John de Ruiter

John de Ruiter (born November 11, 1959) is a Canadian spiritual leader and author who conducts meetings in Edmonton, Alberta and abroad. He operates a centre called the College of Integrated Philosophy and conducted his seminars and lectures from the Oasis Centre in West Edmonton from 2007 to 2021, when it was sold to the Aga Khan Foundation for $6,650,000.

Born in Stettler, Alberta to a Dutch shoemaker, de Ruiter attended Bible college and interned with a Lutheran pastor before forming his own spiritual practice in the late 1980s. His charismatic presentation and teachings, characterized by one observer as "New Age gospel," attracted thousands of followers over the next few decades, with several academic scholars interpreting his movement as the possible beginning of a new religion.

De Ruiter has built followings in a number of countries, primarily Canada and the United States but also the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, India and Israel among others. Many of de Ruiter's devotees relocate to Edmonton to attend his seminars and to perform volunteer work for the College of Integrated Philosophy.

De Ruiter has been implicated in a number of public controversies, including accusations of being a cult leader by multiple independent news outlets, and a civil lawsuit in which he was sued by two sisters, who alleged he was in a three-way common law marriage with both women simultaneously. De Ruiter has been accused by former followers of using faith-based claims to coerce them into sexual acts. De Ruiter was arrested on January 21, 2023 for sexual assault of four members of his community.

Early years John de Ruiter was born on November 11, 1959, to Dutch immigrant parents in the town of Stettler in Alberta, Canada. His father was a shoemaker from Het Bildt in the Netherlands. The resulting state lasted a year before disappearing as abruptly as it had begun. In 1983, he moved to Toronto to attend a Baptist seminary. After a year of study, feeling that the leadership was too rigid, he returned to Alberta and studied at the Prairie Bible Institute in Three Hills, remaining there for a year and deciding to intern with a pastor at Edmonton's Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

Occasionally, the pastor allowed de Ruiter to preach at the church, at times presaging the taciturn demeanor which would come to characterize his independent ministry. De Ruiter's unusual seminar practices have been the subject of reporting; Vice described his practice as the "staring cult." De Ruiter's teaching style has been compared to oral-based teaching of Tibetan Buddhism where detachment and release are also key principles.

Professor Paul Joosse, then a graduate student in sociology, analyzed de Ruiter's use of interpersonal silence through the lens of Max Weber's theories about the social construction of charismatic authority. Joosse hypothesized that silence helps de Ruiter instill in his followers the impression that he, like other charismatic leaders throughout history, possesses otherworldly traits and miraculous abilities. Joosse proposed three ways in which silence is said to aid in this construction, namely inviting devotees to project upon him an understanding of their individual needs, fostering the emotional perception of intimate bonds even with strangers, and asserting authority through the selective denial of interaction.

Following

De Ruiter's followers believe that, by gazing into their eyes, he is able to directly view the essence of their souls, forming intimate connections even with strangers. In a sworn affidavit from Benita von Sass in 2013, she alleged that he claimed to be "Christ on earth" and "defying him was to defy truth, goodness and God. Accordingly, I (von Sass) obeyed and submitted."

Jasun Horsley's 2017 book Dark Oasis: A Self-Made Messiah Unveiled examines de Ruiter's life and teachings in critical and skeptical terms.

On Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, Johannes (John) de Ruiter, 63, was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting four complainants in separate incidents occurring between 2017 and 2020. In response, via a spokesperson, de Ruiter claimed that he was innocent and will "vigorously contest these charges in a court of law".

De Ruiter's followers are buying land around Fort Assiniboine raising concerns for locals.

Publications

Books The Intelligence of Love: Manifesting Your Being In This World, Dragon Hill Publishing Ltd, 2015 (PB) Unveiling Reality, Oasis Edmonton Publishing, 1999 (PB)

Audio CDs True accompaniment, 2005 A renaissance of being, 2005 Sincerity and comprehensiveness, 2005 Sustaining being with being, 2005