for ; Thu, 26 Mar 1998 09:13:08 -0500 (EST)
From: Stig_Agermose@online.pol.dk (Stig Agermose)
To: updates@globalserve.net
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 13:57:17 +0100
Subject: Cult Leader Misses Mark On Prediction
>From the Star-Telegram. URL
http://www.startext.net/news/doc/1047/1:STATE31/1:STATE31032598.html
*******
Updated: Wednesday, Mar. 25, 1998 at 01:36 CST=20
Cult leader misses mark on prediction=20
By Justin Bachman
Star-Telegram Dallas Bureau =20
GARLAND -- At 12:01 this morning, God did not appear on Channel 18. But
cult members who have gathered in Garland indicated last night that
even if he didn't show, they believe he will appear Tuesday.=20
Chen Hon-Ming, the leader of the God's Salvation Church, had been
predicting that God would appear on cable Channel 18 across the nation
in preparation for his visit to Garland on Tuesday. The group said it
chose Garland because it sounds to them like "God land."
Richard Liu, a spokesman for the group, said some cult members had
chosen to be together last night and were gathered in the back yard of
Chen's home, preparing to watch television.
"If really nothing happens, that might be a change of God's plan," Liu
said about 10:30 last night, adding that Chen has not told anyone that
any of his previous predictions have changed.
The street in front of Chen's house, closed to traffic, was teeming
with television reporters, including a large contingent from Taiwan
television networks.
Charles Amyx, 52, made about $1,000 last night, renting his driveway to
television and radio station crews who parked there, only feet from
Chen's house.
"My wife just broke her tooth. I need the money," Amyx, a janitor and
cardboard salesman, said as he unloaded his Dodge Caravan in front of
his house last night. "If I didn't need the money, I'd just let them
park there for free as a neighborly thing to do. But it's not like it's
money they don't have."
His wife, Sherry, said she was pleased at the prospect of visiting a
dentist.
"God works in mysterious ways," Charles Amyx said.
Chen had agreed to address the crowd by midmorning to explain what did
or did not happen overnight, police Lt. Don Martin said last night.
The church is composed of some 110 adults and 50 children, many of whom
have left their homes in Taiwan to follow Chen to Garland, which he
says God has made the headquarters of a "salvation operation" to redeem
people before a nuclear holocaust in 1999 claims most of the world's
population.
With hordes of reporters descending for the first of a two-part media
"event" last night predicted to culminate with the arrival of God on
Tuesday, city officials introduced themselves to journalists yesterday
and unveiled a plan they hope will minimize the hoopla.
At least 25 news organizations signed up to camp out last night at
Chen's home, the headquarters of the spiritual leader of the group
commonly referred to as the Taiwanese UFO cult.
Another 38 organizations have told the city they will cover events
related to the group's prediction that God will visit Tuesday in the
3500 block of Ridgedale Drive.
Traffic to the residential area was tightly restricted. Residents, and
reporters bearing Garland media badges, were the only spectators
allowed to drive into the area, Martin said.
Curious onlookers were turned away and advised to turn to newspapers,
radio and television reports for information.
"We don't know what's going to happen," Martin said at a news
conference at City Hall. "We're working on assumptions."
The biggest assumption is that members of the group, which says it
values all life, will not harm themselves or engage in any other
"negative behavior" if they do not perceive anything to have occurred
either this morning or Tuesday, Martin said.
Chen's predictions come about a year after 38 members of the Heaven's
Gate cult committed mass suicide in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Heaven's
Gate members believed they would be picked up by a spaceship hidden by
the Hale-Bopp comet.
Several religious experts working with police have said the group
members are not violent and not likely to harm themselves or others if
Chen's prophecies do not come true, Martin said.
"We'd rather overreact than underreact," he said.
Group members have said they do not intend to hurt themselves if the
prophecies do not happen.=20
International interest has been high, with several Taiwanese
journalists in Garland reporting on the group.
Such interest is why the city summoned reporters yesterday to issue
bright orange credentials and explain the locations of parking,
lavatories and area restaurants.
In comments to reporters last week, Chen emphasized the marvels of the
"American continent" and likened Garland, a city of 200,000 on the
eastern edge of Dallas, to a modern Garden of Eden.
Religious experts say the group's beliefs incorporate aspects of
Christianity and Buddhism, with several unique features, including
reverence of technology and the notion that God has engineered "super
aircraft" able to transport 1,800 passengers through several dimensions
of space and time.
Martin said Garland building and code inspectors have received several
calls from residents since January, when the cult began receiving
publicity for its beliefs, asking about the number of people residing
at homes the group rents.
Inspectors have found no violations, he said.=20
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