Transformations II: The Glory Spreads - Investigation into the Claims

Last Update: September 26, 2001

GENERAL COMMENTS

This video is the sequel to the film previously put out by the Sentinel Group titled "Transformations", which claimed to be a documentary of four communities around the world transformed by God through the use of spiritual warfare techniques promoted by George Otis Jr., including spiritual mapping and strategic prayer. A summary of the findings of our research on the first video can be found here:

Http://www.religioninfo.org/transformations.html The latest video, "Transformations II: The Glory Spreads" claims to tell the story of three more communities/regions, Uganda, Hebrides and the Arctic communities in Northern Canada on or near Baffin Island. The following is a summary of our research into the claims made in this video.

It should be noted that the Hebrides events are unique from all the other communities mentioned in both videos in that the video here is not documenting a recent revival which transformed a community using the spiritual warafre techniques promoted by Mr. Otis, but rather a historical event in which it is very clear that the works of man had no place in sparking the events, other than the fervent prayers of a number of people who wanted to see revival happen.

Research is continuing on the communities in Northern Canada, and as the details become available, we will update this site.

UGANDA

Please send any input that you have that may contribute to our reserach on Uganda to research@uganda.co.ug

Claim

Findings

Reference

Crime has dropped 50% (no timeframe given)

Overall Crime reported to the police nationally in Uganda has increased by 100% in the 8 years from 1991 to 1999, and over 40% just between 1998 and 1999. 1999 was the last year for which these statistics are available. Some categories of crime decreased, such a riots and sedition, but the overall rate has increased, and most types of crimes have seen an increase.

Source - Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

Http://www.ubos.org

One of the first countries to experience a decline in the number of cases of AIDS

Though it is true that the prevalence of AIDS has dropped significantly, the rate of new cases has increased 18.6 % over the 5 years ending in 1998. We acknowledge that this is an improvement and is certainly better than most countries in Africa.

The cause of this, as acknowledged in the film, is in large part due to a concerted effort on the part of the Ugandan gov't to educate the people and to change their lifestyles. A contributing factor to the decreasing prevalence of AIDS while the rate of infection continues to increase is no doubt the fact that so much of the population has died over the past few years due to civil war, political killings, AIDS, etc. Most of the population is under 19 yrs of age (Ref: Uganda Bureau of Standards). A new reportr, issued September 8, 2001, says that 43% of all babies born annually in Uganda are HIV positive (The Monitor, Daily Newspaper, Kampala, Uganda). http://www.ubos.org).

It is also worthy to note that a recent report from Uganda, based upon a study by UNICEF indicates has now become the #1 killer amongst Ugandans, passing malaria and other diseases. AIDS now accounts for 12% of annual deaths amongst Ugandans 15-45 yrs of age.

Source - Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

Http://www.ubos.org

ABC News article on Uganda and Religion, February 14, 2001 by Logan Nakyanzi. (Http://Abcnews.com)

Article in "The Monitor" Newspaper (Kampala), dated September 3, 2001, titled "Aids Now Kills More Adults than Malaria". (http://www.monitor.co.ug)

Over 372 cases of AIDS have been cured

A representative of the Ugandan AIDS Commission has advised that though there were such cases about 5 years ago, these were not medically confirmed.

Source - Ugandan AIDS Commission

Positive signs are everywhere in the ecomony - amongst top 3 fastest growing economies in Africa

In all districts, the economic situation in the average household was reported as being worse than last year, ranging from about 40% in Tororo, to 80% in Lumwero. In contrast, the number of households reporting that they were better off economically ranged from about 5% in Luwero to about 20% in Kalangala.

This claim was apparently based upon exports, which have increased over the past few years, but unfortunately, as the statistics from the Ugandan government show, this improvement in exports has had little if any benefit for the vast majority of the Ugandan people. This was acknowledged by Janet Kuseveni in a speech given Oct 3, 1998 in New York. Unfortunately, things for the Ugandan people do not appear to have improved much since that.

Source - Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

Http://www.ubos.org

Churches are growing faster than the economy

Not only are there numerous churches and perhaps many have experienced notable growth (We are still investigating this claim), but cults are doing equally well in Uganda. An article on ABC News noted that the churches doing particularly well are the aggressive ones, promoting wealth - something that would be popular in a country devastated after numerous disasters and with an economy that continues to decline for the individual households. People are seeking hope from any source.

ABC News article on Uganda and Religion, February 14, 2001 by Logan Nakyanzi. (Http://Abcnews.com)

Zero Tolerance on Corruption

In the eyes of those who have to deal with Uganda, the perception is that Uganda has had a notable increase in corruption. In 1996, Uganda was rated as the 43^rd least corrupt country in the world. As of 2001, Uganda rates as the 88^th least corrupt, exceeded in corruption in the chart only by Bangladesh and Nigeria, and tied with Indonesia. In fairness, the movie does admit that there is still significant corruption but states that an intense effort is underway to improve the ethics of the government and how it operates. The international perception, judging by this index, is that the efforts to date have not been effective.

The president himself, Museveni, faces potential impeachment due to accusations of corruption, and the international community as well as internal sources in Uganda report that the recent presidential elections were rigged in favour of the president. The primary opposition candidate, who recently fled Uganda (Aug 2001) dues to harassment by the authorities took the his dispute over the election to the supreme court in Uganda. He lost the case because the judges were divided as to whether the degree of rigging would have changed the result, but the judges appear to have agreed that the election was rigged.

http://www.gwdg.de/~uwvw/icr.htm

Article in Africa On-Line, by Henry Ochieng
KAMPALA, August 12, 2001, titled "MPs give Museveni 14 days to explain UCB sale scandal"

{Note: This is only an example - this was widely covered by the African media)

Article in "the Monitor" Newspaper (Kampala), dated May 9, 2001, titled "`Crown Prince' Museveni and `Queen' Janet". (http://www.monitor.co.ug)

Human Rights Watch Report on Uganda Election (http://store.yahoo.com/hrwpubs/ugnotlevplay.html)

HEBRIDES

Please send any input that you have that may contribute to our reserach on Hebrides to research-info@home.com

In the film, Transformations II: The Glory Spreads, The revival in the Hebrides in 1949 is presented. We do believe that this was indeed a true revival. The interesting thing about this revival is that it does not fit into the mold that George Otis Jr. teaches with respect to spiritual warfare, strategic prayer , spiritual mapping etc.. As the video quotes Duncan Campbell:

"The presence of God puts to flight programs, not an evangelist, not a special effort, Nothing anything at all organized on the basis of human endeavor, but an awareness God that gripped the whole community."

A true move of God does not come through the efforts of men, such as spiritual mapping, prayer-walking, marching, binding territorial spirits - none of these are found in scripture, but rather it comes through people making themselves right with God, through people praying to God for the salvation of souls and through preaching of word of God, the complete gospel of fallen man, need for a saviour, the fact that only through Jesus can be we be saved from our sin, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross as payment for our sins.

Listen the story of the revival in the words of Duncan Campbell himself in this Realplayer audio file:

Hebrides Revival - Rev. Duncan Campbell

CANADIAN ARCTIC

Please send any input that you have that may contribute to our reserach on the Canadian Arctic to research-info@home.com.

We are currently researching this part of the film, and will be updating this site when more information is available.

Latest Update: September 2, 2001

Claim	Findings	Reference
Crime has dropped 50% (no timeframe given)	Overall Crime reported to the police nationally in Uganda has increased by 100% in the 8 years from 1991 to 1999, and over 40% just between 1998 and 1999. 1999 was the last year for which these statistics are available. Some categories of crime decreased, such a riots and sedition, but the overall rate has increased, and most types of crimes have seen an increase.	Source - Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Http://www.ubos.org
One of the first countries to experience a decline in the number of cases of AIDS	Though it is true that the prevalence of AIDS has dropped significantly, the rate of new cases has increased 18.6 % over the 5 years ending in 1998. We acknowledge that this is an improvement and is certainly better than most countries in Africa. The cause of this, as acknowledged in the film, is in large part due to a concerted effort on the part of the Ugandan gov't to educate the people and to change their lifestyles. A contributing factor to the decreasing prevalence of AIDS while the rate of infection continues to increase is no doubt the fact that so much of the population has died over the past few years due to civil war, political killings, AIDS, etc. Most of the population is under 19 yrs of age (Ref: Uganda Bureau of Standards). A new reportr, issued September 8, 2001, says that 43% of all babies born annually in Uganda are HIV positive (The Monitor, Daily Newspaper, Kampala, Uganda). http://www.ubos.org). It is also worthy to note that a recent report from Uganda, based upon a study by UNICEF indicates has now become the #1 killer amongst Ugandans, passing malaria and other diseases. AIDS now accounts for 12% of annual deaths amongst Ugandans 15-45 yrs of age.	Source - Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Http://www.ubos.org ABC News article on Uganda and Religion, February 14, 2001 by Logan Nakyanzi. (Http://Abcnews.com) Article in "The Monitor" Newspaper (Kampala), dated September 3, 2001, titled "Aids Now Kills More Adults than Malaria". (http://www.monitor.co.ug)
Over 372 cases of AIDS have been cured	A representative of the Ugandan AIDS Commission has advised that though there were such cases about 5 years ago, these were not medically confirmed.	Source - Ugandan AIDS Commission
Positive signs are everywhere in the ecomony - amongst top 3 fastest growing economies in Africa	In all districts, the economic situation in the average household was reported as being worse than last year, ranging from about 40% in Tororo, to 80% in Lumwero. In contrast, the number of households reporting that they were better off economically ranged from about 5% in Luwero to about 20% in Kalangala. This claim was apparently based upon exports, which have increased over the past few years, but unfortunately, as the statistics from the Ugandan government show, this improvement in exports has had little if any benefit for the vast majority of the Ugandan people. This was acknowledged by Janet Kuseveni in a speech given Oct 3, 1998 in New York. Unfortunately, things for the Ugandan people do not appear to have improved much since that.	Source - Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Http://www.ubos.org
Churches are growing faster than the economy	Not only are there numerous churches and perhaps many have experienced notable growth (We are still investigating this claim), but cults are doing equally well in Uganda. An article on ABC News noted that the churches doing particularly well are the aggressive ones, promoting wealth - something that would be popular in a country devastated after numerous disasters and with an economy that continues to decline for the individual households. People are seeking hope from any source.	ABC News article on Uganda and Religion, February 14, 2001 by Logan Nakyanzi. (Http://Abcnews.com)
Zero Tolerance on Corruption	In the eyes of those who have to deal with Uganda, the perception is that Uganda has had a notable increase in corruption. In 1996, Uganda was rated as the 43^rd least corrupt country in the world. As of 2001, Uganda rates as the 88^th least corrupt, exceeded in corruption in the chart only by Bangladesh and Nigeria, and tied with Indonesia. In fairness, the movie does admit that there is still significant corruption but states that an intense effort is underway to improve the ethics of the government and how it operates. The international perception, judging by this index, is that the efforts to date have not been effective. The president himself, Museveni, faces potential impeachment due to accusations of corruption, and the international community as well as internal sources in Uganda report that the recent presidential elections were rigged in favour of the president. The primary opposition candidate, who recently fled Uganda (Aug 2001) dues to harassment by the authorities took the his dispute over the election to the supreme court in Uganda. He lost the case because the judges were divided as to whether the degree of rigging would have changed the result, but the judges appear to have agreed that the election was rigged.	http://www.gwdg.de/~uwvw/icr.htm Article in Africa On-Line, by Henry Ochieng KAMPALA, August 12, 2001, titled "MPs give Museveni 14 days to explain UCB sale scandal" {Note: This is only an example - this was widely covered by the African media) Article in "the Monitor" Newspaper (Kampala), dated May 9, 2001, titled "`Crown Prince' Museveni and `Queen' Janet". (http://www.monitor.co.ug) Human Rights Watch Report on Uganda Election (http://store.yahoo.com/hrwpubs/ugnotlevplay.html)

Transformations II: The Glory Spreads - Investigation into the Claims

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