The Evolution of the Church of Israel: Dangerous Mutations

Terrorism and Political Violence

Volumn 11, Issue 3, 1999, Pages 106-118

  Brannan, David W ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0033261948     PISSN: 09546553     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/09546559908427519     Document Type: Article

References (41)

1. Jeffrey Kaplan, 'The Context of American Millenarian Revolutionary Theology: The Case of the "Identity Christian" Church of Israel', Terrorism and Political Violence (hereafter TPV) 5/1 (Spring 1993) pp.30-82, at p.50.
2. Jeffrey Kaplan, 'The Context of American Millenarian Revolutionary Theology: The Case of the "Identity Christian" Church of Israel', Terrorism and Political Violence (hereafter TPV) 5/1 (Spring 1993) pp.30-82, at p.50.
3. Ibid., p.51.
4. Gayman now has respect for the Mormon religion but does not see it as truth. He has written a book, which explains in detail why the Mormon people are good but still 'lost and going to hell'. For an in-depth look at the Church of Israel's views on the Mormon Church, see D. Gayman, To the Alarmons, A Religious People Filled with Good Works But Lost and Unsaved (Schell City: Church of Israel, undated).
5. Kaplan (note 1) p.51.
6. From an interview at Gayman's home, September 1998. There is some confusion here as to which grandfather this is. At some points he calls him his father and at others his mother's father. According to Kaplan (note 1) Gayman's father died when he was very young. My tendency here is to believe that his maternal grandfather was the influence. Gayman said he uses the name 'J. Chesley', when writing on especially hot or controversial topics; he said that J. Chesley was also his grandfather. See The Racial Crisis in America (Pretoria: Van Guard Publishing House 1970) as an example.
7. Kaplan (note 1) p.52.
8. During one visit to Pastor Gayman, I was shown a large stack of 'worn-out' Bibles. They were tattered and marked with the obvious strain of many hours of intense study and use. Pastor Gayman indicated this to me as the cost of seeking 'truth'. It implied that I too would need to make this commitment if I were to find this same 'truth'.
9. From an interview with a Church of Israel congregation member, September 1998.
10. Kaplan (note 1) p.55. Kaplan potentially identifies two of these men as Gayman and Tucker (the visiting pastor from Knoxville, Tennessee) and describes their dress as 'a white uniform, with knee length storm trooper boots, and an empty pistol holder and belt slung over one shoulder'. This description was taken from the 6 July 1976 edition of the Nevada Herald.
11. Being a former law enforcement officer myself, I found it very interesting that Capt. Penn was able to recall the incident more that 23 years later with such detail. This, despite not going to court himself on the matter, an event that helps to lock a particular incident in the minds of officers. It highlights how traumatic the sight of disruption, blood and fighting can be within the traditional church setting. No doubt it had a similar turning effect on Dan Gayman and his theological progression.
12. I make this assertion based upon my 12 years of law enforcement experience. During that time I watched many 'big talkers' suddenly change their tunes when blood was spilt.
13. The idea that the white race is a direct descendant of the seed of Adam while the Jewish race is from the seed of the 'serpent' or Devil. Some versions of this theory also see all non-white races as descending from the 'Devil's seed', but as I will show, Gayman's version is more theologically developed and has an alternative dehumanising aspect to support his belief system.
14. Generally Identity theologians are agreed that the truly inerrant Bible is the King James Version. They are not alone in this belief, as there is a substantial movement both within the US and abroad to affirm the superiority of the King James Version over more modem and often easier to read translations. These assertions are made despite Identity theologians' lack of training or ability in languages such as Greek or Hebrew.
15. R. Sproul, Knowing Scripture (Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press 1977) p.117.
16. This has not always necessarily been the case as seen in the section devoted to Gayman and his theology. A personal incident for Gayman on 2 June 1976 had far-reaching implications for his theology.
17. Kaplan (note 1) comes closes to explaining the difference in his work. As this article was written five years earlier than my own research, the difference may be found in the evolution of the leader, group and/or movement.
18. Personal interviews with Identity adherents and theologians are key to a more complete understanding of the positions described. The text provides a basis for discussion but is not always a full picture of the position being asserted.
19. Michael Barkun, Religion and the Racist Right (London: Chapel Hill 1997). See pp.214-15, 232, 241-2.
20. Kaplan (note 1) p.54. The 'militant activist' camp corresponding with Rebellious Identity and the 'quietist' camps corresponding with the Repentant form of Identity.
21. D. Gayman, The Two Seeds of Genesis 3:15 (Schell City: Church of Israel 1977). Currently this work is in its 5th printing as a hardback and was released in paperback in 1996. Few specifically theological treatises published by academics today are enjoying this type of success. As of 1994, the work has sold 38,000 hardback copies and a paperback edition was selling rapidly as well.
22. For a relevant argument as to the necessity of a pre-suppositional stance for world views see R.C. Sproul, Lifeviews (Old Tappah: Power Books 1986).
23. I am primarily referring to watchdog groups, which need for their own purposes to show the whole of Identity as unified. With them I would agree that they are evil. But, clearly they are not unified and there are many tenets used by Identity that are not exclusively theirs. It is similar to the idea that all of Islam presents a unified threat to the West. To generalise the evil of Identity as pervasive in every aspect is to assert that all of Christendom is linked to Identity and thereby evil. All of Christianity relies on doctrine that Identity also uses. Virginal birth, the Trinity, Christological stance, atonement, grace, salvation and many more key doctrines are shared by both Identity theology and Christianity at large. This does not make all of Christianity evil, rather it highlights how dangerous salacious doctrines are as they slowly work their way into acceptance.
24. The Watchman 20/3 (Summer 1997) p.13.
25. For a complete view of the Church's position on this important area, see R. Benson, 'The Militia Movement and the Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate', The Watchman 21/1 (Summer 1998) pp.40-42. What is presented is compatible with most mainline Protestant theological interpretations of the passage today. It is directly opposed to the standard Rebellious Identity views.
26. Gayman, The Two Seeds of Genesis (note 20) p.37.
27. Second Amendment rights, tax protest, conspiracy theory, etc.
28. See note 20 for additional information on Gayman's publishing.
29. Gayman, The Two Seeds of Genesis (note 20) p.44.
30. While specifically against occultic teachings, Gayman is heavily influenced by the preponderance of British-Israelism teaching, which underlies his current position. Occultic teaching such as 'pyrimdology' has heavily influenced British Israelism.
31. Barkun (note 18) pp.208-9.
32. Rushdoony has been a leading theologian, writer and speaker in the Reconstruction theology movement for many years.
33. Kaplan (note 1) pp.30-82.
34. Dominion theology, as it relates to Reconstructionism, asserts that because God's law is applicable to the community at large our effort to take dominion over what God has given us, namely the earth, is our spiritual duty. Most current copies of The Watchman and The Vision give examples of how the members of the body are or should be taking dominion over their surroundings.
35. Kaplan (note 1) p.52.
36. Ibid., p.53.
37. See J. Holt, How Children Learn (London: Penguin Books 1983), for an academic identification of public school drawbacks. In addition, see D. Colfax, and M. Colfax, Homeschooling for Excellence (New York: Warner Books 1987), for a defence of non-religious home schooling. In 1995 the Disneyland Hotel Convention Center in Anaheim, California reported that 50,000 people attended the annual home-education curriculum trade show held there and that it was the largest convention that the Center hosted annually.
38. See J. Holt, How Children Learn (London: Penguin Books 1983), for an academic identification of public school drawbacks. In addition, see D. Colfax, and M. Colfax, Homeschooling for Excellence (New York: Warner Books 1987), for a defence of non-religious home schooling. In 1995 the Disneyland Hotel Convention Center in Anaheim, California reported that 50,000 people attended the annual home-education curriculum trade show held there and that it was the largest convention that the Center hosted annually.
39. Particularly in view of Professor Barkun's fears of legitimisation through association with Reconstruction theology, which has been realised.
40. Both Minnesota and Wisconsin now have Church of Israel bodies worshipping in buildings fully paid for. The Church of Israel actively promotes its cause in a number of foreign countries. During my research on the Church, I was introduced to a Church of Israel pastor from South Africa.
41. From an interview with a church member, September 1998, Bolivar, Missouri. The member, a former US Marine, medically retired from injuries suffered during the Vietnam war, is an excellent example of how one moves from the Rebellious form of Identity to the Repentant. Initially brought into the Identity realm through his concern over the erosion of Second Amendment rights (the right of the individual to bear arms), he had been an avid follower of the Richard Butler and Pete Peters Rebellious-styled Identity but changed direction due in part to the influence of his new wife's distaste for it.