The comment about God was attempted sarcasm.

I appreciate your comments, and as I said, I don't think I ever met John, either while in the cult or after.

I think there is a big difference between doing something foolishly, like not taking proper precautions, not getting proper legal advice and the rest...those are normal, human errors of judgment, perhaps fueled by internal emotional issues.

But that pales in comparision to a well-financed cult, with a filthy rich cult leader, doing their utmost to destroy someone out of nothing more than revenge.  What John did to EV, in terms of posting a document, did ZERO damage to Rawat, Elan Vital or Amaroo.  So, the vicious animus the cult held towards him is just astounding, and the way they went after him (whether John made mistakes to leave himself open to it or not), is disgraceful and dispicable for an organization that is supposed to be about peace.

The Australian neanderthal laws, and what appears to be a unique strain of cult fanaticism in that country, are also unfortunate factors.