Christian Identity -- definitions

Rasp

Senior Editor
The Encyclopedia of Religion and War


Christian Identity

Christian Identity is an influential religious faith among while supremacists. However, it is not organized as a denomination and has no central institutions. This makes Identity a community with unclear boundaries, knit together by beliefs that have a family resemblance to one another. Its significance lies in its emphasis on a history-ending, apocalyptic race war. This commitment to struggle exists within a racial theology.

The beliefs most commonly associated with Christian Identity are the following: (1) persons of northwestern European ancestry are considered the direct, biological descendants of the biblical tribes of Israel; (2) Jews are regarded as the offspring, through Cain, of a sexual liaison between Eve and Satan; and (3) the present is believed to be at or near the end-times, which will feature a final battle between "Israelites" (i.e., "Aryans", or white northern Europeans) on the one hand, and Jews and non-whites on the other. These doctrines have been used as a justification for attacks on non-Aryans and, in the most sweeping Identity scenarios, as a divine imperative for race war.

History

The immediate origins of Christian Identity lie in the British-Israel (or Anglo-Israel) movement, which developed in Great Britain during the second half of the nineteenth century and subsequently spread to other parts of the English-speaking world, including the United States. British-Israelism asserted that the inhabitants of the British Isles as well as descendants of northwestern Europeans in general were direct offspring of the "ten lost tribes of Israel." The tribes, they believed, had wandered north and west to eventually populate Great Britain and adjacent areas. British-Israelism was initially well disposed toward the Jewish people, whom they saw as literal relatives. Nonetheless, twentieth-century British-Israelism became increasingly anti-Semitic, particularly in the United States and Western Canada.

Christian Identity began to emerge as a distinct religious tendency in America after World War II. Its separation from British-Israelism, however, was never complete. Some American groups continued to advance a highly anti-Semitic Anglo-Israelism, adding only a belief in the satanic ancestry of Jews. Christian Identity's initial nucleus was made up of three preachers in Southern California: Bertrand Comparet, William Potter Gale, and Wesley Swift. All were closely associated with the anti-Semitic political organizer Gerald L K. Smith.

Identity gradually spread from its West Coast beginnings, but, like British-lsraelism, it never developed a denominational structure. Consequently, it appeared in many variants, including not only varying religious styles but also different styles of right-wing estremism. These have included neo-Nazi groups, such as Aryan Nations; some Ku Klux Klan organizations; and local paramilitary groups, such as elements of the Posse Comitatus and militias. Hence Identity now overlaps upon many other styles of extremist organization. Right-wing extremists who do not consider themselves Identity believers may consequently work with Identity followers and absorb some Identity beliefs.

While Identity may be found throughout the country, it has been weakest in the Northeast and historically strongest in the Ozarks, southern Appalachians, Southwest, and Pacific Northwest. More recently, clusters have emerged in southern Ohio and central Pennsylvania. Because of its fragmented character, all estimates of total size have been guesses based upon such factors as the known size of some groups, the number of groups, and periodicals and websites. These estimates generally cover a substantial range—from about 10,000 to 160,000—but even the upper limits suggest a movement that remains extremely small. Its influence, however, has been greater than its size might suggest.

Political Activities

The political orientations of Christian Identity adherents have ranged from complete withdrawal from American society to violent engagement with it. Withdrawal has taken the form of survivalism, i.e., the cultivation of a lifestyle marked by both physical withdrawal and self-sufficiency. Those who adopt such a lifestyle have sometimes done so both as individual families and as small communities.

Communal separation has had varied political consequences. In some cases, such as that of Pastor Dan Gayman's Church of Israel in Schell, Missouri, it has been accomplished with minimum friction with the authorities. In other cases, however, the separation has been accompanied by conflict. A case in point was that of the Freemen of Montana, who were predominantly Identity followers and whose compound near Jordan, Montana, was the scene of a standoff with the FBI in 1996. The most militarized such community was Zarephath-Horeb in the Arkansas Ozarks, organized by a group called the Covenant, Sword and Arm of the Lord, led by James Ellison. Ellison's communal settlement included sophisticated military training, automatic weapons, electrically controlled minefields, and preparations for chemical warfare—all in anticipation of apocalyptic chaos. Although the organization as such never attacked outsiders, individual members committed or attempted murders, sabotage, and arson. Large-scale violence was averted when the community surrendered to a federal taskforce in 1985.

While most Identity believers appear to live in ways that do not bring them into conflict with the authorities, the exceptions have occurred among those who believe in the inevitability of a war between "Aryan Israelites" on one side and Jews and non-whites on the other. While some survivalists believe such a war will eventually take place, others in Identity have felt compelled to try to set the struggle off through deliberate violent acts. The most dramatic case was that of "The Order" (also called "The Silent Brotherhood" or "Bruders Schweigen") which, in the mid-1980s, engaged in a brief insurgency against the federal government consisting largely of a series of bank robberies and one murder. While only about half the organization's members were Identity believers, those who were saw such an undertaking as consistent with their religious commitments.

Since the late 1940s, more vigorous government intelligence gathering and prosecutions have reduced the propensity of Identity followers to engage in violence. However, since an unknown number of Identity believers are members of paramilitary groups, it is extremely difficult to determine the degree of Identity influence in these organizations.

The 1990s presented particularly acute challenges to Christian Identity. By this decade, the leadership generation that had assumed its roles in the 1950s and 1960s had died or was on the verge of retirement. The 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building greatly increased public concern about right-wing terrorism. Although it was never clear whether Timothy McVeigh had significant Christian Identity associations, the bombing made the anti-government subculture a major public concern for the first time. Partly in response to these stresses, the label Christian Identity itself has fallen out of favor within the movement (indeed, there were always Identity figures who used other terms, such as Kingdom Message).

Beliefs

Because of their conviction that they are the biological descendants of the biblical Israelites, Identity believers think of themselves as God's elect, the instruments for the fulfillment of His will on earth. British-Israelism held a similar view, but tended to identify nations, especially Great Britain and the United States, as the divine agents. Identity has been much more overtly racial, imputing to whites a special status in the divine scheme and implicitly or explicitly devaluing non-whites.

A theology of anti-Semitism lies at the heart of Christian Identity, for whom Jews are essentially non-white. More significantly, they see Jews as impostors, masquerading as Israelite descendants. The most fully developed version of this theology—found in such Identity writers as Wesley Swift, Witham Potter Gale, and Dan Gayman—is its so-called two-seed theology. According to the two-seed theory, Adam and Eve were the parents of Abel and Seth, but not of Cain. Cain's parents were supposedly Eve and Satan, Satan having seduced Eve in the Garden of Eden. Identity regards the Jews as the literal, biological descendants of Satan, through Cain. Hence they posit a continuing state of war between the white seed line of Adam and the diabolical seed line of Cain. Identity theology assumes blacks and other non-whites have resulted from separate creations in which Adam and Eve were not involved.

Identity Millennialism

Christian Identity followers believe the war between the seed lines is reaching its climax. This leads to an end-time scenario conceived in terms of race war (again, based upon Identity's view of Jews as racially non-white). Again, this view of history has been used to support both radical withdrawal and violent engagement. It can be used to justify survivalism, in which Identity believers seek separation in order to avoid the dangers of conflict in the last days; and it can be used to justify violent attacks on Jews, non-whites, and governmental authority, on the grounds that Satanic forces are poised to destroy God's people.

These differing orientations toward the end-times can he better understood in terms of Identity's relationship to broader millenarian currents in American society. While Identity is sometimes considered part of Christian fundamentalism, it in fact is quite different. The relationship between Christian Identity and Protestant Fundamentalism has generally been one of mutual hostility. That is because they differ radically about two important theological issues: the role of the Jewish people and the doctrine of the Rapture.

The great majority of Protestant Fundamentalists accept the millenarian system devised in the late nineteenth century by John Nelson Darby called dispensational premillennialism. It was Darby's contention that Christ's Second Coming would precede the millennium, but that the Second Coming could not take place until biblical prophecies concerning the Jewish people were fulfilled. There was no sign of this in Darby's time, and he and other dispensationalists believed the "prophetic clock" had stopped for an indefinite period. However, the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967 persuaded many fundamentalists that the prophetic clock was now ticking, and that consequently the world was moving rapidly toward the final events of history.

Darby believed these events would include a seven-year period of conflict and persecution, known as the Tribulation, the final half of which would be dominated by the figure of the Antichrist. However, dispensationalists have held that the saved would not have to endure the rigors of the Tribulation, because they would be raptured. That is, they would be taken up into heaven at the beginning of the Tribulation, be with Christ for the seven years, and then return with him at the time of the battle of Armageddon.

Christian Identity totally rejects this scenario. Since it believes Jews to be satanic impostors, it does not believe that biblical prophecies concerning Israel refer to them. Indeed, it believes such prophecies refer to Aryans. Thus, Identity adherents believe the support shown by Christian fundamentalists for the state of Israel signifies that the Christian community has been duped or co-opted by Jews. Identity also rejects the doctrine of the Rapture as a major theological error. It does not believe the faithful will be lifted off the earth. Instead, the saved (again themselves) will have to live through the harrowing events of the Tribulation. This belief has significantly reinforced separatist tendencies, since a survivalist lifestyle is deemed to be not merely a way of escaping a society regarded as sinful, but also a way of protecting themselves against what they see as the dangers to come. It also fuels paramilitary tendencies, for they believe that during the Tribulation, public order will breakdown or the government will become the enemy of believers. Consequently, they see guns as an essential means of defense against encircling enemies.

Identity on the Wane

Throughout the roughly fifty years of its history, Christian Identity has shown itself capable of rapid and unpredictable changes. Because its constituent groups operate independently of one another, individual pastors and political organizers have been free to develop their own interpretations and programs. By closely interweaving anti-Semitism and racism with millennial expectation, Christian Identity has provided a theological rationalization for racial and religious conflict and inequality. Its assertion that these positions have a divine mandate has given Identity an influence in extremist circles far beyond its relatively small number of adherents.

That influence began to wane in the late 1990s and early 2000s, along with a more general decline of the extreme right. Perhaps the best-known Identity group, Aryan Nations, was torn by a leadership struggle. Dan Gayman faced a breach in his congregation. The militia groups that had multiplied in the early 1990s began to fragment and contract. Symbolic of the right's crisis was the sudden death in 2002 of William Pierce, leader of the neo-Nazi National Alliance. Although Pierce made no secret of his disdain for Christian Identity, his novel, The Turner Diaries, which described a successful racist uprising, was widely admired in Identity circles.


Further Reading

Aho, J. (1990). The politics of righteousness: Idaho Christian patriotism. Seattle, University of Washington Press.

Barkun, M. (1997). Millenarians and violence: The case of the Christian identity movement. In T. Robbins & S.J. Palmer (Eds.), Millenium, messiahs, and mayhem: Contemporary apocalyptic movements (pp. 247-260), New York: Routledge.

Barkun, M. (1997). Religion and the racist right: The origins of the Christian identity movement (Rev. ed). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Jeansonne, G. (1988). Gerald L. K. Smith: Minister of hate. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Kaplan. J. (1997). Radical religion in America: Millenarian movements from the far right to the children of Noah. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

MacDonald. A. (1980). The Turner diaries (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: National Alliance.

Robins, R. A., & Post, J. M. (1997). Political paranoia: The psychopolitics of hatred. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
 
Re: Christian Identity--definitions

Encyclopedia of Religion


CHRISTIAN IDENTITY MOVEMENT

CHRISTIAN IDENTITY MOVEMENT is an offshoot of Protestantism found mostly in the United States and other English-speaking countries. The movement is characterized by an anti-Semitic and racist theology. Once the dominant religious orientation on the extreme right in the United States, Christian Identity now appears to be in decline.

HISTORY

Christian Identity developed out of British-Israelism (also known as Anglo-Israelism). British-Israelism emerged in Great Britain during the second half of the nineteenth century. It was neither a church nor a sect but rather an interpretive tendency among Protestants, largely members of the Church of England. Its distinctiveness rested upon its revisionist approach to sacred history. According to Anglo-Israelites, the British Isles had been populated by the Lost Tribes of Israel, who had wandered west from their original place of exile in the Middle East. In many versions of British-Israelism, the tribes were also said to have populated much of northwest Europe. British-Israelites, active at the summit of empire, saw British imperialism as both a divine mission and a demonstration of God's favor.

British-Israelism quickly spread to the United States, where it fitted well with conceptions of manifest destiny. Indeed, as the power of the United States increased, American Anglo-Israelites began to suggest that the country might be the inheritor of Britain's divine role.

The heyday of British-Israelism came in the 1920s and 1930s, a time when many fringe religious movements gained a hearing. Its chief spokesperson was a Massachusetts lawyer, Howard Rand, whose Anglo-Saxon Federation of America organized chapters throughout the country. Rand's proselytizing was significantly aided by William Cameron, a Ford Motor Company executive. Cameron was the editor of Henry Ford's newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, notorious for its anti-Semitic articles in the early 1920s. Cameron's close association with Rand and the Anglo-Saxon Federation anticipated Christian Identity's fusion of British-Israelism and anti-Semitism.

Gradually, the links between British-Israelism in the United States and its English parent weakened. The separation was facilitated by the increasing links between the American extreme right and Anglo-Israelism. This was especially the case in southern California, among individuals associated with Gerald L. K. Smith, the most prominent anti-Semite in the country during the 1940s. Although Smith does not appear to have been a British-Israelite, he and his followers were clearly sympathetic to its rising antipathy toward Jews.

Three individuals in Smith's circle finally created a variation on British-Israelism that definitively marked it off from both its original version and Rand's Americanized form. These three—Wesley Swift, William Potter Gale, and Bertrand Comparet—represent the first leadership cadre of Christian Identity. Their ideas took shape between the end of World War II and the late 1960s, by which time a second generation of leadership was beginning to emerge.

WORLDVIEW AND DOCTRINES

British-Israelism had originally been philo-Semitic, seeing Jews as partners of the Anglo-Saxon peoples in God's plan. Indeed, British-Israelism strongly supported Jewish settlement in Palestine, and saw Britain's administration of Palestine under a League of Nations' mandate as a divine sign that Anglo-Jewish cooperation was predestined. However, the opposition of Zionists to British administration of Palestine after World War II engendered hostility in Anglo-Israelites, who could not understand why Jews did not see them as kin. This feeling of betrayal was notably strong in Rand and his followers.

The shift from philo-Semitism to anti-Semitism presaged the major doctrinal innovation of Christian Identity, the so-called two-seed theory. The two-seed theory, most closely associated with Swift, asserts that two lines of descent emanate from Eve: One consists of the offspring of Eve and Adam, Abel and Seth; the other comes from the child of Eve and Satan, Cain. For most Identity believers, Cain's father was Satan, not Adam, and the sin in the Garden of Eden was the sexual union of Eve with a humanoid "serpent."

The two corollaries drawn from this interpretation are, first, that the primal sin was miscegenation; and, second, that the Jews are Cain's descendants. By claiming Jewish ancestry to be satanic, Identity seeks to completely delegitimize any Jewish claims to God's promises. Instead, divine promises belong to the "true" Israelites, that is, whites of northwestern European heritage. Jews thus come to be seen as literally demonic, and history, both sacred and secular, is recast as a cosmic battle between the white race and its Jewish adversaries. Jews are also seen as counterfeit Israelites, seeking to wrest control of the divine promise from its rightful white bearers.

Nonwhites are said to be the result of separate acts of creation, not involving Adam or Eve. They are considered morally inferior to whites and easily manipulable, and are thought to inhabit some status intermediate between humans and nonhumans. To the extent that they perform any roles in the Identity worldview, they are allies to Jews and sources of racial impurity.

The vision of racial struggle (white "Israelites" versus Jews and nonwhites) supports Identity's version of millennialism. The struggle will reach its climax in an imminent battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness—Armageddon defined in racial terms. However, Identity rejects the premillennial dispensationalism that dominates Protestant evangelicalism. The rejection is in part based on the prominence dispensationalists give to the fulfillment of prophecies concerning the Jewish people, and their support for the State of Israel. It is also a function of Identity's unwillingness to accept the concept of the Rapture (i.e., the moment at which the saved will be taken up to be with Christ during the chaos of the Tribulation).

Rejection of the Rapture means that Identity believers expect to have to survive the Tribulation, with its seven years of war and persecution. They will, in other words, need to remain on earth through the reign of antichrist until the second coming. Since they must endure the Tribulation, much attention goes to the details of living during a coming period of disorder. That accounts for the frequent overlap of Identity with survivalism, that is, a lifestyle characterized by separation and self-sufficiency, geared to a time when the normal routines of life can no longer be maintained.

PATTERNS OF CONDUCT

Racialism and survivalism have often been reflected in the Identity movement's preference for parts of the country characterized by low population density and very small numbers of Jews and nonwhites. Pockets of believers may thus be found in such areas as the Pacific Northwest east of the coastal cities, and the Missouri-Arkansas Ozarks. At its most extreme, Identity sometimes has been used as a rationale for total withdrawal from the larger society ("going off the grid"). A conspicuous example was the paramilitary Ozark commune, the Covenant, Sword, and Arm of the Lord (also called Zarephath-Horeb), founded in 1976. This group maintained its insularity until a law enforcement raid in 1985.

As self-proclaimed Israelites, Identity groups believe themselves to be governed by the precepts of the Hebrew Bible. They often celebrate such traditionally Jewish holidays as Passover and Sukkot and may observe some biblically-sanctioned dietary laws. They likewise frequently refer to God in biblical terms as Yahweh, YHWH, or YHVH. In other liturgical respects, however, they resemble nondenominational evangelicals.

ORGANIZATION AND AUTHORITY

British-Israelism never became a sect. It always advised adherents to remain members of their accustomed churches. This tendency was maintained in the United States by the Anglo-Saxon Federation. Indeed, Rand never presented himself as other than a layperson. However, the post–World War II development of Identity took a different course.

The key figures in the movement's early development—Swift, Gale, and Comparet—all had ministries of some sort, ranging from Swift's church in Antelope Valley, California, to Comparet's less conventional mail and tape ministry. None had formal seminary training, although Swift appears to have attended a Bible college. Nonetheless, they presented themselves as spiritual leaders and, especially in the cases of Swift and Gale, had congregations.

The pattern set at that time persisted: independent ministries linked only by personal ties and doctrinal similarities. These ministries have included small churches with regular services, Bible study groups, and various types of outreach using printed materials, audio and video recordings, and websites. As a result, power in the movement has always been highly diffused. Given the tendency of individual pastors to resist encroachments on their autonomy, attempts to impose even minimal coordinating mechanisms have failed. Relations among Identity notables have consequently been characterized by a high level of personal rivalry.

The demographic profile of rank-and-file adherents is difficult to determine with any exactness. Identity organizations tend to be secretive and suspicious, since many have attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies. In addition, the size of the body of believers (most estimates have ranged from about five thousand to thirty thousand) makes the movement too small to register in even the largest-sample religious identification surveys.

Anecdotal evidence suggests, however, that the membership (ethnicity and race aside) closely tracks that of the general populations in areas of Identity activity. There seems to be no convincing evidence that believers display unusual levels of social or personal pathology. Some Identity pastors have made significant efforts to recruit particular populations, including Midwestern farmers, unemployed urban youth, and white prison inmates. Only the latter appears to have been productive, as a function of racial polarization in many correctional facilities.

CHRISTIAN IDENTITY AND THE STATE

Although the great majority of Identity believers appear to be entirely law-abiding, a significant minority have been implicated in violent crimes and other law violations. These include many members of the insurgent group known as the Order, active in the West in the early 1980s; Eric Robert Rudolph, charged with the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta; and Richard Wayne Snell, executed in 1995 for murder.

By the mid-1980s, both federal and state law enforcement agencies had become increasingly concerned about threats posed by Identity believers. This fear was exacerbated by dramatic confrontations between the FBI and Identity adherents; notably, the standoff in 1992 with Randy Weaver and his family at Ruby Ridge in Idaho, and the standoff in 1996 with the Montana Freemen, many of whose members were affiliated with Identity.

The rising tempo of surveillance and prosecution appears to have had an impact on Identity in several ways. First, activities have become less visible. Second, growth appears to have either stopped or continued at a much lower rate. Third, believers have sought to destigmatize themselves by rejecting the term Identity in favor of more acceptable terms, such as Israel, Kingdom, and Covenant. This has been the case with two of the most prominent clergy, Pastor Dan Gayman of the Church of Israel in Schell, Missouri, and Pastor Pete Peters of the LaPorte Church of Christ in LaPorte, Colorado.

Identity has also faced increasing competition within its own constituency of white racial separatists. It now confronts active recruiting efforts from racist faiths unrelated to either Identity specifically or Christianity in its other manifestations. These rivals include racial forms of Neopaganism, such as Odinism and �satrú, which seek to reconstitute pre-Christian northern European religion, and the World Church of the Creator, a nontheistic belief system built around the sacred nature of race.

In one respect, Identity has been able to secure some recognition, in federal and state prisons. Despite resistance by prison administrations, anxious to avoid the intensification of racial animosity, Identity inmates have pushed religious claims based on legislation that expands rights of free exercise, notably the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (1993) and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (2000).


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aho, James A. The Politics of Righteousness: Idaho Christian Patriots. Seattle, 1990. Based on extensive interviews with both Identity and non-Identity members of the Idaho radical right.

Barkun, Michael. Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement. Rev. ed., Chapel Hill, N.C., 1997. Describes the historical development of Identity concepts and organizations.

Flynn, Kevin, and Gary Gerhardt. The Silent Brotherhood: Inside America's Racist Underground. New York, 1989. Journalistic account of the Order.

Jeansonne, Glen. Gerald L. K. Smith: Minister of Hate. New Haven, Conn., 1988. Detailed biography of Smith.

Kaplan, Jeffrey. Radical Religion in America: Millenarian Movements from the Far Right to the Children of Noah. Syracuse, N.Y., 1997. Discussion of Identity and other fringe theologies.

Levitas, Daniel. The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right. New York, 2002. Examination of William Potter Gale's career.

Noble, Kerry. Tabernacle of Hate: Why They Bombed Oklahoma City. Prescott, Ont., 1998. Unusual first-person account of the Covenant, Sword, and Arm of the Lord.
 
The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Religious Creeds


DOCTRINAL STATEMENT OF BELIEFS (CHRISTIAN IDENTITY CHURCH)

The following is a brief statement of our major doctrinal beliefs as taught by the Holy Scriptures. This list is not exhaustive, but a basic digest defining the true faith once delivered to the saints. For a further explanation of our beliefs and the implications of these truths, please contact us.

We believe in YHVH the one and only true and living eternal God (Isa. 44:6); the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exo. 3:14-16), the Creator of all things (1 Cor. 8:6) who is omnipotent, omnipresent, unchangeable and all-knowing; the Great I Am who is manifested in three beings: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, all one God (Deut. 6:4).

We believe the entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments, as originally inspired, to be the inerrant, supreme, revealed Word of God. The history, covenants, and prophecy of this Holy Book were written for and about a specific elect family of people who are children of YHVH God (Luke 3:38; Psalm 82:6) through the seedline of Adam (Gen. 5:1). All scripture is written as a doctrinal standard for our exhortation, admonition, correction, instruction and example; the whole counsel to be believed, taught and followed (II Tim. 3:16, Act. 20:27).

We believe Yahshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) to be the only incarnate begotten son of God, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), born of the Virgin Mary in fulfillment of divine prophecy (Isa. 7:14; Luke 1:27) at the appointed time, having had His eternal existence as one with the Father before the world was (John 17:5, 21-22).

We believe in the personally revealed being of God the Holy Spirit, the Comforter (John 15:26, 16:7), who was sent by God the Son to glorify Him (John 16:14) and teach us all truth (John 14:26, 16:13; I Cor. 2:10-12) according to promise (Ezek. 36:25-27; Acts 2:33; Eph. 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit is sent to dwell in (I Cor. 3:16; John 14:17) the members of the body of Christ, giving unto each different gifts (1 Cor. 12) empowering them to witness (Acts 1:8) of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement (John 16:8-11). Natural man cannot know the things of the Spirit (John 14:17; I Cor. 2:14), which God sent forth to His sons (Gal. 4:6), thus identifying the children of Israel (Isa. 44:1-3, 59:20-21; Haggai 2:5; Rom. 8:16) in this world.

We believe that God the Son, Yahshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), became man in order to redeem His people Israel (Luke 1:68) as a kinsman of the flesh (Heb. 2:14-16; Rom. 9:3-5); died as the Passover Lamb of God on the Cross of Calvary finishing His perfect atoning sacrifice for the remission of our sins (Matt. 26:28); He arose from the grave on the third day (1 Cor. 15:4) triumphing over death; and ascended into Heaven where He is now reigning at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19).

We believe in the literal return to this Earth of Yahshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) in like manner as He departed (Acts 1:11), to take the Throne of David (Isa. 9:7; Luke 1:32) and establish His everlasting Kingdom (Dan. 2:44; Luke 1:33; Rev. 11:15). Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is King of kings and Lord of lords (Phil. 2:10-11; 1 Tim. 6:14-15).

We believe Salvation is by grace through faith, not of works (Eph. 2:8-9). Eternal life is the gift of God through the redemption that is in our Savior Yahshua (Jesus Christ) (Rom. 6:23) who will reward every man according to his works (Rev. 22:12).

We believe membership in the church of Yahshua our Messiah (Jesus Christ) is by Divine election (John 6:44, 65, 15:16; Acts 2:39, 13:48; Rom. 9:11, 11:7; II Thes. 2:13). God foreknew, chose and predestined the Elect from before the foundation of the world (Psalm 139:16; Jer. 1:5; Matt. 25:34; Rom. 8:28-30; Eph. 1:4-5; II Tim. 1:9; Rev. 13:8) according to His perfect purpose and sovereign will (Rom. 9:19-23). Only the called children of God can come to the Savior to hear His words and believe; those who are not of God, cannot hear his voice (John 8:47, 10:26-27).

We believe Yahshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) came to redeem (a word meaning purchase back according to the law of kinship) only His people Israel (Psalm 130:7-8; Isa. 54:5; Matt. 10:5-6, 15:24; Gal. 4:4-5) who are His portion and inheritance (Deut. 32:9).

We believe individual Israelites are destined for judgement (II Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27) and must believe on the only begotten Son of God, Yahshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), in whom only there is salvation (Acts 4:12), that they be not condemned (John 3:18; Mark 16:16). Each individual Israelite must repent, putting off the old corrupt man and become a new creature (Eph. 4:22-24; II Cor. 5:17) walking in the newness of life (Rom. 6:4). This spiritual rebirth (John 3:3-6; I Peter 1:23) being necessary for a personal relationship with our Savior.

We believe in water baptism by immersion according to the Scriptures for all true believers; being buried into the death of Yahshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) for the remission of our sins and in the likeness of His resurrection being raised up into the newness of life (Rom. 6:3-6). Baptism being ordained of God a testimony to the New Covenant as circumcision was under the Old Covenant (Col. 2:11-13).

We believe Yahshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) to be our only High Priest (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 3:1, 6:20, 7:17, 24-25) and head over His body of called-out saints, the Church (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12, 27; Eph. 1:22-23, 4:12, 5:23, 30; Col. 1:18, 24). His bride, the wife of the Lamb, is the twelve tribes of the children of Israel (Isa. 54:5; Jer. 3:14; Hosea 2:19-20; Rev. 21:9-12).

We believe God chose unto Himself a special race of people that are above all people upon the face of the earth (Deut. 7:6; Amos 3:2). These children of Abraham through the called-out seedline of Isaac and Jacob (Psalm 105:6; Rom. 9:7) were to be a blessing to all the families of the earth who bless them and a cursing to those that curse them (Gen. 12:3). The descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob, called "Israel," were married to God (Isa. 54:5), have not been cast away (Rom. 11:1-2), have been given the adoption, glory, covenants, law, service of God, and promises; are the ones to whom the Messiah came (Rom. 9:4-5) electing out of all twelve tribes those who inherit the Kingdom of God (Rev. 7:4, 21:12).

We believe that the New Covenant was made with the Children of Israel, the same people the Old Covenant was made with (Jer. 31:31-33; Heb. 8:8-10) in fulfillment of the mercy promised our forefathers (Luke 1:72).

We believe the White, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and kindred people to be God's true, literal Children of Israel. Only this race fulfills every detail of Biblical Prophecy and World History concerning Israel and continues in these latter days to be heirs and possessors of the Covenants, Prophecies, Promises and Blessings YHVH God made to Israel. This chosen seedline making up the "Christian Nations" (Gen. 35:11; Isa. 62:2; Acts 11:26) of the earth stands far superior to all other peoples in their call as God's servant race (Isa. 41:8, 44:21; Luke 1:54). Only these descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel scattered abroad (James 1:1; Deut. 4:27; Jer. 31:10; John 11:52) have carried God's Word, the Bible, throughout the world (Gen. 28:14; Isa. 43:10-12, 59:21), have used His Laws in the establishment of their civil governments and are the "Christians" opposed by the Satanic Anti-Christ forces of this world who do not recognize the true and living God (John 5:23, 8:19, 16:2-3).

We believe in an existing being known as the Devil or Satan and called the Serpent (Gen. 3:1; Rev. 12:9), who has a literal "seed" or posterity in the earth (Gen. 3:15) commonly called Jews today (Rev. 2:9; 3:9; Isa. 65:15). These children of Satan (John 8:44-47; Matt. 13:38; John 8:23) through Cain (1 John 3:12) are a race of vipers (Matt. 23:31-33), anti-Christs (1 John 2:22, 4:3) who have throughout history always been a curse to true Israel, the Children of God, because of a natural enmity between the two races (Gen. 3:15), because they do the works of their father the Devil (John 8:38-44), and because they please not God, and are contrary to all men (1 Thes. 2:14-15), though they often pose as ministers of righteousness (II Cor. 11: 13:15). The ultimate end of this evil race whose hands bear the blood of our Savior (Matt. 27:25) and all the righteous slain upon the earth (Matt. 23:35), is Divine judgement (Matt. 13:38-42, 15:13; Zech. 14:21).

We believe that the Man Adam (a Hebrew word meaning: ruddy, to show blood, flush, turn rosy) is father of the White Race only. As a son of God (Luke 3:38), made in His likeness (Gen. 5:1), Adam and his descendants, who are also the children of God (Psalm 82:6; Hos. 1:10; Rom. 8:16; Gal. 4:6; 1 John 3:1-2), can know YHVH God as their Father, not merely as their creator. Adamic man is made trichotomous, that is, not only of body and soul, but having an implanted spirit (Gen. 2:7; I Thes. 5:23; Heb. 4:12) giving him a higher form of consciousness and distinguishing him from all the other races of the earth (Deut. 7:6, 10:15; Amos 3:2).

We believe that as a chosen race, elected by God (Deut. 7:6, 10:15; I Peter 2:9), we are not to be partakers of the wickedness of this world system (I John 2:15; James 4:4; John 17:9, 15, 16), but are called to come out and be a separated people (II Cor. 6:17; Rev. 18:4; Jer. 51:6; Exodus 33:16; Lev. 20:24). This includes segregation from all non-white races, who are prohibited in God's natural divine order from ruling over Israel (Deut. 17:15, 28:13; 32:8; Joel 2:17; Isa. 13:14; Gen. 1:25-26; Rom. 9:21). Race-mixing is an abomination in the sight of Almighty God, a satanic attempt meant to destroy the chosen seedline, and is strictly forbidden by His commandments (Exo. 34:14-16; Num. 25:1-13; I Cor. 10:8; Rev. 2:14; Deut. 7:3-4; Joshua 23:12-13; I Kings 11:1-3; Ezra 9:2, 10-12; 10:10-14; Neh. 10:28-30, 13:3, 27; Hosea 5:7; Mal. 2:11-12).

We believe sin is transgression of God's Law (I John 3:4; Rom. 3:31, 7:7) and that all have sinned (Rom. 3:23). Only through knowledge of God's Law as given in His Commandments, Statutes and Judgments, can we define and know what sin is. We are to keep and teach the laws of God (Matt. 5:17-19) on both a personal and national basis.

We believe God gave Israel His Laws for their own good (Deut. 5:33). Theocracy being the only perfect form of government, and God's divine Law for governing a nation being far superior to man's laws, we are not to add to or diminish from His commandments (Deut. 4:1-2). All present world problems are a result of disobedience to the Laws of God, which if kept will bring blessings and if disregarded will bring cursings (Deut. 28).

We believe men and women should conduct themselves according to the role of their gender in the traditional Christian sense that God intended. Homosexuality is an abomination before God and should be punished by death (Lev. 18:22, 20:13; Rom. 1:24-28, 32; I Cor. 6:9).

We believe that the United States of America fulfills the prophesied (II Sam. 7:10, Isa. 11:12; Ezek. 36:24) place where Christians from all the tribes of Israel would be regathered. It is here in this blessed land (Deut. 15:6, 28:11, 33:13-17) that God made a small one a strong nation (Isa. 60:22), feeding His people with knowledge and understanding through Christian pastors (Jer. 3:14-15) who have carried the light of truth and blessings unto the nations of the earth (Isa. 49:6, 2:2-3; Gen. 12:3). North America is the wilderness (Hosea 2:14) to which God brought the dispersed seed of Israel, the land between two seas (Zech. 9:10), surveyed and divided by rivers (Isa. 18:1-2,7), where springs of water and streams break out and the desert blossoms as the rose (Isa. 35:1,6-7).

We believe the ultimate destiny of all history will be the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon this earth (Psalm 37:9, 11, 22; Isa. 11:9; Matt. 5:5, 6:10; Rev. 21:2-3) with Yahshua our Messiah (Jesus Christ) reigning as King of kings over the house of Jacob forever, of this kingdom and dominion there shall be no end (Luke 1:32-33; Dan. 2:44, 7:14; Zech. 14:9). When our Savior returns to restore righteous government on the earth, there will be a day of reckoning when the kingdoms of this world become His (Rev. 11:15; Isa. 9:6-7) and all evil shall be destroyed (Isa 13:9; Mai. 4:3; Matt. 13:30, 41:42; II Thes. 2:8). His elect Saints will be raised immortal at His return (I Cor. 15:52-53; I Thes. 4:16; Rev. 20:6) to rule and reign with Him as kings and priests (Rom. 8:17; II Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10; Exodus 19:6; Dan. 7:18, 27).
 
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