by Jesse Potter aka Elkin Vanaeon
On this ninth
day of August in the year of our Lord and
Lady 2005 CE
1939 CE - On May 13, 1939, a cruise ship carrying 937 Jews left Hamburg Germany, seeking freedom from Nazi terror. Almost all had paid for both passage and papers, which would legally entitle them to disembark in Cuba, but when the ship reached Havana, it was not permitted to dock. It then set sail for Miami where the ship was intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard and warned to sail on. The ship was then forced to return to Europe where more than half of the passengers died in the Holocaust. The story of the St. Louis was immortalized in the movie, "Voyage of the Damned."
1942 CE - National Association of Evangelicals - "[John Raleigh] Mott...was chairman of the second Life and Work Conference at Oxfordin 1937 and vice chairman of the provisional committee of the World Council of Churches in 1938. In 1948 he was made a co-president of the newly formed council."
1942 CE - Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and required its recital in schools.
1943 CE - The Supreme Court rules that students can not be forced to recite the pledge. (West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette)
1943 CE - U.S. - American vaccine researcher Pearl Kendrick reports that adding a metallic salt seemed to heighten the capacity of the Pertussis vaccine to produce anti-bodies (Metal salt is an "adjuvant" in this way). Some metallic salts used are those of aluminum (alum). Pearl Kendrick is the researcher that urged that Pertussis vaccine be combined with Diptheria vaccine. The Tetanus vaccine was added later producing the DPT Vaccine.
1944 - United States; Native American - Fifty tribes establish the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) in Denver, Colorado.
1945 to1946 CE - Nuremberg trial, officially known as the International Military Tribunal - The governments of the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain and France put on trial the most prominent surviving "German War Criminals" for various "war crimes," "crimes against peace," and "crimes against humanity." In the words of the Tribunal's Charter, these "Nazi conspirators" carried out their crimes as part of a great "Common Plan or Conspiracy."
Germany's wartime treatment of the Jews and non-Jews was the dominant feature in the Nuremberg trials! Due to the extermination of over 6,000,000 European Jews and approximately 5,000,000 non-Jews which included an estimated 1.5 million Roma murdered (event the Romani call the Porajmos or the "Devouring") from 1935 to the end of World War II. Groups, which the Nazis and their collaborators murdered and persecuted, were:
Factors, which contributed toward Nazi hatred of the Jews and their distorted image of the Jewish people to be targeted for persecution and ultimate destruction by the Nazis, included:
1945 CE - United Nations Created - "The [UN] Charter was signed in San Francisco on June 26, 1945, by 50 nations."
1946 to 1952 CE - Revised Standard Version of the Bible is published in response to changes in English usage, revision of AV "based on consonantal Hebrew text" for OT and best available texts for NT.
1948 CE - Robert Graves writes "The White Goddess".
1948 CE - The Vatican State gains a seat at the United Nations! The "Holy See" of the Roman Catholic Church with the support of fifty-nine countries in which it had satellite churches, separated itself from the Vatican City of Rome in 1929 with all of it's courts, libraries, archives and supporting structures of over 100 square acres of office space. It is located in the middle of Rome and is comprised of the citizenry of the Pope, his cardinals and the members of the Vatican departments that run the church, which excludes women and children. It established itself as a separate state and considered all Roman Catholic churches throughout the world as embassies, with ambassadors, of the Vatican State within those countries.
The United Nations recognized the Vatican's status as an independent state, even though not being a true nation with women and children, as having a seat in the United Nations. The Holy See of the Roman Catholic church was not officially recognized as a member but was allowed a voice that exerted considerable power at UN meetings and conferences as a Non-Member State Permanent Observer. The Holy See takes part in UN meetings and conferences and is typically granted full status at such events, including a say on any question that is put to a vote where governments set policies and mandates affecting the lives of people around the world. It's positions on issues in the United Nations and in countries across the world have had the most notable effect at:
The Holy See used its considerable power to block consensus and opposed widely accepted health measures such as contraception and sexual education for women within third world countries of the world. Within the larger Christian communities - the Vatican is not recognized as representing the diversity of opinions that exist or even reflect the multiple voices of the Catholic community.
1948 CE - Republic of Ireland Act establishes a free country independent of Britain with support for Northern Ireland.
1948, May 14 CE - The State of Israel was declared a recognized state by the United Nations on May 14, 1948.
1948 CE - Universal Declaration of Human Rights - On 10 December 1948, at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, the 58 Member States of the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration, which comprises a broad range of rights, although not a legally binding document, inspired more than 60 human rights instruments which together constitute an international standard of human rights. These instruments include:
Both of which are legally binding treaties. Together with the Universal Declaration, they constitute the International Bill of Rights. The Declaration recognizes that the "inherent dignity of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world" and is linked to the recognition of fundamental rights towards which every human being aspires:
These are inherent rights to be enjoyed by all human beings of the global village -- men, women and children, as well as by any group of society, disadvantaged or not -- and not "gifts" to be withdrawn, withheld or granted at someone's whim or will.
1948 CE - World Council of Churches formed - "[John Raleigh] Mott...was chairman of the second Life and Work Conference at Oxford in 1937 and vice chairman of the provisional committee of the World Council of Churches in 1938. In 1948 he was made a co-president of the newly formed council."
1950 CE - United states - More than 44,000 Native Americans men and women served on all fronts in the conflict of World War II and were honored by receiving numerous Purple Hearts, Air Medals, Distinguished Flying Crosses, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, Distinguished Service Crosses, and three Congressional Medals of Honor. The American Indian participation in World War II was so extensive that it later became part of American folklore and popular culture. Will Rogers, a well-known American humorist and Cherokee from Oklahoma, said "The United States never broke a treaty with a foreign government and never kept one with the Indians." Nevertheless, the government of the United States found no more loyal citizens than their own "first Americans."
1950, April 18 CE - National Association of Evangelicals Annual Convention - On the day of Pentecost in Acts 3 [sic], pointed to one last revival before 'the great holocaust of judgment falls upon the earth. On November 28 - National Council of Churches, "The Federation Council of Churches changed its name to the National Council of Churches (NCC) on November 28, 1950."
1950 CE - Kenya, Mau Mau" campaign of terror and guerrilla warfare against the British with large white settle population, is led by Jomo Kenyatta. Despite British victory in 1956, thousands of lives are lost and negotiations finally forced preparations for Kenyan independence.
1950 CE - Fellowship of the Burning Heart founded by Henrietta Mears - "Henrietta Mears established the Fellowship of the Burning Heart, wherein she encouraged her students to be willing to die for 'the Cause of Christ.' She laid her hands on them to receive her mantle. Thus they received within themselves a 'burning heart.'
1950, February 3, CE - Resolution No. 2001-08 - The Five Civilized Tribes Intertribal Council Mascot Resolution: The Intertribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes is an organization that united the tribal governments of the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Nations, representing over 400,000 Indian people throughout the United States. Their goals were:
On April 13, 2001, the United States Commission on Civil Rights issued a Statement on the Use of Native American Images and Nicknames as Sports Symbols that called for an end to the use of American Indian images and team names by non-Indian schools:
1951 CE - Campus Crusade for Christ founded - "An indication of the amount of money conservative Christians are investing in their infrastructure is the Crusade for Christ. A consortium of conservative business leaders led by Nelson Bank Hunt, one of the heirs of the Hunt Oil Company fortune, and Wallace Johnson, founder of Holiday Inns, worked with Bill Bright to evangelize every man, woman and child on earth in preparation for the second coming of Christ. Over $30 million had been raised.
1951 CE - World Evangelical Fellowship established - At Woudschoten, Netherlands, 91 men and women from 21 countries met as the International Convention of Evangelicals. They voted to establish the World Evangelical Fellowship. Two Anglican theologians, A. Jack Dain and John R. W. Stott, provided a biblical outline of the threefold purpose of WEF:
John Stott later later drafted the historic Lausenne Covenant of 1974.
1951 CE - The reconstruction period of the Wicca or wise ones of the craft begins. It dates from it's earlier beginnings prior to 901 CE (See Laws of Alfred, Guthrum, and Edward the Elder; the dooms of King Alfred and King Guthrum). The British witchcraft laws were repealed in 1951 and replaced by the Fraudulent Mediums Act. Gerald Gardner authored the publication in 1954 of "Witchcraft Today", a self-proclaimed Witch from the Isle of Man in Britain, who signaled to the world that witches still existed.
Wicca is polytheist, finding its pantheon in various European pre- Christian nature religions. The prime deities are the Goddess and God. The triple aspects of the Goddess are maiden, mother, and crone and though there are different explanations of the origin of the gods, most agree that the Goddess is ascendant in modern religious expressions.
1951 CE - France - town of Pont-St. Esprit, in Provence, "Ergot of the rye plant was responsible for over two hundred cases of alkaloid poisoning, thirty two cases of insanity and four deaths." Jean Vieu, a medical doctor in the town discovered the outbreak with two patients who complained of intense pain in the lower abdomen. Dr. Vieu originally believed these cases to be acute appendicitis, but symptoms exhibited were inconsistent with this particular ailment. Symptoms included low body temperatures, cold fingertips, wild babbling, and hallucinations.
Doctors were certain this was caused by some sort of food poisoning and on searching the houses of the afflicted, they discovered all the victims had consumed wheat bread from the same baker. Tests indicated from the analysis of the bread samples that it contained approximately twenty alkaloid poisons from the fungus ergot of the rye plant.
1954 to 1962 CE - Africa - Morocco and Tunisia receive independence. French colonies oppose continued French rule despite concessions. Bitterly vicious civil war occurs in Algeria, with a white settler population of 1 million, until independence is gained in 1962.
1954 CE - Congressman Louis C. Rabaut, from Michigan, introduced the modification of the "Pledge of Allegiance" by Christian fundamentalists, including the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic group, a bill into Congress. The words 'under God' were added to the pledge between 'one nation' and 'indivisible'. Both houses of Congress subsequently passed it. Eisenhower signs the modified pledge into law on June 14th, 1954.
1955 CE - Ireland joins the United Nations.
1957 CE - Africa - Ghana becomes first Independent Black State in Africa under Kwame Nkrumah through Gandhi-inspired rallies, boycotts, and strikes, forcing the British to transfer power over the former colony of the Gold Coast.
1957 CE - United States; Native American - Utah becomes the last state to permit Indians to vote.
1957 CE - United Church of Christ founded by ecumenical union of Congregationalists and Evangelical & Reformed, representing Calvinists and Lutherans.
1958 CE - White [Dutch-descent] Afrikaners officially gain independence from Great Britain in South Africa.
1959 January 14, CE - US Legal Decision - PUBLIC LAW 99-239 Joint Resolution to approve the "Compact of Free Association,"and for other purposes, the recompensation to the Indigenous People of the Marshal Islands. The U.S. government accepts responsibility for compensation owing to citizens of the Marshall Islands or the Federated States of Micronesia for loss or damage to the property and person of the citizens of the Marshall Islands or the Federated States of Micronesia resulting from the nuclear testing program, June 30,1946 - August 18, 1958.
In a separate agreement the governments of the Marshall Islands and the U.S. will set forth provisions for settlement of all claims; for the continued administration by the U.S. government of direct radiation related medical surveillance and treatment programs and radiological monitoring activities and for additionally agreed upon programs and activities; and for the assumption by the government of the Marshall Islands of responsibility for enforcement of limitations, developed in cooperation with the U.S. government on the utilization of affected areas With mutually agreed upon assistance by the U.S. government.
The U.S. government shall provide the government of the Marshall Islands a grant of $150 million to be paid and distribute according to the separate agreement. Agreement between the Government of the United States and the Government of the Marshall Islands for the Implementation of Section 177 of the Compact of Free Association. Peoples of the Marshal Islands include the islands of:
The U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to provide funds for the resettlement of Bikini Atoll by the people of Bikini at a time, which cannot now be determined. The U.S. is relieved of responsibility for, and the RMI shall have responsibility for, controlling the utilization of areas in the Marshall Islands affected by the nuclear testing program.
1959 CE - On March 31, 1959 The Dalai Lama Fled Tibet escorted by about 350 Tibetan soldiers, and at least 50 guerrillas. China insists that Tibet is part of China but many Tibetans assert that China has been illegally occupying the remote Himalayan land since 1950. On Sept. 14, 1995, the Dalai Lama asked President Clinton to increase American aid to hundreds of thousands of Tibetan refugees who fled their homeland since 1950. He estimated that about two-thirds of the 6 million Tibetans live outside the Tibetan region under Chinese control.
1959 CE - On August 21,1959, Hawaii became the 50th State of the United States.
1960 CE - The Temple of Understanding is founded to unite all world religions by an Ecumenical Youth Assembly for Europe, which was sponsored by the World Council of Churches at Lausanne in Switzerland in July, 1960
1960 CE - U.S Legal Decision - Kreshik v. Saint Nicholas Cathedral, 363 U.S. 190, 191, 80 S.Ct. 1037, 1038, 4 L.Ed.2d 1140 (1960). The First Amendment applies to any application of state power, including the exercise of judicial jurisdiction over claims against religious institutions.
1961 CE - Africa - Zaire (formerly Belgian Congo, the richest European colony in Africa) becomes independent from Belgium in 1960.
1962 CE - Africa - Algeria (of Arab and Berber peoples) wins independence from France; over 900,000 white settlers leave the newly independent nation.
1962 to 1965 CE - Second Vatican Council, 21st ecumenical, announced by Pope John XXIII in 1959, produced 16 documents which became official after approval by the Pope, purpose to renew "ourselves and the flocks committed to us" (Pope John XXIII).
1962 CE - America - Buckland, Raymond born in London, England August 31, 1934 moved to America in 1962, and was recognized primarily for the re-introduction of Witchcraft into the United States. He holds a doctorate in anthropology from Brantridge Forest College in Sussex, England and served in the British Air Force from 1957-1959. In 1973, he left the Gardnerian tradition, and founded the Seax-Wicca tradition. His books were: Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft (1986), Witchcraft from the Inside (1974,revised 1995), The Tree: Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft (1974), Scottish Witchcraft (1991), Amazing Secrets of the Psychic World (1975), Here Is the Occult (1974, Anatomy of the Occult (1977), The Magic of Chant-O-matics (1978), Practical Color Magick (1983), Secrets of Gypsy Fortunetelling (1986), Secrets of Gypsy Love Magic (1990), Secrets of Gypsy Dream Reading (1990) Witchcraft Yesterday and Today, a video (1990), The Book of African Divination (1992), Ray Buckland's Magic Cauldron (1995), Advanced Candle Magic (1996), Gypsy Fortune Telling and Tarot Reading (1998), Gypsy Witchcraft and Magic (1998), The Committee (1993), Cardinal's Sins (1996).
1964 CE - The Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination for reason of color, race, religion, or national origin. Capital Conference on Indian Poverty is held in Washington, D.C. The Civil rights Act of 1964 states "To be a bona fide religious belief entitled to protection under either the First Amendment or Title VII, a belief must be sincerely held, and within the believer's own scheme of things religious." (USCA Const. Amend 1: Civil Rights Act 1964 701 et seq., 717 as amended 42 USCA 2000-16)
1964 CE - John Math founded "Witchcraft Research Association".
1965 CE - Supporters of "The World Congress of Peace" held in Helsinki, Finland, fixed the year, 1965, to commemorate the Armenian Genocide of 1915. The long history of the Armenian people living in Turkey required its recognition as an original ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious minority. Based on the earlier United Nations' Convention adopted in 1948, the Armenian massacres of 1915 qualify as organized Genocide. This Genocide by the Ottoman Turks cost the lives of more than one and a half million freedom-loving Armenians; that is, two-thirds of the whole Armenian nation.
1965 CE - U.S. - The National Advisory Council on Indian Education (NACIE) was formed -- a presidential appointed advisory council on Indian education established under Section 9151 of Title IX of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 7871). The Council was established to advise the Secretary of Education and the Congress on funding and administration of programs with respect to which the Secretary has jurisdiction and that includes Indian children or adults as participants or that may benefit Indian children or adults. The Council also makes recommendations to the Secretary for filing the position of Director of Indian Education whenever a vacancy occurs.
1965 CE - The Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center documented abuses carried out by the Indian Health Services. Later in 1975, some 25,000 Native American women were permanently sterilized--many after being coerced, misinformed, or threatened. Documentation established that one Native American woman was being sterilized for every seven babies born, a former IHS nurse reported the use of tubal ligation on "uncooperative" or "alcoholic" Native American women into the 1990s.
The International Indian Treaty Council mobilized opposition to the sterilization campaign as an act of genocide, stating that "Sterilization of Native American women are direct attacks on nationhood, seen in the context of national identity, and having serious consequences for the survival of [her] people as a whole."
1965 CE - The Catholic Church proclaimed solemnly and officially:
Everything inspired by the composers of the Bible is be considered to have been written by the Holy Ghost and that what is taught in the Bible is accurate, true, and without error.
1966 CE - The World Congress on Evangelism in Berlin
1966 - President Lyndon Johnson appoints U.S. - Commissioner of Indian affairs, Robert Lafollette Bennett (an American Indian).
1967 CE - Christian World Liberation Front started by Campus Crusade, "In 1967, a campaign called 'Revolution Now' was launched on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley... In order to have an impact, Bright appointed several of his staffers to adopt the appearance of hippies and form a front for the Campus Crusade called the Christian World Liberation Front (CWLF)
1968 CE - The Church and School of Wicca founded in the United States by Gavin and Yvonne Frost.
1968 CE - Woman Feminist Movements
1968 CE - U.S. - The National Council on Indian Opportunity (NCIO) was established by Executive Order of President Lyndon B. Johnson, to facilitate Indian participation in U.S. government decision-making concerning Indian policy.
1968 CE - Civil Rights Act extends Bills of Rights to reservation Indians; decreeing "Individual States" cannot assume law and order jurisdiction without tribal consent. "Project Own" is established for Indians to open small businesses on the reservations.
1968 CE - Sybil Leek writes "Diary of a Witch" (an autobiography) and The Complete Art of Witchcraft (1971). Sybil was born on February 22, 1922, in Straffordshire, England and died in 1983. She was an English Witch and astrologer who moved to America in the 1960's, gaining fame in publicizing the renaissance of Witchcraft in the Western world. She wore a crystal necklace, passed on to her by her psychic Russian grandmother and a cape, loose gowns and a jackdaw named Mr. Hotfoot Jackson, who perched on her shoulder. She met Aleister Crowley when nine years of age and being a frequent visitor to the household was an acquaintance of Israel Regardie, Crowley's one time secretary. Sybil was initiated into the craft in southern France and made frequent appearances on the media circuit, trying to dispel myths and stereotypes about Witches and educate the public. She wrote more than 60 books, plus an internationally syndicated column.
1969 CE - The Special Subcommittee on Indian Education, Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare published U.S. - Senate Report 91-501 --commonly known as the Kennedy Report --. Titled "Indian education: A national tragedy, a national challenge," it said: "the dominant policy of the federal government toward the American Indian has been one of coercive assimilation" and the policy "has had disastrous effects on the education of Indian children."
1970 CE - US - following the enactment of the Family Planning Act of 1970 the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare accelerated programs in the sterilization of non-Indian poor women, increasing the rate of sterilization for women by 350 per cent in five years. Between 1969 and 1974, HEW increased its family planning budget from $51 million to more than $250 million dollars.
Records of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare revealed between 192,000 and 548,000 women were sterilized each year between 1970 and 1977 compared to 63,000 a year between 1907 and 1964. In 1977, Dr. R.T. Ravenholt, director of the United States Agency for International Development (office for population control), stated that the United States hoped to sterilize 25 per cent of the world's roughly 570 million fertile women, linking control measures to U.S. commercial interests around the world."
1970 CE - U.S. Legal Decisions - Landmark Case of Welsh v. United States, No. 76; SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, 398 U.S. 333; January 20, 1970; June 15, 1970; CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT. Petitioner was convicted of refusing to submit to induction into the Armed Forces despite his claim for conscientious objector status under § 6(j) of the Universal Military Training and Service Act. That provision exempts from military service persons who by reason of "religious training and belief" are conscientiously opposed to war in any form, that term being defined in the Act as "belief in a relation to a Supreme Being involving duties superior to those arising from any human relation" but not including "essentially political, sociological, or philosophical views or a merely personal code."
In his exemption application, petitioner stated that he could not affirm or deny belief in a "Supreme Being," and struck the words "my religious training and" from the form. He affirmed that he held deep conscientious scruples against participating in wars where people were killed. The Court of Appeals, while noting that petitioner's "beliefs are held with the strength of more traditional religious convictions," concluded that those beliefs were not sufficiently "religious" to meet the terms of § 6(j), and affirmed the conviction. Petitioner contends that the Act violates the First Amendment prohibition of establishment of religion, and that his conviction should be set aside on the basis of United States v. Seeger, 380 U.S. 163, which held that the test of religious belief under § 6(j) is whether it is a sincere and meaningful belief occupying in the life of its possessor a place parallel to that filled by the God of those admittedly qualified for the exemption.
380 U.S. at 176. The Court made it clear that these sincere and meaningful beliefs that prompt the registrant's objection to all wars need not be confined in either source or content to traditional or parochial concepts of religion. It held that § 6(j) "does not distinguish between externally and internally derived beliefs," id. at 186, and also held that "intensely personal" convictions which some might find "incomprehensible" or "incorrect" come within the meaning of "religious belief" in the Act. Id. at 184-185. What is necessary under Seeger for a registrant's conscientious [p*340] objection to all war to be "religious" within the meaning of § 6(j) is that this opposition to war stem from the registrant's moral, ethical, or religious beliefs about what is right and wrong and that these beliefs be held with the strength of traditional religious convictions.
Most of the great religions of today and of the past have embodied the idea of a Supreme Being or a Supreme Reality -- a God -- who communicates to man in some way a consciousness of what is right and should be done, of what is wrong and therefore should be shunned. If an individual deeply and sincerely holds beliefs that are purely ethical or moral in source and content, but that nevertheless impose upon him a duty of conscience to refrain from participating in any war at any time, those beliefs certainly occupy in the life of that individual "a place parallel to that filled by . . . God" in traditionally religious persons. Because his beliefs function as a religion in his life, such an individual is as much entitled to a "religious" conscientious objector exemption under § 6(j) as is someone who derives his conscientious opposition to war from traditional religious convictions.
Applying this standard to Seeger himself, the Court noted the "compulsion to `goodness'" that shaped his total opposition to war, the undisputed sincerity with which he held his views, and the fact that Seeger had "decried the tremendous `spiritual' price man must pay for his willingness to destroy human life." 380 U.S. at 186-187. The Court concluded: We think it clear that the beliefs which prompted his objection occupy the same place in his life as the belief in a traditional deity holds in the lives of his friends, the Quakers.(380 U.S. at 187). Accordingly, the Court found that Seeger should be granted conscientious objector status.
1970 CE - Confraternity Version, new Catholic translation from the originals which began before 1939 as a translation from the Vulgate, but ending up as a new translation from the Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT).
1970 CE - America - Zsusanna Budapest (a.k.a. Zsusanna Mokcsay) born January 30, 1940 in Budapest, Hungary, started the Susan B. Anthony Coven in 1970 and was founder of the first feminist Witches' coven and the main branch of Dianic Wicca. She trained Starhawk and started the Women's Spirituality Forum in Oakland, California. Her books included: Grandmother Moon (1991), The Goddess in the Office (1993), The Goddess in the Bedroom (1995), The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries (1989)
1970 to 1980 CE - Africa - Apartheid! Police state of South African white minority rulers hardens to maintain blatantly racist and inequitable system of apartheid, resulting violence, hostilities, strikes, massacres headlined worldwide.
1971 CE - Lectorium Rosicrucianum - The Lectorium Rosicrucianum was formed by former members of the Rosicrucian Fellowship in Holland under the leadership of J. Van Rijckenborgh, the Lectorium sees itself as a new instrument for the Universal Brotherhood, the spiritual hierarchy popularly known as the Great White Brotherhood.
1971 CE - Lady Sheba aka Jessie Wicker Bell wrote "The Magick Grimoire". She was a self-described "Witch Queen" who rose to prominence in American witchcraft in the late 1960's and 1970's published her Book of Shadows in 1971. She was initiated as a Witch in the 1930's, and founded her own tradition of The American Order of the Brotherhood of Wicca, of which she was High Priestess. In 1973 coven leaders of the Twin Cities Area Council of the American Order of the Brotherhood of Wicca took an active role in the establishing the Council of American Witches.
1971 CE - Pagan Federation International - A nationwide network, run by over 40 Regional Coordinators and numerous local organizers, was established in the UK as well as Australia so members could meet and work together for the benefit of Paganism in general.
1971 CE - U.S. Legal Decision - Lemon v. Kurtzman, 402 U.S. 602, 614, 91 S.Ct. 2105, 29 L.Ed. 2d 749 (1971)(principal objective of the Establishment Clause is to prevent "as far as possible, the intrusion of either [religion or government] into the precincts of the other."). It acts as a structural restraint on the government, including the courts from scrutinizing the internal affairs of religious bodies.
1972 CE - The Indian Education Act of 1972 under Title IV of Public Law 92-318 created the "Office of Indian Education" (OIE).
1973 CE - 3,000 acres of San Diego County Mountain wilderness was transferred from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to be held in trust for the Pala Band of Mission Indians. 5,627 additional acres of San Diego wilderness were transferred from the Bureau into trust for the Pauma Band of Mission Indians.
1973 CE - The World Health Organization established the Task Force on Vaccines for Fertility Regulation, as part of the special program of Research, Development, and Research Training in Human Reproduction. The HRP, under the auspices of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), WHO, and the World Bank, centered their research and development of contraceptive methods and services towards developing countries and social, ethical, legal and regulatory issues. In 1994, 400 experimental subjects, mainly women, were involved in the clinical testing of anti- hCG vaccines developed by the National Institute of Immunology (NII) and the Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP). Testing extended to women in India, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Finland, and Sweden. Research on anti-fertility vaccines by large institutions, since 1973 are:
What began as altruistic programs aimed at helping poor women in Third World Countries developed into extreme conflicts of interest and potentials for ethical violations inherent in the government sponsored "family planning" programs which were given quotas to be met. Sterilization figures in late 1982, showed:
Human Life International reported hCG hormones in tetanus and other vaccines not used for reproductive issues in:
Quinacrine, used as an acid to sterilize women by cauterizing the fallopian tubes, was outlawed by the World Health Organization as a potential cancer risk, had already been used in:
1973 CE - England - Doreen Valiente writes "The Rebirth of Witchcraft, an ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present", and later Natural Magic in 1975. She was born Doreen Edith Dominy, daughter of Harry and Edith, in Mitcham, South London on 4th January 1922.
1973 CE - America - Laurie Cabot, born March 6, 1933 in Wewoka, Oklahoma, was known as "the Official Witch of Salem" in Salem, Massachusetts. She established the Annual Witches' Ball in 1973 to celebrate Samhain, and founded the Witches' League for Public Awareness in 1986 to serve as a media watchdog to protect witches civil rights and advocate for Witchcraft. Laurie Cabot established the Temple of Isis, a chapter of the National Alliance of Pantheists in 1988 and the Cabot Tradition (Celtic and "pre-Gardnerian)." Her books include: Practical Magic; A Salem Witch's Handbook (1986), The Power of the Witch (1990), Love Magic (1992), Celebrate the Earth (1994), The Witch in Every Woman (1997).
1974 CE - U.S. - The National Research Act (Public Law 93348) was signed into law, thereby creating the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. One of the charges to the Commission was to identify the basic ethical principles that should underlie the conduct of biomedical and behavioral research involving human subjects, and to develop guidelines, which should be followed to assure that such research is conducted in accordance with those principles.
1974 CE - International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland - "In July 1974, the International Congress on Evangelism held a pinnacle gathering in Lausanne, Switzerland. The 10-day event, focusing on the theme of 'Let the Earth Hear His Voice,' brought together more than 2,400 evangelical leaders from 150 nations and ignited a passion and renewed commitment to 'carry the Christian Gospel to all corners of the world before the end of this century.'
1974 CE - Founding of Biblical Archaeology Society - The Biblical Archaeology Society, founded by Ivy Leagues graduate Hershel Shanks in 1974,...has carried out the foremost debate on the site for rebuilding Solomon's Temple on Al-Haram Al-Sharif (Noble Mount) in Jerusalem based upon the work of British Mason Sir Charles Warren.
1975 CE - U.S. Lausanne Committee formed as part of the International Lausanne Movement.
1975 CE - US - The birth of the Covenant of the Goddess, Wiccan elders from diverse traditions sharing the idea of forming a religious organization for all practitioners of Witchcraft gathered to draft a "covenant" among them. On October 31st, 1975 (1975 Summer Solstice), thirteen member congregations (or covens) ratified the bylaws of the Covenant of the Goddess, thus incorporating COG as a nonprofit religious organization. The Covenant of the Goddess is one of the largest and oldest Wiccan religious organizations with members in North America, Europe and Australia. It practitioners are reviving ancient Pagan practices and beliefs of pre-Christian Europe and adapting them to contemporary life. The Covenant is an umbrella organization of Witchcraft congregations with the power to confer credentials on its qualified clergy. It fosters cooperation and mutual support among Witches and secures for them the legal protections enjoyed by members of other religions. The Covenant is non-hierarchical and governed by consensus. Two-thirds of its clergy are women.
1975 to 1978 CE - The Khmer Rouge marched into Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, on 17 April 1975. Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge, was achieving his dream of Year Zero, the return of Cambodia to a peasant economy in which there would be no class divisions, no money, no books, no schools. Those who had had any connection with the previous regime were eliminated. People who were deemed to have been the lazy elite, in other words the educated and the skilled (anyone wearing glasses, watches, carrying or reading books, or anything denoting an education) were rounded up, tortured, and killed. Every vestige of the former way of life was destroyed. People tried to conceal their identity or former occupation, but were eventually found out or betrayed. Whole families were executed.
The Khmer Rouge turned a high school in the Tuol Sleng district of Phnom Penh into an interrogation and extermination center. Like the Nazis, they took photographs of their victims, not all of whom were adults. Deprived of adequate nourishment and health care, and forced to work to the point of exhaustion, hundreds of thousands died from starvation or disease in what was termed "The Killing Fields", altogether about two million perished. Mass graves were dug and bodies piled until full, without mercy.
1976 CE - Germany - A poor woman in Germany is suspect of keeping dogs as familiars (devil's agents). Neighbors ostracize her, throw rocks at her, threaten to beat her to death, and finally burn down her house, badly burning her and killing all the animals.
1976 CE - U.S Legal Decision - Serbian Eastern Orthodox Diocese for the United States of America and Canada v. Milivojebich, 426 U.S. 696, 711 (1976). Cf. Hadnot v. Shaw, 826 P.2d 978 (Okl. 1992) ("The First Amendment will protect and shield the religious body from liability for the activities carried on pursuant to the exercise of church discipline. Within the context of ecclesiastical discipline, churches enjoy an absolute privilege from scrutiny by the secular authority."). Based on this fundamental freedom, civil courts must take every precaution so that they do not tread on these responsibilities at the behest of civil litigants.
1976 CE - Zsusanna Budapest writes the "The Feminist Book of Light and Shadows" (an early incarnation of material that was to become "The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries").
1976 CE - Psychologist Linda Caporael proposed that those who displayed symptoms of bewitchment in 1692 were actually suffering from ergotism. Outbreaks of witchcraft were often accompanied by:
Erratic central nervous system symptoms - tremors, anesthesias, paresthesias (sensations of pricking, biting, ants crawling on the skin),
Distortions of the face and eyes, paralysis, spasms, convulsive seizures, muscle contractions, hallucinations, manias, panics, depressions.
There were also a significant number of gangrene cases and complaints of reproductive dysfunction, especially agalactia (inability of a nursing mother to produce enough milk). Animals behaved wildly and made strange noises. Cows had agalactia (lack of milk production).
1977 CE - Mob kills an old man in France suspected of sorcery.
1978 CE - Pope John Paul II, reaffirmed conservative moral traditions (The Splendor of Truth) and the forbidding of women in the priesthood.
1978 CE - Congress passes American Indian Freedom of Religion Act. Indian Claims Commission ends, resulting in $800 million granted to Indian tribes since 1945.
1979 CE - U.S. Legal Decision - NLRB v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago, 440 U.S. 490, 502 (1979). The constitutional principles that undergird the principle of religious autonomy do not simply bar the civil courts to litigants in internal church disputes. Rather the courts must be concerned that the "very process of inquiry..." not violate this principle. In delving into the decisions and inner workings of a religious institution's decisions regarding its clergy or question the religious relationship between a parishioner and his or her church government would violate the prohibition against religious entanglement and at the same time hinder the free practice of religion by that religious institution.
The principle of religious autonomy protects churches from the exercise of governmental power in an area of traditional religious authority. It operates as a barrier to judicial inquiry into matters that necessarily involve the assessment (as a basis for decision), application, and interpretation of religious doctrine or policy.
1979 to 1982 CE - New King James Bible, complete revision of 1611 AV, updates archaisms while retaining the old style.
1979 CE - Carol Christ & Judith Plaskow write "Womanspirit Rising: A Feminist Reader in Religion".
1979 CE - Starhawk is known as a feminist and peace activist and one of the foremost voices of eco-feminism in the reclaiming of Pagan Earth Centered roots. She traveled widely in North America and Europe giving lectures and workshops, living part-time in San Francisco where she works with Reclaiming, an organization offering classes, intensives, public rituals, and training in the Goddess tradition. She lives the rest of the time in a little hut in the woods where she gardens obsessively.
She is the author of numerous books, including "The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of The Ancient Religion Of The Great Goddess," "Dreaming The Dark: Magic, Sex, and Politics," and "Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Authority and Mystery." She is a major contributor to "The Pagan Book of Living and Dying," and with Anne Hill and Diane Baker, she co-wrote "Circle Round: Raising Children in the Goddess Tradition."
1979CE - Margot Adler writes "Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today".