Zenith Applied Philosophy
Encyclopedia
Zenith Applied Philosophy (ZAP) is a Christchurch
, New Zealand based organisation founded by John Dalhoff
(aka John Ultimate) in 1974. ZAP has a world view which is a combination of Scientology
, Eastern mysticism
and the ideas of the American John Birch Society
. There is extensive overlap between the organisation and the Tax Reduction Integrity Movement. Members (sometimes called students) abstain from drugs
and practice "mental discipline and applied philosophy".
Others characterise the group as primarily Gnostic and Jungian in worldview, far more so than on Scientology.
in the 1960s John Dalhoff became attracted to the Church of Scientology
and in 1965 travelled to the United Kingdom
to study at the Saint Hill Manor Scientology Centre, returning to New Zealand
as a full time Scientology worker. However, in 1972 he was expelled from the church for "failure to comply with the ethical codes of the Church of Scientology" In August 1974 he declared that he had reached "the ultimate state" and on September 7 announced publicly that he was "John Ultimate" and that his Christchurch home was the center of the universe
. ZAP members phoned world leaders to inform them of Dalhoff's revelation. He and another ZAP member were later charged with obstructing a road when trying to inform a passerby. The Church of Scientology placed ZAP out of bounds to its members.
?" Positive responses were followed by an invitation to buy material, most commonly publications from the John Birch Society such as None Dare Call it Conspiracy (by Gary Allen
and Larry Abraham, 1972). People were also encouraged to read material from TRIM and support activities of groups with similar aims. People seen as "achievers" or "high-tone" were invited to take personality tests; they were then encouraged to take courses costing from $160 to $680 (1979). The courses had emphasis on self-control and self-improvement, one of them had the aim of taking the student to the "ultimate state" which Dalhoff had reached. The Church of Scientology has agreed that the selling methods and purpose of the ZAP courses are similar to their own. In 1980 The Press
estimated that there were between 4 and 5 thousand ZAP students. though the same newspaper said in 2008 that "At its feisty peak the sect probably had no more than a few hundred recruits" by 1990 the membership had dwindled to about 20 to 30 people.
According to The Press ZAP courses are still run today from a suite in The Heritage Hotel by John Dalhoff's wife Joy.
) on behalf of 6 employees. The court ruled that the company had committed 15 breaches of the award
. The court commented that the owners' beliefs about "coercive unions" "were apparently part of the philosophy of an organization known as Zenith Applied Philosophy (Z.A.P) but with such metaphysical concepts we are not concerned". Around 1980 similar allegations were made against Luigi's Pizzas, The Dog House, Farmer John's Chicken House, American Burger Bar, and Roasters Restaurant. Following these disputes a number of fast food businesses ran by ZAP members were spraypainted with the words "ZAP Poison." Sociologist Paul Spoonley has noted that these disputes arose from "the ZAP belief that unionism is based on coercion and that it constitutes a basic violation of individual freedom".
The group also ran the organic farm Natrodale Plus Organics. Breaches of ZAP's rules and principles would result in members working there. Today the operation is a company directed by committed ZAP member Susan Dawe.
-minarchism
. ZAP courses combined material from the John Birch Society
with other free enterprise
materials. In addition one of the principal texts was Frédéric Bastiat
's The Law
which advocates restricting government to the operation of law and order in society, and that redistribution of wealth should not be contemplated. ZAP also contended that the mixed economy
of New Zealand was contrary to the interests of the people. A goal of the organization was reducing the power of trade union
s and supporting the right to decide conditions of work within individual enterprises. In 1980 members of ZAP circulated an anti-union petition in Christchurch. Members were also known to approach people on the street "shouting about unions, or democracy, or bang on the roofs of Lada
cars berating their owners for driving a communist car."
The Wizard of New Zealand had attended ZAP meetings before going his own way. After the Christchurch City Council purchased a number of properties from David Henderson rumours circulated that mayor Bob Parker had been a member, however Parker Claims he had never heard of the group.
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand based organisation founded by John Dalhoff
John Dalhoff
John Dalhoff, a.k.a. John Ultimate is the founder of the organisation 'Zenith Applied Philosophy' based in Christchurch, New Zealand....
(aka John Ultimate) in 1974. ZAP has a world view which is a combination of Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
, Eastern mysticism
Eastern mysticism
Eastern mysticism or Eastern spirituality is a broad and largely Western concept summarizing and sometimes amalgamating mystic traditions of the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and the Far East, a separate realm from Western mysticism...
and the ideas of the American John Birch Society
John Birch Society
The John Birch Society is an American political advocacy group that supports anti-communism, limited government, a Constitutional Republic and personal freedom. It has been described as radical right-wing....
. There is extensive overlap between the organisation and the Tax Reduction Integrity Movement. Members (sometimes called students) abstain from drugs
DRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
and practice "mental discipline and applied philosophy".
Others characterise the group as primarily Gnostic and Jungian in worldview, far more so than on Scientology.
Founding
While studying at Massey UniversityMassey University
Massey University is one of New Zealand's largest universities with approximately 36,000 students, 20,000 of whom are extramural students.The University has campuses in Palmerston North , Wellington and Auckland . Massey offers most of its degrees extramurally within New Zealand and internationally...
in the 1960s John Dalhoff became attracted to the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
and in 1965 travelled to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to study at the Saint Hill Manor Scientology Centre, returning to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
as a full time Scientology worker. However, in 1972 he was expelled from the church for "failure to comply with the ethical codes of the Church of Scientology" In August 1974 he declared that he had reached "the ultimate state" and on September 7 announced publicly that he was "John Ultimate" and that his Christchurch home was the center of the universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
. ZAP members phoned world leaders to inform them of Dalhoff's revelation. He and another ZAP member were later charged with obstructing a road when trying to inform a passerby. The Church of Scientology placed ZAP out of bounds to its members.
Courses
Members of ZAP would approach people on the street and customers at ZAP-run businesses (see below) asking questions such as "Are you interested in world affairs?" or "Are you worried about creeping communismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
?" Positive responses were followed by an invitation to buy material, most commonly publications from the John Birch Society such as None Dare Call it Conspiracy (by Gary Allen
Gary Allen
Gary Allen was an American conservative journalist.-Background:As a student, Allen was majoring in history at Stanford University and studied at California State University, Long Beach. He was a prominent member of the John Birch Society, of which he was a spokesman...
and Larry Abraham, 1972). People were also encouraged to read material from TRIM and support activities of groups with similar aims. People seen as "achievers" or "high-tone" were invited to take personality tests; they were then encouraged to take courses costing from $160 to $680 (1979). The courses had emphasis on self-control and self-improvement, one of them had the aim of taking the student to the "ultimate state" which Dalhoff had reached. The Church of Scientology has agreed that the selling methods and purpose of the ZAP courses are similar to their own. In 1980 The Press
The Press
The Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is owned by Fairfax Media.- History :The Press was first published on 25 May 1861 from a small cottage in Montreal Street, making it the oldest surviving newspaper in the South Island of New Zealand. The first...
estimated that there were between 4 and 5 thousand ZAP students. though the same newspaper said in 2008 that "At its feisty peak the sect probably had no more than a few hundred recruits" by 1990 the membership had dwindled to about 20 to 30 people.
According to The Press ZAP courses are still run today from a suite in The Heritage Hotel by John Dalhoff's wife Joy.
Businesses
In the late 1970s and early 1980s ZAP members ran a number of fast food restaurants in Christchurch. In 1981 claims of $21,152 were brought against one of the most successful enterprises, Sandwich Factories, by the Canterbury Hotel, Restaurant and Related Trades Union (now part of the Service & Food Workers UnionService & Food Workers Union
The Service & Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota is a trade union in New Zealand. It is affiliated with the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions.The SFWU is organised into five industry sectors:*Age Care, Disability, Health & Community Services...
) on behalf of 6 employees. The court ruled that the company had committed 15 breaches of the award
Award (Australian industrial relations)
An award is a ruling handed down by either Fair Work Australia or by a state industrial relations commission which grants all wage earners in one industry the same conditions of employment and wages....
. The court commented that the owners' beliefs about "coercive unions" "were apparently part of the philosophy of an organization known as Zenith Applied Philosophy (Z.A.P) but with such metaphysical concepts we are not concerned". Around 1980 similar allegations were made against Luigi's Pizzas, The Dog House, Farmer John's Chicken House, American Burger Bar, and Roasters Restaurant. Following these disputes a number of fast food businesses ran by ZAP members were spraypainted with the words "ZAP Poison." Sociologist Paul Spoonley has noted that these disputes arose from "the ZAP belief that unionism is based on coercion and that it constitutes a basic violation of individual freedom".
The group also ran the organic farm Natrodale Plus Organics. Breaches of ZAP's rules and principles would result in members working there. Today the operation is a company directed by committed ZAP member Susan Dawe.
Politics
The politics of ZAP can be seen as libertarianLibertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
-minarchism
Minarchism
Minarchism has been variously defined by sources. It is a libertarian capitalist political philosophy. In the strictest sense, it maintains that the state is necessary and that its only legitimate function is the protection of individuals from aggression, theft, breach of contract, and fraud, and...
. ZAP courses combined material from the John Birch Society
John Birch Society
The John Birch Society is an American political advocacy group that supports anti-communism, limited government, a Constitutional Republic and personal freedom. It has been described as radical right-wing....
with other free enterprise
Free enterprise
-Transport:* Free Enterprise I, a ferry in service with European Ferries between 1962 and 1980.* Free Enterprise II, a ferry in service with European Ferries between 1965 and 1982....
materials. In addition one of the principal texts was Frédéric Bastiat
Frédéric Bastiat
Claude Frédéric Bastiat was a French classical liberal theorist, political economist, and member of the French assembly. He was notable for developing the important economic concept of opportunity cost.-Biography:...
's The Law
The Law (1849 book)
The Law, original French title La Loi, is a 1850 book by Frédéric Bastiat. It was written at Mugron two years after the third French Revolution and a few months before his death of tuberculosis at age 49. The essay was influenced by John Locke's Second Treatise on Government and in turn...
which advocates restricting government to the operation of law and order in society, and that redistribution of wealth should not be contemplated. ZAP also contended that the mixed economy
Mixed economy
Mixed economy is an economic system in which both the state and private sector direct the economy, reflecting characteristics of both market economies and planned economies. Most mixed economies can be described as market economies with strong regulatory oversight, in addition to having a variety...
of New Zealand was contrary to the interests of the people. A goal of the organization was reducing the power of trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s and supporting the right to decide conditions of work within individual enterprises. In 1980 members of ZAP circulated an anti-union petition in Christchurch. Members were also known to approach people on the street "shouting about unions, or democracy, or bang on the roofs of Lada
Lada
Lada is a trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Tolyatti, Samara Oblast. All AvtoVAZ vehicles are currently sold under the Lada brand, though this was not always so; Lada was originally AvtoVAZ's export brand for models it sold under the Zhiguli name in the domestic Soviet market...
cars berating their owners for driving a communist car."
Notable Members/Students
- John DalhoffJohn DalhoffJohn Dalhoff, a.k.a. John Ultimate is the founder of the organisation 'Zenith Applied Philosophy' based in Christchurch, New Zealand....
aka "John Ultimate", founder of ZAP - David Henderson, property developer and author of "Be Very Afraid".
- Robin Booth former Christchurch City Council member and current district health board member
- Trevor LoudonTrevor LoudonTrevor Loudon is a New Zealand political activist who was vice president of the ACT New Zealand Party from 2006 to 2008. He has been involved in politics in Christchurch for many years, most notably the Campaign for a Soviet Free New Zealand a group which published dossiers on people involved in...
former ACT Party vice president and blogger.
The Wizard of New Zealand had attended ZAP meetings before going his own way. After the Christchurch City Council purchased a number of properties from David Henderson rumours circulated that mayor Bob Parker had been a member, however Parker Claims he had never heard of the group.
External links
- New Zealand Cult List - report on Zenith Applied Philosophy