uscitizen
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Pastor with 666 tattoo claims to be the new Christ
POSTED: 1:07 p.m. EST, February 19, 2007
Story Highlights
• Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, a minister, says he is God
• De Jesus preaches that there is no devil and no sin
• His church claims thousands of members in more than 30 countries
By John Zarrella and Patrick Oppmann
CNN
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- The minister has the number 666 tattooed on his arm.
But Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda is not your typical minister. De Jesus, or "Daddy" as his thousands of followers call him, does not merely pray to God: He says he is God.
"The spirit that is in me is the same spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth," de Jesus says.
De Jesus' claims of divinity have angered Christian leaders, who say he is a fake. Religious experts say he may be something much more dangerous, a cult leader who really believes he is God. (Watch followers get 666 tattoos for their leader Video)
"He's in their heads, he's inside the heads of those people," says Prof. Daniel Alvarez, a religion expert at Florida International University who has debated some of de Jesus' followers.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/16/miami.preacher/index.html
POSTED: 1:07 p.m. EST, February 19, 2007
Story Highlights
• Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, a minister, says he is God
• De Jesus preaches that there is no devil and no sin
• His church claims thousands of members in more than 30 countries
By John Zarrella and Patrick Oppmann
CNN
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- The minister has the number 666 tattooed on his arm.
But Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda is not your typical minister. De Jesus, or "Daddy" as his thousands of followers call him, does not merely pray to God: He says he is God.
"The spirit that is in me is the same spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth," de Jesus says.
De Jesus' claims of divinity have angered Christian leaders, who say he is a fake. Religious experts say he may be something much more dangerous, a cult leader who really believes he is God. (Watch followers get 666 tattoos for their leader Video)
"He's in their heads, he's inside the heads of those people," says Prof. Daniel Alvarez, a religion expert at Florida International University who has debated some of de Jesus' followers.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/16/miami.preacher/index.html