Take Me for a Ride: Coming of Age in a Destructive CultLaxer, Mark E.
Religion
Take Me for a Ride: Coming of Age in a Destructive Cult
Laxer, Mark E.
Cults -- United States; Lenz, Frederick, 1950-
In a fabricated advertisement (Issue #4; February, 1981), Atmananda
poked fun at televangelists: "Dear Friends in Christ...I want to offer
you my secrets of success so that you can make fantastic profits
before the world ends! This offer is good for a limited time only,
so act now. Send $500.00 for my new book, Better Living With Jesus
Through Voodoo. You will receive your copy in a plain brown bag.
Here is a brief selection of some of the wonderful topics my
book covers: 1) How to make Satan work for you, 2) Selling religious
trinkets to the poor, 3) Using television to rake in the millions, 4)
Fourteen genuine fake miracles you can impress your congregation
with, 5) Using guilt to pry the last pennies from your friends'
pockets, 6) How to make your own religion look good while defaming
all the others, 7) Convincing people that you once took Jesus
to lunch, 8) Seven great strategies to win at pinball, 9) How to give
a fire and brimstone sermon that will cast fear into the hearts
of all Christians, 10) Tax shelters to protect your new fortunes.
All this and more can be yours if you act now! Don't delay.
Send for my book today. Yours in Christ and Heavenly Bucks$, The
Right Reverend Armageddon T. Thunderbird, Esq."
In "Swami Muktaneeshprabhphada's Thoughts For Clean Living & Laundry"
(Issue #6; March, 1981), Atmananda satirized Indian gurus:
"Greetings on you, my favorite little people! Today I am going
to discuss things with so much spiritual significance...You all want
to attain Illumination, I know that you do. You are good children.
But at the same time many of you have dirty and disgusting thoughts
about sex, sex and sex. Now you must put these rotten thoughts away.
You can't achieve Enlightenment thinking about sex. You must think about me.
If you meditate on your dear old Swami then you will become pure--
like your laundry..."
In "Constipation Cure" (Issue #7; April, 1981), Atmananda
struck out at the Moonies: "Constipated? Can't go at all?
REAM YOURSELF with Reverend Mune's Original Korean Holistic Reamer.
All Natural, Heavy Metal, Available in decorator colors."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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