Universal Life

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For the religious organisation founded in 1959 by Reverend Kirby J. Hensley, see Universal Life Church.

Universal Life (German: Universelles Leben) is the name of a controversial[1][2][3] new religious movement, [4] which is described by members as a part of the new revelation movement. The group originally called itself Heimholungswerk Jesu Christi,[2][5][6][7] and is known since 1984[5] as Universal Life.[2] It is often abbreviated UL, but the group does not use this abbreviation itself.

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[edit] Organisation

The founding of Universal Life was through teachings distributed by Gabriele Wittek.[3][8] These works were claimed to be revelations from Jesus Christ[2] or other spiritual beings, which "Gabriele", as she is known, received as a prophetess[2] and promulgated.[1] These are, along with the Sermon on the Mount and the 10 Commandments,[9] the fundamental basis of the faith.

Individual communities are named as "Places of original Christian meeting", and their members have intensive contact with each other.

Members of Universal Life run, among other institutions, a school,[2][5][6][10] a natural healing clinic[2][5][6][10] and a publisher.[6] They operate agricultural establishments,[1][6] which farm according to the principles of Organic farming.[1][2] These establishments are however not officially connected to Universal Life.

Universal Life is financed solely through donations.

[edit] History

Gabriele Wittek claims to have heard the first "inner words" after the death of her mother.[2][6] After a year, she saw her dead mother appear during a spiritual meeting,[2] and she spoke to her. Wittek claimed to have experienced several apparitions later, including of a spiritual being named "Brother Emmanuel".[2][5][6] Finally, Christ himself met her.

In the past, Universal Life claimed contact with an alien from outer space named Mairadi.[11][12]

On 18 April 1987, Christ allegedly spoke in a great revelation, among other things, about the "Inner Path".[5] It concerns a mystic school of though in which God is considered to be also in people and in all living beings, according to Jesus' saying: "The kingdom of God is 'within' you."

[edit] Adherents

Exact numbers are hard to determine, since there is no formal membership within Universal Life.

Georg Schmid estimated, in his book "Churches, Sects, Religions", the number of members to be 100,000 worldwide, including 40,000[1][6] in Germany.

Other estimations claim 10,000 members worldwide, with 3000 of them in the Würzburg region.

The association Universelles Leben e.V. has around 500 members. The inner circle, who live in communities in the Würzburg region[5][6] and work in farms, calls itself the "Community of New Jerusalem".[1][5][10]

The activities of Universal Life are concentrated in Bavaria.[1] The organisation is represented in other regions of Germany,[5][9][10] as well as in Austria,[4] Italy and in Switzerland.[10]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/survey/mq.htm
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k http://members.aol.com/bbsaktuell/weristue.htm and http://members.aol.com/bbswerth/weristue.htm
  3. ^ a b http://www.religio.de/server/serv.html
  4. ^ a b United States Department of State, International Religious Freedom Report 2006, (Austria), released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,
    The vast majority of groups termed "sects" by the Government were small organizations with fewer than 100 members. Among the larger groups present in Austria, are the Church of Scientology, with between 5,000 and 6,000 members, and the Unification Church, with approximately 700 adherents throughout the country. Other groups found in the country included Divine Light Mission, Eckankar, Hare Krishna, the Holosophic community, the Osho movement, Sahaja Yoga, Sai Baba, Sri Chinmoy, Transcendental Meditation, Landmark Education, the Center for Experimental Society Formation, Fiat Lux, Universal Life, and The Family.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Sekten : Wissen schützt. Eine Information des Bundesministeriums für Umwelt, Jugend und Familie, Stubenbastei 5, 1010 Wien, 1996 (Sects : Knowledge protects. Information from the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Youth and the Family, Stubenbastei 5, 1010 Wien, 1996). Transcript of the 2nd (revised) edition online at http://www.ilsehruby.at/Sektenbroschuere.html (retrieved 2007-02-17). Unofficial English translations at http://www.ilsehruby.at/sektenbroschenglish.htm (retrieved 2007-02-17) and http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/books/990913b.htm (retrieved 2007-02-17)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/survey/np.htm
  7. ^ http://www.dci.dk/?artikel=205
  8. ^ http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/survey/nq.htm
  9. ^ a b http://home.snafu.de/tilman/krasel/germany/mcnair.html
  10. ^ a b c d e http://www.perefound.org/KIT6_97.html
  11. ^ http://www.michelrieth.de/mairadi.htm
  12. ^ http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/survey/bq.htm

[edit] Links


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