In the summer of 1999 I was attending the Drug Abuse 
Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Instructor's Course in Topeka, KS. 
Because it was a two week course, I was anxious to find a suitable 
running trail in the area. I had heard of a few places not to go, but 
had very few suggestions as to where I might find a good park. So I 
set out on my own little adventure. Little did I know what I would 
encounter that day. 
       On my way to Gage Park I noticed a small crowd of people at 
one busy intersection holding signs saying "God Hates Fags", "AIDS 
Cures Fags" and "America Will Burn In Hell".  I also saw that there 
was an American flag being flown upside-down, an universal sign for a 
nation in distress. I was more surprised than disgusted, but as I 
went on my run I began thinking about what I had seen. I wondered 
what these peoples' motivation was for such hateful sentiment. On my 
way back to the hotel, I noticed that the same crowd had moved down 
the street and was now standing in a parking lot. My curiosity got 
the best of me, and I decided to stop and ask this crowd a few 
questions. As I approached, the crowd began to talk to each other and 
began moving away from where I had parked. I was approached by one 
man and a woman who asked me what I wanted. I replied that I was not 
there to make any trouble; I was only curious as to what they were 
protesting. Any hope of having a sensible dialogue was dismissed when 
their reply was, "What does it look like we are protesting? Fags!" I 
was then asked to leave. Not wanting an ugly scene I chose to remove 
myself, but I still had one question. Before leaving I asked, "Are 
you all affiliated with an organization?" The answer was, "Yes, the 
Westboro Baptist Church."
        How could a religious organization advocate such hateful 
sentiments? How can a church actually say that God hates people? 
These are only a few of the questions that I had the day of my 
encounter with the "flock" of Rev. Fred Phelps, and I am still not 
sure of any of the answers. In this paper I would like to explore the 
phenomenon of militant conservatism among the religious right. More 
specifically, I will focus on Christian denominations. I understand 
that this is not exclusive to the Christian faith but is also 
practiced throughout many of the world's major religions. I would 
also like to state that my intent is not to make generalizations 
about all conservative Christians. Instead, I will focus on the 
extreme-right and the black eye that they give to all Christians 
throughout the world. I feel that this phenomenon has the capability 
to be so pervasive throughout America that it will tear at the very 
fabric that our nation is held. 
       First, I would like to identify a few of the groups that 
advocate hate and violence toward minority groups within America and 
at the same time identify themselves with the Christian religion. As 
I mentioned earlier, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is one of the 
groups that teeters on the extreme right of the religious and social 
spectrum. Anyone can visit this church's website at 
www.godhatesfags.com. At their website they not only preach that 
homosexuals are all sinners who will ultimately be damned, but they 
also teach that America is doomed for supporting such "immorality". 
They believe that action should be taken to spread hate about this 
lifestyle and to picket anyone who supports gay relationships. One 
excerpt from their sister website, www.godhatesamerica.com, states 
that, "As doomed Israel chose criminal Barabbas over Christ, so 
America chooses criminal fags and is also doomed." The irony among 
this group is ubiquitous. For example, The Westboro Baptist Church 
has spent a considerable amount of time over the past few years 
protesting the U.S. military for their "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy 
toward homosexual preference among its service members. The irony of 
burning a flag in front of a military installation to advocate the 
senseless murder of a gay soldier is almost humorous if it were not 
so appalling. This same soldier served his nation in order to protect 
and defend the very freedoms that make it possible for this group to 
burn that flag. 
       Another excerpt from the WBC website states, "In short, we 
adhere to the teachings of the Bible, preach against all form of sin 
(e.g., fornication, adultery, sodomy), and insist that the doctrines 
of grace be taught publicly to all men." In the same writing  they 
also state that, "For every one verse about God's mercy, love, 
compassion, etc., there are two verses about His vengeance, hatred, 
wrath, etc." Therefore, they justify their hateful words and actions 
with their interpretation of the words of the Bible. However, when 
asked whether they believe that they should love their neighbor, 
which is a common lesson learned through the Bible, they state that 
they should but that this does not mean that they have to advocate 
that person's behavior(s).
      While the WBC does not advocate violence in order to promote 
their beliefs, there are other groups who do. One example of this 
type of militant group is the Covenant Sword and Arm of the Lord 
(CSA). The CSA was dismantled by the FBI in 1985 when a raid on their 
Ozark compound was conducted by nearly 200 agents. The CSA was 
founded in 1971 by James Ellison, a San Antonio fundamentalist 
minister. The CSA formed a compound in the seclusion of the Ozarks in 
order to provide survivalist training and to promote their religious 
beliefs. The 100 inhabitants of the compound followed Ellison in his 
belief that the Christian faith was being threatened by not only 
Jews, blacks and other minorities, but by the government itself. It 
claimed that the "Zionist led government" threatened the Christian 
faith and would ultimately bring about the "ultimate holocaust". In 
1983, the CSA was responsible for the bombing of a Jewish synagogue 
in Indiana, a church in Missouri, and the attempted sabotage of a 
natural gas pipeline running from Missouri to Chicago.  When the FBI 
finally raided the compound, hundreds of firearms, bombs, rockets, 
and mines were found. There was also a significant amount of cyanide 
found that the FBI believed was to have been used to poison a nearby 
town's water supply, a blatant and violent action used as a source of 
vengeance for those who refused to believe the teachings of this 
religious group.
      The WBC and CSA are only two in a sea of Christian separatist 
organizations that promote hate and violence against American 
citizens - minorities in particular. There are a few characteristics 
that all of these groups seem to have in common though. It is these 
similarities that I would like to explore.  Why do these groups 
choose to identify themselves ideologically with the Christian faith 
when their basic tenants are so far removed from those taught in the 
Bible? Why do these groups so adamantly oppose minorities and other 
views not in line with their own? And lastly, why do they often take 
a militant stance in the defense of their beliefs?
      The answer to the first question is relatively simple to answer 
but hard to truly understand. These types of groups that advocate 
hate and violence in the name of the Lord actually believe that they 
are acting within the teachings of the Bible. As quoted earlier, the 
WBC believes that for every scripture that teaches of God's love, 
mercy and compassion, there are more that teach of His wrath and 
hatred.  Many verses within the Bible are open to interpretation. 
That interpretation is not always universal. For many the means of 
interpreting the Bible is part of their argument that our society has 
been "corrupted" by the Jewish conspiracy throughout history. The 
Christian Separatist Church Society (CSCS) is one of these groups 
that subscribes to such beliefs. The CSCS proposes that because the 
King James Version of the Bible was originally written by Jews, it 
was meant to hide the actual truth. Instead of taking their scripture 
from such versions as the King James, New International, or Revised 
Standard Versions, they only recognize the Anointed Standard 
Translation (AST) derived from the Greek Septuagint, which is argued 
to be the earliest translation of the Bible from Greek to English. On 
the CSCS's web site they quote numerous scriptures to support their 
claims that God advocates the hate and separation of all sinners, 
interpreted by many followers of such groups as minorities. One such 
scripture quoted by the CSCS is taken from II Corinthians 7:1 of the 
Anointed Standard Translation; "Let us purify ourselves from all 
mongrelization of the flesh and of mentality, fulfilling separation 
in the fear of God" (II Cor. 7:1 AST). The same verse in the King 
James Version reads, "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let 
us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, 
perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (II Cor. 7:1 KJV). As you 
can see, the text is similar with the exception of a few words. Those 
few words however make all the difference.  The distinction 
between "separation" and "perfecting holiness" is the difference 
between sufferance and dogmatism. This theme is resonated throughout 
many of the scriptures quoted by the CSCS. 
      Another such example of Biblical interpretation is seen in the 
CSCS's use of John 17:15-19; "I do not petition that You take them 
out of the world, but that You keep them from evil. They are not of 
the world, even as I am not of the world. Separate them in Your 
truth; Your Word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also sent 
them into the world; and I separate Myself for them, that they also 
may be separated in truth" (John 17:15-19 AST). Again, the King James 
Version reads differently than the Anointed Standard Translation; "I 
do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You 
should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just 
as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is 
truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the 
world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be 
sanctified by the truth." (John 17: 15-19 KJV).  Again, the 
differences are few but very discernible. Why is it that "separation" 
is used to replace such sentiments as "perfecting holiness" 
and "sanctity"? I submit that these terms cannot be interchanged with 
separation. It is ludicrous to believe that salvation or grace has 
anything to do with separating oneself from another. Instead, doesn't 
the Bible teach us to go forth and share his word with the world? 
Not only is the Anointed Standard Translation different from most of 
the more common Biblical versions, but the CSCS, and other groups, 
will speak these scriptures out of context. In reference to John 17: 
15-19, the CSCS purports that this scripture is a call for all 
Christians to separate themselves from the "antichrist world system" 
in order to praise God and obey His will. However, in reading the 
entirety of the scripture within the text of the seventeenth chapter, 
one can easily see that this verse was taken from Jesus' prayer to 
His father. Jesus was praying for His disciples. The AST would have 
us believe that Jesus would want His disciples to separate themselves 
from the world when in all actuality He is praying that they be 
blessed so that they can go into the world and spread His blessings 
to all.
      Groups such as the WBC, CSA, and CSCS utilizes religion as a 
vehicle to promote their hateful ideals. The Christian aspect of 
their beliefs is merely a front that brings some semblance of 
legitimacy to their claims. With this being said, why are minority 
groups often the target of such hatred?  One can approach this on 
three levels: religious, social, and political.  Religiously 
speaking, we have already discussed how certain interpretations of 
the Bible lead people to believe that other races are inferior to 
the "white" race. The CSCS states that the Bible teaches that the 
mongrelization of races is a sin in the eyes of God. Therefore, many 
of these groups call for the separation of races. Not only do they 
often take a separatist stance toward minority races, but against 
homosexuals and other nonconformist lifestyles. Christian-based 
extremist groups will claim that homosexuality is a sin and all 
homosexuals are doomed. One can believe this if they so choose but 
their beliefs often manifest themselves in violence and 
discrimination.  A prime example of the manifestation of such beliefs 
is seen in the Christian Identity Movement. The Christian Identity 
Movement (CIM) is a growing organization with it's roots in the more 
rural portions of Missouri and California. The FBI believes there to 
be well over 50,000 followers of the movement and considers it to be 
one of the most dangerous hate groups within our borders. The CIM is 
believed to be responsible for numerous hate based killings and 
terrorist plots against the government. The CIM is a separatist 
organization that believes that, "White Anglo-Saxons, the supreme 
race, are God's chosen people because they were created by God and 
are the descendants of the lost `12 Tribes of Israel.'"  Similar to 
the CSCS, they also believe that other religions "gloss over" the 
true meaning of the Bible, therefore promoting a more tolerant and 
sinful society.
      From a social standing there are various reasons why extremist 
organizations choose to discriminate. As with many far-right groups 
throughout the world, there is a longing to return to a time when 
life was simpler and less corrupt. I submit that there has never been 
such a time. However, many of these groups' followers conclude that 
America has been on a moral decline since the arrival of certain 
social phenomenon. Some of these include the Civil Rights Movement, 
affirmative action, military policy toward homosexuality, and secular 
humanism. In the eyes of these groups' followers, each of these 
movements represents a decline of our nation in terms of its 
morality. There is a feeling of abandonment and seclusion among many 
of these groups. These feelings often manifest themselves in militia 
or survivalist type behaviors. But why should these groups feel so 
overwhelmingly threatened to the point that they need to stockpile 
weapons on the order of thousands, as seen at Waco and the CSA 
compound? The answer lies in their perception of the government's 
role.
      Politically speaking, these extremist groups will often fall on 
the far right of the spectrum. Many of such groups however will 
choose not to involve themselves politically due to the fact that the 
government is often viewed as the enemy. Paranoia and conspiracy run 
rampant throughout the far-right extremist culture. One book that 
promotes such paranoia toward the government is The Turner Diaries. 
Among many far-right extremists,  The Turner Diaries is often revered 
as a prophetic account of what this nation will experience within the 
near future. This book was written by William Pierce, the leader and 
founder of the National Alliance. The National Alliance is a neo-nazi 
group that also hides under the guise of religion. Pierce, under the 
pen-name of Andrew MacDonald, writes a fictional account of a group 
of Aryans who go underground because of the threats against them by 
the "Zionist led government". While underground, they conduct 
guerrilla warfare against blacks, Jews, and the government until they 
have overthrown and gained rule over the U.S.  Many believe that The 
Turner Diaries acted as a blueprint for the Oklahoma City bombing. In 
fact, the book was found among McVeigh's  property when he was 
arrested and was later introduced in court during his trial. 
It is this feeling of paranoia that propels many groups to take a 
militant stance toward the government and its citizens.  For many the 
threat against them is fictional but the perception of a threat is 
very real.  In order to understand these feelings it is important to 
place oneself in the shoes of one of these believers. If I knew 
beyond a shadow of a doubt that a group of heavily armed men were 
coming to my house in order to put me in jail, what would I do?  Have 
I broken any laws? Let's say that I was being taken away from my home 
and family for simply being a white Christian. Would I be willing to 
resist with force? Yes, I would. This is the feeling that many of 
these groups' followers share. They honestly believe that there is a 
day coming when their own "Zionist government" will come door to door 
and arrest all white Christians. You and I both know that this is not 
true but perception is often 100% of reality.  You may ask, "How 
could someone really believe that something like that would ever 
happen?" Well, how did we ever believe that martians really were 
invading the Earth when we heard it over the radio?  The fact is that 
these groups are often run by very intelligent and very charismatic 
leaders.  William Pierce holds a Ph.D. in physics and was once a 
professor in Oregon. Surprisingly enough Rev. Phelps, leader of the 
Westboro Baptist Church, was once a very influential lawyer who was 
closely connected to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.  Make no 
mistake, these groups have strong leadership and are very well 
organized. Their ability to recruit is only limited by the abilities 
of today's technology, which we all know to be boundless.
      So how do these groups affect us as a society and our ability 
to come together in a dialogue in order to resolve injustice?  As I 
stated earlier, this phenomenon has the ability to tear at the very 
fabric of this nation. America prides itself on its cultural, ethnic, 
and religious diversity. Anything that threatens the cohesion of all 
three of these also threatens the security of our nation.  We have 
already seen what one man can do to hundreds when he is armed with 
explosives and the seed of hate. I would like to say that this was 
the act of one lone man who took an extreme view of what these groups 
advocate. Many groups such as the National Alliance would have us 
believe that McVeigh acted alone and was in no way affiliated with 
their organization.  I, however, do not believe this to be true. I 
believe that this is the beginning of something terrible to come.  I 
wish that I could turn a blind eye and dismiss it as easily as others 
might want us to but the threat is just too great. Our nation is not 
going to return to racial segregation just because the fanatical few 
wish it that way. We are not going to abandon the Constitution and 
separation of church and state in order to adopt Christianity as the 
national religion. So then what are we to do? 
      Should we more actively pursue these groups from a law 
enforcement view? This is a perplexing question. I believe that it is 
our responsibility to bring criminals to justice, but to what extent 
do we go to keep track and suppress these groups?  Part of the fuel 
that adds to the extremist fire is the active pursuit that the 
government has taken against such groups.  As seen in Waco and Ruby 
Ridge, the government has helped to support the conspiracy theory 
that the government is a threat against their way of life and their 
beliefs. After these events, people like David Koresh and Randy 
Weaver have become martyrs for the far-right movement.  I do not 
believe that increased law enforcement is the answer. We only support 
their mistrust when we take a militaristic stance in our attempts to 
prevent criminal acts. 
      I believe that education is the answer.  We all have a fear of 
the unknown, and fear is what ultimately drives these hated based 
groups.  If we begin by educating our children in terms of tolerance 
and conflict resolution, then we are headed in the right direction. 
We are already seeing these types of programs and curriculum in the 
schools, but unfortunately we are not able to see the effects of 
these programs yet.  However, any effort to educate is better than 
laying down and hoping the problem will go away; it will not.
      In closing, I would like to say that I do not advocate any of 
the aforementioned beliefs or actions on the part of these extreme-
right groups. However, I do believe that their voice is as vital to 
the "discussion" as anybody's. We need not adopt a person's views in 
order to take value from what they have to say. These groups are 
relating to us that they feel isolated from their government and from 
their own identity. Is this a fault of the government or society at 
large?  I feel that it is neither; instead it is a cry for help. 
These people are begging for guidance and real leadership. In the 
absence of these, they are willing to follow anyone who appeals to 
their more visceral senses. Our political and religious leaders need 
to take more responsibility for proper guidance instead of squabbling 
about minute differences and realize that there is a part of our 
nation that is hurting and is willing to hurt others unless we take 
action. 
 

REFERENCES:

Christian Separatist Church Society. "Welcome to The Christian 
Separatist Church". n.d. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, 11 Nov 2000.
http://www.christianseparatist.org/other/welcome.html

Hate Groups and Extremists, "The FBI Calls is the Most Dangerous Hate Group. And It's Growing in Missouri". St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 05 March 2000. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, 11 Nov 2000.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/hate_groups/hategroups154.html

Michael McFarland, "Extremism Links: A Research Page". n.d. Retrieved from the World Wide Web , 10 Nov 2000.
http://www.stetson.edu/~mmcfarla/extreme.html

Thalif Dean, "Religious Extremism On the Rise, says U.N." n.d. 
Retrieved from the World Wide Web, 11 Nov 2000.
http://www.ips.org/rights/news/nup051299_11.htm

The Nizkor Project, "Paranoia as Patriotism: Far-Right Influences on 
the Militia Movement". n.d. Retrieved from the World Wide Web,  12 Nov 2000.
http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/orgs/american/adl/paranoia-as-patriotism/

Westboro Baptist Church, "Westboro Baptist Church Web Site". n.d. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, 10 Nov 2000.
http://www.godhatesfags.com/home.html