"Credulous belief is dangerous". 

How many times has this been asserted by skeptics to be a motivating factor in their denunciation of fantastical and faith based beliefs? Often enough to be the subject of extended ridicule and denial by those doing the believing that's for certain. But is it true? Is it a dangerous practice to believe on faith that which goes against convention, common sense? Even something as innocuous seeming as Ufo's? 

   It's not exactly easy to answer. Sure we have a multitude of persons happily embracing all sorts of hokum with little adverse effects. After all, just spending money on a "true account" novel hardly qualifies as being swindled even if it is anything but the truth. Nor is thinking that stepping under a ladder is going to bring bad luck going to ruin your life. Or that aliens chopped up your cow. 


   But where are the really indicative instances of dangerous beliefs? Well, "they're out there", to steal a phrase. Oddly, they don't reach mainstream media as often as they once did. Perhaps they simply no longer appeal as much as they once did to our sensationalism loving nature they once did. After all the turmoil of the past 15-20 years, flying saucer cults and "aliens made me do it" stories seemed to hit a lull. The public for some time has seemed desensitized to these stories. And rather than be a long hoped for sign of growing rationality among the masses, this may have been a boon to the Ufology circus. After all, when you are trying to solicit support for the latest 'disclosure" effort, the last thing you want is a saucer cult suicide in the headlines also.

   But this appears to be changing. In the past year or two an increase in cases of murder and suicide involving ufological beliefs has taken place. And these are not simply isolated instances of some mentally imbalanced person losing control. No, they are cases involving the manipulation of large groups of followers, or the influence from fairly well known popular outlandish figures from ufology and their stories.

   Recently a case has arisen involving the murder of a woman, to what end is really not confirmed as yet. But two competing claims have arisen. One, from prosecutors is that the man who had his wife killed did so for mundane earthly reasons. Money, custody of their child, and that he had her killed to gain control of these things they assert. But more disturbing is the other claim by Diazien Hossencoff that he allowed his militia friends to commit the murder in order to practice killing for the coming battle with the "New World Order". 

   In what appears taken straight from David Icke's books and lectures, he convinced his girlfriend Linda Henning that president Bush is a reptilian alien, that she had alien implants (which he removed), that the reptilian aliens are based on the moon, and that humans are being held in "cryostasis" where later their souls can be dissipated.

   Sensational stuff indeed. Even more disturbing is the fact that despite having been shown that Diazien Hossencofft is a conman extraordinaire, she apparently still believed all this. Further, his militia friends? Do they exist as claimed and if so, how extensive is their group? And do they too buy into all this? Disturbing to think that a paramilitary group is operating under the belief that the entire government is run by aliens bent on the subjugation of the human race. But that is exactly what this case implies. Hopefully, it's been considered and dealt with. Else this case could conceivably still be pending an end to the killing, much less the judicial process.

   In another instance this year a cult has made headlines for it's doomsday predictions resulting in it's members holing up waiting for the end to come. In a story somewhat reminiscent of Heavens Gate, the Neo-Phare sect in France has followed their leader in his attempts to predict the end of life on earth and prepare themselves for an upcoming trip to Venus where they will be saved.

   Despite at least two false predictions previously, Arnaud Mussy still managed to retain a following including among it's membership a teacher, a doctor, and a tax inspector. Goes to show, people from all walks of life can fall pray to credulity and fanaticism. To further raise concerns of the local police in Nantes where the group was holed up, one member had already committed suicide earlier, another failed in the attempt, and yet another was talked out of a jump to his death. Mussy's claims and practices contain all the usual earmarks of con and chicanery, yet these people let him go so far as to break up married couples because he felt they were badly matched and allowed him to assign each new mates. Apparently in order to further create a better suited "Divine Family".

   Mussy has since changed his prediction to December rather than November after all the police attention he garnered. And when questioned about his group attempted to portray his it as little more than a collective of those sharing similar beliefs in aliens and nothing more. But the suicides and attempted suicides strongly suggest it is something quite more. I have yet to find what has become of them since December has come and gone. If earlier precedent holds true, they will still be active, and Mussy will have yet another end prediction in place.


   Then we have yet another case where a Mr.Scott Caruthers, reputed to be a cult leader of Heavens Gate caliber, apparently conned and schemed in an attempt to have some former business associates and their spouses murdered. In this one Caruthers claimed to communicate with a mothership through cats and implied he was the second coming of Christ. His loose group gained the name Beta Dominion Xenophilia and he has since fought futily to resist the label of cult which his group has so easily earned. 


   And of course we have the newest sensationalism in the Raelians fiasco. As you likely are well aware they claimed to have cloned a baby, and indeed to have delivered three more. And as you may also know, no proof is forthcoming and that in fact the whole thing has all but been admitted a hoax. What you may not know though is that a couple was duped by this group out of 1 million dollars in a bid to have their dead child resurrected through cloning. And of course this failed. There is also the problems raised by the groups avocations of free love and their targeting of highschool children in their attempts to gain recruits. Part of this was in response to Raels announcement that the aliens were returning, and that sexual mates were needed for them, along with himself. 

   To further add to the this groups widespread negative effect upon the rational ethical world is the fact that this groups cloning claims have been easily utilized by anticloning advocates to further their own agendas. The Raelians have incited the scientificaly ignorant against cloning which anticloning groups have used to bolster their own endeavours to halt the valid research this field of genetics research represents. In other words, their psuedoscience is harming true science. Again.

   These are only a smattering of instances involving just the beliefs in aliens and Ufo's as alien craft. I have said nothing of the Psychics, and Clairvoyants, the Televangelists and religious zealots who have made the news lately.. 

Finding the answer is really not that easy. But the bottom line itself is. Credulous beliefs are dangerous. And skeptics are well within rights to denounce them and advocate a return to rationality wherever they may arise.