Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 219
anyone interested in political activism and its potential risks, and to those interested in the
cult phenomenon in general. This book could also be used in various college courses
focusing on social movements, the Sixties, hate groups, British or American politics, and
political movements and parties.
CSA leader, James Ellison, was founder of a Pentecostal church called Zarephath-Horeb, and
CSA started out as the church‘s paramilitary unit. Eventually, CSA became the public name
and identity, to ―symbolize our paramilitary function‖ (p. 100). In April 1985, while Noble
was functioning as second-in-command, federal agents arrived at CSA property with a
warrant for Ellison‘s arrest for possession of unregistered automatic machine guns.
Surrounded by heavily armed agents who considered CSA ―the best trained civilian
paramilitary group in America‖ (p. 22), Noble successfully negotiated a surrender and saved
many lives, including his own. The book begins with this standoff scenario, then Noble goes
back to describe how he got involved in such a group and narrates his own and the group‘s
evolution into extremists. Because first-hand accounts by top leaders of cults are quite rare,
certainly this book of is value in that regard. Noble was privy to the kinds of information and
decision-making processes that come only with being part of a leader‘s inner circle.
The author‘s chronological accounting, which also includes a fine selection of photographs,
provides a fascinating view of the gradual process by which individuals become increasing
involved and committed, as well as how groups themselves grow and change. For each step
along the way Noble describes the thought process (e.g., ―We believed that God wanted our
individualities to die, that our rebellion would have to go‖ [p. 51]), and the systematic
mechanisms within the group that promoted personal behavioral and attitudinal changes to
coincide with the group‘s developing worldview (e.g., getting rid of ―symbols‖ of the
―rebellious society,‖ so that the men had to cut their hair short and shave their beards).
Likewise, money was ―collectivized‖ to support their ―higher vision.‖ As the ideology became
more closed, so did their lives.
Kerry Noble‘s first-person account in Tabernacle of Hate allows readers to see clear as
daylight the linkages to cult phenomena that are described and analyzed in Tourish and
Wohlforth‘s book. Noble tells the story of his seven-year involvement with The Covenant,
the Sword and the Arm of the Lord (CSA). CSA was a racist, right-wing compound based in
the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas. Noble describes the group‘s isolation as a key
factor in its evolution from a quiet, rural community church into a paramilitary organization
whose goal was to overthrow the U.S. government. In spite of CSA‘s separation from
mainstream, and even local, society, the group was well-networked within the Christian
Identity movement and depended on Identity literature and personalities to inform CSA‘s
developing worldview. The Christian Identity movement has spawned such groups as Aryan
Nations, based at the time in Hayden Lake, Idaho and The Order, whose members were
indicted for holding up armored cars, counterfeiting, and murdering Alan Berg, a Jewish talk
show host in Denver.
Noble outlines what he calls an ―extremist recipe‖ that will lead a benign group to becoming
a highly controlled and potentially dangerous cult. His recipe includes three ingredients. The
first two are (1) ―a philosophical or theological premise, based upon discontent, fear,
unbelief, hate, despair, or some other negative emotion‖ (p. 28) and (2) a charismatic
leader (p. 33). The third ingredient has three parts: information control, often achieved
through isolation and separation from one‘s past a Savior mentality and a perceived
enemy or feeling of having no options (p. 68).
anyone interested in political activism and its potential risks, and to those interested in the
cult phenomenon in general. This book could also be used in various college courses
focusing on social movements, the Sixties, hate groups, British or American politics, and
political movements and parties.
CSA leader, James Ellison, was founder of a Pentecostal church called Zarephath-Horeb, and
CSA started out as the church‘s paramilitary unit. Eventually, CSA became the public name
and identity, to ―symbolize our paramilitary function‖ (p. 100). In April 1985, while Noble
was functioning as second-in-command, federal agents arrived at CSA property with a
warrant for Ellison‘s arrest for possession of unregistered automatic machine guns.
Surrounded by heavily armed agents who considered CSA ―the best trained civilian
paramilitary group in America‖ (p. 22), Noble successfully negotiated a surrender and saved
many lives, including his own. The book begins with this standoff scenario, then Noble goes
back to describe how he got involved in such a group and narrates his own and the group‘s
evolution into extremists. Because first-hand accounts by top leaders of cults are quite rare,
certainly this book of is value in that regard. Noble was privy to the kinds of information and
decision-making processes that come only with being part of a leader‘s inner circle.
The author‘s chronological accounting, which also includes a fine selection of photographs,
provides a fascinating view of the gradual process by which individuals become increasing
involved and committed, as well as how groups themselves grow and change. For each step
along the way Noble describes the thought process (e.g., ―We believed that God wanted our
individualities to die, that our rebellion would have to go‖ [p. 51]), and the systematic
mechanisms within the group that promoted personal behavioral and attitudinal changes to
coincide with the group‘s developing worldview (e.g., getting rid of ―symbols‖ of the
―rebellious society,‖ so that the men had to cut their hair short and shave their beards).
Likewise, money was ―collectivized‖ to support their ―higher vision.‖ As the ideology became
more closed, so did their lives.
Kerry Noble‘s first-person account in Tabernacle of Hate allows readers to see clear as
daylight the linkages to cult phenomena that are described and analyzed in Tourish and
Wohlforth‘s book. Noble tells the story of his seven-year involvement with The Covenant,
the Sword and the Arm of the Lord (CSA). CSA was a racist, right-wing compound based in
the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas. Noble describes the group‘s isolation as a key
factor in its evolution from a quiet, rural community church into a paramilitary organization
whose goal was to overthrow the U.S. government. In spite of CSA‘s separation from
mainstream, and even local, society, the group was well-networked within the Christian
Identity movement and depended on Identity literature and personalities to inform CSA‘s
developing worldview. The Christian Identity movement has spawned such groups as Aryan
Nations, based at the time in Hayden Lake, Idaho and The Order, whose members were
indicted for holding up armored cars, counterfeiting, and murdering Alan Berg, a Jewish talk
show host in Denver.
Noble outlines what he calls an ―extremist recipe‖ that will lead a benign group to becoming
a highly controlled and potentially dangerous cult. His recipe includes three ingredients. The
first two are (1) ―a philosophical or theological premise, based upon discontent, fear,
unbelief, hate, despair, or some other negative emotion‖ (p. 28) and (2) a charismatic
leader (p. 33). The third ingredient has three parts: information control, often achieved
through isolation and separation from one‘s past a Savior mentality and a perceived
enemy or feeling of having no options (p. 68).
