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The Heaven's Gate Cult Heaven's Gate was a small doomsday cult that was active in the United States during the late 20th century. Most of its members committed suicide in 1997 after they learned that a comet named Hale-Bopp was approaching the vicinity of the earth. They thought that the comet was an omen which foretold the impending destruction of all civilization. But they believed that they had a way to escape from the catastrophe, because they imagined that a spaceship was coming to pick up their souls and take them to heaven. They thought that this spaceship was hidden from view in the tail of the comet. In their minds, by killing themselves as the comet approached, they would give their souls an opportunity to escape to the spaceship and ride it to heaven.
The cult's system of beliefs was a strange mixture that combined elements of Christianity with some odd ideas about UFOs and extraterrestrial visitors to earth. For example, they thought that alien visitations were responsible for several events described in the bible. According to some reports, they even believed that Jesus was an alien visitor in disguise.
The mass suicide was discovered in March 1997 when thirty-nine members of the group were found dead in a large rented house in southern California. To kill themselves, they had taken phenobarbital mixed with vodka and then covered their heads with plastic bags. Examination of the bodies revealed that some of the men had previously undergone voluntary castration. Reportedly their decision to be castrated was based on a bible verse at Matthew 19:12, in which Jesus says "there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake" [King James translation]. One possible interpretation of this statement is that a man can improve his chances of going to heaven by being castrated.
