Sky Riders

Achieving the Next Level? - Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
If you were around in 1997, you may recall the bizarre headlines in March of that year… 39 members of a “UFO cult” were found dead from asphyxiation, each one peaceably “evacuated” to a higher, Next Level of existence. They were all in restful repose on their beds -- wearing “Team Heaven’s Gate” tees and new, Nike tennis shoes. Their suicides were timed for the boarding of a spaceship they believed to be trailing the Hale-Bopp Comet.

The Heaven’s Gate group, formerly known as Total Overcomer’s Anonymous, was a known entity in Rancho Santa Fe, California. Their theology was a curious mix of Christian and science fiction themes. Local papers and magazines had profiled the group which was mostly seen as an innocuous cult that played into New Age trendiness. Heaven’s Gate subscribed to Arthur Clark’s idea of prehistoric visits by advanced aliens as well as channeling of extraterrestrial spirits. In fact its two charismatic leaders, Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, believed themselves to be direct relations to Christ – channeling His spirit to the group.

To understand Heaven’s Gate, one must have at least a short history of its leader and founder, Marshall Applewhite. Up to age 40, Applewhite’s life was a slice of wholesome American pie. A native Texan, Applewhite was the son of a Presbyterian minister in the small town of Spur. He did a brief stint in the Army where he served as a sergeant in Korea. Returning to Texas, he married and had two children in the late 1950’s. He then pursued his chosen avocation – music. He starred in a Houston opera company and taught music at an Episcopal school. Somewhere around 1970, this idyllic life took a different turn. His marriage ended and he was terminated from his teaching job for “emotional issues”.

AND I WILL GIVE POWER UNTO MY TWO WITNESSES...

In 1972, Applewhite placed himself in a psychiatric facility because he was hearing voices. It was here that he met Bonnie Nettles – a nurse who exhibited considerable schizoid qualities herself. An avid astrologist, she convinced Applewhite that he had special stellar signs – both he and she were aliens sent to rescue the world from Armageddon. Tying in Christianity, she was sure that Marshall and she were the witnesses spoken of in Revelations 11:3. From here forward, Marshall and Bonnie embarked on a strange, evangelical mission that led them through all 50 states, across 25 years. Along the way, there were a few setbacks – Applewhite’s 1974 arrest for credit card theft in Harlingen, Texas. Never minding such misdemeanors, Marshall strived to bring people into his “Total Overcomers Anonymous” group and impress upon them that he was truly channeling Jesus. From early on, he embraced the idea that the world would be wiped clean as in the Noah’s Ark story. He wanted to make people know how they could achieve the “Next Level” and avoid drowning with all the sinners.

The group expanded and contracted over the years. People were understandably skeptical when dire events didn’t happen. Where is the flood? In its last incarnation, Total Overcomers’ Anonymous changed its name to Heaven’s Gate and settled into a mansion near San Diego, California. Here, in Rancho Santa Fe, the group paid its bills with internet web services while studying scriptures and preparing for the Next Level. Applewhite commanded his flock to forsake all property and separate from their spouses. Most disturbingly, he convinced his male followers to castrate themselves. As Comet Hale-Bopp approached, Applewhite convinced his group to “evacuate their vehicles” for the Next Level. They were adamantly opposed to suicide but evacuation was laudable. Over 3 days, Heaven’s Gate members took lethal doses of Phenobarbital and covered their heads with plastic bags – a one way ticket to Hale-Bopp.

How great is our gullibility that we follow any Music Man with an overture of happiness and eternal life? And who is that man telling you he's channeling God? He could be God incarnate… or he could be the likes of David Koresh, Charles Manson or Marshall Applewhite. There's a thin line that exists between lunacy and religious epiphany. When the door opens to the other side, what does anyone see? Did Mohammed Atta have access to his 72 virgins? Did Heaven’s Gate board a spaceship? A couple of cult members delayed their suicides several months beyond the mass “evacuation”. They were assigned to spread the Heaven's Gate message, alert the media, and publicize the web site. They accomplished these things and then joined their team for the celestial ride. We Earthlings saw no spaceship, and no flood of epic proportions. Mere facts normally serve as obstructions in such circumstances.

Is there a Next Level? Is there an appointed messenger who can reliably tell us how to get there? Maybe so. But whoever delivers that message should not be asking us to commit acts of self-destruction and violence – castration, self-immolation, poisoning, or terrorism. Our leaps of faith should not be leaps off of a cliff... If there is a victory of the spirit over death, and very possibly there is, we’ll all get there soon enough – comets are optional.

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