John de Ruiter

John de Ruiter was born on November 11, 1959, to Dutch immigrant parents in the town of Stettler in Alberta, Canada. He had a brother and two sisters.[5] While still a boy, he was taught shoe repair by his father, who had come from a long line of shoemakers from De Bilt in the Netherlands.[5]

De Ruiter claims to have experienced a spontaneous state of awakening at the age of 17.[6] It lasted a year, then left him equally abruptly.[6] Following this experience, de Ruiter spent years in the investigation of mystical and philosophical traditions in an attempt to regain that which he had lost.[6] He concluded that no existing system, religious dogma or technique provided the means to fill the void felt by him.[7] According to de Ruiter's account, only unconditional surrender returned him to the state of awakening.[6][7]

In 2005 he founded the College of Integrated Philosophy in Edmonton, where he holds weekly meetings when not traveling.[8]

Raised in Stettler, Alberta, de Ruiter worked as an orthopedic shoemaker in Edmonton’s European Shoe Comfort.[9][10] In 1983, he moved to Toronto to attended a Baptist seminary.[9][11] 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.[9][11][12]

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.[11] After some time there, he underwent a ritual in which he described his spiritual history to the elders of the church.[11] Speaking for nine hours straight, he discussed what he called his “awakening” and his search for the truth, alienating some in the congregation but attracting others who were to become his early followers.[11]

In the late 1980s, De Ruiter left Bethlehem Lutheran, with five couples following him to his new ministry, where he offered an unconventional Christian message every Friday from one couple’s home,[11] The venue was later moved to his own home in Edmonton’s east end, where it remained until at least 1996.[11] Tithes from his followers allowed de Ruiter to devote himself full-time to his teaching.[9][11]

De Ruiter’s reputation rapidly spread when he began to hold meetings in a small bookstore off Whyte Avenue on Edmonton’s south side.[10][11] Within months, his following had grown too large for the bookstore.[11] By the late 1990s, de Ruiter was teaching at Edmonton’s Royal Acupressure Clinic, where his followers met several times every weekend.[9][11]

The assembly eventually moved to a $7 million facility called the Oasis Centre.[10] Operated by de Ruiter’s College of Integrated Philosophy, it includes a café as well as an expansive auditorium with a capacity for over 350 people, marble columns and a proscenium stage, and is sometimes rented for wedding receptions.[10] Devotees attend meetings at the Centre and do volunteer work for the College of Integrated Philosophy.[12]

In 1998, de Ruiter began to travel the world, visiting United States, England, Germany, the Netherlands, India and Israel, attracting large crowds and building followings in those countries, with some of his devotees accompanying him on his travels.[9][10][12][11] His newfound admirers, most having heard about him through word-of-mouth, begun to emigrate to Canada and relocate to Edmonton in order to be near de Ruiter.[9][10][12][11] By the mid 2010s, de Ruiter had gained thousands of followers.[10]

De Ruiter began his religious career interning with a Lutheran pastor, but soon discovered that he appealed more to New Age believers than to Christians.[9][11] Over time his teachings came to avoid overt references to Christianity, emphasizing instead the devotion to truth, saying, “All there is to do is surrender to what you know is true.”[9][11] National Post’s Jeannie Marshall characterized de Ruiter’s approach as “New Age gospel”.[9]

De Ruiter’s teachings emphasize the willingness to let go of ego and desires as well as ideas and beliefs.[11] He draws a distinction between the self and the soul, telling one questioner who said that she felt small, “You feel that because your self is too small for you.”[10] Similarly, he distinguishes mind from being, responding to another with, “When you no longer consult with your mind, when you consult only with what you are, in everything you are doing, then you’ve found the source of life within, which frees us from always having to get something from this life.”[11]

De Ruiter rarely addresses the whole group in public meetings but answers questions on a one-on-one basis with individuals from the audience. He often responds after lengthy pauses, sometimes of half an hour or more.[13][14][15][16] De Ruiter's unusual seminar practices have been the subject of reporting; Vice described his practice as the "staring cult."[10]

During these periods of silence, de Ruiter claims to be in a deep state of Samadhi.[17] De Ruiter's teaching style has been compared to oral-based teaching of Tibetan Buddhism where detachment and release are also key principles.[14][5]

Professor Paul Joosse, in his 2009 study of de Ruiter published in the peer-reviewed academic Journal of Contemporary Religion, concluded that de Ruiter's silences can inspire devotion in three ways. First, they may elicit projection. In other words, listeners often interpret silence as understanding. Second, silence sometimes serves as a punitive purpose, as a display of power. Third, combined with the act of gazing into another's eyes, silence can create intimacy of a kind usually exclusive to lovers. Followers may confuse an act that usually accompanies intimacy with actual intimacy and feel a loving devotion to de Ruiter.[18][13][19]

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.[10][12] Some claim to see an aura around him during meetings, while others report seeing visions including Jesus and Buddha.[10][11] They call him the "living embodiment of truth" and view him as a "new messiah."[10] Some Canadian aboriginal followers call him "lost white brother", referring to a messianic figure found in several native mythologies.[9]

Vice’s Harmon Leon quotes one of de Ruiter’s acolytes as saying, "Have you ever taken acid?" she asked me. "That's what it's like when you hear John. You listen and then suddenly something snaps and you get it."[10] Another said, "What John emphasizes is it's not about anything he is saying—it's really about opening your heart and seeing what you see and what opens for you."[10] Explained another, "John opens the door for you and gives you the direction. Once the door is open, you're there," calling de Ruiter a portal to the direct transmission of knowledge.[10]

After attending a meeting with de Ruiter, Stephen A. Kent, in Edmonton, professor of sociology at the University of Alberta, remarked "Many people have been spiritual shoppers and they’re hopeful that John can pull together the disparate parts of their belief systems," and, "This is the beginning of a new religion. This is how they start."[9] Gordon Dreever, also of the University of Alberta, agreed with Kent’s characterization, adding, "Whether it’s still around in 500 years or it disappears when he does, who knows."[9]

Controversy concerning the movement arose in 1999 when, in a public meeting, de Ruiter's wife confronted him after learning that he was involved with two daughters of a devotee who had invested into the organisation. The sisters, themselves followers of de Ruiter, would later sue him in court for support.[19][20][21] 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."[3]

Further controversy arose in 2014 after the death of one of de Ruiter's female followers under mysterious circumstances and in 2017, after de Ruiter publicly admitted that he had had sex with a number of his female followers. He has referred to this as the Calling.[22][23]

Jasun Horsley's 2017 book Dark Oasis: A Self-Made Messiah Unveiled examines de Ruiter's life and teachings in critical and skeptical terms.[24]

• Official website
• Oasis Centre