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The '''Spiritual Counterfeits Project''' (also known as SCP) is a [[Christian]] [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] [[parachurch organization]] located in [[Berkeley, California]]. Since its inception in the early 1970s, it has been involved in the fields of [[Christian apologetics]] and the [[Christian countercult movement]]. Its current president is Tal Brooke. In its role as a [[think tank]], SCP has sought to publish evangelically-based analyses of [[new religious movements]], [[New Age]] movements, and alternative spiritualities in light of broad cultural trends. SCP has also been at the center of two controversial US lawsuits, one involving [[Church-state separation in the United States|church-state]] issues (''Malnak v. Yogi'') and the other being a religious defamation case (''Lee v. Duddy'').
The '''Spiritual Counterfeits Project''' ('''SCP''') is a [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] [[parachurch organization]] located in [[Pasadena, California]]. Since its inception in the early 1970s, it has been involved in the fields of [[Christian apologetics]] and the [[Christian counter-cult movement]]. Its current president is Dr. Mark J Harris. In its role as a [[think tank]], SCP has sought to publish evangelically based analyses of [[new religious movements]], [[New Age]] movements, and alternative spiritualities in light of broad cultural trends. SCP has also been at the center of two controversial U.S. lawsuits, one involving [[Church-state separation in the United States|church-state]] issues (''Malnak v. Yogi'') and the other being a religious [[defamation]] case (''Lee et al. v. Duddy et al.''). It published the ''SCP Journal'' and ''Newsletter''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spiritual Counterfeits Project, Avatar of Night |url=http://www.scp-inc.org/ |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=www.scp-inc.org}}</ref>


== Background ==
== Background ==
⚫
The SCP began as a ministry within the [[Christian World Liberation Front]], an outreach to students at the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. It was founded by Brooks Alexander, David Fetcho (who named the ministry), and Bill Squires. Both Alexander and Fetcho were converted to [[Christianity]] from the [[counterculture]]. Alexander had participated in the [[psychedelic drug]] usage of the counterculture, was an initiate of [[Transcendental Meditation]], and lived in the famous [[Haight-Ashbury]] community in [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Alexander | first= Brooks | title=Reflections of an Ex | edition=revised | location=Berkeley, CA | publisher=SCP | date=1984}} Originally published in ''Right On'', September 1973.</ref> Fetcho had been involved with the [[Ananda Marga]] Yoga Society before converting to Christianity.<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Fetcho | first=David | title=Last Meditation/Lotus Adept | magazine=SCP Journal | volume=6 | number=1 | date=Winter 1984 | pages=31–36}}</ref>
The origins of the SCP are grounded in the Christian counterculture movement (also known as the [[Jesus Movement]] or Jesus People) of the late 1960s. In 1968 some staff members of [[Campus Crusade for Christ]] conceived of the need to contextualize the Christian message for radical and revolutionary university students. The key figures were Jack Sparks and his wife, Patrick and Karry Matrisciana (also known as Caryl Matrisciana), Fred and Jan Dyson, Weldon and Barbara Hartenburg.<ref>Ronald M. Enroth, Edward E. Ericson and C. Breckinridge Peters, ''The Jesus People: Old-Time Religion in the Age of Aquarius'' (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1972), p.107.</ref> In April 1969 Sparks and his colleagues commenced their ministry at the [[University of California, Berkeley]].

The ministry adopted the name Christian World Liberation Front (CWLF) as a challenging counterpart to the politically revolutionary group called the Berkeley Liberation Movement. The CWLF began producing an underground newspaper called ''Right On''. In this newspaper the CWLF staff wrote articles that expressed the Christian message in the language of revolutionary and radical politics.<ref>Donald Heinz, "The Christian World Liberation Front," in ''The New Religious Consciousness'', Charles Y. Glock and Robert N. Bellah, eds., (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1976), pp. 153–54. Also see Enroth, Ericson and Peters, ''Jesus People'', pp. 102–106.</ref>
According to Edward Plowman the CWLF had five objectives:
"1. Determine the real social problems; try to right them. 2. Relate Christ to the important issues and speak out. 3. Befriend those to be reached. Identify with them. 4. Publish mountains of literature. 5. Get the people together once a week."<ref>Edward E. Plowman, ''The Jesus Movement: Accounts of Christian Revolutionaries in Action'' (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1972), p. 75. ISBN 0-340-16125-6</ref>

⚫
The CWLF attracted into its membership Christians and new converts who were interested in its ministry objectives. Among those who were attracted were three men who later collaborated in the formation of the SCP: Brooks Alexander, David Fetcho (who named the ministry), and Bill Squires. Both Alexander and Fetcho were converts to Christianity from the counterculture. Alexander had participated in the psychedelic drug usage of the counterculture, was an initiate of [[Transcendental Meditation]], and lived in the famous [[Haight-Ashbury]] community in [[San Francisco]].<ref>Brooks Alexander, ''Reflections of an Ex'', revised ed.,(Berkeley: SCP, 1984) (originally published in ''Right On'', September 1973).</ref> Fetcho had been involved with the Ananda Marga Yoga Society before converting to Christianity.<ref>David Fetcho, "Last Meditation/Lotus Adept," ''SCP Journal'', 6/1 (Winter 1984), pp. 31–36.</ref>

===CWLF splits===
Sparks and the others formed the New Covenant Apostolic Order, which then became the [[Evangelical Orthodox Church]] (EOC) in 1979. In April 1987 the EOC was accepted into full communion with the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]].<ref>The full story is recounted in Peter E. Gillquist, ''Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith'' (Brentwood: Wolgemuth and Hyatt, 1989). ISBN 0-943497-67-1</ref>


== History of SCP ==
== History of SCP ==
In 1973 Brooks Alexander and others distributed Christian leaflets at [[Millennium '73]], a festival held at the [[Houston Astrodome]] by [[Prem Rawat|Guru Maharaj Ji's]] [[Divine Light Mission]].<ref>David Haddon, "The Houston Report on the Festival of Maharaji," ''Right On'' (January 1974).</ref> That same year, Alexander, Fetcho and David Haddon launched a grass-roots campaign to oppose the practice of [[Transcendental Meditation]] in US public high schools. In 1975 the SCP was formally incorporated as an "independent Christian nonprofit organization."<ref>J. Isamu Yamamoto, "Preface," in ''SCP Journal'', 6/1 (Winter 1984), p. 5.</ref>
In 1973 Brooks Alexander and others distributed Christian leaflets at [[Millennium '73]], a festival held at the [[Houston Astrodome]] by [[Prem Rawat|Guru Maharaj Ji's]] [[Divine Light Mission]].<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Haddon | first = David | title=The Houston Report on the Festival of Maharaji | magazine=Right On | date=1974}}</ref> That same year, Alexander, Fetcho and David Haddon launched a grass-roots campaign to oppose the practice of [[Transcendental Meditation]] in American public high schools. In 1975 the SCP was formally incorporated as an "independent Christian nonprofit organization."<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Yamamoto | first=J. Isamu | title=Preface | magazine=SCP Journal | volume=6 | number=1 | date=Winter 1984 | page=5}}</ref>


⚫
The four primary purposes of SCP included: "1. To research today's spiritual movements and critique them biblically. 2. To equip Christians with the knowledge, analysis, and discernment that will enable them to understand the significance of today's spiritual explosion. 3. To suggest a Christian response which engages the church with all levels of situation. 4. To bring the good news of Jesus Christ and extend a hand of rescue to those in psycho-spiritual bondage."<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> | title=Masthead | magazine=SCP Journal | date=August 1978 | volume=2 | number=1 | page=2}}</ref>
The four primary purposes of SCP included:

⚫
"1. To research today's spiritual movements and critique them biblically. 2. To equip Christians with the knowledge, analysis, and discernment that will enable them to understand the significance of today's spiritual explosion. 3. To suggest a Christian response which engages the church with all levels of situation. 4. To bring the good news of Jesus Christ and extend a hand of rescue to those in psycho-spiritual bondage."<ref>This statement appears in the ''SCP Journal'', 2/1 (August 1978), p. 2.</ref>


===Transcendental Meditation===
===Transcendental Meditation===
The campaign against [[Transcendental Meditation]] (TM) was premised on the grounds that transcendental meditation represented itself as a non-religious activity and was promoted as the [[Transcendental Meditation#Science of Creative Intelligence|Science of Creative Intelligence]] (SCI). The SCP staff maintained that transcendental meditation was not religiously neutral, and that its SCI was based on [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]]'s Hindu faith. The SCP's ''Right On'' newsletter was the first to publish portions of the TM teacher's manual, including details of the ''[[Puja (Hinduism)|Puja]]'' ceremony.<ref>{{cite news|title=TM Ruled Religious, Banned in Schools|first=JOHN |last=DART|work=Los Angeles Times|date=October 29, 1977|page=29}}</ref>
The campaign against Transcendental Meditation (TM) was premised on the grounds that transcendental meditation represented itself as a non-religious activity and was promoted as the [[Transcendental Meditation#Science of Creative Intelligence|Science of Creative Intelligence]] (SCI). The SCP maintained that transcendental meditation was not religiously neutral, and that its SCI was based on [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]]'s [[Hinduism|Hindu]] faith. The SCP's ''Right On'' newsletter was the first to publish portions of the TM teacher's manual, including details of the [[Puja (Hinduism)|Puja]] ceremony.<ref>{{cite news|title=TM Ruled Religious, Banned in Schools|first=John |last=Dart|work=Los Angeles Times|date=October 29, 1977|page=29}}</ref>


The focal point for an anti-Transcendental Meditation campaign was a civil action lawsuit No.76-431 in the US District Court of New Jersey. The lawsuit known as ''Malnak v. Yogi'' contested whether transcendental meditation was religious or not, and if the former then it could not be taught in US public high schools. The [[plaintiff]]s, which included the SCP, presented evidence to show that the initiatory ceremony of transcendental meditation (known as the [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]]) was religious in nature and the practice of meditation presented as SCI involved chanting [[Hindu]] [[mantra]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Case Against TM in the Schools|first=John E. |last=Patton|location=Grand Rapids, MI|publisher=[[Baker Books]]|date=1976}}</ref> SCP's Brooks Alexander and Bill Squires, along with SCP's attorney Michael Woodruff, moved into the Malnak's home and provided research, fund raising, and legal support, respectively.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gordon|first=Sarah Barringer |editor-last=Griffin |editor-first=Leslie C. |title=Law and Religion: Cases in Context|publisher=[[Wolters Kluwer]] |date=2010 |pages=14–16|chapter=Malnak v. Yogi: The New Age and the New Law|location=Austin, TX}}</ref>
The focal point for an anti-Transcendental Meditation campaign was a civil action lawsuit No. 76-431 in the [[United States District Court for the District of New Jersey|US District Court of New Jersey]]. The lawsuit ''Malnak v. Yogi'' contested whether TM was religious or not, and if the former then it could not be taught in U.S. public high schools. The [[plaintiff]]s, which included the SCP, presented evidence to show that [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]] was religious in nature and the practice of meditation presented as SCI involved chanting Hindu [[mantra]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Case Against TM in the Schools|first=John E. |last=Patton|location=Grand Rapids, MI|publisher=[[Baker Books]]|date=1976}}</ref> SCP's Brooks Alexander and Bill Squires, along with SCP's attorney Michael Woodruff, moved into the Malnak's home and provided research, fundraising, and legal support, respectively.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gordon|first=Sarah Barringer |editor-last=Griffin |editor-first=Leslie C. |title=Law and Religion: Cases in Context|publisher=[[Wolters Kluwer]] |date=2010 |pages=14–16|chapter=Malnak v. Yogi: The New Age and the New Law|location=Austin, TX}}</ref>
Justice Curtis Meanor who presided over the case concluded that Transcendental Meditation/SCI are "religious in nature within the context of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and the teaching thereof in the New Jersey public schools is therefore unconstitutional."<ref>''TM in Court'' (Berkeley: SCP, 1978), p.74.</ref> On February 2, 1979, the Third Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s ruling.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Malnak v. Yogi. |vol=440 |reporter=F. Supp. |opinion=1284 |court=Dist. Court, D. New Jersey |date=1977 |url=http://www.iclrs.org/docs/Malnak%20v.%20Yogi.pdf}}</ref> The success of this campaign catapulted the SCP into prominence among evangelical Christians in North America and internationally.<ref>{{wayback|url=http://www.dci.dk/en/?article=285|title=U.S. Court of Appeals Rules Against TM Movement|date=20070314090512}}, ''New Religious Movements Up-date'' 3/2 (July 1979)</ref>
Justice Curtis Meanor who presided over the case concluded that Transcendental Meditation and SCI are "religious in nature within the context of the [[Establishment Clause|Establishment Clause of the First Amendment]] of the [[Constitution of the United States|United States Constitution]], and the teaching thereof in the [[New Jersey]] public schools is therefore unconstitutional."<ref>{{cite book | title=TM in Court | location=Berkeley, CA | publisher=SCP | date=1978 | page=74}}</ref> On February 2, 1979, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit|Third Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals]] upheld the lower court's ruling.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Malnak v. Yogi. |vol=440 |reporter=F. Supp. |opinion=1284 |court=Dist. Court, D. New Jersey |date=1977 |url=http://www.iclrs.org/docs/Malnak%20v.%20Yogi.pdf}}</ref> The success of this campaign catapulted the SCP into prominence among [[Evangelicalism|evangelical Christians]] in North America and internationally.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dci.dk/en/?article=285 |title=U.S. Court of Appeals Rules Against TM Movement |accessdate=2006-02-07 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314090512/http://www.dci.dk/en/?article=285 |archivedate=March 14, 2007 }}, ''New Religious Movements Up-date'' 3/2 (July 1979)</ref>


===Local church controversy===
===Local church controversy===
In 1977 [[InterVarsity Press]] released an 80-page booklet by the SCP called ''The God-Men: [[Witness Lee]] and the Local Church''. It was updated and released as a full-length book in 1981 as ''The God-Men: An Inquiry into Witness Lee and the Local Church''. The book presented the results of SCP's investigations into the theology and practices of the [[Local churches (affiliation)|Local Church]]. The SCP findings alleged that the Local Church was promulgating heresy. The dispute between the Local Church and the SCP escalated into a lawsuit for defamation that was filed in [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], California in December 1980 and known as ''Lee v. Duddy''.<ref>Bill Squires, "The Lawsuit in Perspective," ''SCP Newsletter'', 11/4 (November 1986), p.6.</ref>
In 1977, SCP published an 80-page booklet called ''The God-Men: [[Witness Lee]] and the [[Local Churches (affiliation)|Local Church]]''. An expanded edition was published first in 1979 in German as ''Die Sonderlehre'' by Schwengeler-Verlag and then in 1981 in English as ''The God-Men: An Inquiry into Witness Lee and the Local Church'' by [[InterVarsity Press]]. In the book, SCP alleged that the Local Church was both theologically and [[Deviance (sociology)|sociologically deviant]]. The dispute between the Local Church and SCP escalated into a lawsuit for [[defamation]] that was filed in [[Oakland, California]] in December 1980 and known as ''Lee et al. v. Duddy et al''.<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Squires | first=Bill | title=The Lawsuit in Perspective | magazine=SCP Newsletter | volume=11 | number=4 | date=November 1986 | page=6}}</ref>


Over a period of four and a half years the pre-trial preparations and depositions, involved expenditure that brought SCP into legal debt with their defense lawyers. The defamation trial was scheduled to commence on March 4, 1985. According to Bill Squires "the lawfirm representing us withdrew from the case" and so the decision was taken to file for a reorganizational bankruptcy in the Bankruptcy Court. Squires states, "that move imposed an immediate stay on the plaintiffs' action against us, thus ending the financial drain of litigation. On that day, SCP, while continuing its larger ministry, officially dropped out of the lawsuit."<ref>Bill Squires, "The Lawsuit in Perspective," ''SCP Newsletter'', 11/4 (November 1986), p.8.</ref>
According to Bill Squires, the four and a half years of pre-trial preparations and depositions involved expenditure that brought SCP into legal debt with their defense lawyers. The parties were to appear in court on March 4, 1985, to schedule the start of the defamation trial. Squires said, "The law firm representing us withdrew from the case"{{Attribution needed|reason=Where is this quotation from?|date=August 2022}} and SCP decided to file for [[Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection]]. Squires stated, "That move imposed an immediate stay on the plaintiffs' action against us, thus ending the financial drain of litigation. On that day, SCP, while continuing its larger ministry, officially dropped out of the lawsuit."<ref>Squires, "Lawsuit," p.8.</ref> However, SCP’s version of these events has been disputed.<ref>{{cite book | author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> | title=Brothers, Hear Our Defense (4): Repeating False Witness Concerning SCP Bankruptcy | location=Fullerton, CA | publisher=DCP Press | date=2011 | pages=17–28}}</ref> While SCP's Chapter 11 filing was proceeding through California [[United States bankruptcy court|bankruptcy court]], action against the German publisher and the second edition's primary author proceeded, resulting in a finding that the book was "in all major respects false, [[defamation|defamatory]] and unprivileged, and, therefore, [[libelous]]."<ref>{{cite report | last=Seyranian | first=Leon J. | title=Statement of Decision | url=https://contendingforthefaith.org/en/statement-of-decision-lee-v-duddy-re-the-god-men-by-neil-duddy-and-the-scp/}}Case No 540 585-9, Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of Alameda, June 26, 1985, p. 2</ref> The judge’s award of US$11.9 million in [[damages]] was to that date the largest awarded in a [[libel]] case.<ref>{{cite book | author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> | title=MLRC 2010 Report on Trials and Damages | location=New York | publisher=Media Law Resource Center | date=2010 | page=79}}</ref>

=== Post-litigation history ===
In the aftermath of the litigation, SCP sharply reduced staff and services. In 1989, the entire editorial staff and many other staff members left, some over what they perceived as a radical shift in SCP’s ideology.<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Digitale | first=Robert | title=Major Shift at Spiritual Counterfeits Project | magazine=Christianity Today | volume=34 | number=1 | date=January 15, 1990 | pages=53–54}}</ref> In 2013, SCP left its office in Berkeley because of severe financial problems and established a virtual office in [[Pasadena, California]]. Tal Brooke moved to [[Hawaii]] but continued as SCP's president and editor of its newsletter.<ref>{{cite magazine | author-last=Brooke | author-first=Tal | title=SCP Leaps into a New Future | magazine=SCP Newsletter | volume=17 | number=4 | date=Summer 2013 | pages=1, 4–5, 14–15}}</ref> On July 15, 2021, Tal Brooke died of a stroke while in [[New Zealand]], and SCP Vice-President Mark Harris took over as president and editor of SCP.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baehr |first=Ted |date=2021-09-01 |title=Remembering The Great Cultural Apologist Tal Brooke |url=https://www.movieguide.org/news-articles/dr-baehrs-blog/remembering-the-great-cultural-apologist-tal-brooke.html |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=Movieguide {{!}} The Family Guide to Movies & Entertainment |language=en-US}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==

===Background===
* "A Brief History of SCP," ''SCP Newsletter'', 17/1 (April 1992), p. 16
* "[http://www.scp-inc.org/information/history.php A Brief History of the SCP]," (slightly different from the account in ''SCP Newsletter'' April 1992)
* Robert Digitale, "Major Shift at Spiritual Counterfeits Project?" ''Christianity Today'', (January 15, 1990), pp. 53–54.
* Peter D. Dresser, ''Research Centers Directory 1988'', 12th ed (Detroit: Gale, 1988), p. 1224.
* Ronald M. Enroth, "Evangelical Orthodox Church vs. Spiritual Counterfeits: New Denomination Debates Critic over Authority," ''Christianity Today'', (August 7, 1981), pp. 33–34.
* Donald Heinz, "The Christian World Liberation Front," in ''The New Religious Consciousness'', Charles Y. Glock and Robert N. Bellah, eds., (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1976), pp. 143–161. ISBN 0-520-03083-4
* [[John A. Saliba]], "The Christian Response to the New Religions: A Critical Look at the Spiritual Counterfeits Project," ''Journal of Ecumenical Studies'' 18, 3 (Summer 1981), pp. 451–473.
* Tim Stafford, "The Kingdom of the Cult Watchers," ''Christianity Today'' (October 7, 1991), pp. 18–22.

===Representative publications===
* ''SCP Journal'' (published since April 1977–)
* ''SCP Newsletter'' (published since February 1975–)
* Frances Adeney, "The Attractive Cults and how to counter them," ''HIS'' magazine, (March 1981), pp. 22–25.
* Mark Albrecht, "UFOs: The Devil’s Chariots?" ''Christian Life'' 40/12 (April 1979),pp. 38–39, 59–60, 62, 65.
* Mark Albrecht, "[http://www.dci.dk/en/?article=338 Eckankar: A Classic Study of a NRM]," ''New Religious Movements Up-Date'' 4/4 (December 1980), pp. 36–41.
* Mark Albrecht, "[http://www.dci.dk/en/?article=361 Gnosticism, Past and Present]," ''New Religious Movements Up-Date'' 5, 3/4 (December 1981), pp. 19–23.
* Mark Albrecht, ''Reincarnation: A Christian Appraisal'' (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1982).
* Brooks Alexander, "The Final Threat: Apocalypse, Conspiracy, and Biblical Faith," ''SCP Newsletter'' 10/1 (January–February 1984), pp. 1, 6–8, 11–12.
* Brooks Alexander, "Theology from the Twilight Zone," ''Christianity Today'' (September 18, 1987), pp. 22–26.
* Brooks Alexander, ''Witchcraft Goes Mainstream'' (Eugene: Harvest House, 2004). ISBN 0-7369-1221-5
* Tal Brooke, ''Lord of the Air: Tales of a Modern Antichrist'' (Eugene: Harvest House, 1990).
* Tal Brooke, ''When The World Will Be As One: The Coming New World Order in the New Age'' (Eugene: Harvest House, 1989).
* Robert J. Burrows, "Americans Get Religion in the New Age," ''Christianity Today'', (May 16, 1986), pp. 17–23.
* David Fetcho, "[http://www.dci.dk/en/?article=408 Disclosing the Unknown God:Evangelism to the New Religions]," ''Update: A Quarterly Journal on New Religious Movements'' 6, 4 (December 1982), pp. 7–16.
* David Haddon and Vail Hamilton, ''TM Wants You! A Christian Response to Transcendental Meditation'' (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976). ISBN 0-8010-4151-1
* Dean C. Halverson, ''Crystal Clear: Understanding and Reaching New Agers'' (Colorado Springs: NAV Press, 1990).
* Karen Hoyt & J. Isamu Yamamoto, eds., ''The New Age Rage'' (Old Tappan: Revell, 1987). ISBN 0-8007-5257-0
* Michael J. Woodruff, "Religious Freedom and the New Religions," ''International Review of Mission'' 57, 268 (October 1978),pp. 468–473.
* J. Isamu Yamamoto, ''The Puppet Master: An Inquiry into Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church'' (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1977). ISBN 0-87784-740-1
* J. Isamu Yamamoto, ''Beyond Buddhism'' (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1982). ISBN 0-87784-990-0

===SCP v. Witness Lee/Local Church===
* Brooks Alexander, [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/l40ab.html "Expert Opinion and the Bias of Experts,"] ''SCP Newsletter'' 11/4 (November 1986), pp. 11–15.
* Brooks Alexander, [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/l40ab.html "When Talk Isn’t Cheap and Speech Isn’t Free: The Abuse of Libel Law,"] ''SCP Newsletter'' 11/4 (November 1986), pp. 4–5.
* Neil T. Duddy and the SCP, ''The God-Men: An Inquiry into Witness Lee and the Local Church'', 2nd ed., (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1981). ISBN 0-87784-833-5
* J. Gordon Melton, [http://www.contendingforthefaith.org/libel-litigations/god-men/OpenLtr/open.html ''An Open Letter Concerning the Local Church, Witness Lee and the God-Men Controversy''] (Santa Barbara: Institute for the Study of American Religion, 1985). (Critical of the Duddy-SCP book)
* Local Church articles replying to SCP and other critics, transcript of court documents in ''Lee v. Duddy''
* Bill Squires, "The Lawsuit in Perspective," ''SCP Newsletter'', 11/4 (November 1986), pp. 6–10.

===Malnak v. Yogi===
* {{cite court |litigants=Malnak v. Yogi. |vol=440 |reporter=F. Supp. |opinion=1284 |court=Dist. Court, D. New Jersey |date=1977 |url=http://www.iclrs.org/docs/Malnak%20v.%20Yogi.pdf}}
* {{cite book |last=Gordon|first=Sarah Barringer |editor-last=Griffin |editor-first=Leslie C. |title=Law and Religion: Cases in Context |publisher=[[Wolters Kluwer]] |date=2010 |pages=11–31|chapter=Malnak v. Yogi: The New Age and the New Law|location=Austin, TX}}
* {{cite book|title=The Case Against TM in the Schools|first=John E. |last=Patton|location=Grand Rapids, MI|publisher=[[Baker Books]]|date=1976}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.scp-inc.org/ Official website]
* [http://www.scp-inc.org/ Official website]
{{Opposition to new religious movements}}{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Evangelical parachurch organisations]]
[[Category:Evangelical parachurch organizations]]
[[Category:Christian countercult organizations]]
[[Category:Christian countercult organizations]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1968]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1968]]
[[Category:Religion in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Religion in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Berkeley, California]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Berkeley, California]]

Latest revision as of 01:31, 20 August 2023

The Spiritual Counterfeits Project (SCP) is a Christian evangelical parachurch organization located in Pasadena, California. Since its inception in the early 1970s, it has been involved in the fields of Christian apologetics and the Christian counter-cult movement. Its current president is Dr. Mark J Harris. In its role as a think tank, SCP has sought to publish evangelically based analyses of new religious movements, New Age movements, and alternative spiritualities in light of broad cultural trends. SCP has also been at the center of two controversial U.S. lawsuits, one involving church-state issues (Malnak v. Yogi) and the other being a religious defamation case (Lee et al. v. Duddy et al.). It published the SCP Journal and Newsletter.[1]

Background

[edit]

The SCP began as a ministry within the Christian World Liberation Front, an outreach to students at the University of California, Berkeley. It was founded by Brooks Alexander, David Fetcho (who named the ministry), and Bill Squires. Both Alexander and Fetcho were converted to Christianity from the counterculture. Alexander had participated in the psychedelic drug usage of the counterculture, was an initiate of Transcendental Meditation, and lived in the famous Haight-Ashbury community in San Francisco.[2] Fetcho had been involved with the Ananda Marga Yoga Society before converting to Christianity.[3]

History of SCP

[edit]

In 1973 Brooks Alexander and others distributed Christian leaflets at Millennium '73, a festival held at the Houston Astrodome by Guru Maharaj Ji's Divine Light Mission.[4] That same year, Alexander, Fetcho and David Haddon launched a grass-roots campaign to oppose the practice of Transcendental Meditation in American public high schools. In 1975 the SCP was formally incorporated as an "independent Christian nonprofit organization."[5]

The four primary purposes of SCP included: "1. To research today's spiritual movements and critique them biblically. 2. To equip Christians with the knowledge, analysis, and discernment that will enable them to understand the significance of today's spiritual explosion. 3. To suggest a Christian response which engages the church with all levels of situation. 4. To bring the good news of Jesus Christ and extend a hand of rescue to those in psycho-spiritual bondage."[6]

Transcendental Meditation

[edit]

The campaign against Transcendental Meditation (TM) was premised on the grounds that transcendental meditation represented itself as a non-religious activity and was promoted as the Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI). The SCP maintained that transcendental meditation was not religiously neutral, and that its SCI was based on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Hindu faith. The SCP's Right On newsletter was the first to publish portions of the TM teacher's manual, including details of the Puja ceremony.[7]

The focal point for an anti-Transcendental Meditation campaign was a civil action lawsuit No. 76-431 in the US District Court of New Jersey. The lawsuit Malnak v. Yogi contested whether TM was religious or not, and if the former then it could not be taught in U.S. public high schools. The plaintiffs, which included the SCP, presented evidence to show that puja was religious in nature and the practice of meditation presented as SCI involved chanting Hindu mantras.[8] SCP's Brooks Alexander and Bill Squires, along with SCP's attorney Michael Woodruff, moved into the Malnak's home and provided research, fundraising, and legal support, respectively.[9]

Justice Curtis Meanor who presided over the case concluded that Transcendental Meditation and SCI are "religious in nature within the context of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and the teaching thereof in the New Jersey public schools is therefore unconstitutional."[10] On February 2, 1979, the Third Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's ruling.[11] The success of this campaign catapulted the SCP into prominence among evangelical Christians in North America and internationally.[12]

Local church controversy

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In 1977, SCP published an 80-page booklet called The God-Men: Witness Lee and the Local Church. An expanded edition was published first in 1979 in German as Die Sonderlehre by Schwengeler-Verlag and then in 1981 in English as The God-Men: An Inquiry into Witness Lee and the Local Church by InterVarsity Press. In the book, SCP alleged that the Local Church was both theologically and sociologically deviant. The dispute between the Local Church and SCP escalated into a lawsuit for defamation that was filed in Oakland, California in December 1980 and known as Lee et al. v. Duddy et al.[13]

According to Bill Squires, the four and a half years of pre-trial preparations and depositions involved expenditure that brought SCP into legal debt with their defense lawyers. The parties were to appear in court on March 4, 1985, to schedule the start of the defamation trial. Squires said, "The law firm representing us withdrew from the case"[attribution needed] and SCP decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Squires stated, "That move imposed an immediate stay on the plaintiffs' action against us, thus ending the financial drain of litigation. On that day, SCP, while continuing its larger ministry, officially dropped out of the lawsuit."[14] However, SCP’s version of these events has been disputed.[15] While SCP's Chapter 11 filing was proceeding through California bankruptcy court, action against the German publisher and the second edition's primary author proceeded, resulting in a finding that the book was "in all major respects false, defamatory and unprivileged, and, therefore, libelous."[16] The judge’s award of US$11.9 million in damages was to that date the largest awarded in a libel case.[17]

Post-litigation history

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In the aftermath of the litigation, SCP sharply reduced staff and services. In 1989, the entire editorial staff and many other staff members left, some over what they perceived as a radical shift in SCP’s ideology.[18] In 2013, SCP left its office in Berkeley because of severe financial problems and established a virtual office in Pasadena, California. Tal Brooke moved to Hawaii but continued as SCP's president and editor of its newsletter.[19] On July 15, 2021, Tal Brooke died of a stroke while in New Zealand, and SCP Vice-President Mark Harris took over as president and editor of SCP.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "Spiritual Counterfeits Project, Avatar of Night". www.scp-inc.org. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  2. ^ Alexander, Brooks (1984). Reflections of an Ex (revised ed.). Berkeley, CA: SCP. Originally published in Right On, September 1973.
  3. ^ Fetcho, David (Winter 1984). "Last Meditation/Lotus Adept". SCP Journal. Vol. 6, no. 1. pp. 31–36.
  4. ^ Haddon, David (1974). "The Houston Report on the Festival of Maharaji". Right On.
  5. ^ Yamamoto, J. Isamu (Winter 1984). "Preface". SCP Journal. Vol. 6, no. 1. p. 5.
  6. ^ "Masthead". SCP Journal. Vol. 2, no. 1. August 1978. p. 2.
  7. ^ Dart, John (October 29, 1977). "TM Ruled Religious, Banned in Schools". Los Angeles Times. p. 29.
  8. ^ Patton, John E. (1976). The Case Against TM in the Schools. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
  9. ^ Gordon, Sarah Barringer (2010). "Malnak v. Yogi: The New Age and the New Law". In Griffin, Leslie C. (ed.). Law and Religion: Cases in Context. Austin, TX: Wolters Kluwer. pp. 14–16.
  10. ^ TM in Court. Berkeley, CA: SCP. 1978. p. 74.
  11. ^ Malnak v. Yogi., 440 F. Supp. 1284 (Dist. Court, D. New Jersey 1977).
  12. ^ "U.S. Court of Appeals Rules Against TM Movement". Archived from the original on March 14, 2007. Retrieved 2006-02-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), New Religious Movements Up-date 3/2 (July 1979)
  13. ^ Squires, Bill (November 1986). "The Lawsuit in Perspective". SCP Newsletter. Vol. 11, no. 4. p. 6.
  14. ^ Squires, "Lawsuit," p.8.
  15. ^ Brothers, Hear Our Defense (4): Repeating False Witness Concerning SCP Bankruptcy. Fullerton, CA: DCP Press. 2011. pp. 17–28.
  16. ^ Seyranian, Leon J. Statement of Decision (Report).Case No 540 585-9, Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of Alameda, June 26, 1985, p. 2
  17. ^ MLRC 2010 Report on Trials and Damages. New York: Media Law Resource Center. 2010. p. 79.
  18. ^ Digitale, Robert (January 15, 1990). "Major Shift at Spiritual Counterfeits Project". Christianity Today. Vol. 34, no. 1. pp. 53–54.
  19. ^ Brooke, Tal (Summer 2013). "SCP Leaps into a New Future". SCP Newsletter. Vol. 17, no. 4. pp. 1, 4–5, 14–15.
  20. ^ Baehr, Ted (2021-09-01). "Remembering The Great Cultural Apologist Tal Brooke". Movieguide | The Family Guide to Movies & Entertainment. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
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