Hillsong, Sexual abuse, Australia, My Unorthodox Life, Bharatiya Janata Party, India, Meditation Industry
The founder of the Sydney-based global Hillsong Church, Brian Houston, has been charged with concealing child sex offenses, police said Thursday.
Detectives served Houston's lawyers on Thursday with a notice for him to appear in a Sydney court on Oct. 5 for allegedly concealing a serious indictable offense, police said.
"Police will allege in court the man (Houston) knew information relating to the sexual abuse of a young male in the 1970s and failed to bring that information to the attention of police," police said.
Houston, 67, suggested the charges related to allegations that his preacher father, Frank Houston, had abused a boy over several years in the 1970s.
"These charges have come as a shock to me given how transparent I've always been about this matter," Houston said. "I vehemently profess my innocence and will defend these charges, and I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight."
Hillsong said in a statement the church was disappointed that Houston had been charged and asked that he be afforded the presumption of innocence and due process.
Brides: Love Looks Like This: My Husband and I Left Our Ultra-Orthodox Community for a Modern Orthodox Life
"The key to our new lives is about respect."
" ... 'Love Looks Like This."'Below, Content Creator Batsheva Haart tells her story from New York City. Her new Netflix show "My Unorthodox Life" about her family's story is now streaming.
In my community, once I turned 18, I was supposed to prepare myself for marriage. You don't just date to have fun. You date to marry. And, once you get married, you are expected to have babies. But, when I was that age, I wasn't ready to do that. I had met Ben, my now husband, through family friends at a barbecue. We had small talk here and there. Then, we started texting, which wasn't allowed. We dated in secret to not tarnish my reputation. I wasn't supposed to date him seriously. He was supposed to go to Israel for a year and study. And, his family was less strict than mine.
But, my mom let him come over and hang out at my house. At this point, my mom was already thinking of leaving our community and was more open minded to me speaking to a boy casually. It was exciting as it was really hush-hush.
A year later, we got engaged. We talked to the rabbis and our parents, and they said, "This is when you are going to get engaged. This is when you are going to get married." We just went along with everything."
A joint resolution was passed by over 30 interfaith organisations to call out India's anti-minority policies.
" ... The resolution claims that the Indian government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party is promoting policies adhering to the agenda of Hindutva and thus, in turn resulting in systemic violations of religious freedoms and persecution of religious minorities especially the Muslims. It also accuses the government of oppressing dissenting voices of human rights advocates and "others speaking out against the violations".
The resolution mentions the nationwide protests in response to the Citizenship Amendment Act which led to violence in North East Delhi in early 2020, that largely targeted Muslims. It also talks about the constitutional right of religious freedom being limited by the recent anti-conversion laws passed by various state governments."
What groups support the "Bharatiya Janata Party"?
"The meditation industry has rapidly expanded in the Western world in the last decade, and meditation has become a trendy daily ritual. Practicing meditation can help people calm their mind, process their emotions, gain more focus at work and stay grounded in the present moment. Meditation in its simplest form, just being, has been around for millennium. However, as this Eastern practice becomes more mainstream in the United States, the practice has also been influenced by the forces of capitalism. In the tech industry, meditation is seen as just another form of biohacking, and you can now buy many meditation gadgets, accessories and apps designed to help track your physiological reactions during meditation.
I practice meditation and mindfulness in my daily life, and while I'm not an expert, I do wonder if these devices are actually necessary. If meditation is about finding inner peace, can you really find a shortcut just by buying some expensive luxury products? Is commodifying and capitalizing on a practice like meditation counter to its core values? Is the Western world corrupting this ancient practice, or simply adapting it to the modern demands of living in an information society?
I honestly don't know the answers to these questions, which is why I wanted to write this article. Let's explore the status of the meditation industry, estimated to be worth more than $1 billion, in 2021."
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