NRMs: Raelism
Adam, Eve, and extraterrestrial Elohim
Many of you may be familiar with the Raelian Movement from when they made news in 2002. A biotechnology company with ties to the Raelians claimed to have cloned the first human baby, a girl named Eve. Obviously, this created some sensational headlines.
The Raelian Movement was founded in 1974 by Claude Vorillhon who claimed that he had a series of encounters with an extraterrestrial being, named Yahweh, that gave him a mission to bring new information to humanity. From this encounter, Vorillhon (who subsequently became known as Rael) began writing these messages in a series of books. Raelism is considered an atheistic, UFO religion. There is no belief in a god or gods, but rather members believe that humans and life on Earth were created by Elohim, a species of extraterrestrials. A series of prophets, including Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed were sent by the Elohim to maintain contact with their creation.
Perhaps most interesting is Rael’s reinterpretation of the Bible. Popular Biblical images are transformed into narratives that rival the best sci-fi epics. For instance, the Garden of Eden is transformed into a space laboratory where the Elohim created the first humans. Noah’s ark is said to have been a space craft to escape a flood caused by a nuclear explosion. The healing powers of Jesus are recounted as laser beams from a far off space ship. Mary is said to have been artificially inseminated by Yahweh, so too was Rael’s mother (making him and Jesus half-brothers). Jesus’ resurrection was from cloning of a single cell from his corpse. The Tower of Babel is depicted as a giant space rocket. And the list goes on.
If you’re interested in checking out this reinterpretation or the messages Rael received, visit their Web site. You can download the e-book for free.
There are so many interesting bits of information that I could impart about this particular NRM, but in an effort to keep my post brief, I’ll provide you with some external links in case you happen to be as fascinated as I am about this curious movement.
M. xo
Raelian Official Web site: http://www.rael.org/
Raelian News: http://raelianews.org/news.php
Testimonies by ex-Raelians http://raelian.com/en/
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons