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David Christopher Lane has been a Professor of Philosophy at Mt. San Antonio College for over 27 years. He has taught at the University of California, San Diego; California State University, Long Beach; California School of Professional Psychology; and the University of London in England, among other institutions. Professor Lane received his Ph.D. and M.A. with a focus on the Sociology of Knowledge from the University of California, San Diego, where he was also a recipient of a Regents Fellowship. He also received another M.A. in the history and phenomenology of religion from the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley. Dr. Lane has written a number of books, including several controversial studies on new religions, such as The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar; Exposing Cults: When The Skeptical Mind Confronts the Mystical; and DA: The Strange Case of Franklin Jones co-authored with Dr. Scott Lowe, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin. Much of Professor Lane's research has been centered on how certain spiritual traditions in India (such as Radhasoami and Sikhism) have impacted the evolution of new religions in America. This has resulted in a number of published articles and books, including his text, The Radhasoami Tradition: A Critical History of Guru Succession. When he was in his early 20s, Lane served as a Research Assistant to Professor Mark Juegenemeyer (then at Berkeley; now Professor of Global Studies at UCSB) in North India to help him in his groundbreaking study on the history of Radhasoami and shabd yoga related groups. Princeton University Press published Lane's research and comprehensive genealogical trees tracing various guru lineages in Juergensmeyer's Radhasoami Reality in 1991. Dr. Lane is most well known for his critical studies of certain new religious founders, including the late John-Roger Hinkins of MSIA, Sathya Sai Baba, and Sri Gary Olsen of MasterPath. This unsettling research has led to the robbery of his home, numerable death threats, and a series of targeted lawsuits. His work has been widely cited in various encyclopedias and has served as the foundation for a number of investigative studies, including Peter McWilliams' widely read cult expose', Life 102: What To Do When Your Guru Sues You. Professor Lane was instrumental back in 1980 in convincing Baba Faqir Chand to dictate his life story which was published under the title, The Unknowing Sage.

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