jkboehme

Per Sunesis: My primary concern, as I have stated on many posts, is TWI’s unethical (? illegal) CONDUCT. Nevertheless, I am constantly galled the more I find out about veepee’s misrepresentations, fraud, deceit, plagiarism, & hate-mongering {aka, per psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Lifton, MD, as “dispensing of existence”}. VPW represented to us that all of this spiritual-political conspiracy stuff was via revelation from God to him as the (supposed) Man of God ostensibly so that we could protect & ensure the perpetuation of the one true ministry on the face of the earth, TWI. All the preparations we made were so much wasted time and money. Also, this fear-based artificial campaign by veepee to distract us & keep us overly busy was the prototype for martinpuke’s Y2K fear-based (unnecessary) preparations.

Per lilbit: I think the vast majority of ex-twi did in fact enjoy their life much more prior to being deceptively recruited, with no informed consent, into TWI. For the most part being in our teens or early twenties when recruited, the hurry-up-and-eat-so-I-can-go-have-fun lifestyle was what we needed to being doing as we were gradually maturing in a natural, non-coerced fashion. I, too, prior to TWI, was singing & enjoying songs by Cream, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Rolling Stones, Steppenwolf, & others! We certainly were robbed of much of the joy of some irreplaceable years in our young lives. :(

Some good did occur in the context of TWI. However, I think the good times people remember were due to the presence of genuine pure-hearted people amongst the rank and file, with an occasional WC grad willing to buffer the bs for we mere underlings. These most noble people were the beautiful, altruistic people with no ulterior pro-TWI agendas. I feel that the good that did transpire was in spite of TWI top leadship, not due to it. I tend to agree with Raf: Many of the things that were once good about TWI {essentially the pure hearted people as noted above} are now to be found at the GreasespotCafe.

Let's get David Machado of the B.G. Leonard Christian Training Center to weigh in: http://www.ctcoftexas.com/index.html leonardBG@cs.com

TLB, Well pluck my pickled cabbage & sauerkraut too!! The likely scenario you describe fits like a hand in a glove, or as Herr Vierville might say, "...es Sitze wie eine Hand in einem Handschuh."

Per Penguin: I would say that for most of us ex-twi, the TWI-induced detrimental self-image & self-identity changes were so insidious as to be essentially unnoticeable to us. This is how most covert coercive packaged persuasion is purposefully designed to work, otherwise we might catch on. This does not mean that TWI-styled thought reform is 100% effective for the relatively new recruits, as TWI's attrition rate revealed. But for those of us who were members for many years if not several decades, it is painfully obvious that there was enough of a TWI thought reform success rate to ensure our mental enslavement, not release from our prisons. This would not exclude the possibility that from time to time sentinel intense events, designed by TWI to be so, would be imposed upon us for a boosting reinforcement of the TWI thought reform program. Some examples of such TWI-designed ‘snapping’ events would be: ROA; AC; AC specials; WIBP; repeats of various incarnations of the AC; AC on the field 1998; 4 consecutive ‘weekends in the Word’ to ‘review’ a heavily promoted TWI topic such as ‘living sanctified,’ etc.

Sunesis, Great post! What a profound chunk of sunesis you have brought to the open-minded readers of gsc as to one aspect of the hateful, covert agenda of TWI!!!

Ah, Ernst Vierville. I imagine that there are some New Knoxville old timers (both non-TWI & ex-TWI) that could help us out on this issue. Perhaps a small info request add in the St. Mary’s newspaper would bring some info out of the local Germanic woodpile? Generally speaking, per Harvard Psychiatrist Dr. Judith Herman, MD, 1:1 cults are far more common, & negatively effect many more people, than the larger varieties such as TWI. See http://www.radcliffe.edu/fellowships/show_...ile=herman.html. This is of course due to the fact that there are a great number of abusive domestic relationships ongoing at any one time. With the US population being ~ 300,000,000, I wouldn’t be surprised if the figure was in the high 6 figures to low 7 figures. Any of our gsc sociologists could give us a recent valid number. By 1:1 cults I am referring to most typically domestic wife abuse, but also any permutation or combination of abuse in a dysfunctional family: parent(s) to children; older sibs & ‘uncles’ to younger sibs, especially females; etc. Also, 1:1 cults could be of unrelated persons, typically a male-female relationship with the male abusively dominant. Some recent examples would be Elizabeth Smart, John Lee Malvo, & American Taliban John Walker. The Stockholm Syndrome is very much at work in these detrimental relationships; see http://www.meaning.ca/articles/stockholm_syndrome.htm Many of the same dynamics of coercive persuasion are in operation in these abusive situations, albeit typically somewhat less sophisticated than in larger cults such as TWI. So, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Ernst was an abusive father. For whatever reason, it seems that the males of Germanic descent are more so inclined to this type of abusive, dysfunctional behavior than those of many other nationalities. The Japanese are similar in this regard. This is overly simplistic, but perhaps those of either proximate Germanic or Japanese descent have some sort of national inferiorty complex and feel the need to overcompensate to ‘prove’ the fantasy of superiority of their ‘race.’ :o

Sunesis, Thanks for the Liberty Lobby & Spotlite info!!! I did not know of veepee's close connection & subscription status, but in retrospect {ex-twi} it does not surprise me. Like most other wayfers, I thought these political conspiracies were via revelation to the Corn Wizard. This material was useful to vpw in his coordinated program of coercive packaged persusasion with which the Wizard beguiled us. We all thought it was true, but as usual, TWI was just exploitatively manipulating us with FEAR motivation. Which again, the Corn Wizard teaching in pfal that fear is the believers enemy, it is paradoxically interesting that TWI purposefully routinely utilized fear as a motivator. Hypocrisy is the least of what it is. This type of fear motivation was just another manipulative tool in TWI's thought reform program.

It's alive, it's alive, Arisaema triphyllum is really alive! Now class, it's only axiomatic that the Corn Wizard would exhibit phototropism for Arisaema triphyllum & vice versa.

Re-posted from the Secret Initiation thread: This type of initiation ceremony conducted by the Grand Corn Wizard, vpw, would be typical in the ancient pagan mystery religions as well as initiation into various esoteric hermetic societies. The primary purpose of the ceremony was essentially thought reform, of the abrupt highly emotional conversional form, of the inductee. It also served to mark the top level insiders as such & generate camaraderie among them. There was layer upon layer of concentric circles of supposed ever-increasing ‘esoteric knowledge’ among the insider inner circles of top leadership. From my review of the literature, it seems to me that a significant portion of TWI material was taken from non-biblical arcane hermetic sources, both proximate {Kenyon} and remote {the ancient, mediaeval, & renaissance}. This is a significant reason why I think veepee made such an issue of the supposed 'Great Mystery.' It also interesting to note the paradox of veepee denigrating such traditions as noted in Babylon: Mystery Religion, & The Two Babylons, when he himself covertly promoted teaching along the very same lines, albeit with an apparent biblical veneer. It is as though he wanted to disparage the Mystery concept in another context just to thrown us off, but in his own private interpretations vpw wanted to possess the only valid ‘Mystery,’ and therefore did a rather nice epiluo trip with the text. Also veepee's hermetic proclivities would explain several other things. It is interesting to me that veepee would often open the section of the AC dealing with the 'revelation manifestations' with the account of Baalam, 'the copped out prophet.' It's as though vpw's guilty conscience is breaking through the explicit teaching to project that he feels himself to be a copped out prophet, apostle, etc. Also, vpw's hermetic orientation would help to explain why he liked to open pfal with jn10:10 regarding the thief. Once again, I think vpw's corrupt conscience is projecting to us in the midst of pfal, essentially that vpw will try to steal, kill, & destroy those he has deceived into TWI for the purpose of fulfilling his own selfish lusts. It seems to me that veepee was probably subconsciously projecting his own guilty conscience via his choice of passage to use {he could have used many other passages rather than the ‘interesting’ one he chose}. The one-eyed Corn Wizard was consciously teaching the selected passage {with a twist of spiritual darkness} but not realizing his subconscious guilty projections.

It's ad hominem, not ad homonym, i.e., a personal attack, typically irrelevant & borne of logical fallacy, due to the fact that the antagonist cannot efficaciously refute the protagonist's 'logic.' However, in this case, your soft 'logic' is of waylore, cornfield cults, & Herr Vierville Corn Wizard. Gaudeamus igitur, Juvenes dum sumus; Post icundum iuventutem, Post molestam senectutem Nos habebit humus. Vita nostra brevis est, Brevi finietur; Venit mors velociter, Rapit nos atrociter; Nemini parcetur. Ubi sint qui ante nos In mundo fuere? Vadite ad superos, Transite in inferos Hos si vis videre. Vivat academia, Vivant professores, Vivat membrum quodlibet, Vivat membra quaelibet; Semper sint in flore! Vivat et republica Et qui illam regit. Vivat nostra civitas, Maecenatum caritas Quae nos hic protegit. Vivant omnes virgines, Faciles, formosae! Vivant et mulieres, Tenerae, amabiles, Bonae, laboriosae. Pereat tristitia, Pereant osores. Pereat diabolus, Quivis antiburschius Atque irrisores! Quis confluxus hodie Academicorum? E longinquo convenerunt, Protinusque successerunt In commune forum. Vivat nostra societas, Vivant studiosi! Crescat una veritas, Floreat fraternitas, Patriae prosperitas. Alma Mater floreat, Quae nos educavit; Caros et commilitones, Dissitas in regiones Sparsos, congregavit. Salve, jkb

vpw was probably subconsciously projecting his guilty conscience via his choice of passage to use {he could have used many others than the interesting one he chose} Corn Wizard vpw was consciously teaching the passage but not realizing his guilty projection

TheEvan, Thanks for sharing regarding the esoteric initiation ceremony. I had never heard a word about it until I saw this interesting thread. However, it does not now {ex-twi} surprise me whatsoever. This type of ceremony would be typical in the ancient pagan mystery religion initiations as well as initiation into various esoteric hermetic societies. The primary purpose of the ceremony was essentially thought reform, of the abrupt highly emotional conversional form, of the inductee. It also served to mark the top level insiders & generate commaraderie among them. In view of TWI, your information reinforces my opinion that a significant portion of TWI material was taken from non-biblical arcane hermetic sources, both proximate {Kenyon} and remote {the ancient, mediaeval, & renaissance}. This is a significant reason why I think veepee made such an issue of the supposed 'Great Mystery.' It also interesting to note the paradox of veepee denigrating such traditions as noted in Babylon: Mystery Religion, & The Two Babylons, when he himself covertly promoted teaching along the very same lines, albeit with an apparent biblical veneer. Also veepee's hermetic proclivities would explain several other things. It is interesting to me that veepee would often open the section of the AC dealing with the 'revelation manifestations' with the account of Baalam, 'the copped out prophet.' It's as though vpw's guilty conscience is breaking through the explicit teaching to project that he feels himself to be a copped out prophet, apostle, etc. Also, vpw's hermetic orientation would help to explain why he liked to open pfal with jn10:10 regarding the thief. Once again, I think vpw's corrupt conscience is projecting to us in the midst of pfal, essentially that vpw will try to steal, kill, & destroy those he has deceived into TWI for the purpose of fulfilling his own selfish lusts. :o

Belle, I totally agree. Many TWI teachings, whether via design or ineptitude, exhibited a great difference in the version in the syllabi as opposed to the oral teachings. Is TWI hapless or disingenuous?

Mike, It seems to me that you be would want to be very familiar with all of veepee's plagiarisms, especially the concepts from secular sources, both proximate & remote. :o

Per Samwise: Yeah, I heard she tried the latter* more than several times in the more recent ongoing lawsuit, Peeler v. TWI et al.

Ever notice how TWI has foreshadowed many elements of the 'christian patriotism' movement, some aspects of which are quite dangerous. The typical TWI member had their first expose to such extreme right wing views at the Advanced Class. This quote is taken from the WellSpring Journal of WellSpring Retreat & Resouce Center, a facility specializing in the treatment of victims of thought reform & coercive packaged persuasion. ”…Many of the racist militias share the Anglo-Israel views found in the Christian Identity groups, along with the associated conspiracy theories. While there are variations in the latter, most conspiracy theories espoused by these groups hold that a dark cabal of national and international organizations is plotting the undermining and eventual overthrow of the United States. Among the organizations allegedly allied in this sinister compact besides the United Nations are the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderberg Society, the Federal Reserve Board and "international bankers," the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Illuminati, the Masons, the Communists, and above all, the Jews…” Most if not all of these organizations are mentioned in the TWI-promoted books, None Dare Call It Conspiracy, & None Dare Call It Treason. Also, it is the same extreme right wing material that Dr. Peter Beter used to address on his weekly audiotapes, at least one of which vpw played for the 7th & 9th WCs at Emporia in 11/1978, & it was also the essence of a SNS teaching, ‘The Current Psychological Hoax,’ #942 12/03/1978. :o

Thumbnail Sketches of Patriot Groups I can only sketch a few of the organizations and some of the convictions that drive Patriots, but among the bewildering array of groups and leaders are the following: Liberty Lobby Founded about 1960 by Willis Carto, Liberty Lobby has been labeled the "most anti- Semitic organization" in America by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith (ADL).1 In 1991 Carto and another of his organizations, the Institute for Historical Review, were sued by a Holocaust survivor for $11 million in damages for breach of contract — failing to award $50,000 offered by Carto to "anyone who could prove that Jews were gassed to death in Auschwitz."2 Carto also founded the Populist Party in about 1984. That year the Populist ticket featured Olympic gold medal track star Bob Richards for president — Richards ceased campaigning after a falling out with Carto. Four years later the Populist candidate for president was the notorious David Duke, former Grand Dragon of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and founder of the racist National Association for the Advancement of White People. Carto's newspaper, Spotlight, was one of several allegedly read by Oklahoma bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh. Aryan Nations Founded in 1980 in Hays, Kansas, by Richard Butler; now located on a wooded compound in Hayden Lake, Idaho. According to the ADL, prior to founding the Aryan Nations Butler had been a member of the blatantly pro-Hitler Silver Shirt Legion during the 1930s. He later joined Gerald L. K. Smith's Christian Nationalist Crusade in California, and still later, the Church of Jesus Christ Christian, founded by Wesley Swift.3 Both Swift and Butler were also heavily involved with the KKK, as were other COJCC members. Upon Swift's death in 1970 Butler became pastor of the COJCC, eventually moving the church to Kootenai County, Idaho, and the present Aryan Nations compound. Louis Beam, former Texas Klan leader and current "ambassador-at-large" for the Aryan Nations, gave a fiery speech at the Aryan National Congress in July 1994 advocating something called "leaderless resistance." Beam has been pushing this tactic since at least 1992, when he wrote about it in his Seditionist newsletter. Also vigorously promoted by White Aryan Resistance founder Tom Metzger, this "underground strategy would eliminate leaders and identifiable groups in favor of small, leaderless, ‘phantom cells'. These terrorist cells, some with only one member, would commit violence aimed at provoking a revolution against the federal government."4 It has been reported that Timothy McVeigh visited the Aryan Nations compound, where he could have imbibed the leaderless resistance idea. This may be one reason the authorities are having difficulty identifying other suspects in the Oklahoma City bombing — only McVeigh and Nichols have been charged. The Posse Comitatus This is one of the earliest Constitutionalist groups. According to James Coates, "Investigators for the U.S. Treasury Department have traced its formation to Portland, Oregon, in 1969, when a retired dry-cleaning executive named Henry Lamont Beach formed the first Posse chapter, called the Sheriff's Posse Comitatus (SPC) or Citizen's Law Enforcement Research Committee..."5 Beach had already gained some notoriety as a leader in the Silver Shirts in the 1930s. Beach and others grounded much of their ideology on the Civil War era Posse Comitatus Act passed by Congress "to bar the federal military from intervening in local police matters", specifically with regard to guarding polling places to prevent election fraud.6 Modern Posse ideologues, however, have interpreted the Posse Comitatus Act to mean that "no citizen is bound to obey any authority higher than that of the county sheriff."7 Thus, state and federal laws regarding the obligation to pay income taxes, register automobiles and firearms, or obtain licenses for driving, hunting, and marriage are all considered unlawful infringements of the rights of citizens. As is the case with other Constitutionalists, "[m]any, but not all, Posse followers take matters even farther and hold that the Posse doctrine was divinely revealed by God and therefore to pay taxes is not only illegal but sinful."8 One of the early Posse organizers was William Potter Gale, who had also been a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ Christian until Butler succeeded Wesley Swift. Both Swift and Gale had been involved in a radical precursor of today's militia movement known as the Minutemen, after the heroes of the American Revolution. Among the leaders of the Posse Comitatus (which is Latin for "power of the county") was a charismatic firebrand named Gordon Kahl. Following Posse doctrine, Kahl ceased paying income taxes "after undergoing a religious conversion that told him that paying the IRS was sinful."9 In 1983 Kahl shot and killed two federal marshals near his farm in North Dakota when they tried to serve a warrant. Four months later federal law enforcement agents killed him in a massive shoot-out at another farm near Smithville, Arkansas. The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord Founded in 1976 by Jim Ellison on a compound called Zarephath-Horeb on the shores of Bull Shoals Lake in northern Arkansas, land purchased from the respected Fellowship of Christian Athletes. According to author James Coates, "At its peak, Zarepath-Horeb [sic] ... was a tightly knit polygamous community boasting its own water supply, electrical system, dormitories and a number of factories, including one for making hand grenades and another for making silencers and other paraphernalia for firearms."10 The Order Founded in 1983 by Robert Mathews out of the matrix of the KKK, neo-Nazis, Aryan Nations, the CSA, and another right-wing group, the National Alliance. (The founder of the latter, William Pierce, wrote a book entitled The Turner Diaries, which includes the fertilizer/fuel oil bombing of FBI headquarters in Washington, DC. It is known that Timothy McVeigh read and shared this book with others.) This was perhaps the most violent of the far right groups, staging bank robberies, the single largest armored car holdup in US history, and at least four murders, including those of Denver talk show host Alan Berg and at least one disaffected member.11 The group, also called the Bruder Schweigen (garbled German for "Silent Brotherhood") financed many of its activities by counterfeiting US currency. The Order was finally eliminated by federal agents in a fiery shoot-out on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound, Washington, in which Mathews was killed. Most other Order members were captured, convicted, and incarcerated for their many crimes. White Aryan Resistance Founded by former California Knights of the KKK leader Tom Metzger, who "won the 1980 Democratic nomination for the seat in Congress representing California's 43rd District."12Metzger's son John heads a neo-Nazi Skinhead organization, the Aryan Youth Movement, some of whose members achieved their 15 minutes of fame by breaking Geraldo Rivera's nose with a chair on television. Metzger was convicted of inciting Oregonian Skinheads to violence in the beating death of an Ethiopian man in 1989. Metzger had been a member of the Birch Society in the 1960s. (Other former Birch members in the '60s or '70s were Willis Carto, Gordon Kahl, Bob Mathews, and John A. Walker, Jr., who went on to become a recruiter for the Invisible Empire Knights of the KKK and a notorious spy for the Soviet Union while in the Navy.)13 Almost Heaven Established in Kamiah, Idaho by decorated Viet Nam war hero, ex-Mormon, and 1992 presidential candidate Bo Gritz as an armed community for about 30 families. According to Time magazine, "it hopes to be self-sufficient and obey all laws ‘unless they go against the laws of God and common sense.'"14 Elijah's Disciples This organization, based in the Southwest, was founded by Thomas Glasberg,15 a disfellowshipped Mormon with strong Patriot affinities. Like the Posse Comitatus, Glasberg refuses to carry a Social Security card, get licenses for driving, hunting, fishing, or marriage, or pay taxes. He conducts all business in cash or barter. Like many right-wing organizations, the Disciples are survivalists, anticipating an Armageddon-like war between the righteous and the unrighteous. In preparation, they stockpile food, other supplies, and weapons, much as faithful Mormon Church members are encouraged to do today. Like Jim Ellison of the CSA (and Bob Mathews of the Order) Glasberg teaches and practices polygamy, finding support for it in Mormon teaching and practice from the 1820s to 1890, and in fundamentalist Mormon sects down to the present. Members of Elijah's Disciples are well-known in fundamentalist Mormon circles in Mexico and elsewhere, and several members of one notorious (and murderous) clan have been associated with the group. Glasberg has visited the Zarephath-Horeb compound of the CSA, as well as other white supremacist bases. What Do the Patriots Want? Most Americans would be surprised to learn that their fellow citizens who comprise the Patriot movement in all its variety are really not much different from themselves, if just a little more paranoid and a little more naive to believe one or another version of the conspiracy theory. In a Newhouse News Service article Jim Nesbitt quotes James Aho as saying, "These extremists are pretty similar to the rest of us and that's pretty hard for us to swallow because we'd like to disassociate ourselves from these groups; we'd like to push them away and see them as loonies and psychos."16 As Aho discusses at length in The Politics of Righteousness, people join right-wing organizations for many of the same reasons they join golf leagues, quilting clubs, mainline churches, or other common interest associations. Nesbitt sums up: An everyday mechanism is at work — a friend, a coworker, a boyfriend or girlfriend invites them to a meeting. They tag along to maintain the relationship. They are also moved by the same concerns shared by many Americans — from taxes, gun control, school prayer and abortion to frustration with what they consider unresponsive government and worries about their economic futures. The difference is how they choose to express their feelings and the groups they join to turn frustration into action.17 Most Patriots are angered by what they perceive as radical environmentalists both private and governmental who work to pass laws prohibiting, for example, a farmer to work his land because it is the home of an endangered kangaroo rat, or a small logging company to harvest its own trees because they are the habitat of the rare spotted owl. Most Patriots are anti-gay rights and anti-abortion. Many Patriot families homeschool their kids, believing that public education is either just plain bad or anti-religious indoctrination, or both. Many refuse, as Oklahoma City bombing suspect Terry Nichols did, to register for Social Security. Others likewise refuse to get driver's licenses, marriage licenses (believing in common law marriage or "marriage in the sight of God"), or other state or federal permits for various activities. Many, like the Freemen and Posse members, refuse to pay income taxes, and conduct most business in cash or by barter. Those on the Far Right, according to Aho, "live in a world divided into absolute good and absolute evil... They live in a conspiratorial world where everything is explained by saying, ‘Somebody intended for this to happen.' Their world view is not the result of insanity. It's the result of what they read, what they watch, who they talk to, who they listen to."18 Again, Nesbitt writes, ...the anti-tax and anti-government message of some of the less racially oriented groups of the Far Right isn't that different from the same message preached by more mainstream populist and conservative organizations that have taken root in suburban America, with mainstream groups echoing some of the less-offensive rhetoric of the extreme right. "The more you have people openly voicing this right- wing, antigovernment sentiment, the more it provides a sense of legitimacy for those on the extreme right," said [university of Montana sociologist Robert] Balch.19 There is a danger for the rest of us who might share some of these concerns to fail to exercise sufficient discernment and caution and inadvertently end up slipping towards the Far Right ourselves. Much as some Fundamentalist and Evangelical Christian leaders supported Sun Myung Moon's appeal of his conviction of tax evasion (and found themselves in an embarrassing position), political and social conservatives and libertarians need to beware that they don't find themselves supporting individuals and organizations that promote fringe theories and advocate violent resistance of legitimate government.

To HCW, Litwin, Tom Heller, David Anderson, Ralph D., & others who might know: VPW chose the structure for his 'ministry' as along the lines of an English sect, the Plymouth Brethren, known among other things for its fundamentalistic home-based meetings, & a sect well known to both E.W. Bullinger & George Mueller. Some of the Plymouth Brethren appear to have rubbed elbows with the Irvingites who were into glossolalia and prophecy. TWI seems to be constructed of a core of bizarre biblical private 'interpretations' of fundamentalism, pentecostalism, revivalism, and others. This core is then veneered & intermingled with what seems to me to be materials from the tradition of western esoteric 'spirituality,' most notably the hermetic arcana. Then to all of this is added TWI's 'teethy,' hard-ball tactics of covert coercive packaged persuasion. These thought reform techniques seem to me to fall into the category of illegal CONDUCT. WHY do you think vpw chose this particular freaky hodgepodge of materials to build his bogus 'ministry?' :huh:

I was performing a Google search when I ran across this article from the WellSpring Journal of the WellSpring Retreat in Albany, OH. WellSpring specializes in the treatment of victims of thought reform and coercive abuse. Notice how TWI has foreshadowed many elements of extremist 'christian patriotism,' some elements of which are quite dangerous. [/size] Thunder on the Far RightBy Lawrence A. Pile Overview of Christian Patriotism April 19, 1995 brought the shock of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The final casualty count of 168 dead and hundreds more injured made this the single worst terrorist act on American soil in the history of the U.S. The first thoughts of many commentators and others were that this was the work of Islamic fundamentalists, perhaps as revenge for the prosecution of their compatriots then on trial for the similar bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City. Others, noting that the bombing occurred on the second anniversary of the fiery conclusion to the ATF/ FBI standoff with David Koresh and his Branch Davidians, suggested that the perpetrators may have been surviving members of that sect seeking vengeance on the evil forces of "Babylon." Of course, as we all know now, neither of those groups was involved in the bombing. Rather, the alleged culprits are disaffected right-wing adherents of a heretofore shadowy and little-known subculture in the United States known as the Christian Patriots, or simply the Patriots. Thrust into particular prominence from this broader movement have been numerous citizen militias, with which the accused bombers, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, have had an affinity. Who are these people, and what do they want? Who are these people? The origins of the Christian Patriot movement go back at least to the mid-1960s. Many of its founders and current leaders were once active in the ultraconservative John Birch Society, or in such fringe organizations as the Ku Klux Klan and the neo-Nazis. (The Birch Society is perhaps the least radical of the groups usually considered as part of the Patriot movement — it does not advocate violence of any sort, seeking to further its views primarily through literature and public lectures.) At least three broad categories of Patriots can be identified, in which the above groups and many more may be placed.1 It must be said that the lines separating one category or group from another are not often very sharply defined. Many members of the broader Patriot movement are concurrently active in more than one group. The various organizations and their leaders frequently cooperate together in activities, especially in conferences and protest rallies. This fact is vividly shown by the dust jacket of James A. Aho's The Politics of Righteousness, which consists of a full color photograph of a Klan-style cross burning on the Aryan Nations compound during a national gathering of white supremacists. Around the blazing cross can be seen Klansmen in their all-too- familiar hoods and robes; neo-Nazis in brown uniforms, Sam Brown belts, and jackboots; and Aryan Nations members in business suits. For all their commonly shared beliefs, fears, and goals that lead them to such cooperation, however, there is little willingness to compromise on the very real differences that separate them from each other. Hence, the Far Right landscape is littered with countless relatively small organizations led by men (usually) of extraordinarily strong egos. In fact, it seems both the left and right extremities of the socio-politico-religious spectrum attract fiercely independent and strong-willed individuals intent on "doing their own thing." Three Patriot categories are: 1. Christian Constitutionalists want a return to what they identify as the "organic" Constitution, i.e., the Constitution plus the Bill of Rights. The Constitution, many of these people believe, was divinely inspired just as was the Holy Bible. This is especially true of Patriots who are (or were) also members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Brigham Young, second President of the Mormon Church, wrote, "no item of inspiration is held more sacred with us than the Constitution,"2 clearly placing it on the level of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price. Late Mormon President and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson declared that the United States was established by the direct "intervention and merciful providence" of God as "a prologue to the restoration of the gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ."3 Constitutionalists often object to what they consider interference in their lives and infringement of their rights by the federal government, believing that, under English Common Law, the highest legitimate governing official is the county sheriff. This is particularly the case with the Posse Comitatus. Other Constitutionalist groups are the Freemen Institute, the John Birch Society, the Mayflower Institute, and the Sons of Liberty. 2. Identity Christians hold to the view that those of northern European ethnic heritage are the so- called "ten lost tribes of Israel." They believe that the descendants of the northern tribes of Israel — which separated from the southern tribes with the accession of King Solomon's son Rehoboam to the throne — migrated to Europe in the centuries following their captivity by Assyria. This view, originally known as Anglo- or British-Israelism, was first put forward in the second half of the 18th century by an eccentric English naval officer named Richard Brothers. Brothers called himself "a nephew of the Almighty" and claimed descent from King David. He also prophesied that he would be raised to the office of "Prince of the Hebrews and ruler of the world."4 He attracted many followers, whose faith was put to the ultimate test when he was confined in an asylum. Brothers' ideas were later picked up and advanced by British minister John Wilson, who published Our Israelitish Origin in the 1840s. The notion was next promoted by Edward Hine, who brought it to America. Anglo-Israelism caught on with a number of ministers, and Bible study groups were established to promote it.5 The most prominent (and successful) church to embrace the idea was the Worldwide Church of God, founded by Herbert W. Armstrong. Though not strictly a Christian Identity church because of differences on other aspects of the teaching, the WCG has recently publicly abandoned Anglo-Israelism. While Anglo-Israelism is the core teaching of Christian Identity, there are other doctrines that further distance the movement from orthodox Christianity. Perhaps the next most important one is the so- called "two seed theory," taught also by the late William Branham and other teachers of the "Latter Rain" movement. According to this notion, the Fall occurred when Eve was literally seduced by Satan (disguised as the serpent), becoming pregnant with the "serpent seed." She then persuaded Adam to lie with her, and she became pregnant with a second seed. Cain, the offspring of Satan and Eve, was the real progenitor of the people known today as the Jews. Abel, of course, was eventually killed by Cain. Later, Seth (actually the second son of Adam and Eve according to the theory, rather than the third as the Bible indicates) was born and became the progenitor of true Israelites. The non-white races are held to be "pre-Adamic," included in God's creation of the "beasts" in Genesis 1.6 Many Identity groups insist on calling God "Yahweh" and Jesus "Yeshua" or some similar name (allegedly their true Hebrew names which must be used if one is to worship them in truth). This is similar to sects of the Sacred Name movement, which, however, do not espouse Anglo-Israelism. Wesley Swift, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ Christian, added teaching on occult legends about the mythological civilizations of Atlantis and Lemuria, as well as space aliens. Others today include occult teachings about the Great Pyramid in Egypt and elements of the King Arthur legends in their theologies.7 Not all Identity churches and organizations are racist, even though they hold to Anglo-Israelism. Those that are not racist do not preach hatred of Jews or nonwhite peoples, or actively discriminate against them. Those that are racist also typically espouse some form of conspiracy theory which places the Jews at the core of a dark plot to subvert the rights and freedoms of all God-fearing patriotic Americans. Racist Identity groups include Aryan Nations (Hayden Lake, Ida.), the Covenant, Sword, and Arm of the Lord (Ark.), White Aryan Resistance (southern Calif.), the Mountain Church (Cohoctah, Mich.), the National Alliance/Cosmotheist Community Church (W. Va.), the Church of Israel (Schell City, Mo.), and Scriptures for America (Laporte, Col.). 3. Citizen Militias have arisen in virtually every state in the Union since the early 1990s. Estimates of militia membership range upwards from 10,000 nationwide, with some organizations making probably exaggerated claims of 12,000 alone. Alan W. Bock places the true figure "in the tens of thousands."8 The wide diversity among militia groups is clearly indicated in the following synopsis by Bock: They range from what are essentially civic organizations that do a little organized target practice on weekends to paramilitary groups led by people worried about the possibility that a master plan exists to subvert U.S. sovereignty, snatch the people's guns, and impose a UN-directed dictatorship. Some militia organizations hold their meetings openly, advertising in newspapers and welcoming all comers, while others are secretive. A few militia leaders associate or sympathize with racist groups, and racist and anti-Semitic organizers certainly see the militia movement as a recruiting opportunity. Many militia leaders, in turn, have gone out of their way to expel or otherwise dissociate themselves from people who seem to be animated by racist sentiments.9 Many of the racist militias share the Anglo-Israel views found in the Christian Identity groups, along with the associated conspiracy theories. While there are variations in the latter, most conspiracy theories espoused by these groups hold that a dark cabal of national and international organizations is plotting the undermining and eventual overthrow of the United States. Among the organizations allegedly allied in this sinister compact besides the United Nations are the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderberg Society, the Federal Reserve Board and "international bankers," the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Illuminati, the Masons, the Communists, and above all, the Jews. Most conspiracy believers promote the infamous Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, which sets forth the purported secret plot of international Jewry to establish "Communist-Jewish rule in America."10 Unfortunately (for conspiracy buffs) the Protocols have long since been proved to be a hoax perpetrated by a member of the Czarist secret police based in France who plagiarized an anti-Napoleonic pamphlet written by Maurice Joly in 1864.11 The Protocols were published in Henry Ford's newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, during the 1930s, and many Identity groups (and others) continue to sell copies. "Evidence" of the international conspiracy against freedom-loving Americans includes the following: the ban on assault weapons and the restrictions on the purchase of handguns; the presence of UN troops on US soil (training, it is said, for the eventual takeover of the US); black, unmarked helicopters flying over American farms and towns "spying" on citizens in preparation for the takeover; bar codes and other symbols on highway signs, interpreted as giving secret directions to invading forces; the construction of secret "concentration camps" to incarcerate those who resist the "New World Order"; secret federal plans to brand citizens with a bar code in order to monitor behavior (Oklahoma City bombing suspect McVeigh reportedly claimed that the Army had implanted a computer chip in his buttocks).12 Other elements of the conspiracy allege that: the UN plans to use the National Guard, Chinese troops, and Los Angeles street gangs to disarm the citizenry; salt mines beneath Detroit are already being used to house Russian forces set to take over America; "recent chemical spills are practice runs for a much larger series of disasters, faked by the government, to draw people out of their homes and enable UN forces to enter homes and seize guns";13 "the Amtrak repair yards in Indianapolis will be used as a huge crematorium to dispose of political dissidents";14 "the government has installed electronic devices in car ignitions to stall autos on the day the new world order takes over";15 "paper currency has bar codes in it so government agents can drive by each house with secret scanners and count how much money each family has";16 "Gurkha troops and Hong Kong police are already training in the Rocky Mountains to go into action in the US";17 the assault on the Branch Davidians in 1993 and on Idaho white separatist Randy Weaver the year before were part of a deliberate campaign to disarm gun owners and eliminate nonconformist religious groups. Waco Revisited As hinted by the last "conspiracy" element mentioned, Waco and Weaver have become major focal points around which Patriot frustration and anger rage. To the true believer of the Far Right, these two tragic incidents are all the "proof" needed that the federal government, especially the FBI and ATF, is wildly out of control and determined to suppress freedom loving Americans. This has been alleged to be one of the chief motives driving the Oklahoma City bombers to blow up the Murrah Building — as revenge for the Waco victims. Numerous authors and speakers of the Far Right have been most vocal with their allegations of criminal wrongdoing on the part of federal agents involved in the raid and subsequent siege of the Mount Carmel complex of the Branch Davidians. Major emphasis is placed on the government's alleged desire to stamp out a peace-loving, though nontraditional, religious community whose members were just minding their own business. The feds, say these spokespersons, simply wanted to take the Davidians' lawfully purchased and possessed firearms, and punish them for their nonconformist lifestyle by removing their children from them. Naturally, the sect members sought to defend themselves from such unjust action — it is unfortunate that to do that they were compelled to kill and wound several federal agents, while suffering six dead and many more injured on their own side. Perhaps the most outspoken (and outrageous) of these Patriot propagandists has been Linda Thompson, head of the American Justice Federation in Indianapolis. Thompson, who also founded the Unorganized Militia of the United States, produced two widely distributed videos purporting to prove the criminality of the feds at Waco. Entitled "Waco: the Big Lie" and "Waco II: the Big Lie Continues," the videos allege that: "ATF agents fired automatic weapons at Branch Davidians who were not shooting back"; "the fire that engulfed the Branch Davidian compound was deliberately started by government tanks", as "proved" by video footage shot by a TV camera which shows a tank shooting "flames" into the front of the building; "the FBI trapped Branch Davidians inside a burning bunker by destroying part of the house over a trapdoor"; "government tanks deliberately destroyed evidence by pushing it into the fire";18 an FBI or ATF agent can be seen on top of a tank as it comes around the corner of the building; the agent has just jumped off the roof and onto the tank, and can be seen removing a "fireproof-type hood" that kept him safe while he spread fire on the building; an ATF agent was responsible for the deaths of four of his comrades who entered an upstairs window from a lower roof while he remained behind, later firing through the window and walls after them, striking and killing them. The government version, as would be expected, is quite to the contrary on these and many other allegations leveled by Thompson. And most of Thompson's atrocious charges are disproved by other video footage shot at the same time. In fact, the same TV video used by Thompson in "Waco: the Big Lie" to "prove" that a tank shot flames into the building actually demonstrates no such thing. Thompson carefully edited the film so the sequence stops just as the tank is backing away from the building, revealing a flash of light near the front of the tank. Thompson identifies this as the flames shooting from a flame thrower mounted on the tank. The immediately following footage, however, which Thompson elected not to include, shows that the light is actually sunlight reflected from a piece of wallboard broken from the building. Many other leaders of the Patriot movement have had the integrity to acknowledge this and have distanced themselves from Thompson's charges. Thompson's allegation about the fire having been started by the federal agents is disproved by a second video shot from a fixed-wing airplane and shown publicly for the first time by chief arson investigator Paul Gray on a Nightline program broadcast on May 5. Shot with infrared film, it shows the same tank as seen in "Waco: The Big Lie" as it backs away from the building. Because the film is infrared it captures the heat from the tank's exhaust showing white; it shows no similar indication of heat at the front of the tank where the alleged flame thrower is supposed to be. It also shows the tank moving away from the building for about a minute and 40 seconds before the first flames are ever seen coming from the structure. The aerial film clearly shows flames breaking out in three widely separate locations of the building, virtually at the same time, none of which was in the area on the front of the building where the "flame-throwing tank" was seen. The same aerial video disproves Thompson's remarks about the agent who had supposedly leaped off the roof onto the tank. From the air it is clear that the tank is at least 60 feet away from the building — much too far for anyone to jump to. The TV news video makes the tank look as though it is right next to the building because of the "compression effect" caused by the use of telephoto lenses, but the overhead shot shows the true relationship between the tank and the building. In addition, the image is hardly as "clear" as Thompson says it is. The arson investigators asked the University of Maryland to prepare synchronized versions of the two videos to confirm that they were, in fact, showing the same event. This side-by-side composite was shown on the Nightline program. The conclusion is, then, that there was no agent on the tank at all, hooded or not. Thompson's allegations about the four ATF agents being accidentally killed by a fifth have been rebutted in other reports that indicate those four agents were not killed at all — the fatalities involved other agents. Finally, Ted Koppel asked Mr. Gray how he could be so certain that the fire was actually started from within the building by sect members themselves. His response was that the arson team used a dog "specially trained to sniff out hydrocarbons — flammable liquids — and all of the places in the compound where the dog confirmed for us there were flammable liquids."19 In other words, the dog found evidence of hydrocarbons inside the building at every spot where fire was seen to have begun, thus indicating the fire began inside, and at places no tank had been. Now, it is evident that the government badly botched the Waco affair — we don't dispute that. As Alan W. Bock wrote in his article for National Review, "t's certainly true that these sorts of violent raids [i.e., against Randy Weaver and the Branch Davidians] mostly appear to result from ineptitude, headline seeking, individual abuse of authority, or bureaucratic competition."20 However, it is one thing to say the government blew it, and quite another to say the government acted criminally, especially in the ways alleged by Ms. Thompson and others. And while we desperately hope that important lessons were learned from all the mistakes that were made at Waco, the distortions of fact and other groundless accusations made by Thompson and company do nothing to further the cause of justice and truth. Patriot Groups and Their Agendas As mentioned above, the Patriot movement is characterized both by broad areas of agreement and cooperation, but also by other large areas of disagreement and fierce independence. Although one is struck with the large numbers of individuals who have had significant involvement in two, three, or more separate organizations, one is also impressed by the seemingly innumerable, relatively small groups led by men intent on promoting their own unique blend of ideologies and doing their own thing. Thumbnail Sketches of Patriot Groups I can only sketch a few of the organizations and some of the convictions that drive Patriots, but among the bewildering array of groups and leaders are the following: Thumbnail Sketches of Patriot Groups

Oakspear & Cynic: I agree. The same machinations I mentioned above regarding the transfer of the mantle of authority also applies to VPW's implicit & implied claim that he was supposedly an apostle.

Per Skyrider: ******************************************************************************** ***************** From the moment Mark posted the poll, my thinking regarding the VPW to LCM transfer revolved around the TWI-strategically designed explicit & implicit messages sent via the transfer of the supposed mantle of authority. I think by far & away this was VPW’s central concern in the process, even though I think it was bogus, as TWI is bogus. VPW taught on many occasions of the supposed spiritual significance of the transfer of the mantle of the Man of God, most especially in the context of the Elijah to Elisha transfer. On many occasions, within the context of a mantle transfer, VPW did explicitly teach that such a transfer, such a supposedly important spiritual event, would require ‘revelation.’ The explicit teaching regarding such matters intensified from1977 to 1982 after the death of Harry Wierwille, with VPW’s growing realization of his own mortality, despite his teachings on the ‘law of believing,’ & his non-disclosed ocular melanoma with liver metasteses. The anchoring concept, as noted above, has now been imbedded by set-hooks, & the voice of VPW, by strategic design, would now profoundly resonate in our minds. Now on that day in October 1982 when LCM was installed as the new presidential Man of God, from my recall of the video of the same, VPW does not explicitly state at that time on stage that the transfer is by revelation. However, the implicit message is screaming from the ceremony that the choice and transfer are, by implication & indirection & triggering of the anchor concept, unequivocally by ‘revelation.’ All of the above begs the fundamental underlying consideration that VPW plagiarized his materials from both proximate & remote hermetic arcane sources. There is much material in the arcane regarding spiritual manifestations or emanations. Therefore, at least as taught by TWI, I think the teachings regarding the ‘manifestations,’ including 'revelation,' are not trustworthy. Therefore the issue of whether VPW claimed ‘revelation’ in the selection of LCM is interesting but irrelevant waylore. The Teutonic Corn Wizard, unser Vater im Word in der Veg, had struck again. Our father, beneath the fountain, hollow be thy name.

Per HCW: Per JKB: :huh:

Per HCW: Yes, I agree, as well as excathedra. That’s why I’ve got two threads ongoing regarding extant reality vs. illusory wayworld : TWI-induced SNAPPING + Wierwille, Jonestown, & Cults.