Wolrd Religion

According to authorities, she was beaten for several hours with a quarter-inch plumbing supply line as her parents took turns holding her down and using the instrument. The blows reportedly cause Rhabdomyolysis, which is a breakdown of muscle tissue which fatally damaged her vital organs.

According to local authorities, Lydia's "biblical chastisement" leading to her death may have been for mispronouncing a word during a home-school reading lesson.

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Reports that Greater Toronto Area pastor Jae-Kap (Joe) Song ran a sex cult and received his religious training from a California mail order firm are ridiculous fabrications, Song's lawyer says.

Nine members of the congregation -- including two women -- have been charged with sex-related offences since March.

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Parts of South Australia's anti-bikie laws could be used against cults like the Agape Ministries group, South Australian police commissioner Mal Hyde says.

He said it might be possible for aspects of the anti-gang laws, which relate to criminal organisations, to apply.

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Chronic use of methamphetamine by Blaine Keith Milam may have played a factor in his actions leading to the death of 13-month-old Amora Bain Carson, a psychology professor testified Monday.

During the sentencing phase of Milam's capital murder trial, Paula Lundberg-Love, an expert in psychopharmacology and professor at the University of Texas at Tyler, explained the effects drug use has on the brain and behavior, including "believing there were demons and that demons were changing the facial structure of the child," she said.

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