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From other Guides: • How the Raelians Got Into Cloning • Clone humor

Alternative Religion/ features/ Cults and New Religious Movements

Controversial Cult?

In December, an American company known as Clonaid made a startling announcement: despite U.S. laws prohibiting human cloning, they had successfullly cloned a human being- a baby girl named Eve. As eager as the company seemed to announce the event, they were unable or unwilling to produce evidence of the feat, or the second, which they claimed shortly followed the first.

It didn't take long for the public to discover that chemist Brigitte Boisselier, the CEO of Clonaid, is in fact a high ranking member of a controversial religious group known as the Raelians. This is not the first time the Raelians, who believe life on Earth was created by an alien race, have garnered free publicity by dubious means. Rael, formerly race car driver Claude Vorilhon, claims that he was ordered to spread his message by alien visitors called the Elohim (one of the names of the Hebrew God of the Bible). The Raelians expect the aliens will return to retrieve their followers when they have fulfilled three criteria: the successful cloning of human beings, completing a large, cartoonish alien embassy to be built near Jerusalem, and the easiest of all- world peace.

So far, the group doesn't seem to be having much luck in any of these areas. World peace seems a long ways off yet, and while more reputable scientists scoff at their cloning claims, Israel has repreatedly turned down their request to build their embassy within its borders. They're having better luck with another project, a UFO themed exhibit, where for five bucks, visitors can tour a life sized flying saucer, and view a giant replica of a DNA strand.

Why cloning?

Although the company claims they are refusing to produce baby Eve to protect her and her parents, it is far more likely that the announcement is a bide for publicity. Despite nominal success with other species, all attempts at cloning primates (including humans) so far have been spectacular failures.

The Raelians claim that human cloning is imperative. According to Rael, when human clonin g is perfected, it will not only allow humans to live indefinitely, but to live in a perfected body that reflects one's "true self."

Biblical interpretations

Central to the Raelian belief system are the "Elohim," a race of aliens they credit with the creation of the human race. Raelian theology takes interesting liberties with the Hebrew scriptures. According to the Elohim, claims Rael, the Bible gets a few things wrong:

• The Elohim are not Gods, but an alien race. The name "Elohim" supposedly means "those who cam from heaven." Whether they had another name prior to visiting Earth is unclear.

• Satan was actually a beareaucrat who believed that the newly created human race was overly aggressive, and campaigned to have them eradicated. This was accomplished, not by a giant flood, but by nuclear bombardment.

• Some of the Elohim saved some of the creatures in a spaceship- Noah's Ark- and later returned them to Earth, where they sent them a series of alien/human hybrid messengers- Moses, Jesus Mohammed, and Buddha. Rael, of course, is the latest of these, being the child of a French mother and an Alien father.

Controversy

Aside from the dubious morality of human cloning attempts, the Raelians have made other controversial moves. They have been widely criticized for adopting a dubious logo- a Star of David, the traditional symbol of the Jewish faith, with a swastika. The logo was changed to a non-offensive galaxy within a star when the complaints began to mount.

The group was also criticized when it allied itself with several other controversial religious groups- the Scientologists, the Jehovah's witnesses, and the Unification Church. The sect has been banned by the French government, and authorities in Switzerland have the group on a list of potential group suicide risks (Although Rael's teachings forbid suicide, some of his writings have been interpreted as supporting the idea). Rael's family has largely disowned him- including his now ex wife, his adult children, and his elderly mother. The government of Canada, where the group currently resides, is making inquiries into possible abuses of its tax free status, citing Rael's lavish lifestyle.

More on Raelians and Cloning:

Experts Are Suspicious of Claim of Cloned Human's Birth

Keeping it Rael

Adam and Eve, or UFO?

UFOland

How human cloning will work

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Urantia
The Urantia book purports to be a text recieved via channeling from extra-terrestrial beings, and is believed to provide an explanation of the purpose of the universe, the missing biography of Jesus, and the nature of God.