Raelians and Rael himself to celebrate freedom Dec. 13 in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Dec. 11 – Raelians will gather in Las Vegas on Dec. 13 from across the nation and abroad to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the International Raelian Movement (IRM) in the presence of Rael himself.
Rael, founder and leader of the Raelian Movement, has decided to spend a few weeks on the West Coast.
The Dec. 13 event will also celebrate last week’s liberation of Negar Azizmoradi, leader of the IRM’s Iranian branch.
Azizmoradi, 30, spent weeks in an Istanbul deportation center after fleeing religious persecution in Iran. In accordance with her Raelian beliefs, she had publicly renounced Islam and stated that there is no god. Under Iranian law, such statements constitute the crime of apostasy, which can carry the death penalty.
"In full agreement with the teachings of Rael, Azizmoradi is an inspiration to Raelians and lovers of human freedom everywhere,” said Ricky Lee Roehr, leader of the North American branch of the IRM. “The Raelian philosophy itself is all about freedom, for being Raelian means living free of the psychological burdens imposed by a god-dependent upbringing. Christians and Muslims believe in a supernatural deity, so they live in constant fear of going to hell. What they don’t realize is that living with that awful fear is like living in the very hell they dread!”
Rael's teachings explain that paradise is to be found “in the here and now.”
“And with genetic engineering and human cloning, we’ll be able to live in this paradise forever, as long as the deists don’t keep it from happening,” Roehr said.
The Dec. 13 gathering will include “atheist baptisms” performed by Rael himself.
“This is one of the four dates of the year on which the ceremony of the Transmission of the Cellular Plan can take place,” Roehr explained. “The TCP, as we call it for short, is the Raelian equivalent of baptism. It’s the ceremony that acknowledges the Elohim as their creators and Rael as the messenger of those creators. This Las Vegas celebration is incredibly special because Rael himself will be here.”
More than 70,000 people in 104 countries have already decided to help Rael achieve his mission, according to Roehr.
“We spread the messages Rael received from the scientists who created us; we help free humanity from the myth of a supernatural god; and we work toward building the embassy to which our extraterrestrial creators can officially return,” he said.