Book, Mania, Plymouth Brethren, Heralds of the Gospel
Manufacturing Mania: The Dopamine Hypothesis of Religious Experience is a book by Dr. John Alexander Hunter.
Manufacturing Mania: The Dopamine Hypothesis of Religious Experience is a book by Dr. John Alexander Hunter.
" ... In Manufacturing Mania, John Hunter brings this evidence together in an accessible way, explaining that states typically associated with certain mental disorders are often interpreted as religious experiences, that similar states can be induced in healthy people by manipulating brain chemistry, that a natural process can manipulate brain chemistry in the way described, and that Christianity, whether intentionally or not, makes use of this process. The result is a compelling argument that what many perceive as religious experiences may simply be abnormal brain states that occur with the right priming and in the right context."
"SA Health says it will "no longer" partner with an organisation that is run by members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church following questions by the ABC.
Former members have spoken to the ABC about the church's rules, views on women and position on university attendance, describing it as a "cult".
The claim has been denied by the church with a spokesperson saying it was a global Christian fellowship that "lives peacefully amongst neighbours all over the world".
The group received more than $450,000 from taxpayers in the last reporting period.
A spokesperson for RRT said it had completed half a dozen events with SA Health since 2020 with one more scheduled at the time of questioning.
However, when asked about the partnership an SA Health spokesperson said, "it would not be partnering with the organisation".
It did partner with the group weeks later at an event at the hospital in Mount Barker.
Church members run a charity called the Rapid Relief Team (RRT) which supports emergency service workers."
"SÃO PAULO – Brazilian-born Monsignor João Scognamiglio Clá Dias, founder of the traditionalist Catholic group "Heralds of the Gospel," died Nov. 1 at 85, struggling with the consequences of a stroke that occurred 14 years ago.
In less than 30 years, the controversial leader built a lay and clerical society present in over 70 countries and has schools and education centers all over the world.
While he was seen by his followers as the key figure in a future process of Catholic restoration of a world degraded by secularism and moral decay, critics accused him of being a narcissistic wannabe-dictator who created a personal cult around himself.
What seems undeniable is that Clá Dias managed to use his charismatic personality, his vast cultural formation, and his obstinacy to transform a largely defunct civic organization – the Brazilian Society in Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP) – into a massive group operating under the Vatican's blessing."
" ... TFP initially gathered members of the traditional elites such as de Oliveira, who dreamed of restoring monarchy in the country (which had been abolished in 1889) and of expanding the Church's political power. The group gradually managed to attract middle-class and (white) working-class youth, such as Clá Dias.
De Oliveira felt Catholicism had reached its peak during the feudal era, and regarded the erosion of feudalism as part of an historical trend guided by anti-Catholic revolutionary forces that would continue to operate till barbarism reigned.
Freemasons, communists and hippies would prepare the way for revolution, which he once defined as the 'second original sin'. That was the motivation, de Oliveira felt, to struggle against communism and the New Left infiltration in institutions, in education, and in the Church.
TFP would become notorious for its criticism of progressive clergy and Liberation Theology, at times directly targeting bishops and even the pontiff. It supported the Tridentine Mass and repudiated the Second Vatican Council.
Clá Dias proved fundamental in TFP's expansion over the decades, helping to implement a donation-collection system and to shape the religious dimension of the group, which tended to have a more political public presence."
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