Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 81
Summit Lighthouse. The ―I AM‖ assimilated fascist ideology from William D. Pelley‘s Legion
of Silver Shirts. Both of these groups (as well as CUT) adapted many elements from Helena
P. Blavatsky‘s Theosophical Society, especially the exclusive metaphysical contact
(channeling) with Ascended Masters. According to Whitsel CUT ―exhibited tendencies
commonly associated with millenarian movements‖ since its inception in1958, and the ―I AM
philosophy…created the Summit Lighthouse‘s political orientation—a perspective defined by
patriotism and staunch anti-communism.‖ Whitsel gives an overview of CUT‘s New Age
milieu within which it operates and from which most of its recruits appear.
Later in the book in Chapter Six however we learn from a 1994 interview the author
conducted with CUT‘s leader, Elizabeth Prophet, that she had harsh criticism for New Agers
as ―self-indulgent‖ and prone to ―adoption of shallow phenomena.‖ Whitsel refrains from
cynical commentary, and properly so in keeping with his academic approach, but the irony
was not lost on me. Nor will it be lost on anyone else familiar with CUT‘s history of bizarre
self-purification rituals and claims to magical power in its decrees or high speed chanting
rituals. In Chapter Five Whitsel reports CUT‘s rationalization of why the doom prophecy
failed to materialize: The ―diligence‖ of group members who conducted spiritual warfare
(decreed) and their hard work to build survival shelters mitigated the evil energy that would
have produced the disaster.
Doomsday groups have responded in erratic ways to their failed prophecies, but as one
seminal study by Leon Festinger and others demonstrated, true believers will tend to reduce
dissonance by some sort of rationalization rather than take the more painful, identity
convulsing alternative of rejecting the beliefs. The study found that believers also reduce
―cognitive dissonance‖ by increased proselytizing. In Chapter Five our author refers to this
study, When Prophecy Fails published in 1961, but finds that CUT showed no significant
effort to immediately proselytize in 1990, thus not fully following the Festinger model. I
would argue that Whitsel neglected to appreciate that CUT was much larger and far longer
lived than the relatively tiny group in the Festinger study. By the time of the March 15 ―non-
event‖ (the author‘s characterization) CUT was among the major new religious movements
with ―25,000‖ devotees worldwide. The Festinger study group called ―The Seekers,‖ headed
by the charismatic "Marian Keech," amounted to a household size cult in ―Lakeland‖ that
grew and dispersed within a year or so.*
CUT, contrary to Whitsel‘s assertion (p.122), never ceased its proselytizing, so the Festinger
model may still apply even though there was no immediate increase after March 1990. CUT
has had extensive distribution of its books since at least the late 1970s, continued cable TV
video presentations in many urban areas, and often had representatives at New Age or
metaphysical fairs. The fledgling Keech group had none of this. Whitsel does report that CUT
did reenergize its proselytizing years after its doomsday event by repressing its survivalist,
patriotic image (communism was no longer viable as the ultimate evil enemy for CUT) and
by reaching out to the New Age milieu with a more positive message about its teachings.
Whitsel describes Elizabeth Prophet‘s appearance on radio in 1997 on The Art Bell Show to
promote her worldview. Bell had a national audience interested in government conspiracies,
UFO phenomena, and paranormal events. But the author neglects to mention two significant
Prophet appearances on television shows: One was the MTV special with a relatively benign
segment about CUT in ―New Religions: The Cult Question,‖ that aired many times since its
release in 1995. The other was A&E Network’s ―Prophets &Doom‖ feature (from its series
The Unexplained) that aired initially in 1997 and repeatedly through 2000. Both TV
programs gave significant, balanced overviews of CUT.
A third significant news event CUT hoped to use to improve its image not reported by the
author regards a criminal trial of three ex-CUT members in Idaho in April 1993.
Concurrently on trial in Boise was Randy Weaver, an alleged racist/survivalist who held anti-
government views, in the infamous ―Ruby Ridge‖ case. And it was in April that the Waco-
Summit Lighthouse. The ―I AM‖ assimilated fascist ideology from William D. Pelley‘s Legion
of Silver Shirts. Both of these groups (as well as CUT) adapted many elements from Helena
P. Blavatsky‘s Theosophical Society, especially the exclusive metaphysical contact
(channeling) with Ascended Masters. According to Whitsel CUT ―exhibited tendencies
commonly associated with millenarian movements‖ since its inception in1958, and the ―I AM
philosophy…created the Summit Lighthouse‘s political orientation—a perspective defined by
patriotism and staunch anti-communism.‖ Whitsel gives an overview of CUT‘s New Age
milieu within which it operates and from which most of its recruits appear.
Later in the book in Chapter Six however we learn from a 1994 interview the author
conducted with CUT‘s leader, Elizabeth Prophet, that she had harsh criticism for New Agers
as ―self-indulgent‖ and prone to ―adoption of shallow phenomena.‖ Whitsel refrains from
cynical commentary, and properly so in keeping with his academic approach, but the irony
was not lost on me. Nor will it be lost on anyone else familiar with CUT‘s history of bizarre
self-purification rituals and claims to magical power in its decrees or high speed chanting
rituals. In Chapter Five Whitsel reports CUT‘s rationalization of why the doom prophecy
failed to materialize: The ―diligence‖ of group members who conducted spiritual warfare
(decreed) and their hard work to build survival shelters mitigated the evil energy that would
have produced the disaster.
Doomsday groups have responded in erratic ways to their failed prophecies, but as one
seminal study by Leon Festinger and others demonstrated, true believers will tend to reduce
dissonance by some sort of rationalization rather than take the more painful, identity
convulsing alternative of rejecting the beliefs. The study found that believers also reduce
―cognitive dissonance‖ by increased proselytizing. In Chapter Five our author refers to this
study, When Prophecy Fails published in 1961, but finds that CUT showed no significant
effort to immediately proselytize in 1990, thus not fully following the Festinger model. I
would argue that Whitsel neglected to appreciate that CUT was much larger and far longer
lived than the relatively tiny group in the Festinger study. By the time of the March 15 ―non-
event‖ (the author‘s characterization) CUT was among the major new religious movements
with ―25,000‖ devotees worldwide. The Festinger study group called ―The Seekers,‖ headed
by the charismatic "Marian Keech," amounted to a household size cult in ―Lakeland‖ that
grew and dispersed within a year or so.*
CUT, contrary to Whitsel‘s assertion (p.122), never ceased its proselytizing, so the Festinger
model may still apply even though there was no immediate increase after March 1990. CUT
has had extensive distribution of its books since at least the late 1970s, continued cable TV
video presentations in many urban areas, and often had representatives at New Age or
metaphysical fairs. The fledgling Keech group had none of this. Whitsel does report that CUT
did reenergize its proselytizing years after its doomsday event by repressing its survivalist,
patriotic image (communism was no longer viable as the ultimate evil enemy for CUT) and
by reaching out to the New Age milieu with a more positive message about its teachings.
Whitsel describes Elizabeth Prophet‘s appearance on radio in 1997 on The Art Bell Show to
promote her worldview. Bell had a national audience interested in government conspiracies,
UFO phenomena, and paranormal events. But the author neglects to mention two significant
Prophet appearances on television shows: One was the MTV special with a relatively benign
segment about CUT in ―New Religions: The Cult Question,‖ that aired many times since its
release in 1995. The other was A&E Network’s ―Prophets &Doom‖ feature (from its series
The Unexplained) that aired initially in 1997 and repeatedly through 2000. Both TV
programs gave significant, balanced overviews of CUT.
A third significant news event CUT hoped to use to improve its image not reported by the
author regards a criminal trial of three ex-CUT members in Idaho in April 1993.
Concurrently on trial in Boise was Randy Weaver, an alleged racist/survivalist who held anti-
government views, in the infamous ―Ruby Ridge‖ case. And it was in April that the Waco-
