The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1900-02-16

MODERN RELIGIOUS FANATICS WHO
eELlEvE ~ THEM.

Many Peculiar secth In the OLD
World. Particularly In Russia.
Whose Members EUl AMI Cruelty
Th.., salvation May Er Attained.
Tina, human sacrifices have been
made ever IN the n%.ilrtptnth century.
aud by Irufpssillg Christians. too. IL
brought out by The American journal
OF Sociology IN Il striking article:
The tCnvulSiOniSts. u sect existing In
Paris about 1880. were wont to cruelty
members Of their order. In emulation
belief that the souls Of the surviving
members would Le saved by the sacri.
fees or their fellows. In lSl7 the
"Pnschelians." an Austrian sect. lnul,
dered Il man, his wife and daughter
under the drlusion that the trio. who
refused to 20 with the fanatics. were
possessed Of the devil. On the follow
Ing day they crucitied n Of their own
number. a girl OF 10 years. who had
suffered herself for the death. In imI
tation Of the death OF the Saviour. In
order to save the souls Of her fellow
believers.
In 1923 the leader Of a Piet!stic cir
Gle In Switzerland. after having dis
patched her sister, who gave her life
rs a a Of snvIng the souls Of her
relatives. was crucitied by her follow
ers nj her wv command In order that
she might die, rise again after three
days and restoregto life the sister she
had slain. In 1866 two mothers. nd,
herents OF the ''Iloly Men," slew their
sick children. believing them to be- vic
tins Of demonincal possession. In
1915 a Hungarian miller. belonging to
the "N%azarenes." killed his son as an
offering for his own sins after the
fashion Of Abraham. In 1870. In IT.,
kutsk. Russia. one OF the "SchIsmat'
les" convinced himself by prayer and
fasting and much Scripture rMdIng
that to save his soul he nus be cruel
fed. Accordingly he attempted self
crucIiXion and succeeded so far as
the circumstances Of the case would
permit.
In 1880. In the government Of Perm.
Russia. a peasant killed his child as
an Offering for sin and buried the body
In an ant hill. Likewise. In the gov.
eminent Of Vladimir, another peasant
killed both his children In. due Abra,
hamic form. and while the babies bled
under the fathers knife the devout
mother celebrated the service by read.
Ing aloud selected portions Of the TWEEN,
ty-second chapter OF Genesis, In 1874.
In the government Of Tambov. Russia.
n peasant. convinced that to save his
soul q man must have a sin to repent
Of. killed a nelghbor with m ax In or.
der to sntIsfy this highly imperative
condition.
1t Is n part Of the creed Of the IVAN.
derers," a Russian sect, that anti
Christ rules In high places there and
that accordingly good men must have
naught to do with governmental af.
fairs Of any sort. In conformity with
this belief Il man murdered In various
ingenious ways 25 men. women and
children, including his W wife and
babies. In order to free them from the
danger Of losing their souls by suffer.
Ing the communicating contact Of the
government census taker. This occur.
red In 1897.
The "DenIerc." another quite inter-
esting Russian sect. believe that evil
talnts all earthly good and that the
only escape Is death. In 1925 90 Of
these men. strong In the faith, after
having murdered their wives and chill.
dren, permitted themselves to be put
to death. II by one, by their leaders.
The "Scourgers." who also form a
widespread and influential sect In Rus.
sIa, In obedience to the behests Of their
"saviors." are In the habit Of Indulg'
Ing In human sacrifices, cannIbalistic
feasts. erotic dances and other lewd
procedures as an extremely eficacIous
method Of keeping the hand Of evil
from Off their immortal souls. So the
"Muckers' OF Konlgsberg and the col.
ebrants OF the black mass In Paris af'
ford further examples Of the use Of q
ritual Of erotism, coupled with n prac'
tice Of the most abandoned and OBJ
scene behavior. to promote the eternal
welfare OF the soul.
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