Editing J. Z. Knight

{{Short description|American spiritual teacher and author (born 1946)}}
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{{Infobox person
|name          = JZ Knight
|image         =
|image_size    =
|caption       =
|birth_name    = Judith Darlene Hampton
|birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1946|03|16}}
|birth_place   = [[Roswell, New Mexico]], U.S.
|citizenship   = United States
|known_for     = [[Ramtha's School of Enlightenment]]
|occupation    = New Age channeler, author, speaker
|years_active  = 1977–present
|children      = 2
|website       = {{url|http://www.jzknight.com}}
}}

'''Judy "Zebra"''' ('''aka JZ''') '''Knight''' (born '''Judith Darlene Hampton'''; March 16, 1946) is an American spiritual teacher and author known for her purported [[Mediumship|channelling]] of a spiritual entity named Ramtha. Critics consider her to be a [[cult leader]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sommer |first=Will |date=2019-05-21 |title=QAnon Teams Up With Alleged Cult Leader |language=en |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/qanon-teams-up-with-alleged-cult-leader |access-date=2022-04-25}}</ref>

Knight has appeared on a variety of American television shows, including ''[[Larry King]]'',<ref name='larryking'>{{cite news|first=Larry|last=King|author-link=Larry King|title=Larry King Live – Change you Mind, Change your life (transcript) |date=August 2, 2008|publisher=CNN|url =http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0808/02/lkl.01.html|work =CNN|access-date = 2009-11-22}}</ref> [[MSNBC]]<ref name='msnbc'>{{cite news|title=What Lies Beyond The Bleep (transcript) |date=August 25, 2010|publisher=MSNBC|url =http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/08/25/4968741-what-lies-beyond-what-the-bleep|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20100827154720/http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/08/25/4968741-what-lies-beyond-what-the-bleep|url-status =dead|archive-date =August 27, 2010|work =MSNBC|access-date = 2009-11-22}}</ref> and ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]'', as well as in other media forms, such as ''[[Psychology Today]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hohlbaum|first=Christine Louise|title=Digital Addiction Revisited|url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-slow/201103/digital-addiction-revisited|work=The Power of Slow|access-date=25 August 2011}}</ref> Her teachings have attracted figures from the entertainment and political worlds, such as [[Linda Evans]], [[Shirley MacLaine]], and [[Salma Hayek]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Stephen Rae|title=Yes, they're still at it! |work=Cosmopolitan|date=August 1991}}</ref> Knight claims to bridge ancient wisdom and the "power of [[consciousness]]" with modern science.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Knight| first = JZ| title = Ramtha's School of Enlightenment – An Introduction| publisher = RSE| pages = 2–3| url = http://ramtha.com/html/pdf/introduction.pdf| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090206072711/http://ramtha.com/html/pdf/introduction.pdf| archive-date = 2009-02-06}}</ref> Some of the ideas are similar to those of MacLaine,<ref name="shirley1">{{Cite book| last = MacLaine| first = Shirley| author-link = Shirley MacLaine| title = Out on a Limb| publisher = [[Bantam Books]]| location = New York| year = 1983| page = 214}}</ref> which were criticized for being "kindergarten [[metaphysics]]" by mathematician and [[skeptic]] [[Martin Gardner]].<ref name="gardner">{{Cite book| last = Gardner| first = Martin| author-link = Martin Gardner| title = New Age: Notes of a Fringe-Watcher| publisher = [[Prometheus Books]]| location = Buffalo, NY| year = 1988| page = 36| isbn = 978-0-87975-432-7 }}</ref> In her book ''Dancing in the Light'',<ref name="shirley2">{{Cite book| last = MacLaine| first = Shirley| author-link = Shirley MacLaine| title = Dancing in the Light| publisher = [[Bantam Books]]| location = New York| year = 1985| page = 119}}</ref> MacLaine claimed that she was the brother of Ramtha in their [[Atlantis|Atlantean]] past lives. Ramtha's teachings have been criticized by scientists and skeptics. The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] has criticized Knight for "homophobic, [[Anti-Catholicism|anti-Catholic]], [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] racist rants".<ref name="splcenter.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2014/ramtha-riled|title=Ramtha Riled|website=Southern Poverty Law Center|date=24 May 2014 }}</ref>

Knight lives in a {{convert|12,800|sqft|m2|adj=on}} [[Châteauesque|French chateau-style]] home in [[Yelm, Washington]], teaches courses, and runs [[Ramtha's School of Enlightenment]].<ref name="olympian-qna">{{cite news|title=Questions and Answers about Ramtha, JZ Knight|newspaper=The Olympian|date=July 16, 2006|url=http://www.theolympian.com/689/story/50048.html|access-date=November 19, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204080730/http://www.theolympian.com/689/story/50048.html|archive-date=February 4, 2013}}</ref>

Knight has been married three times and is the mother of two children, both from her first marriage.<ref name="olympian3">{{cite news|last=Pemberton|first=Lisa|title=Behind the gates at Ramtha's School|url=http://www.theolympian.com/689/story/50044-p3.html|publisher=The Olympian|date=July 16, 2006|access-date=November 20, 2009}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="mystory">{{cite book|last=Knight|first=J.Z.|title=A State of Mind: My Story|url=https://archive.org/details/stateofmindmysto00jzkn_0|url-access=registration|publisher=Warner Books|location=New York|year=1987}}</ref><ref name="mother">{{cite news|title=The Mother Nature – August 08 Mom of the month|url=http://www.thefamilygroove.com/aug08_MotherNature.htm|publisher=The Mother Nature|date=August 2008|access-date=November 22, 2009}}</ref>

==Career==
Knight grew up in poverty. After graduating from high school, she dropped out of business school.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1992/09/27/new-age-guru-called-a-fake/ |title=New Age guru called a fake |publisher =Tampa Bay Times |date=1992-09-27 |accessdate=2024-03-01}}</ref> She later worked in the cable television industry, and due to her work moved to [[Tacoma, Washington]], where, according to her autobiography, a psychic told her the "Enlightened One" would appear to her in the future.<ref name="mystory"/> She says that Ramtha first appeared to her in her kitchen in 1977.<ref name="mystory"/><ref name=testifies>{{Cite news
| title = JZ Knight testifies against ex-student
| work = Seattle PI
| location = Olympia
| access-date = 2013-02-18
| date = 2008-09-10
| url = http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/JZ-Knight-testifies-against-ex-student-1284883.php#src=fb
}}</ref>

Knight appeared on ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]'' in 1985 and wrote the autobiographical ''A State of Mind'' in 1987. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' called her "probably the most celebrated of all current channelers".<ref name="timemag">{{cite magazine|last=Friedrich|first=Otto|date=December 1987|title=New Age Harmonies|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,966129,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630023021/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,966129,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 30, 2012|access-date=2008-09-16}}</ref> She is currently the president of JZK, Inc. and [[Ramtha's School of Enlightenment]], located near [[Yelm, Washington]]. Knight owns several US trademark registrations featuring the "Ramtha" name.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tess2.uspto.gov/ |website=Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) |access-date=13 August 2018|title=Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) }}</ref> She appeared in the 2004 film ''[[What the Bleep Do We Know!?]]'', produced by members of the Ramtha School.<ref>Harriette Yahr, [http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/int/2004/09/09/bleep/index.html Let's get metaphysical] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620135233/http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/int/2004/09/09/bleep/index.html |date=2010-06-20 }}. In ''Salon'', 2004-09-09, page found 2010-07-03.</ref><ref>Chris Lydgate, [http://www.wweek.com/story.php?story=5860# "What the #$*! is Ramtha"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426084858/http://www.wweek.com/story.php?story=5860 |date=2010-04-26 }} Willamette ''Week'', December 22, 2004. Page found 2010-10-15.</ref>

==Ramtha==
{{Redirect|Ramtha|the city in Jordan|Ar-Ramtha}}

"Ramtha"—the name is claimed to be derived from ''Ram'' and to mean "the God" in Ramtha's language—is a reputed entity whom Knight says she [[Channelling (mediumistic)|channel]]s. According to Knight, Ramtha was a [[Lemuria (continent)|Lemurian]] warrior who fought the [[Atlantis|Atlanteans]] over 35,000 years ago.<ref name="JZK Publishing 2005">JZK Publishing; Revised & enlarged edition (2005), {{ISBN|978-1-57873-045-2}}</ref> Knight claims Ramtha speaks of leading an army over 2.5 million strong (more than twice the [[World population#Population figures|estimated world population]] at about 30,000 BC) for 63 years, and conquering three-fourths of the known world (which was allegedly going through cataclysmic geological changes). According to Knight, Ramtha led the army for 10 years until he was betrayed and almost killed.<ref name="whitebook">{{cite book|last=Knight|first=J.Z.|title=Ramtha: The White Book|publisher=JZK Publishing|location=[[Yelm, Washington]]|page=28|year=1999}}</ref>

Knight maintains Ramtha spent the next seven years in isolation recovering and observing nature, the seasons, his army making homes and families, and many other things. She says he later mastered many skills, including foresight and [[out-of-body experience]]s, until he led his army to the [[Indus River]] while in his late fifties (after having led his army for 63 years). According to Knight, Ramtha taught his soldiers everything he knew for 120 days, then he bade them farewell, rose into the air, and in a bright flash of light [[Entering heaven alive|ascended]] before them. Knight promised his army he would return to teach them everything he learned. In 1977, Ramtha appeared before JZ Knight, telling her he came to help her. She claims to be his first student in the great work.<ref name="JZK Publishing 2005"/>

===Teachings===
{{see|Ramtha's School of Enlightenment#Teachings}}

Ramtha is the central figure (the "master teacher") of [[Ramtha's School of Enlightenment]], started by Knight in 1987 near the town of Yelm, Washington. Classes (or "dialogues") had been held worldwide for the previous 10 years. There are currently over 6,000 students of Knight's teachings.<ref name="olympian3"/>

The four cornerstones of Knight's philosophy are:<ref name="introduction">{{Cite web|last=Knight|first=J.Z.|title=Ramtha's School of Enlightenment – an Introduction (PDF)|url=http://ramtha.com/html/pdf/introduction.pdf|access-date=November 20, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206072711/http://ramtha.com/html/pdf/introduction.pdf|archive-date=February 6, 2009}}</ref>
* The statement 'You are god'
* The directive to make known the unknown
* The concept that consciousness and energy create the nature of reality
* The challenge to conquer yourself

Knight's teachings appear to be a mixture of [[Jung]]ian philosophy, [[Western occult tradition]]s, and contemporary [[Affirmations (New Age)|positive-thinking attitudes]] (such as [[New Age]] beliefs),<ref name="wynn">{{Cite book| last1 = Wynn | first1 = Charles M.| last2 = Wiggins | first2 = Arthur W.| last3 = Harris  | first3 = Sidney| title = Quantum leaps in the wrong direction: where real science ends – and pseudoscience begins| publisher = [[Joseph Henry Press]]| location = Berlin| year = 2001| pages = 85–86| isbn = 978-0-309-07309-7}}</ref> and have yet to stand against elementary [[skepticism]] or scrutiny.<ref name="sagan">{{Cite book| last = Sagan| first = Carl| author-link = Carl Sagan| title = The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark| publisher = [[Ballantine Books]]| year=1997| pages = 480| isbn = 978-0-394-53512-8}}</ref> Predictions made by Knight in the name of the disembodied entity have either failed to come true (e.g., that a holocaust would take place in 1985 or the US would be involved in a major war in 1985) or the predicted scenarios are too wide to evaluate and/or have too large an error margin to be considered, which is usually the case with channelers.<ref name="wynn"/>

When Knight says she is channeling Ramtha, she speaks mostly in English in what sounds like an accent from the [[British Raj]].<ref name="sagan"/><ref name="shermer"/>

In her teachings, "Ramtha" has made several controversial statements, including that [[Christianity]] is a "backward" [[religion]]; that the [[parables of Jesus]] can be explained by means of [[Photon#Wave–particle duality and uncertainty principles|photon waves]] and [[probability]];<ref name="salon"/> that "murder isn't really wrong or evil" (if one believes in [[reincarnation]]);<ref name="chandler">{{Cite book| last = Chandler| first = Russell| title = Understanding the New Age| publisher = Zondervan Publishing House| year = 1993| location = Grand Rapids, MI| pages = 265| url = http://www.ccel.us/newage.toc.html| isbn = 978-0-310-38561-5| quote = J.Z. Knight, channel for Cro-Magnon entity Ramtha, says murder isn't really wrong or evil. "If you believe in the continuation of life [reincarnation] it's a different story," she said on ABC's "20/20."| archive-date = 2009-07-18| access-date = 2009-11-19| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090718010606/http://www.ccel.us/newage.toc.html| url-status = dead}}</ref> and, during the court case ''JZ Knight v Jeff Knight'', the latter Knight stated Ramtha had declared [[HIV/AIDS]] to be [[Nature (philosophy)|Nature]]'s way of "getting rid of" [[homosexuality]].<ref name="salon">{{cite news |last=Gorenfeld |first=John |title="Bleep" of faith |work=[[Salon.com|Salon]] |date=2004-09-16 |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/feature/2004/09/16/bleep/index1.html?pn=1 |access-date=2006-11-29 |archive-date=2011-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606213959/http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/feature/2004/09/16/bleep/index1.html?pn=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] observed "Ramtha" has made [[antisemitic]] comments, such as "Fuck [[Jews as the chosen people|God's chosen people]]! I think they have earned enough cash to have paid their way out of the goddamned [[The Holocaust#Gas chambers|gas chambers]] by now".<ref name="splcenter.org"/>

==Controversy and criticism==
{{see|Ramtha's School of Enlightenment#Controversy and criticism|Mediumship#Fraud}}
Skeptics point to Ramtha's story as proof that he does not exist. Ramtha claims to come from the continent of [[Lemuria (continent)|Lemuria]] and to have conquered [[Atlantis]]. The existence of the two locations is considered legendary, and neither has been found. Furthermore, the claim that Ramtha led an army of 2.5 million contradicts [[World population#Population figures|estimates of the world population]] in 33,000 BC, and her claims of [[clairvoyance|clairvoyant]], [[telepathy|telepathic]], [[telekinesis|telekinetic]], and other [[extrasensory perception]] abilities, for which there is no scientific support, have been heavily criticized by skeptics and scientific communities.<ref name="skeptic">For telepathy, see for example, Randi, James. ''Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions''. Prometheus Books (1982) {{ISBN|0-87975-198-3}} or<br />Charpak, Georges and Henri Broch. Translated by Bart K. Holland. ''Debunked!: ESP, Telekinesis, and Other Pseudoscience''. The Johns Hopkins University Press (2004), {{ISBN|0-8018-7867-5}}</ref><ref>"It would be foolish to accept [psychokinesis] (...) without solid scientific data": {{cite book |first=Carl|last=Sagan|year=1995|title=The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a candle in the dark |pages=208–212|isbn=978-0-7472-7745-3|publisher=Headline|title-link=The Demon-Haunted World}}.</ref ><ref>{{cite book|last=Feynman|first=Richard P.| title=The Meaning of It All|year=1999|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-14-027635-0|pages=68–71}}</ref><ref>Randi, James. [http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/parapsychology.html ''An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural'']</ref>

Magician and [[skeptic]] [[James Randi]] said that Ramtha's believers have "no way of evaluating [her teachings]",<ref name="randi">{{cite web|last=Randi|first=James|author-link=James Randi|title=Ramtha Raves|date=29 April 2005|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/042905some.html#13|access-date=19 November 2009}}</ref> while [[Carl Sagan]], in his book ''[[The Demon-Haunted World]]'', says that "the simplest hypothesis is that Ms. Knight makes 'Ramtha' speak all by herself, and that she has no contact with disembodied entities from the [[Pleistocene|Pleistocene Ice Age]]." He goes on to write a list of questions that Ramtha's answers to would help us determine whether he is actually a disembodied entity from the [[Upper Paleolithic|Paleolithic times]] (such as "What were the indigenous languages, and social structure?", "What was their writing like?" or "How do we know that he lived 35,000 years ago?"), and ends by saying that "[i]nstead, all we are offered are banal homilies."<ref name="sagan"/>

Knight's former husband, Jeff Knight, in a 1992 interview with Joe Szimhart, said that Ramtha's teachings are a "farce" and that they are "just a {{sic|money making}} business for [JZ Knight]". He also said that students of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment are "involved in a very dangerous, very evil corrupt thing".<ref name="jeffknight">{{cite video|people=Knight, Jeff & Szimhart, Joe|title=The Jeff Knight interview 1992. JZ Knight. Ramtha. Cults.|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM450bLdDEI|location=YouTube|date=1992}}</ref>

Attacks and criticism against Ramtha's teachings and Ramtha's School of Enlightenment have also been made by former students of the school. David McCarthy, a Yelm resident and student of the school between 1989 and 1996, has accused the school of being a [[cult]]. He further claims that he was intimidated during his studies there and felt like Knight and the school were exerting mind control. He said, "At one point, I was running around scared I was going to get eaten by the [[Reptilian conspiracy theory|lizard people]]."<ref name="olympian2">{{cite news|last=Brenner|first=Keri|title=Disillusioned former students target Ramtha|url=http://www.theolympian.com/689/story/339950-p4.html|date=January 27, 2008|access-date=November 19, 2009}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> McCarthy became disappointed, not only with his own experience of Ramtha's teachings but also as he had cut ties from his family to become a student as they lived in a different country.<ref name="McCarthy">{{cite video|people=McCarthy, McCarthy, David|title=LARSE Gathering|url=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6221582947106872287&hl=en#|date=2006}}</ref> This prompted McCarthy to create a group called "Life After Ramtha's School of Enlightenment," which questions the authenticity of Ramtha and encourages individuals to share their experiences after realizing that Ramtha's School of Enlightenment is a cult. The school has also been characterized as a cult by skeptic [[Michael Shermer]] in his book ''[[Why People Believe Weird Things]]''.<ref name="shermer">{{Cite book|last=Shermer|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Shermer|title=Why People Believe Weird Things|publisher=Henry Holt and Company|location=New York|year=2002|page=295}}</ref>

During an interview with David McCarthy, Glenn Cunningham, a former bodyguard of JZ Knight, shared insights into the workings of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. He criticized several activities, such as trademarking ideas and phrases that originated from other authors long before. For instance, the concept of the "Blue Body" and the blending of [[quantum physics]] with New Age ideas can be traced back to [[Vera Stanley Alder]]'s ''From the Mundane to the Magnificent'' published in 1979. Cunningham pointed out that he observed similarities between Knight and Ramtha, including the mispronunciation of words and the quoting of the same books Knight had read.<ref name="cunningham">{{cite video|people=Cunningham, Glenn & McCarthy, David|title=Glenn Cunningham Interview|url=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9124849147412897371#|date=2001}}</ref>

Furthermore, Ramtha's teachings as they are portrayed in the movie ''[[What the Bleep Do We Know!?]]'', not only in the general gist of the film (which was directed and funded by students of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment) but also in instances where Ramtha is interviewed on screen, have been [[What the Bleep Do We Know!?#Academic reaction|heavily criticized]] by the scientific community,<ref name="Physics-Today">{{cite journal |last=Kuttner |first=Fred |author2=Rosenblum, Bruce |title=Teaching physics mysteries versus pseudoscience |journal=[[Physics Today]] |volume=59 |issue=11 |page=14 |date=November 2006 |url=http://scitation.aip.org/journals/doc/PHTOAD-ft/vol_59/iss_11/14_1.shtml |doi=10.1063/1.2435631|bibcode=2006PhT....59k..14K |doi-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="boggle">[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2005/may/16/g2.science "The minds boggle".] ''[[Guardian Unlimited|The Guardian Unlimited]]''</ref><ref name="ABC">[http://www.abc.net.au/science/features/bleep/ What the Bleep are they On About?!] ''Australian Broadcasting Corporation''</ref><ref name="ACS">{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth Wilson |title=What the Bleep Do We Know?! |publisher=[[American Chemical Society]] |date=2005-01-13 |url=http://pubs.acs.org/cen/reelscience/reviews/whatthe_bleep/ |access-date=2007-12-19}}</ref> and skeptics,<ref name="csicop">[http://www.csicop.org/si/show/what_the_do_they_know Review] by Eric Scerri of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry</ref> such as [[James Randi]].<ref name="Pigasus">[http://www.randi.org/jr/040105capitalizing.html#11 2004 Pigasus awards] ''[[James Randi Educational Foundation]]''</ref>

===Court cases===
Knight has been involved in several personal and business-related court disputes. She brought a suit against a woman from [[Berlin]] named Julie Ravell for disturbing Knight's psychic state and leaving her "hanging in spiritual limbo" during the five years Ravell claimed she was also channeling Ramtha. The case was brought to the supreme court in Vienna and lasted over five years, at the end of which Austria's supreme court awarded copyright to Knight as the sole channeler of Ramtha, and Ravell was made to pay $800 in psychic damages to Knight.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news|last=Connolly|first=Kate|title=Medium wins channeling right|date=June 9, 1997}}</ref> Another case involving copyright and trademark ownership was ''JZK, Inc v Glandon'', in which Joseph Glandon was accused of distributing copyrighted teachings of Ramtha.{{cn|date=July 2022}}

In ''Knight v Knight'' (1992–1995), Jeff Knight claimed he lost years of life by delaying HIV treatment based on his wife's advice that Ramtha could heal him. The court ruled against him, and he died before appealing.<ref name="szimhart">{{Cite document|last=Szimhart|first=Joe|title=Essay on Gordon Melton's Study on Ramtha|publisher=Self|date=July 1998}}</ref>

Through JZK Inc., Knight accused WhiteWind Weaver, a [[Thurston County, Washington]], citizen, of stealing her ideas and using her and Ramtha's teachings in her workshops. A trial began on March 10, 2008, in Thurston County Superior Court; at the end of it Knight, was awarded about $10,000 after the court decided against WhiteWind Weaver.<ref name="oregon">{{cite news|last=Rollins|first=Michael|title=Ramtha 1, Whitewind Weaver 0|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/ramtha_1_whitewind_weaver_0.html|date=September 16, 2008|access-date=November 20, 2009|work=The Oregonian}}</ref>

Knight also refused to attend court as a witness in a case involving a 15-year-old who claimed rape against two students of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. The 15-year-old girl had written a letter to Knight, which mentioned that Wayne Allen Geis, her dancing and acting teacher, had engaged in sexual intercourse with her from 1995 to 1997. The illicit activities had also involved Ruth Beverly Martin. They had apparently told the girl that sexual intercourse would help her relax and improve her acting ability. Knight invited the girl to a retreat at the school in November 1999. In the retreat, Ramtha questioned the girl, her father, Geis, and Martin. This inquiry took place on stage in front of an audience of over 800 people for about an hour. Geis and Martin confessed to having molested the girl, and the school contacted authorities. Charged with 10 counts of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, Geis and Martin pleaded not guilty, and the case went to trial.<ref>Wilson, Kimberly A.C., ( October 4, 2010) [http://www.seattlepi.com/local/ram04.shtml "'Ramtha' may take stand in rape case"]{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved October 15, 2010.</ref>{{additional citation needed|date=December 2022}} Prosecutors were reluctant to have Knight appear in court due to the "circus atmosphere" that would have been created. Knight herself claimed that she had been in a trance and did not remember anything of what was said in the retreat inquiry.<ref>Associated Press, (October 10, 2010) [http://www.seattlepi.com/local/ram10.shtml "'Ramtha's channeler' can't testify"]{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. Retrieved October 15, 2010.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Mediumship|Channeling]]
* [[Extrasensory perception]]
* [[New Age|New Age Spirituality]]
* [[Pseudoscience]]
* [[Skepticism]]
* [[The Power of Belief]]
* [[What The Bleep Do We Know]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Ramtha}}
* {{Official website|http://www.jzknight.com/}}
* [http://www.ramtha.com/ Ramtha's School Of Enlightenment official website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, J. Z.}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Channellers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American spiritual mediums]]
[[Category:Founders of new religious movements]]
[[Category:New Age spiritual leaders]]
[[Category:People from Roswell, New Mexico]]
[[Category:Religion in the Pacific Northwest]]
[[Category:American women founders]]
[[Category:American founders]]