Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2002, Page 22
The anti-black, anti-Jewish, anti-government book that has become a bible
to the Christian Identity Movement and to people like convicted Oklahoma
City bomber Timothy McVeigh...Mathew‘s group had a grand plan: Rid the
country of blacks. Kill all Jews. ―Stand up like men and drive the enemy into
the sea,‖ Mathews preached. (Brown, 1999, ¶ 7)
The Order professed a philosophy called the ―14 Words.‖ The 14 Words are as follows: ―We
must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children‖ (Wotansvolk,
2001). To this end, the Order sought to instigate a race war in order to bring about the
prophetic Norse apocalyptic prophecy of Ragnarok. Two points are relevant here regarding
the Millennial aspect of cultic thought. First, Mathews and his ilk fit well into Garvey‘s
characteristics when he reports:
The Millenarian tradition embodies the idea that the final conflict between
good and evil is imminent...Those who embrace the revelation...will be
saved...Anything performed in the services of the Millenium becomes pure
even if the acts themselves would normally be considered as immoral or
even reprehensible. (Garvey, 1983, p. 62)
The above quote applies quite well to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh‘s
rationalization of his murder of women and children.
The second point, applicable to Mathews and his hold over his followers (his near-deification
upon his ―martyrdom‖ reflects the respect he is yet held in) is as follows:
…charismatic leaders and their followers may think and say that they
assemble to bring about the millennium, cargo, or universal brotherhood,
while ―in reality‖ they react to oppression and cultural contamination. What
drives them, in other words, happens to them, behind their backs, so to
speak. (Fabian, 1983, p. 135)
It is unfortunate that, in their reaction to these driving forces, the Odinists have
incorporated the lore and practices of Ásatrú into their pathology and thus vilified a religion
whose true adherents seek only to revive the old, lost religious beliefs of their ancestors.
This distortion has occurred in the second above-named faction as well Wotansvolk. The
two, Wotansvolk and the Bruder Schweigen, are not separate entities, but two branches of
the same ideology. Wotansvolk claims itself to be the incarnation of the Wotan archetype.
The name is an acronym for ―Will Of The Aryan Nation,‖ hence the name W.O.T.A.N.
(Wotansvolk, 2001).
Ironically, while Odinists find their connection to Ásatrú in their pursuit of the millennial
Ragnarok for its apocalyptic-cleansing ability, neither this mentality nor its purpose exists in
true Ásatrú. In fact, the simple connection between Odinsim and Christian Identity is such
an extreme juxtaposition of incompatible theologies that there seems no valid basis for the
Odinist‘s argument. Unfortunately, Ásatrú seems unable to rid itself of its connection with
Odinism‘s racism, anti-Semitism, violence, and crime. Regarding the December 2000 -
January 2001 manhunt for seven escapees from a Texas penitentiary, it was reported that
Patrick Henry Murphy, one of the last two escapees to be captured, was an Odinist. ―They
said he is an adherent of the Northern European mythological religion called Odinism. Odin
is the Scandinavian name of the god of wisdom, poetry, war and agriculture‖ (Becka, 2001,
¶ 29).
Ásatrúar have taken steps to counter this misunderstanding and to make known the true
intent of their religious practices and its distinction from the racialist Odinists. In 1999 in
anticipation of Millennium terrorism, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released a report
titled, Project Megiddo, intended to be a ―strategic assessment of the potential for domestic
The anti-black, anti-Jewish, anti-government book that has become a bible
to the Christian Identity Movement and to people like convicted Oklahoma
City bomber Timothy McVeigh...Mathew‘s group had a grand plan: Rid the
country of blacks. Kill all Jews. ―Stand up like men and drive the enemy into
the sea,‖ Mathews preached. (Brown, 1999, ¶ 7)
The Order professed a philosophy called the ―14 Words.‖ The 14 Words are as follows: ―We
must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children‖ (Wotansvolk,
2001). To this end, the Order sought to instigate a race war in order to bring about the
prophetic Norse apocalyptic prophecy of Ragnarok. Two points are relevant here regarding
the Millennial aspect of cultic thought. First, Mathews and his ilk fit well into Garvey‘s
characteristics when he reports:
The Millenarian tradition embodies the idea that the final conflict between
good and evil is imminent...Those who embrace the revelation...will be
saved...Anything performed in the services of the Millenium becomes pure
even if the acts themselves would normally be considered as immoral or
even reprehensible. (Garvey, 1983, p. 62)
The above quote applies quite well to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh‘s
rationalization of his murder of women and children.
The second point, applicable to Mathews and his hold over his followers (his near-deification
upon his ―martyrdom‖ reflects the respect he is yet held in) is as follows:
…charismatic leaders and their followers may think and say that they
assemble to bring about the millennium, cargo, or universal brotherhood,
while ―in reality‖ they react to oppression and cultural contamination. What
drives them, in other words, happens to them, behind their backs, so to
speak. (Fabian, 1983, p. 135)
It is unfortunate that, in their reaction to these driving forces, the Odinists have
incorporated the lore and practices of Ásatrú into their pathology and thus vilified a religion
whose true adherents seek only to revive the old, lost religious beliefs of their ancestors.
This distortion has occurred in the second above-named faction as well Wotansvolk. The
two, Wotansvolk and the Bruder Schweigen, are not separate entities, but two branches of
the same ideology. Wotansvolk claims itself to be the incarnation of the Wotan archetype.
The name is an acronym for ―Will Of The Aryan Nation,‖ hence the name W.O.T.A.N.
(Wotansvolk, 2001).
Ironically, while Odinists find their connection to Ásatrú in their pursuit of the millennial
Ragnarok for its apocalyptic-cleansing ability, neither this mentality nor its purpose exists in
true Ásatrú. In fact, the simple connection between Odinsim and Christian Identity is such
an extreme juxtaposition of incompatible theologies that there seems no valid basis for the
Odinist‘s argument. Unfortunately, Ásatrú seems unable to rid itself of its connection with
Odinism‘s racism, anti-Semitism, violence, and crime. Regarding the December 2000 -
January 2001 manhunt for seven escapees from a Texas penitentiary, it was reported that
Patrick Henry Murphy, one of the last two escapees to be captured, was an Odinist. ―They
said he is an adherent of the Northern European mythological religion called Odinism. Odin
is the Scandinavian name of the god of wisdom, poetry, war and agriculture‖ (Becka, 2001,
¶ 29).
Ásatrúar have taken steps to counter this misunderstanding and to make known the true
intent of their religious practices and its distinction from the racialist Odinists. In 1999 in
anticipation of Millennium terrorism, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released a report
titled, Project Megiddo, intended to be a ―strategic assessment of the potential for domestic
