*Alternative* Ideology Resources

The followling list of links represent a short mish-mash of various modern and ancient ideologies, none to which I subscribe. However, the juxtapostion of views herein has, I feel, some intrinsic merit. Here I flippantly put all of these complex views on one list, but in no way do I mean to imply these organizations are in any way related to each other except that these views are "alternative" compared to my own. If you have ever played the game Illuminati by Steve Jackson Games, many of these organizations will seem comically fnord familiar. But these are the real thing, baby. They are real people with real lives with a real view of the world. Be warned: many of the names carry a lot of baggage and you may burst out laughing or run in fear, but check them out and have fun (and perhaps learn something).

Where possible, I have placed an additional Wikipedia link, identified by a [W], to provide more information about the group, person, or ideology listed.


Rosicrucians [W] -- The Western Hemisphere headquarters are based in San Jose, CA. The Rosicrucians seem to be an odd mix of a research group, a fraternal order (with their classic Egyptian themes), a Christian secret society, and a metaphysics organization. Having grown up in San Jose, I occasionally went to their planitarium on school field trips. The high school rock band I played in, Osiris, also posed for pictures on their beautiful campus grounds. Find out more about these peaceful metaphysicists by visiting their official web site.

Church of Satan [W] -- Originally based in San Francisco and founded in the 60's by the late Anton LaVey (who played the brief role of Satan in Roman Polanski's movie Rosemary's Baby). The organization seems to have been started mostly to irritate Christians. The dark themes gain lots of style points but I find it difficult to tell if they take the supernatural seriously or if they simply represent a distinct brand ([sizzle] ouch) of "Humanism with an attitude".

Scientology [W] -- Founded by writer L. Ron Hubbard, they have gained quite a notorious reputation in certain circles (esp. net newsgroups). Controversy and litigation seem to follow them everywhere...Yet they still seem to thrive; including having some big-name movie stars in their ranks (Tom Cruise, John Travolta, etc.). Find out more about this controversial self-help-science-fiction-business-religion at their offical web site.

Catholic Church [W] -- The one and only. Yes, they've mellowed considerably since the days of the Spanish Inquisition. However, they still wield a considerable amount of economic and ideological ("guilt as a personal god") power in the world.

Hare Krishna [W] -- We've all seen the movie Airplane or wandered the UC Berkeley campus...well, learn a little more about these kindly peaceful fanatics by visiting their official web site.

The Unification Church (Moonies) [W] -- having a cultish reputation (the word "moonie" practically means "cult" to the same degree "Kleenex" has come to mean "soft facial tissue"), this group, led by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, has their own particular brand of Chrisianity. Learn more about them at their official web site.

Art Bell and Coast-to-Coast [W] -- The radio talk show host of Coast-To-Coast who loves to stir the pot of anything on the fringe. Lots of Y2K paranoia, UFO stuff, and paranormal rantings. Popular and scary; the latter because of the former. I'm sure he and his fans would be happy to know he's squeezed between The Moonies and Heaven's Gate on this list.

Heaven's Gate [W] -- the original website was dismantled, but this mirror site was reconstructed and posted by a clear thinking individual who realized that seeing such a site may have some value...

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) [W] -- Some of the kindest and most intelligent people I know are Mormons, but I've just never understood the details of this worldview at all. This site may give some clues...but realistically, probably not.

Jehovah's Witnesses [W] -- They come knocking at your door now and again, but how many people actually talk to them? Got to admit, that takes some serious guts to go pounding on people's doors. My dad occasionally invited them in just to hear them for fun, but we never did figure them out. Their offical web site may offer more clues...but then again, like the Mormons, probably not.

Christian Coalition [W] -- This is the Right's version of the ancient world's Vatican. Hey, if we're going to spout manipulative reactionary religious rantings, why not do it together and for political and economic gain? The irony is that I think it works the other way around: if you are trying to gain power, why not use manipulative reactionary religous rantings as a medium?

Islam [W] -- This zealous site contains a large amount of Islamic-related information. While they seem orthogonal on the surface, the religious right in America and extremist Islamic sects are not really all that different psychologically (the psychology of blind, righteous fanaticism). This is obviously an irony given the age we live in.

Hindu [W] -- An interesting Yahoo-style hub containing links related to the Hindu philosophy, culture, and religion.

Slashdot [W] -- "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters." Indeed. More of an internet sub-culture than an organization or ideology, I couldn't resist putting them on this list. Although at the top of the page I said I didn't subscribe to any of these "alternative" ideologies, I admittedly do frequent Slashdot and am a pretty solid nerd by any standard. However, I don't formally subscribe, so I'm not really lying. I'm guess if anyone does a Google search on "slashdot moonies church of satan" this site may be amongst the top-five hits.



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