Knowledge can save people from evil cults

Someone has said truth lives in the cellar, error on the doorstep. This could be the reason why a destructive sect, whose doctrines are anything but truth, can fool many people into becoming its adherents.

A destructive sect was uncovered in South China's Guangdong province recently. It's leader claimed to be the incarnation of Buddha. Boasting of his power to accomplish magical feats, he organized a sect with thousands of followers, from whose donations he amassed a lot of wealth. And by portraying himself as a "living Buddha", he compelled a number of female adherents to have sex with him.

In his latest book Cults In and Out, Rick Alan Ross, an expert in the study of cults, says destructive cults have sprouted in the United States because they exploit religious beliefs, and some even define themselves as "religions" to get special protection and tax exemptions.