20mm.
Did Ken Ring predict the 22 Feb 2011 Christchurch earthquake? No. In
fact, quite the opposite. The month after the 4 September 2010 quake he believed
that Christchurch would not have
any more "aftershocks
of significance" after the end of November 2010 (see this
page, scroll down to comment 147).
Thus, Ken Ring incorrectly predicted:
That GNS was wrong in their warnings that strong aftershocks could
continue for more than a year.
That the series of Boxing
Day aftershocks, the series of 20 January aftershocks, and the
series of 4 February aftershocks all would not happen.
That Christchurch had nothing to worry about from a strong aftershock
(such as happened on 22 Feb).
For these false and genuinely dangerous predictions Ken Ring is now
rated Danger.
More information on Ken Ring's inability to predict earthquakes is in
David Winter's article Ken
Ring can’t predict earthquakes either. But consider his own
contradictory words:
I don't claim to predict the weather. No one can.
And:
I certainly cannot predict earthquakes.
Not until he thinks he can get away with claiming a correct prediction.
After the 22 February earthquake:
We predicted the latest earthquake and it has tragically
happened.
Ken Ring is a
scammer of the worst sort, selling snake
oil in
the form of weather and earthquake predictions.
Ringatu. Maori
spiritualist church. Founded in the 1860s by the Maori guerrilla leader
Te Kooti (1830-1893) after he had a vision of the Archangel Michael while
sick with tuberculosis.
Roby, Kay. Kay Roby is the general manager of Osmosis Skincare, a scam. In that role she actively promotes and defends the scam. She is rated Danger because the scam products she has promoted could result in serious personal damage, such as sunburn. Regardlesss, her actions are deplorable, and would be quite enough for a Caution rating.
Role-playing 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. (For example, 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 progressive creation, and thus in an old universe, and is responsible for creating
huge confusion in Christian teaching circles (nicknamed the Hugh Confusion),
partly due to his apparent greater faith in the secular scientific
establishment than in the Bible, and partly due to his lack of care with facts. He teaches that nature is a 67th book of the Bible, absolutely equal in authority to the Bible, instead of nature being a fallen creation that needs to be understood in the light of the Bible. Hugh Ross does not see any discrepancies
between the order of events in Genesis 1 and the order defined by evolution. Misleadingly, he teaches what he calls a "worldwide" flood, by which he actually means a local flood which killed all people not on the Ark. He and his ministry Reasons to Believe actively attack Christians and Christian ministries who believe and teach a recent creation, and has not acknowledged clear evidence from those ministries that his arguments are wrong.
It is inconceivable that Ross could have mistaken these new distance measurements for trigonometric parallax had he actually read and understood the articles that he cited. The huge distances alone should have told him that trigonometric parallax was not possible for either of these objects. This is another example of how poorly Ross understands or mishandles information, even in a field in which he is supposed to be an expert. This should cause his supporters to question his conclusions not only in astronomy, but also in matters such as anthropology, speciation, Hebrew and theology where he clearly has no professional expertise.
Ross recently claimed that the current 71 to 29 percent ratio of water-to-land surface on the earth ‘… has been theoretically and observationally demonstrated to provide the maximum possible diversity and complexity of life.’ No reference was given for this statement, so it is impossible to determine where Ross discovered this ‘fact’ or if indeed he incorrectly handled it as well. Given the many variables involved in determining such a thing, it is difficult to conceive that one could reach such a conclusion theoretically. But even more troubling is the assertion that this has been ‘observationally demonstrated’. Short of observing a large number of earth-like worlds with various water-to-land ratios and counting the flora and fauna on each, just how could such a thing be demonstrated observationally? In the same book Ross writes that ‘ … theory and observations both confirm that all planets start with opaque atmospheres.’ Again, no references were given, but short of directly observing the birth and development of a large number of planets, how could this be observationally tested? To some these may seem like petty objections, but these sorts of misstatements are common in Ross’s works.
The article finishes:
Conclusion
Just a few of the incorrect and untrue statements of Hugh Ross have been explored. The concentration here has been on scientific issues. Others, such as Van Bebber and Taylor, and Kelly, have documented many of Ross’s outrageous biblical assertions, which demonstrate that Ross’s poor scholarship extends to biblical studies as well.
Dishonesty or incompetence? It is difficult to say. While I cannot decide which explanation best characterizes Ross, I am very concerned with his inability to correctly handle factual information. On many occasions Ross has greatly bungled information. On other occasions he has appeared to have a total disregard for the truth. Some have found that when Ross is informed of his gaffes, he blithely goes on as if he never heard the criticism. There seems to be no accountability. Ross frequently overstates his arguments. There are very serious problems with his biblical studies and questions about his scientific competence. I hope that the issues raised here will cause those who entertain Ross’s teachings to re-examine his pronouncements. Contrary to what many believe, Ross’s case is riddled with errors. Those who agree with his approach to Genesis should be embarrassed with the extent of his sloppy work.
Another example of Hugh Ross' inability to correctly handle factual information is his insistance that there are Earth fossils in huge quantities on the Moon (thrown up by large Earth impacts). The idea was actually just raised as a theoretical idea; to Hugh Ross it is a fact. For more comment on his teachings as they relate to the Bible see the article Creating Confusion in Genesis with Hugh Ross.
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, and through his own web site. He has clearly
stated he is not personally involved with Gospel
Tape Ministry (which also evangelistically distributes William Branham's
false teachings) but has his personal testimony on that web site and
has ministered in the United States alongside Gospel Tape Ministry's Howard
Searle. He is a trustee of Christian Believers Charitable Trust and
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. Other
teachings include that people need to be baptised in the Holy Spirit
to avoid the Mark of the Beast (which he apparently does not believe
is a physical mark), and legalistic teachings such as "it is an
abomination for men to wear clothes pertaining to women and women wearing
clothes such as trousers, garments pertaining to men" and that women
should have long hair. 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
(notwithstanding his legalistic teachings).
Russell, Charles Taze. Charles Taze Russell (b 1852,
d 1916) was a scammer who founded the Jehovah's Witnesses cult in 1879 (it was renamed to Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931). Also in 1879 he started Watchtower magazine. In 1912 Russell admitted to perjury and (under oath) to not knowing Greek, Hebrew, or Latin. In 1913 he lost a law suit against a newspaper which exposed a scam he had run selling "Miracle Wheat." In the case it came out that the Watchtower was nothing more than a moneymaking scheme for Russell, who owned 99% of the shares in the holding company the profits went to. Also in 1913, his wife sued him for divorce on the grounds of "his conceit, egotism, domination and improper conduct toward other women." He was deported from Canada in 1916 and died the same year. For more information see the Closeup on Jehovah's Witnesses.