Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 220
Tabernacle of Hate is fast-paced and full of action. The author provides some of the
significant historical and developmental connections within the Christian Identity movement,
including its origins, the links between CSA, its standoff with the government (which
occurred on April 19, 1985), and the bombing of the Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma
City (which took place on April 19, 1995). This book will give readers insight into cultic
development at many levels – from the leaders on down to the followers. Not all groups will
become as extreme as this one did, but we can learn a great deal by paying close attention
to these outliers at the extreme end of the spectrum. To his credit, Noble has a solid and
healthy perspective on his experience. He doesn‘t shy away from his own moral
responsibility as a leader of a group that engaged in racist and illegal activities nor does he
hold back from helping us understand how such groups develop and thrive. Highly
recommended.
Reviewed by
Janja Lalich
Christian Millenarianism: From the Early Church to Waco
Stephen Hunt, ed. (2001) Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 258 pp.
Some unbelievers think that the fear of death and the end of the world is the origin of all
religion. Most believers, on the other hand, are convinced about life after death and some
divine conclusion to history. Not all, but some of the faithful, and not only Christians,
anticipate a final chapter of history, a thousand year period in which justice and peace will
prevail. They are the millennialists or chiliasts (from ―a thousand‖). Jews, Christians and
Muslims have such apocalyptic beliefs. In times of crisis and despair apocalyptic hopes may
rise to the surface.
Many Jews, Christians, and Muslims take the notion of the millenium, not literally, but as
symbolic of ultimate justice and peace. Theologians call their study of end times,
eschatology (from the Greek, eschaton, last).
In contrast to some ancient thought that saw history moving in endless cycles, the Judeo-
Christian view of history is linear, moving to some kind of denouement or conclusion.
Christian Millenarianism offers an introduction and seventeen erudite essays on
millenarianism divided into four sections:
1. Sociological Aspects
2. Historical Dimensions
3. The Global Movement
Interestingly, at the start of things back in 1976, Ellison was known for his newly formed
fellowship, for ―helping young people recover from drugs or from cults like the Children of
God‖ (p. 28). According to Noble, Ellison believed that such individuals were not only
―basically discontent with society … [but also] would be easier to mold‖ (p. 28). In 1977
some good friends who had been with the Children of God (COG) invited Noble and his wife
to visit this young community in the Ozarks. Noble was taken with the strong sense of
community, so different from his life in Dallas, and the genuineness of the hard, manual
labor done by the men there. Despite initial reservations about Ellison and some of his
preaching, Noble and his wife decided to stay. Not too many months later, the couple who
had invited them left Ellison‘s community, saying that it reminded them too much of the bad
things they associated with their earlier experience with COG. They urged Noble to leave
also, but he resisted, believing that he was choosing to obey God by choosing for Ellison.
Noble‘s commitment intensified after this ―test,‖ and Ellison drew Nobel in as a leadership
figure, an elder in the group, and as Ellison‘s confidant.
Tabernacle of Hate is fast-paced and full of action. The author provides some of the
significant historical and developmental connections within the Christian Identity movement,
including its origins, the links between CSA, its standoff with the government (which
occurred on April 19, 1985), and the bombing of the Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma
City (which took place on April 19, 1995). This book will give readers insight into cultic
development at many levels – from the leaders on down to the followers. Not all groups will
become as extreme as this one did, but we can learn a great deal by paying close attention
to these outliers at the extreme end of the spectrum. To his credit, Noble has a solid and
healthy perspective on his experience. He doesn‘t shy away from his own moral
responsibility as a leader of a group that engaged in racist and illegal activities nor does he
hold back from helping us understand how such groups develop and thrive. Highly
recommended.
Reviewed by
Janja Lalich
Christian Millenarianism: From the Early Church to Waco
Stephen Hunt, ed. (2001) Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 258 pp.
Some unbelievers think that the fear of death and the end of the world is the origin of all
religion. Most believers, on the other hand, are convinced about life after death and some
divine conclusion to history. Not all, but some of the faithful, and not only Christians,
anticipate a final chapter of history, a thousand year period in which justice and peace will
prevail. They are the millennialists or chiliasts (from ―a thousand‖). Jews, Christians and
Muslims have such apocalyptic beliefs. In times of crisis and despair apocalyptic hopes may
rise to the surface.
Many Jews, Christians, and Muslims take the notion of the millenium, not literally, but as
symbolic of ultimate justice and peace. Theologians call their study of end times,
eschatology (from the Greek, eschaton, last).
In contrast to some ancient thought that saw history moving in endless cycles, the Judeo-
Christian view of history is linear, moving to some kind of denouement or conclusion.
Christian Millenarianism offers an introduction and seventeen erudite essays on
millenarianism divided into four sections:
1. Sociological Aspects
2. Historical Dimensions
3. The Global Movement
Interestingly, at the start of things back in 1976, Ellison was known for his newly formed
fellowship, for ―helping young people recover from drugs or from cults like the Children of
God‖ (p. 28). According to Noble, Ellison believed that such individuals were not only
―basically discontent with society … [but also] would be easier to mold‖ (p. 28). In 1977
some good friends who had been with the Children of God (COG) invited Noble and his wife
to visit this young community in the Ozarks. Noble was taken with the strong sense of
community, so different from his life in Dallas, and the genuineness of the hard, manual
labor done by the men there. Despite initial reservations about Ellison and some of his
preaching, Noble and his wife decided to stay. Not too many months later, the couple who
had invited them left Ellison‘s community, saying that it reminded them too much of the bad
things they associated with their earlier experience with COG. They urged Noble to leave
also, but he resisted, believing that he was choosing to obey God by choosing for Ellison.
Noble‘s commitment intensified after this ―test,‖ and Ellison drew Nobel in as a leadership
figure, an elder in the group, and as Ellison‘s confidant.
