Hate Group: The "Christian Identity" Movement
The Christian Identity movement is perhaps one of the most dangerous theological doctrines in America today. It is made all the more dangerous by the fact that so few people even realize that it exists, much less what exactly it represents.
Christian Identity and British-Israelism
The origins of the American and Canadian Christian Identity movements can be traced back to a peculiar yet relatively benign ideology of late 19th century England. One of the earliest proponents of the pseudo-religious British-Israelism (sometimes called Anglo-Israelism) was Richard Brothers, who explained to anyone who would listen that Western Europeans, especially those living in Britain, were the spiritual and literal descendants of the ten lost tribes of Israel.Ideology and Theology of Christian Identity
Understanding Christianity Identity requires understanding a few basic aspects of their ideology and theology: they are not fundamentalists and in fact disagree with fundamentalism on a number of key points, they hate the Jews with an incredible and almost indescribable passion, and they have adopted a Manichean Dualism in which Satan is just about as powerful as God.Politics of Christian Identity
Unfortunately, Christian Identity isn't a small, isolated ideology with no political or social consequences for the rest of society. The fact of the matter is, CI adherents have big plans for society - plans which the rest of us would probably not be happy about seeing enacted. Understanding the Identity movement cannot be limited to simply learning about their history and current ideological position. In addition, people need to be aware of what sorts of political and social goals they have.List of Christian Identity Group Locations
Web Sites:
Christian Identity and British-Israelism
The Origins and Development of Hate
The origins of the American and Canadian Christian Identity movements can be traced back to a peculiar yet relatively benign ideology of late 19th century England. One of the earliest proponents of the pseudo-religious British-Israelism (sometimes called Anglo-Israelism) was Richard Brothers, who explained to anyone who would listen that Western Europeans, especially those living in Britain, were the spiritual and literal descendants of the ten lost tribes of Israel.
This managed to fit in well with a common theme in American Christianity which portrayed America as the "New Israel" and the "City on the Hill" which would provide the world with both the light of God and the light of democracy. British-Israelism went a bit further than this, however, in portraying the British (or anyone of Anglo-Saxon descent) as alone being the true chosen people, not the Jews. The Jews would be variously described as simply the descendants of Judah and who required the help of the true Israelites, or perhaps not true Jews at all.
British Israelism came early on to American shores, spreading its message across the country. The path was prepared for Christian Identity in three major ways. First, the followers of British-Israelism spread pamphlets and information to large numbers of people who were otherwise unaware of its doctrines. These ideas would eventually come to form the core of Christian Identity.
Second, a forum was created in which a diverse cross-section of racists, nationalists, anti-Semites, and others on the far-right felt welcome. Finally, a large infrastructure of contacts, groups, publishers, etc. was created. This eventually would allow for the development of a widely spread Christian Identity organization.
I deliberately use the term "North America" rather than just America. Although Christian Identity is probably more common in the United States than anywhere else, it is nevertheless true that they also exist in significant numbers in Canada as well. Canadians are justifiably proud of a society which has traditionally been very tolerant of many minorities.
However, they like America have had a tradition of racism, bigotry and hate. In recent years more and more Canadians are become aware of how deep they still run - they, too, will benefit from learning the nature of some of the hatred in their society.
Millennialism
One key inheritance which Christian Identity received was its millenarian outlook on life. According to British-Israelism, we are living in the "Last Days" when all of history will reach its final culmination in the apocalyptic battle between good and evil. Two different millenarian positions existed in the 19th century: premillennialism and postmillenialism.
The first is postmillenialism (after the millennium), and this is the position that our world is getting better and better through human efforts as the Kingdom of God is gradually realized. Eventually, things will be so good that a thousand years of peace and prosperity will result, after which Christ will finally return and bring in a new heaven and a new earth.
Postmillenialism used to be more common in the 19th century, but has given way to premillennialism (before the millennium), asserts that our world is just getting worse and worse. Evil is gradually gaining control of the earth and humanity - eventually it will become overwhelming. Christ will then return, bind the devil in hell, and establish a thousand years of peace and prosperity.
Thereafter Satan will be let loose for one last chance to tempt humanity, after which he and his followers will be thrown forever into torment. Only then will Christ bring about a new heaven and earth. This is the position which appears to be most common today, especially among fundamentalists. Within pre-millenialism there are two different positions: historicism and futurist.
Historicists traditionally examine human history in order to discern signs of Jesus' Second Coming. Typically historicists focus closely upon the books of Daniel and Revelations, concluding that most of the prophecies have already been fulfilled, which means that we can only have a little bit of time left.
Their hope is to study current political trends in the expectation that they will be able to calculate our end with a high degree of accuracy. We see this happening even today when we hear pronouncements that Prince Charles or Saddam Hussein is the "Antichrist." Historicism, however, has fallen considerably out of favor - for the obvious reason that historicist predictions keep failing.
Slowly taking over was futurism, which asserted that nothing from history could be held as certain fulfillment of any prophecies. John Nelson Darby was perhaps the most influential futurist, and it was he would developed the doctrine of "dispensationalism." His major contributions to this was first the idea that the fulfillment of prophecies had temporarily stopped and would resume at some point in the future, and second that at that point in time, all the saved would secretly be removed from the Earth and taken to heaven in a "rapture," thus sparing them the horrors to come.
This dispensationalism had significant consequences for both British-Israelism and later Christian Identity. Although God had made specific promises to the Jews, they had the audacity to reject his Messiah, Jesus Christ. This resulted in a very paternalistic attitude towards the Jews and their aspirations for their own country.
Eventually, such British-Israelist paternalism became a more virulent sort of anti-semitism due in no small part to the rising star of Zionism. The anti-Semitic themes nurtured over the years by BI eventually provided the basis for the stronger anti-Semitism of Identity theology.
It is a necessary conclusion of British-Israelism's claim to being the True Israel that the Jews religious claims are lessened to a great degree. At the very best, they would have to be content with a small role in God's overall plan for humanity, perhaps affiliated with the tribe of Judah, if they are lucky. Zionism came into play because the Jews should only have a claim to a homeland under the supervision of the British.
The very concept of genuine sovereignty for a Jewish state was anathema for British-Israelism because that could only happen if the British left. In such a case, Palestine and the Holy Lands would at best have a Judah, but not the True Israel. A sovereign Jewish state would also represent direct competition against British claims to being Israel, an intolerable situation.
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Ideology and Theology of Christian Identity
Remaking Christianity Along Fascist Lines
Despite many similarities, Christian Identity and Christian Fundamentalism comprise two very different theologies. For example, American Fundamentalism adopted Darby's futurism completely, but Christian Identity rejected it just as completely. Christian Identity is particularly hostile to the futurist concept of rapture. They regard it is a cowardly idea and in fact revel in the hope of having to experience the Tribulation personally.
For Christian Identity followers, it will be one of the greatest honors to serve the Lord and battle against the forces of Satan. It is no wonder, then, that Christian Identity adherents can often be found in fortress-like compounds where they have stock-piled food, weapons and supplies. They are actively preparing for a near future, and their preparations have both immediate and serious consequences for the rest of us who live in the same society with them.
Fundamentalists are actively concerned for the fate of Jews and of Israel in particular. For fundamentalists, the creation of the state of Israel represents a major step forward in the fulfillment of God's plan for humanity. But Christian Identity, as we will learn more about later, regard the Jews as the literal spawn of Satan - so for them, the Jewish occupation of the Holy Lands has nothing to do with God's plans.
Finally, Christian Identity is actively opposed to traditional churches, which they consider to be impure and corrupt. Churches have been deluded into believing that the Jews which exist today are God's chosen people and deserving of special treatment. Fundamentalism is thus in a state of "spiritual bankruptcy" from which it cannot be rescued.
Identity & Jews
Perhaps the greatest distinguishing characteristic between CI and not only its cousin fundamentalism but its parent BI is its extreme anti-Semitism. Identity believers aren't simply displeased with Jews - they hate them with a passion and have incorporated the Jews as intricate elements within Identity theology. Even at its worst, the anti-Semitism of BI was never quite so bad, since the Jews were always considered salvagable.
But in Christian Identity, there is no hope for the Jews - not now and not ever. It would take too much time to go into all of the morbid details here, but Identity believers over the years have managed to construct an elaborate blood line for the contemporary Jews which begins with a union between Eve and the serpent (who was really Satan) back in the Garden of Eden.
It then progresses through Cain (the produce of the aforementioned union), the Edomites, Canaanite and Hititte blood is mixed in, then the Khazars of central Asia and down to the contemporary Jewish populations. We thus encounter a fusion of a number of conspiracy beliefs, especially the two which include the Jews on the one hand and the forces of Satan on the other, each dedicated to a worldwide, millennial old conspiracy to take over the world via economic and political means.
Identity & Dualism
Christian Identity has an unusual relationship with Satan, regarding him in a manner which would not be familiar in most Christian churches today. The Devil is no mere upstart angel looking to cause a ruckus among humans. Instead, he is a terrible and powerful adversary who really does have the strength and potential to unseat God from the throne of creation. This sort of theology is called Dualism - and although Christian Identity doesn't quite go so far as to adopt Dualism completely and explicitly, they do come awfully close.
Identity thus wavers precariously between pessimism and optimism. On the one had, they know that they are God's chosen few, dedicated to the final victory of the Lord as foretold in the Bible. They claim to possess special knowledge about the secret workings behind contemporary political and economic institutions. They also claim to have knowledge of the great cosmic conspiracy designed to overthrow God
On the other hand, their theology would not survive if it weren't for the possibility that Satan could win. Group cohesion is strengthened through the fear that if they do not do their job in the coming battle, the Lord's cause may not be fulfilled. Such pessimism is ultimately reinforced through their very actions.
Their ideology is so extreme that they are not believed or even respected by most other Christians, thus lending credibility to the idea that most of the rest of humanity is either in league with the force of Satan or at least has been duped by Satan. Their focus upon preparing for battle has lead them to already mentioned fortress-like compounds, thus further removing them from society and creating ever more distrust between them and the rest of us.
Identity & Mormonism
As with fundamentalism, there is curious range of similarities and difference between the theologies of Christian Identity and the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints (commonly known as the Mormons). Perhaps the most significant point of similarity centers around the figure of Cain. Early Mormon doctrine associated the figure of Cain very closely with conspiracy, evil, and the non-white races around the world.
According to Joseph Smith in his book "Pearl of Great Price," Cain entered into a covenant with Satan - in exchange for doing Satan's bidding here on Earth, Cain became the first to learn the secrets for doing evil. Cain also swore an oath to Satan, creating eventually a network of organizations around the world beholden to evil.
Smith further linked Cain to non-white races, describing blacks as the sons of Cain as early as 1842. This quite readily created a connection between non-whites and evil, implicating them in a conspiracy to destroy whites in their covenant with God. Such racist attitudes towards blacks in particular survived long in the Mormon church, and it was only recently that they were permitted to leadership positions within the church hierarchy.
Another interesting point of similarity is that Mormons also see themselves as the "True Israel." They are recipients of newer revelations from God, and as such have replaced earlier groups of "chosen people," including the Jews. For Joseph Smith, people who converted to Mormonism had joined the bloodline of Israel, whether they realized it or not.
Despite all of this, there is no direct causal link between Mormonism and Christian Identity. In particular, Mormonism is not afflicted by the terrible anti-Semitism which plagues CI. As with fundamentalists, they regard the existence of a state of Israel as a good thing. However, many traditional Mormon doctrines, when accepted, can make a person more predisposed to accepting much in Christian Identity.
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Politics of Christian Identity
Remaking America Along Fascist Lines
Unfortunately, Christian Identity isn't a small, isolated ideology with no political or social consequences for the rest of society. The fact of the matter is, CI adherents have big plans for society - plans which the rest of us would probably not be happy about seeing enacted. Understanding the Identity movement cannot be limited to simply learning about their history and current ideological position. In addition, people need to be aware of what sorts of political and social goals they have.
There are six general political and social aims of the Christian Identity movement: two within the law, two outside the law and two which are more ambiguous.
Legal Goals
The two activities are the effort to bring the American legal system into accord with the basic legalisms in the Bible and to campaign for support of political candidates who advocate Identity positions. The hope of biblicizing American law is not unique to Christian Identity - they share it with the Christian Reconstructionists, an ideology which is related but not identical. The general idea is that all human law should be subordinate to divine law, and Christian Identity followers look forward to the day when human law ceases to exist
A problem arises, however, when human law comes into conflict with divine law. If they do, then a person who feels only beholden to divine law may no longer regard human law as legitimate or binding - thus leading to overt disobedience. If human law has no claim on the obedience of these Christians, then there exists the risk of their engaging in violence in an effort to avoid punishment.
Fortunately, few Christian Identity politicians manage to get anywhere and achieve anything beyond the most local arenas. There have, however, been a couple of notable exceptions, including the infamous David Duke, who won a seat in the Louisiana state legislature running as a Republican. Although he has never been clearly identified as an Identity believer, he has long maintained very strong connections with prominent Identity figures. In addition, as many people know, he was a leader of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan - and Klan religious politics typically run closely with Identity and sometimes are identical.
Grey Areas
Two other aims which lie in a legal grey area are the development of survivalist communities insulated from the rest of the world and the establishment of far-right organizations which express the view that only the most local political organizations are actually legitimate. Although local governments certainly are legitimate, the idea that state and federal governments are not legitimate carries with it the possibility of resistance against governmental actions, even violent resistance.
The concept of survivalism encompasses a wide range of beliefs and ideologies - the Christian Identity brand includes anticipation of immanent catastrophe and, as the new Israel, they need to withdraw from the rest of the world until the danger finally passes. In theory, they have no immediate quarrel with civil authorities. The idea is, if they are left alone, they will leave others alone. Unfortunately, it isn't always possible to leave such communities alone - they potentially run afoul of all sorts of laws and regulations, from environment to child welfare.
In addition, radical withdrawal from the outside world into an insular community can easily engender a siege mentality - regarding everything outside their narrow system as the realm of Satan, not worthy of either respect or legitimacy. Their very preparations for Armageddon can bring them into direct confrontation with civil authorities, as we saw with the fiasco with the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. Self-fulfilling prophecies tend to be the worst kind.
The radical localism advocated by Identity supporters is not unique to them - indeed it is common theme we can find among a wide variety of far-right groups. In fact, this particular theme is a common one which provides an entry point for many people into Identity politics. People who share CI ideals of localism and taxes may, over time, be brought to adopt other Identity ideologies.
Posse Comitatus is a movement of many loosely associated groups and means, literally, "power of the country." Technically it refers to the individual citizens called in by a local sheriff to aid in dealing with lawbreakers. As interpreted by the movement, the Posse and the local sheriff are the only legitimate political and legal authorities in existence - anything above county level is flatly rejected. Although Posse Comitatus is not a part of Christian Identity, the same people are often prominent in both.
With an independent group of citizens in each county acting as a law unto itself, interpreting what it saw as "God's Law" on its own in any particular time and place, we all enter a dangerous area. Heavily armed vigilantes answerable to no one but themselves are exactly what a legal system is designed to prevent. Although the radical localism of Identity followers might take on a purely rhetorical form with no serious content, it might also be something which some extremists will attempt to enforce. In an armed confrontation, there will be no real winners.
Beyond the Law
The final two aims which clearly lie beyond the limits of the law are the planning, organizing and actual efforts to overthrown our current government and the attempt to effect territorial secession, typically of states located in the northwest. The point, of course, would be to establish a real "Aryan Nation" which would be racially, religiously, and ideologically pure, just waiting for Christ's Second Coming and their key role in the Tribulation.
Both of these ideas, oddly enough, have roots in a work of fiction which isn't even Identity oriented: The Turner Diaries. It is circulated widely in Identity circles and cited with great approval - and it may in fact have been the inspiration for the bombing of the Oklahoma Federal Building, since it mirrored so closely the events in the book.
Other similarly violent activities include those of The Order, which appears to have been consciously modeled after a similar organization in The Turner Diaries.
In 1984, members of The Order stole $3.8 million from an armored car, most of which has never been recovered. Large contributions were made to extremist and Identity organizations. That same year they were responsible for the assassination of Alan Berg, a Jewish radio talk show host in Denver who engaged in harsh criticism of neo-nazis and Identity ideology. Most of the members were eventually killed or imprisoned.
As to separatism, there are many conflicting ideas as to how it should a separate nation should be created. Some believe in the use of violence, but it is unlikely that that would really work. The numbers of those who advocate violence are few, probably a sensible reaction to the failure of violence to be effective for other groups. Others think that only minimal force should be used, and that political persuasion be the principal tool. Unfortunately, no feasible political arguments are forthcoming. The only similar project in American history was an abysmal failure and resulted in a tremendous amount of death, destruction and misery.
For Identity believer, the Last Days are at hand and they are called upon by God to take an active role. This has consequences for the rest of us, so we should take notice of what they believe and what they intend to do. Aggressive tactics from law enforcement has not yet had a serious impact upon either the message or the popularity of Identity ideology.
The chances of violent actions from Christian Identity has perhaps lessened - but only due to an increase in prudence, not because of any genuine political changes. The potential for violence perhaps lies most in the hands of the civil authorities and their choices of reactions to Identity acts. Miscalculations by authorities will make violence much more likely, if not inevitable - just as was the case with the Branch Davidian fiasco. Although the Davidians were certainly not Identity believers, their social dynamics and relations with authorities were very similar.
We have a lot to learn from what happened in Waco, Texas - and we'd better learn it sooner rather than later.
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CHRISTIAN IDENTITY LOCATIONS The Christian Identity religion asserts that whites, not Jews, are the true Israelites favored by God in the Bible. In most of its forms, Identity theology depicts Jews as biologically descended from Satan, while non-whites are seen as soulless "mud people" created with the other Biblical "beasts of the field." Christian Identity has its roots in a 19th-century English fad called British Israelism, which asserted that European whites were descended from the ten "lost tribes" of Israel and were thus related to Jews, who were descended from the other two Hebrew tribes mentioned in the Bible. But British Israelism, which was initially friendly to Jews, was adopted and transformed in the 20th century into a rabidly anti-Semitic creed by a number of racist preachers in the United States. For decades, identity has been one of the most important ideologies for the white supremacist movement. In its hardest line form, it asserts that Christ will not return to earth until the globe is swept clean of Jews and other "Satanic" fluences. In recent years, deep doctrinal disputes, the lack of a central church structure, and a shift among white supremacists towards agnosticism and racist variations of neo-Paganism have weakened the Identity movement and reduced the number of its adherents. The total number of groups counted in 2002 was 27.
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