Ithacans Opposed to the Twelve Tribes Cult

Why we boycott Maté Factor

2009-03-06T11:05:00.012-05:00

By permission of the author, here is an unedited version of an article by John Sullivan that originally appeared in the January 2007 Ithaca Community News.

In Ithaca many people consider the consequences of how and where they spend their money. My wife and I have friends who can tell you why they refuse to buy products from several manufacturers as well as from a local big-box retailer or two.

So in the summer of 2006 when we learned about the history, beliefs and practices of the Twelve Tribes religious group that owns and operates the Maté Factor on the Commons, we were surprised that fellow Ithacans had yet to organize any kind of public awareness effort. Knowing little about the Twelve Tribes, we’d eaten there several times and had enjoyed the experience. The proprietors, who in appearance resemble a cross between flower children and the Amish, seemed harmless enough. The food was good, the décor interesting and the ambience inviting.

I’d like to explain why we with other Ithacans have since begun an organized boycott of Maté Factor and why we invite you to join us in this effort.

First some background on the Twelve Tribes. In the early 1970's a former carnival barker named Eugene Spriggs founded the group now called Twelve Tribes in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Spriggs began teaching his own brand of fundamentalist, millennialist Christianity in which followers give up all personal possessions and prepare for the biblical apocalypse in emulation of the first Christians described in the Book of Acts. After wearing out their welcome in Bible Belt Tennessee, they relocated to the small town of Island Pond, Vermont. In the past two decades they have established 24 communities in the U.S., six in upstate New York (including Ithaca), as well as in France, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, and the United Kingdom. According to the Boston Globe, the group has nearly doubled in size in the past five years (to between 3000 and 4000) and has prospered financially from opportune real estate investments. They give themselves Hebrew names, practice Israeli folk dances, and have adopted the name “Twelve Tribes” to reflect their belief that they are God’s newly chosen people. They preach that only they offer salvation and that baptism within other faith communities is worthless. According to defectors, Spriggs still maintains complete control of all communities. He and his wife reportedly shuttle between estates near Twelve Tribes communities in the U.S., France and Brazil and live in considerably better conditions than do their flock.

Our objections to Spriggs and the Twelve Tribes are not directly concerned with their religious claims or belief in an approaching apocalypse. Instead, we object to their promotion of racist, misogynistic and homophobic doctrines that have a long history of hurting people: doctrines that are in fact at the root of the greatest modern crimes against humanity. Additionally, we object to their exploitation of young adults and——to us the most disturbing——their advocacy of child mistreatment.

Spriggs, known as “Yoneq” inside the group, teaches that slavery of people of African descent and the social order of the Jim Crow South were ordained by God, a result of the biblical curse of Canaan. According to Spriggs, “Martin Luther King could not offer true freedom to [African-Americans] when he was a slave of the curse himself” and “Martin Luther King was filled with every evil spirit there is to say [blacks don’t] have to serve [whites]…All manner of evil filled that man.” Race mixing and multicultural society are anathema to Spriggs. Literature the Twelve Tribes disseminates for the public and potential recruits only slightly softens Spriggs’ teachings with more veiled references to race. For instance, in their publication “Multicultural Madness” you will read:

“Let's face it. It is just not reasonable to expect people to live contentedly alongside of others who are culturally and racially different. This is unnatural, and sometimes forces people to go against what they instinctively know in their conscience.”

From another entitled "Alien Ant":

“Multiculturalism increases murder, crime and prejudice. It goes against the way man is. It places impossible demands on people to love others who are culturally and racially different. This is unnatural, like trying to love sodomites.”

Spriggs has written that (real) Jews suffer under their own curse for crucifying Jesus and that homosexuals “deserve the death penalty.” He is adamant that women unquestioningly submit to the authority of their husbands. But central in Spriggs’ teachings concern their children. On them all their hopes depend since in a generation or two they must produce 144,000 pure and virginal boys to be the bride of the Messiah as described in the Book of Revelation. Any deviation from devout focus on this goal endangers everyone’s salvation. And so he admonishes his followers to begin beating disobedient children with switches from before they can walk. According to Spriggs, a beating is not sufficient until “blue wounds” appear in the child’s flesh. Punishable offenses include engaging in make-believe.

Children in the Twelve Tribes are home-schooled to only a rudimentary level and are prohibited from acquiring a high school diploma or G.E.D. (After all, what use have breeding stock for an education?) They are put to work at an early age in the group’s cottage industries. We have no information on how children are treated in the Ithaca community other than what the parents tell us. Normally, no one mandated by New York state law to report signs of abuse—doctors, teachers, social workers—ever see the children. However, none of the local Twelve Tribes adults with whom I have spoken have disowned Spriggs’ teachings on child discipline (or those on any other subjects). On the occasions I went to the restaurant, I regularly saw children working behind the counter. New York State fined two Greene County Twelve Tribes businesses for child labor law violations in 2001.

The group largely recruits directionless (but fertile) twenty-somethings, often at rock concerts. They take, and under no conditions return, all the financial resources of those who have any. Accounts from people who have left Twelve Tribes describe a culture based on psychological manipulation, suspension of individuality, and total dependency on “elders,” all of whom are male.

Somehow, because their doctrines and practices come wrapped in religious convictions, they have been immune from the kind of criticism that would otherwise be marshaled against them. We suspect most people eating at Maté Factor on any given day would say that they find nostalgia for slavery and patriarchy, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and child beating rather revolting. We think most would choose to spend their money elsewhere if they were aware that Twelve Tribes exploits people and promotes these things. I see people eating in Maté Factor who are probably among those concerned by sweatshop labor in Bangladesh and who protest human rights abuses in Tibet. We could all benefit by being more aware of what is going on in our own backyard.

Our group, Ithacans Opposed to the Twelve Tribes Cult (IOTTC), came together initially to counter a Twelve Tribes recruiting rally on the Ithaca Commons on August 12, 2006. At that surreal event were treated to a black Twelve Tribesperson (yes, there are a few) explain how the Montgomery Alabama bus boycott of 1955-56 was a misguided effort, among other things. We handed out a pamphlet containing the words of Eugene Spriggs to over 300 passers-by that day and, I think, successfully frustrated their efforts.

The members of the Twelve Tribes who have settled in Ithaca and work at the Maté Factor should not be insulted or harassed. Many are themselves victimized and may have not fully understood all of the Spriggs’ teachings when they joined. As one ex-Twelve Tribesperson wrote us “a lot of them have a hard time stomaching the teachings like the Ham teaching [on race] and the child discipline stuff, however they are between a rock and a hard place, and it's not worth it for them to rebel against those teachings because their survival depends on their submission to authority.” We should feel compassion for these people and offer them assistance to leave TT. Any that choose to do so will need our help since they own nothing but the shirt on their back. However, by eating at the Maté Factor your dollars empower the Twelve Tribes organization to maintain their hold on these adults and their children, and to recruit others.

Some confuse the right to free speech and belief to which we are all entitled with a supposed right to not be criticized. This no one has. When an ideology promotes homophobia, misogyny, racism and mistreatment of children we have an absolute obligation to speak up. Yes, the Twelve Tribes are for now a small group with fringe beliefs. Every one of us has a real interest in keeping things that way. Please help us boycott Maté Factor.

New blog dishes TT truth

2008-01-24T15:21:00.003-05:00

A Twelve Tribes Truth movement is afoot. "VOR," the author of the last two articles below, has just started his own blog with lots of interesting and well researched things to say about the leader of the cult, Yoneq (Eugene Spriggs), and his cruel little empire built on free labor.

The Twelve Tribes have an interesting take on Commandment #9,the one about lying. Yoneq teaches that "not telling the truth to someone who doesn't deserve the truth isn't lying." Check out this nifty logic at VOR's new blog.

VOR created his site for the same reason we created this one: we all deserve to know the truth about TT, whether we're considering investing a lifetime with them, or just our lunch money.

On his site he has posted some very interesting videos on TT. One I've posted here. Check out his site for the others.

No warning label

2008-01-09T11:03:00.000-05:00

"V.O.R" has graced us with another incisive commentary on TT's methods that is a must-read for anyone toying with joining up or even just spending their cash at Maté Factor here in Ithaca. V.O.R. keeps us sticklers for accuracy happy by providing copious footnotes and quotations from Spriggs. Rock on, V!
-Al

Do you want some hips and thighs with that burger?

Fast food restaurants don’t advertise the number of calories, fat or cholesterol in their food. They don’t tell you if you “Have it your way” you may gain ten pounds and not fit in your bathing suit come summer. Instead, they attempt to sell you on an experience and they take advantage of your hunger and desires to draw you into their establishment.

Another and possibly better example are the endless ads for Credit Cards that give you 0% interest for some period of time and tell you that you deserve to buy anything your heart desires and when you charge up a high balance start to charge you 20-30% interest. Then you are trapped because you gave into the advertisement, and now you are in debt and the debt is growing because of the compounding interest. Sure you did this of your own free will, but if consumers were given the whole truth up front, do you think as many would fall into the trap?

This is how it is with falling prey to a dangerous coercive control group (or cult). They entice you with a false outward appearance (1). They are selling an experience. This is why they will say, “Come visit us” or “Stay with us” versus talking to you about their beliefs and practices. Sure they will offer a superficial belief statement such as “We believe God is waiting for a people with one heart and one way who live together and love each other and have everything in common. Come visit us and you will see”. So what makes them different from any communal group that says the same thing? They won’t tell you up front. You won’t know until you visit them, and stay with them a while.

And that is when they start the process of what is known as cognitive dissonance by those who study Coercive and Controlling Groups such as the TT. This is where a person is purposely manipulated starting with controlling their environment. This is why they want you to “come.” While you are “there” they start playing with your emotions and controlling the information you can access that may provide an alternate perspective. There is a reason the TT brings a bus to deadhead concerts, it is a “mini-utopia” a place where prospective recruits can “experience” a taste of how they live. But even if you do decide to live with them for a couple weeks or a month, they don’t share their inner doctrines with you. They also don’t lock you in a room and keep you prisoner. You are free to go at anytime. This will cause you to believe that all the stories of “bondage” and “mind-control” are false. Their goal is to get followers who are willing to give up everything and make a commitment to submit to their authority. They really don’t want forced prisoners who want to break away any chance they get.

How can they convince you to want to submit to their authority and give up your free will? They start by telling you that everything you have learned and heard outside is from the “evil one” and you need to “clear your mind.” Simultaneously, they “love-bomb” you and give you a taste of utopia to get you in the right state of mind so you can “receive” their message. You start to think, “How can such sincere loving people be wrong?” They seem so happy and satisfied and all their needs are met. But unfortunately, you are only given the veneer of the real truth. In reality, most of the followers are dog-tired and struggle to stay faithful. They are worked 80-90 hours a week and don’t really have the time to live this utopian life and love-on their kids the way they say they do. In fact many of the accusations and condemnations they make of the outside “world” and “Christianity” specifically, are true of them. (see the comparison of fruit in the Parable of the Twig article). So it is not until you come to a point where you are willing to “die to yourself” and “give everything” to follow “Yahshuah” do you start to get a glimpse of the truth. And like the poor credit card holder, it is only after you have quit your job or dropped out of college, left your family and sometimes that means husbands/wives and children, told them they are all going to hell unless they follow you, turned over your vehicle and bank accounts and have no means of providing for yourself that you are given access to the “pearls” or inner teachings. Of course this is after you are baptized where you are required to denounce your former beliefs (Christianity or other religion/philosophies) and make a vow to “never leave” the body.

This is when you hear that Yoneq is the “anointed” and has a direct line to God and his teachings and words are equivalent to God speaking (2) and therefore are to be followed without question. You learn that he is the Elijah that has come back to earth to call people out of the world (3). That Christianity, (which is their main target for recruitment) was an apostate church that has not had the Holy Spirit (Ruach Ha Kodesh) for over 1900 years (4). That you are not allowed to think or “reason” for yourself about anything outside of the teachings and direction of Yoneq and his band of elders (5). And unless you beat your children until their wounds are blue, you are not being a loving father or mother in fact you hate your children. (6) And if you are a good little follower and submit all your loyalty to Yoneq’s teaching, you will one day be a God of your own Universe or Galaxy (7). And these are just a sample of the bizarre teachings that you will be expected to believe and submit to without question.

And what if you choose not to submit? And what if you want to ask a question? Then you are free to leave. In fact you are encouraged to leave and sometimes just plain asked to get out. The only problem is, you have already alienated your family and friends, you have no money and you own no vehicle and even the clothes on your back are not yours they belong to the community. If they are feeling generous, they will give you $200 to “get by”, but ultimately you are “cut-off”. (8)

So I ask you, if the Twelve Tribes put a poster up in front of the Maté Factor stating these beliefs, do you think people would want to give them their money? How about bring their kids and stay for a couple weeks? So what would constitute honest full disclosure/advertising and recruiting for the Twelve Tribes?

“Welcome, please spend as much money as you can with us because we need to ensure our Prophet has enough money to expand our real estate holdings and fly around the world starting other communities where people like me can nearly starve and raise our children and beat them until they are black and blue. You are welcome to move in with us as long as you denounce all other religious loyalties and promise you will never leave, and be willing to submit unquestionably to our elders and supreme leader who is in fact the only conduit to God. Please leave your brain outside as you are no longer allowed to think for yourself because our elders will think for you. But please bring your money, real estate, stocks and bonds and everything else with you so we can liquidate these and give the proceeds to our Apostle to spend as he sees fit. And we want you to have it your way so if your wife or husband does not want to join you/us, that’s ok. Abandon them because our Prophet Elijah says they are going to burn in the Lake of Fire anyway. Oh, and we have a no-money back guarantee. If you do choose to leave us, or we decide with little or no notice to kick you out, you will not get your money or any of your belongings back and you will drop dead because God will kill you. Have a nice day”

–Voice.

Sources:

(1) TT (Yoneq/Spriggs) Teachings concerning being “perfect” for outsiders and withholding the truth or outright lying in order to “make a stand”:

“The only thing we have to be perfect in now is confessing our sins and speaking to people on the outside. Or your conscience will haunt you night and day.” September 2 1990 Apostolic Workers Meeting Minutes.

“There is a difference between bearing false witness and concealing a matter (not telling the truth) that others have forfeited their right to know because of their hostile and evil attitude toward God.” November 29 1988 Phase 2 Teaching – Yoneq page 1

“Sometimes we make a stand with the truth by not revealing the truth or by our answers that are or are not true.” Nov 29 1988 Phase 2 Teaching – Yoneq page 1

(2) Teachings that demonstrate Yoneq/Spriggs speaks for God. In the quote below, understand the only one who the TT considers to have “delegated authority” from God is Yoneq/Spriggs so what he in fact is saying is to obey himself without argument as you would obey God.

All who know God and know authority will obey his word, will obey Him, will obey His delegated authority without argument. Acts 3:23 - If we do not obey every word he speaks to us we will be cut off. November 18, 1990 Reasoning – Page 4

(3) Quotes concerning Yoneq/Spriggs being in fact the Elijah and having God’s authority.

Note, the following quote is regarding a woman who died of cancer who was a long time member of the TT. They could not explain her untimely death without finding some fault in her life or un-confessed sin. She was accused of speaking ill of Yoneq once years before and therefore rejecting God’s authority and not “receiving” Elijah.

“No way if Mary disrespected God's authority could faith come to heal her - Numbers 12 No way her children could be saved Malachi 4:5 If (you) don't receive Elijah (you) don't receive (the) anointing (your) children will be accursed - no hope.” September 2, 1990 Apostolic Workers Meeting – Page 5

Here is another quote concerning Elijah being in the midst of the TT. They are referring to Yoneq and the spirit that he has brought to the TT.

“Keli told us we can know the spirit of Elijah is in our midst because of
how we are continually brought back to the necessity of turning our heart to our
children.” August 6, 1996 Apostolic Workers Meeting – Page 3

(4) Quotes concerning there being no true church for the last 1900 years:

“Everything has been in abeyance for at least 1900 years — put off for a future
generation to fulfill. Abeyance — put off, it’s no longer in existence. 1 Pet 2:9 is no longer in existence. There is no people of God; there is no holy nation; there is no twelve-tribed nation; there has been no one keeping the way of YHWH for 1900 years — it has been in abeyance.” April 9, 1995 The Fall of the First Church – Page 3

“Therefore the evil one been a ruler for 1900 years. They crucified the very Son of God — YHWH in the flesh. They killed Him! It proves who is in control of the world — Satan rules the whole world.” April 9, 1995 The Fall of the First Church – Page

(5) TT Teaching concerning peoples right to “reason” or think for themselves vs submitting to authority

“Many people are enslaved by a spirit of reason. They will only come when they are called and go where they are sent when it seems right to them. They always want to know a reason. If they are under this bondage of reasoning, sooner or later slanderous words will come out of their mouth against authority and there will be no possibility of escape from death.” November 18, 1990 Reasoning

(6) TT Teachings concerning beating children until they bleed:

“Underdiscipline accomplishes nothing. It is better not to discipline our children at
all — “The blueness of the wound drives away all evil.”” October 1980 Child Training -Notes from Teachers Meeting - Page 5

“Unless your son has blue wounds, by this standard, you know what kind of a
standard is in you — it is the spirit that hates your son. If one is overly concerned about
his son receiving blue marks you know that he hates his son and hates the word of God.”
No date – Execution of Justice – Page 1

(7) TT Quotes concerning being “cut-off” due to not submitting to authority or the teachings of Yoneq. A member can be “”cut-off” within the community and not allowed to participate in social activity or be asked to leave.

“What do we have that' s greater than our attachment (staying connected) to our Master, Yahshua, and His people? Do we think that we can put aside our life for awhile and leave the Community and go out and do other things and then come back?” May 19 1994 The Seriousness of Being Cut-Off from Messiah – Page 5

“In the nations if you join the army and go to battle and desert the battle you could be imprisoned or even killed. (A deserter is worthy of death - if he falls into the hands of the enemy he will betray you.) It's a serious thing to be in a battle and desert your troop. You have to see that we're in a war here. This is our Father's army and you can't so easily come back. We made a pledge at baptism not to leave.” May 19 1994 The Seriousness of Being Cut-Off from Messiah – Page 3

(8) TT (Yoneq/Spriggs) Quotes concerning followers becoming gods of their own galaxy:

"We are going to be holy people. Holy, set apart by the Holy Spirit to accomplish His will. The day will come when each one of you has a galaxy to rule over."
[source: "The Three Eternal Destinies #74 - Three Categories of Man 5" November 19, 1996. Morning Minchah, Reuben. Teaching identifier: 961119A]

"Rev 1:6; 5:10 — He has made us to be kings and priests — that’s who we are! We will rule over galaxies. When people of the nations see us, it will be just like seeing the Father (Jn 14:9). We will bear His name, His character, His image, His authority."
[source: "Salvation is a Free Gift (But Who Does He Give It To?)" December 1997. Coxsackie, NY. Teaching identifier: 9712T08]

Some nasty fruit

2008-01-06T16:06:00.000-05:00

People come to their dislike of the Twelve Tribes cult from a number of different perspectives. Some are appalled by the racism, misogyny, homophobia and xenophobia that lace their literature. Some are disgusted by their practices of thrashing their children with switches and depriving them of a high school-equivalent education. Others who consider themselves Christians object to how the group uses the preexisting affinity with Christian scripture of many potential recruits to get them in the door. For them, the TT's belief that they are the only true disciples of Yahshua/Jesus since the First Century and that Spriggs (Yoneq) is Elijah the prophet is not just weird and dangerous, it's a heresy. What follows was submitted to IOTTC by "V.O.R." The author has had long-term personal experience with the cult. The article contains some information that is difficult to fact-check, but many points made are corroborated by other sources. Opinions expressed in this essay represent the personal views of the author, and are not necessarily those of IOTTC. -Al

The Twelve Tribes leader and self proclaimed apostle and prophet (who also considers himself the return of the Biblical Elijah) goes by the name "Yoneq". His birth name was Elbert Eugene Spriggs. Spriggs has gone on record as defining his new name as meaning "a Twig". The word "Yoneqet" is used in this manner in Ezekial 17 speaking of an eagle that breaks off the top most "twig" of a cedar. Anyone familiar with the history of the Twelve Tribes knows that Spriggs broke away from a Christian based church due to differences of opinion and ultimately started his own "church" which at first accepted other Christians and Christianity as a whole. Later, he condemned Christianity as an Apostate church and his teachings state there has not been a valid Spirit filled church for over 1900 years. The Twelve Tribes like to use parables in their "Free Papers", so I wrote this parable just for Yoneq

The Parable of the Twig

There was a tree that grew alone in a field and was cared for by a very loving farmer. The tree had both strong and weak branches. The weak branches bore bad fruit. The strong branches bore good fruit. One day a twig started to grow on one of the strong branches. It was a humble twig that enjoyed being a part of a strong branch that grew good fruit. It flourished on the branch and started to grow beautiful healthy leaves. Then it started to flower and later the beginnings of one of the most beautiful fruits started to grow from the twig. At first the twig was happy to be contributing to the production of the branch and the tree overall. The tree produced healthy delicious fruit that made the farmer very happy.

However, overtime, the twig started comparing its fruit to those grown by the weaker branches on the tree. At first it felt sad that the other branches could not grow healthy fruit and wished that it could help them grow stronger. The farmer chose to prune some of these branches. And the twig started to think, “The farmer loves my fruit. He is happy with me and the branch that I belong to.” Then the twig started to compare it’s fruit to the fruit of other strong branches and it started to become judgmental of those branches for not having the “best” fruit. The twig started to question why the tree even bothered to grow weak branches at all? The twig started to become more and more proud and was becoming unhappy to be a part of the tree.

The twig shared its thoughts with the branch that it grew on but the branch would not listen. Therefore the twig started to compare its fruit with the fruit grown by other twigs on the branch. In its view, their fruit did not even compare to what it produced. So finally, the twig decided, “I need to break away from the branch and the tree and flourish on my own. Maybe by not being constrained by the tree I can become my own tree and make the farmer happier.”

When the twig broke away from the tree it fell to the ground. From the ground, the twig was able to see the results of the weaker branches face to face. Over time, all the twig could see was the rotten fruit surrounding it. It could no longer see any good fruit on the tree from its position on the ground. Therefore it determined in its heart the entire tree was “rotten” and unable to grow good fruit. Pride had completely taken root in the twig and it truly believed that the farmer only loved it and its fruit. The tree from which it grew was no longer loved by the farmer. It judged the tree by the dead fruit it saw and there was plenty to judge.

But something slowly started to happen that the twig’s pride prevented it from seeing. Due to being disconnected from the tree, the twig was no longer being fed by the tree. The twig had to produce food for its fruit entirely off of what it had inside it. Slowly the twig’s fruit began to shrivel.. The twig was too proud to admit that it had made a mistake by disconnecting from the branch and the tree. The fruit on the twig increasingly started to look like the fruit it was surrounded by on the ground. The twig was growing old and as a twig with rotting fruit, it did not have the ability to grow additional branches and twigs to grow good fruit. Now it’s fruit is withered and as rotten as anything ever produced by the weak branches on the tree. And still the twig’s pride declares, “I am the only true tree!”.

Yoneq said, “Judge me by my fruit, if I am an apostle or not”

Criticism of Christianity: Fathers and mothers being too busy working to spend time with their Children.

Twelve Tribes Fruit: Fathers too busy working in “Industries” and mothers too busy working in communities to spend time with their children. Young singles and other families raising their children. Families separated within and outside the communities.

Criticism of Christianity: Christians focused on “the love of money.”

Twelve Tribes Fruit: Communities and elders so focused on Industries and making money enough to pay the 10% tithe to the Apostle they don’t have time to Shepard the followers or raise their children properly. These facts are documented in their own teachings and minutes from the Apostolic Meetings.

Criticism of Christianity: Christians having the same divorce rate as non-Christians.

Twelve Tribes Fruit: Community members are encouraged to divorce non-believing spouses. Members who have spouses leave the TT, are encouraged to remarry.

Criticism of Christianity: Critical of Christian Leaders that fall (Baker, Swaggert, etc) and judging all Christianity based on the sins of these few.

Twelve Tribes Fruit: Multiple leaders accused and at least one arrested for molesting children. Jeff Leonard was arrested in Brunswick, Ga for child molestation and extradited to Desoto County, Fl (Arcadia) were he was later convicted and placed in jail. Stories of multiple others accused of child molestation and disciplined but then forgiven by the TT leadership.

Criticism of Christianity: Christian Denominations divided and divisions within churches therefore they are accused of not having the “Holy Spirit” and Christianity as a whole being an apostate church.

Twelve Tribes Fruit: Many of the original TT elders (“the nucleus”) have left the communities because of differences with Yoneq. Those who were credited with having “The Holy Spirit” now accused of never having it because they disagreed with Yoneq.

Criticism of Christianity: Christian churches leading people away from God instead of towards Him. Yoneq repeatedly states Christians and anyone who openly disagrees with him or his teachings should have a millstone tied around their neck and they should be thrown in the sea or sent to the Lake of Fire.

Twelve Tribes Fruit: Yoneq requires new members to denounce their Christianity before baptizing them. Many former members have not only abandoned the TT but also their belief in God altogether due to Yoneq and his controlling practices. Yoneq is personally responsible for leading thousands away from their faith in Christ and God.

Criticism of Christianity: Christian children don’t have their hearts turned towards their father. The Spirit of the Eliyah will turn the hearts of the children towards their father and the hearts of the father towards God.

Twelve Tribes Fruit: It is estimated by many ex-TT members that between 50-70% of male teens leave the TT between the ages of 14-19. Many of these teens have gone on record as “despising” their fathers and mothers for the abuse they had to endure in the TT. These teens are rejected and abandoned by their parents once the leave the TT.

Twelve Tribes: A Cult of ‘Demonic Seducing Spirits’

2007-08-31T01:08:00.000-04:00

He was looking to serve God with like-minded people.

He thought communal living could be spiritually lifting, a way of life rare enough to spark his interest in his quest to serve God.

And members of the Twelve Tribes, with their smiles and façades of happy living, convinced him to give it a try.

But for Robert Roberg, there was nothing heavenly about his experience with the cult 29 years ago.

Roberg, 63, is a married man with five children. He first met members of the Twelve Tribes in Island Pond, Vt. He was with his wife and then-baby daughter, spending time with his wife’s family before heading to Washington, DC, to work with a Christian mission group.

“We came down into Island Pond to buy groceries or something, and somebody stopped us in a grocery parking lot and said ‘You’d probably be interested in these Christians that meet in a ski lodge in Island Pond,’” he said.

Roberg and his wife decided to check the place out. For the next six Sundays, they visited members of the Tribe.

“They were just the nicest, sweetest, most-loving people we’d ever met,” he said.

But that quickly changed when Eugene Spriggs, the leader, appeared at the lodge. Roberg said they called Spriggs “The Prophet.”

“When he arrived, there was this huge, cold, dark shadow that fell upon the whole group,” Roberg said. “He was fierce, and harsh. There was nothing gentle or kind about him. I thought he was this really mean guy. He berated the people about their children, that they weren’t disciplining their children enough. I was totally turned off by him.”

The Robergs left for D.C., but continued to send letters to the people they met in the Twelve Tribes. While with the mission group, Roberg said they were asked to pay for the training. The Robergs didn’t have cash to spend, or at least they didn’t save any to give to the mission group.

“So, were in Washington, D.C., practically broke. But somehow we knew we wanted to serve God,” he said.

They decided to return to their native state of California. En route, they stopped in Chattanooga, Tenn., and found a restaurant called the Yellow Deli. The Twelve Tribes operate this establishment. Members invited them to stay at a big house they owned. The Robergs agreed and for six weeks they stayed with the Twelve Tribes in Chattanooga.

Every morning at 6:00, they’d pray. But it wasn’t your normal prayer.

“They were praying for nails, shingles and hammers,” he said. “It was weird. They were praying for all these weird things. They were running all of these little businesses. They put me on a crew to go build a wall in one of these restaurants.”

Roberg worked from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., every day. He compared the work to slave labor. “They worked me like that day and night, and it was just like free labor for them.”

Early on during the Robergs’ stay, his wife expressed concern about the happenings in the nursery house, where all the children stayed.

“All the people in the nursery carried these switches from trees,” he said. “They were extremely, extremely severe about any child who looked crooked. You didn’t just switch them once, you switch them until, they call it ‘breaking the spirit’. She saw some babies just being switched and switched and switched. She started saying ‘We’ve got to get out of here; this is not healthy.”

But Roberg wanted to know more about the Twelve Tribes. He convinced her to stay.

The bizarre environment continued, when Roberg spent his first Friday with this Tribe. Every Friday night was “Agape Fest,” when members would drink bottles of wine and feast. It was love time.

“They would sort of make up for lost time and get kind of rowdy, dance a little bit. Some of them, I thought, got a little too much agape in them,” he said.

One Tribe member commented to him that “we are the only true church on Earth.”

“I said ‘Come on, there are churches all over the earth and Christians are everywhere,’” Roberg said.

“He said ‘No, we are the only Christians.’”

At that point, it all became clear to Roberg: “This is a cult. Every cult says ‘we are the only ones.’ After six weeks, we decided we were going to move on.”

Since the Robergs left the Tribe, he has had several run ins with other groups. Some members even arrived on his door step to convince him to be a member.

“I can’t fault them on their teaching of the gospel of Jesus as they understand it, but there were some cultish things that turned me off. The strict discipline of the children was very disturbing,” Roberg said.

Every cult is spirit controlled, Roberg said.

“There is some kind of demonic seducing spirit that takes control of these people and they seem happy and nice,” he continued. “I think it it’s a seducing spirit that is leading them astray, a demonic spirit. When you think you’re the only group of Christians on Earth, and the only right ones, it’s a subtle pride thing, it’s arrogance. Pride is the sin of Satan. So the minute you start thinking you have all the answers, and you are the only ones, you are really taking away from the humility we all live. God only accepts the humble into his kingdom. A scripture says we will one day rule over angels. God would never take a proud human being and put him over his angels. He would only take humble people. I am sure in the Twelve Tribes, there are humble people. But the leadership is leading them astray.”

Roberg said he admires the Tribe’s openness--a door is always open for new recruits. He believes the cult has been able to grow because members don’t deny anyone from entering their world. So many people leave, but so many enter. Hippy festivals, often where troubled people can be found in packs, are big a draw for their membership drives.

Although his experience was more than a quarter century ago, Roberg said he doesn’t think the group has changed. Newspaper clippings of the child abuse and the unusual doctrines tells him they may have gotten worse, possibly even stronger.

“They are taking in desperate people from all over the streets who need a place to go,” he said. “They can keep renewing themselves even though maybe none of the original people are still there. It keeps the machinery going.”

Smile, there's a new pamphlet!

2007-08-27T18:48:00.000-04:00

I have never been a member of the Twelve Tribes. I have no plans to investigate them by going in "undercover." I will not have dinner with them. (I won't put them through the trouble of having to wash my dishes separately in bleach.)

Because I don't know any active members personally and because I rely for the most part on second-hand information for what I write, they and some of their friends say it is "garbage" (see comments to article below).

They should be happy to know that I didn't write the latest IOTTC pamphlet. Ten ex-TTers did. Most spent years in the group. They provide the would-be initiate with their personal experience of what what TT life is really like.

If you know where TT is recruiting, please print out a few copies and hand them out. If you know someone who is flirting with the group, give him/her a copy.

One more reason to smile: looks like TT canceled their plans for a "Merrymakers Caravan" tour this year. :-)

NOTE: If you have difficulty with the link above, use the "Download our pamphlets" link at the upper right.

TT: Wikipedia whitewashers!

2007-08-15T14:05:00.000-04:00

When associates of Diebold, Wal-Mart, Monsanto, the Mormons, the Church of Scientology and the Republican Party see something embarrassing on their Wikipedia page, they don't worry much about the truth content of the information, or about Wikipedia's Neutral Point of View policy, they just remove the irksome entry and often put text more favorable to them in its place.

Time to add another to the list of whitewashers. Can you guess who?

All links and most in-text references to sources critical of TT beliefs and practices were removed from the Twelve Tribes Wikipedia page back in May (I restored the link to this page). The nice thing about Wikipedia is that history of all edits are preserved. Here are some egregious edits made by someone identified only by their IP address (70.181.222.24) which traces to the Cox broadband service in Atlanta. Here are others which add text that only a TTer or a true apologist for them could write. Other edits were made by someone logged in as "Davidderush," the well known TT internet pit bull.

An ex-TTer friend of IOTTC learning of this commented: "What happened to 'Count it all joy when others speak ill of you...'?"

Funny how those most dependent upon the free speech protections embedded in our laws rush to censor other points of view when given the chance.

UPDATE 9/05/07: Well, they've been caught red handed again.

First the good news: since I wrote this article, many of the original external links to the Twelve Tribes Wikipedia article have been restored. Among these was the link to the "twelvetribesteachings" site that archives a collection of hundreds of "teachings" of Spriggs as well as the TT's Intertribal News. Trouble is, these documents were not meant for outsiders' eyes and are a public relations liability for the Tribes. Here is to be found Spriggs' unvarnished eschatology and views on child discipline, blacks, gays and the role of women. No one takes credit for making available this mountain of material, although one might guess that this is the work of an ex-TTer. Interestingly, the mystery compiler/publisher says nothing negative about TT, letting the reader draw their own conclusions from the documents themselves. The TT will never officially claim these as authentic, but when I showed selections of a few to several TTers, none expressed any suspicion that they were less than genuine. It would be a monumental feat to forge, or even alter, all these hundreds of documents. The writing style for most of them is the same and it's clear to me these have a single author. Many are on points of doctrine and aren't particularly scandalous or noteworthy, while others will stand the hair on your head.

Someone (anonymously, leaving only an IP address) once again removed the link to this site and offered a pathetic rationale for doing so on the discussion page. The editor Seldom4 smartly traced the IP address to Parchment Press, a TT-owned business in Coxsakie, NY, chided this perpetrator, and restored the link to TwelveTribesTeachings site as before.

When will the Twelve Tribes organization learn the Twelve Tribes Wikipedia page doesn't belong to them?

So you want to be in pictures?

2007-08-06T15:56:00.001-04:00

One reason we started this blog was because so little information about the Twelve Tribes was available to the public that wasn't put out by the Twelve Tribes themselves.

That might be changing.

Ithacan independent filmmaker Suanne Elisabeth Gumienny, who produced the celebrated documentary "Vaga-mama: Homeless by Choice" that ran on the local Pegasys cable channel, is hitting the road with her trusty german shepard to learn more about TT.

For the record, she is not in any way associated with IOTTC and from what I know of her is probably as close to a neutral observer as one could get.

If you have a TT-related story to tell, whatever your perspective, she'd like to get in touch with you. Here is her note:

I have lived in Ithaca for 8 years and have frequented
the Twelve Tribe's Mate Factor many times since they
opened. Due to the controversy that surrounds them
and the curiosity that many have, I have decided to
make them a subject for a research project that I'm
doing for the next year or so.

I intend to visit every TT community in our nation and
interview ex-members along the way for a documentary
movie that will be released to film festivals and
independent cinemas around the country.

I invite anyone to participate, ex-members of the
twelve tribes, family members of people who are
presently in the TT community, or anyone who has had a
"run-in" with the group. Participation does not mean
that you will be in the movie, some may choose not to
be filmed, but your insight is important to me and
information that you may have will help me with the
research.

If Interested,
Contact me at ambergeeproductions (at) yahoo (dot) com

Who is like unto the beast?

2007-07-30T14:11:00.000-04:00

It's now August, and parents of youngsters here in Ithaca are stocking up at the back-to-school sales and hoping that this is the year that little Jack or Jill exhibits the kind of academic performance that will win them a full scholarship to Cornell. (What is tuition at CU now? Forty grand a year?)

The concerns of Twelve Tribes parents are a bit different. They are hoping that through their repeated administrations of discipline with varnished balloon sticks and as a result of doing away with distractions from duty such as games, toys, bicycles, and use of the imagination, junior will be worthy of martyrdom to the Beast of the Apocalypse, pictured here. (Keep in mind, this is but one artist's interpretation...the real thing may differ considerably in appearance!)

I cracked open the Book of Revelation recently, hoping for some clarification about just what the TTers think is going to go down in generation or two. However, looking into this last book of the canonical New Testament for clarity on the "end times" is a bit like looking for a Republican in the Ithaca Festival Parade.

There is a harlot "seated on many waters" holding a golden cup of her abominations and "impurities of her fornications" (eww) and an epic battle between archangel Michael and a heavenly host against a dragon. Beasts come and beasts go. Some beasts speak like dragons and make people believe in other beasts. (I confess I lost track of the beasts.)

In Revelations 12 there is a woman "clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars" who gives birth to a "male child" who is to "rule all nations with a rod of iron." There is "a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads" who with his tail "drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth." This dragon threatens to devour the woman's child. The male child is "caught up unto God, and to his throne," the woman flees into the wilderness, where she stays "one thousand two hundred and threescore days."

The Tribers, as I understand it, identify with this woman and see themselves as the "Bride of Messiah." The Male Child is not one well behaved kid, but 144,000 of them from Rev. 14 that are "not defiled with women; for they are virgins." The TTers raison d'être is to produce these virginal martrys. As far as I can tell upon my cursory reading of John's rapturous vision, these are the saints of Rev. 13 who are overcome by a beast that "is like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion." I think this is the mutt pictured above, but I invite the correction of any Biblical scholar out there.

So in a generation or two the TTers are going to produce 144,000 male children who will trade in their parents' balloon sticks for rods of iron. What happens to the girls? (I guess it's best if girls are out of the picture entirely, to prevent even a single of the boys from being "defiled" with them.) Could it be that in the final generation, the TTers will only produce boys? If so, then what better barometer of end time proximity than the sex ratio of their children? (Luckily for us, the ratio seems close to 50/50 at present.)

Now I don't claim to know the meaning of the shambolic yarn that is the Book of Revelation, nor to have understood in every detail or to have perfectly expressed what the Prophet Eugene has in mind for flock of sheep. However I think I understand well enough to reply to John of Patmos when he asks "who is like unto the beast"?

An Absolute Tyranny

2007-07-04T17:53:00.000-04:00

I hold this truth to be self-evident: that a free citizen of the United States who willingly becomes a slave to doctrines dictated by a self-styled prophet should have sought professional psychological help instead.

Our Founders threw off the oppression of monarchy and state religion only to have some among us forge their own manacles. Adults are free to make the choice to join Twelve Tribes. It's for their children that I reserve most of my pity. I hope all of them get their independence day.

Church or Cult?

2007-04-04T12:38:00.000-04:00

This joke was told to me by a Baptist:

"Why do you have to take two Baptists with you when you go fishing?

Because if you just take one, he'll drink all your beer."

The subject of what distinguishes a church from a cult came up in the comments section. I ran across a proposed litmus test online that's worth considering:

If, on appropriate occasions, the members tell, enjoy, trade, and/or devise transgressively funny jokes about their denomination, it’s a church.
If such jokes reliably meet with stifling social disapproval, it’s a cult.

Aristotle observed that "only the human animal laughs." While some primatologists believe that other great apes laugh after their own fashion, only humans are capable of producing and appreciating wit, irony, sarcasm and a good joke. Humor is essential to our humanity. Perhaps the highest form of humor, one which most depends on a developed intellect, is of the sort in which we laugh at ourselves and the absurdities in our own culture. I think it is at least in part the lack of any sense of humor projected from the Twelve Tribes, either in person or in their literature, that heightens outsiders' perception of them as cult-like.

Is it the case that TT drains this most human of characteristics--humor--out of its recruits? Here's what Mandy said in a comment to the article "How I lost my sister":

I still get depressed when I think of how vacant her eyes looked. The girl I knew and loved desperately was full of life and funny as hell and a generally wonderful person to be around. After joining TT, there was not a shred of that person left. She was vacant and quiet and seemed to have difficulty comprehending the conversation. She was distant and disinterested in anything we had to tell her.

Among those Twelve Tribes "MerryMakers" we were treated to on the Commons last summer I noted lots of smiles and some laughter of the "ho-ho-ho, I'm so full of God's love" variety, but nothing I would call humor as they went about in their scripted way making merry as if actors at a Renaissance festival or Colonial Williamsburg. The vacuous smiles of the adults were absent from the children, who, preternaturally serious, haven't yet learned the art of the put-on smile. According to an ex-TTer, "foolishness, joke telling, laughing or making faces often results in 'discipline' for these young children." My smile would be vacuous, too, were I working long hours with no pay for Ol' Eugene and raising children to be "martyred against the Beast." In all the literature of theirs I've slogged through, including their own newsletters, I have found a number of things "funny" but nothing intentionally "ha-ha funny". To the TTers reading this, here's your opportunity to clear up this misconception, if it is one, and send us your funniest self-deprecatory jokes and invite us to laugh along with you.

Here are some jokes I liked from catholicjokes.net. These are jokes for Catholics by Catholics that we all can find funny. Like my Baptist friend, some Catholics can laugh at themselves. Someone who can do that is secure in who they are.

A drunken man staggers in to a Catholic church and sits down in a confession box and says nothing.

The bewildered priest coughs to attract his attention, but still the man says nothing.

The priest then knocks on the wall three times in a final attempt to get the man to speak.

Finally, the drunk replies: "No use knockin' mate, there's no paper in this one either."

* * *

What was Jesus?

My black friend had 3 arguments that Jesus was Black:
1. He called everyone "brother."
2. He liked Gospel.
3. He couldn't get a fair trial.

My Jewish friend had 3 arguments that Jesus was Jewish:
1. He went into His Father's business.
2. He lived at home until he was 30.
3. He was sure His Mother was a virgin and His mother was sure He was God.

My Italian friend gave his 3 arguments that Jesus was Italian:
1. He talked with his hands.
2. He had wine with every meal.
3. He used olive oil.

My California friends had 3 arguments that Jesus was a Californian:
1. He never cut his hair.
2. He walked around barefoot all the time.
3. He started a new religion.

My Irish friend then gave his 3 arguments that Jesus was Irish:
1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.

But my lady friend had most compelling evidence that Jesus was a woman:
1. He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was no food.
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.
3. And even when he was dead, he had to get up because there was more work to do.

You might argue that only those in established "mainstream" denominations are really at liberty to poke fun at themselves. But I note that even the group identified in recent polls as the most distrusted minority in America--atheists--are capable of looking at themselves in a humorous light. On the AtheistAlliance web page, you'll find this joke, among others:

"Did you hear about the dyslexic, agnostic insomniac who stays up all night wondering if there really is a Dog?"

(Granted, by defintion atheists don't constitute a church or denomination! )

Whatever our differences of creed, humor highlights our common humanity and of brings us together. If you can make a joke about yourself and your belief system and invite others to laugh with you, you've gone a long way towards breaking down barriers. (Of course, some of us may have no interest in doing that.)

Is it a big deal if the culture of the Twelve Tribes does stifle humor? Frankly, it's of less concern to me than their exploitation of young adults, their mistreatment of children and their promulgation of racist, sexist and homophobic ideology. But I think that it should serve as a warning sign to anyone considering whether these folks are really on the one, true path as they claim to be. Have those who have lost their sense of humor been enhanced or damaged as human beings? To me, the answer is clear enough.

So TTers, I invite you prove to us that I've been completely unfair in this article and send in those TT jokes! I'll recant my characterization of you if you can show me the evidence.

Almost assimilated...

2007-03-26T16:34:00.000-04:00

Hi. I found your website and I wanted to thank you for your efforts. I met the Twelve Tribes about eight years ago at a music festival. I was at this festival as a part of the clean up crew, and they were also there as crew, so we ate meals together and had access to the more private part of the festival. I was there as a volunteer, so I'm assuming that they too volunteered, but they were the sole medical crew at the festival. They had cookies and maté for any one who was interested, and they had that very impressive triple decker bus, which they welcomed all to check out. This festival was celebrating Jerry Garcia's birthday (posthumous), so you can imagine what we--the crowd--were like. I've read others' posts claiming that they do seek the lost, and it is true. They were at this festival, and many others like it, looking to prey on the weak, the drugged,the lonely. I was at this time only 18 years old, and I had just graduated high school. I was a Christian, but I was also very interested in the hippie lifestyle. I didn't personally do drugs at this time, so I felt really out of place at this festival. When I met them and was invited on to their bus to read their literature, I thought I found what I was looking for: Christian hippies. I loved the idea of communal living, as well as the idea of an easier way to be a Christian: I wanted to surround myself in a culture of love for God and man, where there would be no pressure to do drugs, have sex, or make decisions. When I read their literature I asked them if they were Christians; they said not in the way that I mean. They didn't believe that people outside of the twelve tribes could really know Christ (or Yashua). I don't know why this didn't ring a louder warning bell. They invited me to go with them to New Hampshire. They explained to me how they would be traveling to Pittsburgh--my hometown at the time--later in the week, and they'd take me home in a few days. So, I accepted. My friends had met these very very nice people, and they believed that they would bring me home later in the week, so they did not protest my going. While I was traveling with to New England with the Twelve Tribes, they were very friendly and conversational the entire trip. The one man (I really don't remember very many of their Hebrew names) told me how much I reminded him of his niece who was living in one of the communities. Instead of taking me to New Hampshire (where I'd be with the couple who were later to be traveling to Pittsburgh), they decided that I had to meet this niece so I'd be going to Bellow Falls, Vermont. When I got there, I did sort of look like this niece, and her name before the name-change was my name. I didn't have many clothes with me, and none that were acceptable to them, so they gave me clothes to wear. Very modest--homemade dresses and pantaloons. They also wanted me to remove my hemp jewelry, but I don't think I did. As I was a Christian, already struggling to be righteous before my God, they had a lot of ammunition to use on me. I already knew that I was a sinner in need of a Savior. I already knew that I wanted to please Jesus and to live for Him. They told me that the only way to serve God was to be baptized and become a member of the twelve tribes. They used Scripture references that I was already familiar with, and twisted them. They told me that if I was a lamb, then Yashua--the Great shepherd of the sheep--would keep me there. They used the Bible to prove their points, and I believe that is why I was so susceptible to their words. I had no real foundation for my faith besides a youth group at home. I didn't go to church, I didn't read the Bible. I had very few Christian friends, and we were all un-churched. I didn't really know anything about the Bible, so it was very easy to think that these people weren't saying anything contradictory from the Bible. My faith had never really been challenged and I never really had to test it for being true. I never had to make sure it was my own, and not my youth group leader's. I knew that Jesus was God, that believing in Him was the only way I could go to heaven, and I knew that I was supposed to now live for Him, but I didn't know how. The cult gave me the very easy how.

While there, I was talked to constantly. I was talked to about my choice to start college in a few weeks at a Christian College. They told me that I don't need to go to college, I could become a teacher right there, and that Christian colleges don't even teach the truth. I was talked to about a boyfriend back home who was pressuring me to have sex--and how the "evil one" wanted me to be apart from the twelve tribes so that this boyfriend was sure to propose to me as soon as I returned, and I'd probably get a car, or lots of money. (They were saying these things so that if I did return home and positive things started happening, I'd know the devil was at work!) I think they talked to me almost 24 hours a day. I know I did get to sleep some, and I didn't have to do much exhausting labor, but I was definitely being worn down by conversation. The weirdest part was, I was mostly talked to by men. I still don't know why. I don't know if it was because they were the spiritual leaders, or because they could tell I was more interested in theology than baking, but I had very few conversations with the women while they worked. I remember one man who had come and gone from the cult several times, and he felt dread each time he left, because he knew it's the true church. The man I talked with the most was an elder in this community, and he was a really great guy. And he had a great family, and I do feel truly sad that they are so deceived. The thing is, he was very intelligent. I don't understand why he couldn't see that the way they interpreted the Bible is not how the original writers intended it to be interpreted. They would honestly just make things up. In fact, they began each day with a service called "Minhah" (not sure of spelling) that meant "sacrifice" (time--not bodies or animals). And they'd close the day with these services, too. At these services, people could just call out interpretations to Scripture. It was very un-biblical, believing that God's meaning would just switch and sway at the whim of these men, whom they called "prophets."

But then I didn't see any of this. I saw people living their lives righteously. But now I know that our righteousness doesn't save us--it's Christ's. And I saw people who were able to live their lives specifically for God. But now I know that life itself is an act of worship before the Creator. We do not need to be separated from the world in order to live for God.

I was allowed to talk on the phone and I did talk to friends and family. And they all were trying to get me to come home, but the twelve tribes would tell me exactly what my friends or family would say in an attempt to win me for the evil one. I never doubted anyone's sincerity, though, until once when I was on the phone, this one woman, with whom I'd never before spoken, came up to me and whispered, "I love you." I thought that was a little "cult-ish."

Then when it was time to be picked up to be driven to Pittsburgh, I was invited to got to a wedding--in Connecticut or New York, or somewhere. On the way there, we stopped and visited other communities, and at the wedding there were so many people; it was all very overwhelming. The wedding, though, is what convinced me to stay and join the twelve tribes. It was the most fantastic (as in fantasy-like) event I've ever witnessed. They were attempting to act out the book of Revelation, to show how they alone were the bride of Yashua, and that they were raising up the 144,000 sinless men. Each time a child is born into the twelve tribes, he is less sinful than his parents. Then if that child marries another cult-born child, this next generation is even less sinful, until eventually there will be a generation of sinless children equaling 144,000. It is these set apart children who will fight the beast in the last days. A very weird, fantastic, apocalyptic theory. I now know that we are born sinners, and that no child will ever be born without sin. It isn't our connection to the world that makes us sinners, it is our being human. But, if those 144,000 children were born sinless--then they would have no need for salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. They would be pure, and thus able to go to heaven. The Bible never mentions a single person who can go to heaven without Jesus Christ. Why these 144,000? But then, I didn't really know too much about the Bible; I fell for it. It was after the wedding when we returned to Vermont that I called and told my family that I was staying. I can only thank God that my step-mother had the sense to act like this was no big deal, but to say, "You are an adult, you can do what you want, but you need to come home and decide. We'll even send you back if you still want to live there." It reminded me of what another girl who came from another festival and who had been before to the twelve tribes told me: she said I should at least go home, sit on the porch, and decide. I thought there was wisdom in this, plus I didn't think it would matter (by now I was fully brainwashed) and that I'd definitely return, so I went with my step-mom when she flew up to bring me home. Some of the men of the tribes offered to go with me, so that the Evil One couldn't keep me there, and I almost accepted, but I truly thought that I'd have no peace at home and I'd return immediately.

When I got home I was really messed up--for a while. I couldn't stand to listen to the radio or watch TV. I couldn't really talk about what had happened in Vermont, and I couldn't decide what to do. I decided to go to college, like was planned, and maybe go back if I still couldn't get it out of my head--but I did not want to make any decisions about it right then. College started about three weeks later and I did go. At first while I was there I still wasn't sure where I should be. I kept remembering the threatening "promise" that if I was in fact a sheep, God would make sure I find my way back to the twelve tribes. This was a terrible thing to have hanging over my head, because it meant that if I never returned, then I was not in God's care. I really couldn't think about God all that much for a few months. I did not want to be convicted that I needed to return to the twelve tribes, because it was a huge and scary thought. I alone, out of all my friends and family, would be one of the truly saved. Despite their belief in Christ, they would not make it to the most desirable place in heaven (where the twelve tribes alone will go). And if I returned and it was a cult? I really just didn't think about it at all. I just tried to be a normal freshman in college. Then one morning, in November, I woke up knowing that I was saved. I believed in Christ, and I trusted in him alone to be saved. I wasn't sure that the twelve tribes were a cult at this point, or even that they were wrong, but I was sure that believing in Jesus wasn't limited to one single place (ie: Vermont, for me) or one group, but that Jesus could find me anywhere and give me the faith to believe in Him.

I'm not sure when I did accept that it was a cult, and that I must have been brainwashed. I was with them for less than two weeks, and they did a lot of messing with my head in that short time. I do feel really sorry and sad for those who have been with them longer. I hope your website can really help people deal wisely with the twelve tribes. Thanks for your time. - j. b.

The image above? The Borg cube, in 2D.

Please continue to send us your personal experiences with the Twelve Tribes (the cult, not the hardcore band from Dayton, OH, see below) and we'll post them here. Use the email link or post a comment.

"How I lost my sister"

2007-03-18T13:50:00.000-04:00

by her brother

I always wondered who those smiling faces were under the tent near the big red bus. They had talented musicians and they seemed so happy together, dancing and laughing.

I was at a Phish show. On this day, in Maine, I decided to make a visit to the tent. I sat down and listened to the music. All the girls dressed the same. The guys had beards and long hair.

After about 15 minutes, one of the guys approached me.
"Hi, how are you doing?"

"Good," I replied. "What exactly is going on in here?"

He walked away for a few minutes and returned with a woman. They gave me some reading material and told me to take a look and it would provide me with some idea of this gathering. I glanced at it. It seemed bizarre; very religious. Is this some kind of hippie commune?

I left the tent, feeling slightly uneasy. I was free to walk away and I did.

Little did I know I would come face to face with these folks after my young sister, who was 18 at the time, fell into their web of deception.

My sister was born into a dysfunctional family, but loving nonetheless. Her father abandoned her when she was very young, leaving my mother to care for her and her slightly older brother. She never felt connected to anyone in her family and the absence of her father affected her deeply.

Lost and wandering the earth, she searched for wisdom. And somehow she came across the Twelve Tribes. She must have been impressed. All these happy people, living together, laughing and making a living as one. It’s exactly what she thought she was missing in life. She had no idea she was only going through what almost all teenagers go through in dysfunctional families. It didn’t take long before she joined the Twelve Tribes, an obvious Cult by definition. I thought that the stature of Mother Mary given to her by her deadbeat dad became the symbol of her path to the Twelve Tribes.

She left the house and moved in with these folks in Ithaca, NY. And I’ve seen her once since she made this decision. Sure, I could go visit her at the commune, but I refuse.

The last time I saw my sister was Christmas 2004. She came with two members of the Cult. It was uncomfortable. I always wondered: “Why do these people only show up at concerts where they may find troubled young people, under the influence of all kinds of drugs and alcohol? Why don’t they present themselves in other venues?”

I found my opportunity to ask, not only that question, but a host of others that included the charges made against this cult, their beliefs and how they operate in general.
I don’t remember the guy’s ridiculous name. I remember clearly his answers: He had none.

The Twelve Tribe representative couldn’t tell me exactly why they seem to only go to shows such as the one at which I first interacted with them. He defended the way of life: No music, books or friends outside the cult and cult literature. He defended the bizarre tenant of marrying within the tribe (which means my sister could end up marrying one of these hairy, ugly goofballs). He defended the fact that much, if not all, of their earnings from making the cult members perform free work goes to some freak in Tennessee who created this cult because he felt alienated from traditional church. But the most startling of all was his inability to answer why these people seemed to always surface at these shows full of troubled folks, tripping on LSD or mushrooms, zoned out of their minds. Just tell me why? Are you seeking people who will make sound decisions? Or are you seeking lost souls, with delicate egos and minds, whom you could attract to your clan of merry pranksters?

“Could it be because they are more vulnerable for the start of your brainwashing techniques?” I asked.

Silence. In fact, all he could do was look at me and smile. Silence can be taken as a guilty conscience sir.

My voice rose. My sister got upset. I was angry. This was Christmas. And my sister had to get permission to come to our family get together. My sister had to bring these folks in my mother’s home---my mother is less inclined to worry about her situation because she sees my sister as being happy and healthy---and have them greet my family members. I wanted them to leave.

The Twelve Tribes stole my sister. My sister now talks like them. She says kids need to be obedient, as one might say about a bad dog. She has sent me their closed-minded literature, filled with Christian dominion talking points. It took her months to reply to me letter, after I am sure, it was read by the entire cult. She works at their café, for free. The money she received from a horrible accident settlement is now in their eye sight. They want the money. She wants to give it to them. It doesn’t matter this Cult just purchased two buildings in Ithaca totaling $1 million. They see that they’ve conquered my little sister. And all she had had now belongs to them. That money was supposed to be for college. She wanted to be a nurse. Now she won’t go to college. College is evil, she says. She won’t learn much at all. Half the freaks in their cult can’t even spell. They may preach a life without material things, but their actions with my little sister prove otherwise. They’ve stolen her from our family, albeit dysfunctional, but the love existed. It was there. In my sister’s quest for wisdom, she fell into a brainwashing trap.

So, Twelve Tribes, feel proud that you’ve stolen another lost soul. But none of you will reach the pristine afterlife one gains from wisdom and inner peace. The Twelve Tribes are tainted with controversy and it’s less based on the newspaper clippings of allegations of racism, child abuse and barbarian lifestyle. It’s all based, to me, on your ideology.

I want my sister back.

This sad story shows how the Ithaca group can survive even without making great profits at Maté Factor: they appropriate the college funds of recruits. No need for college anymore now that you know that your true purpose in life is to produce the children who will produce the children that will be "martyred against Beast."

Any of our TT apologist friends care to rise to the challenge of the question asked by the author? Why do you recruit at Phish shows and the like if not to prey upon the vulnerable?

Twelve Tribes: Disambiguation

2007-03-14T18:43:00.000-04:00

Wondering why there's been so little in the way of new articles up on here as of late? Are our efforts to advocate a boycott of Maté Factor and educate Ithacans and others about Twelve Tribes flagging?

Nope.

We continue to distribute our pamphlets at various locations in downtown Ithaca and get the word out through local media. Look for an article soon in The Ithacan, Ithaca College's student newspaper about Maté Factor, Twelve Tribes and the IOTTC.

Frankly, we are running out of things to say about Twelve Tribes without getting repetitive. We've covered what we find abhorrent and worrisome among the group's beliefs and practices pretty well in the articles below. The back and forth in the comments sections that follow each article are worth reading, as well. If you've arrived at this site for the first time, please take some time to read the older posts. Hopefully they'll get you to think twice about spending money at Maté Factor and underwriting Eugene Spriggs' cruel little empire built on free labor.

What then for this site? Ideally I would love to see this space begin to feature first-hand accounts from people who have experience in one way or another with Twelve Tribes. These are far more powerful than anything I, or any outsider, can write.

If you have such a personal experience with TT that you'd like to share, please get in touch. Use the email link under "Contact IOTTC" at the upper right of this page, or add a comment to one of the articles.

You also may be wondering what the graphic above is about. It's the cover art from "The Rebirth of Tragedy" by Twelve Tribes, a heavy metal/hardcore band from Dayton, Ohio. I posted it because it's more interesting to look at than just a lot of text and also because it's time to make something clear. For the record, we are not advocating a boycott of the hardcore band that goes by the name of Twelve Tribes and, in fact, would love to hear them play a show in Ithaca. (Maybe the Commons Pavilion, in front of Maté Factor this summer?) I'm listening to a track of theirs as I type this, and they rock pretty hard.

Getting back to what I'd like to see more of on this blog, here's how one person summed up his/her experience with Twelve Tribes (the cult) in a note we received this week.

I lived in the Tribes and was a respected member. I can't recommend the life to anyone. I left because I feared my child would soon be beaten frequently by other adults. Most constitutional freedoms do not exist inside the communities. It's sad, but most members are rather innocent well-meaning people who have been deeply deceived by wacko Bible verse twisting. The life really twisted my mind. It's taken a long time to recover most of the way. Yes, I may be better for the wear and tear, but I almost really lost my mind there.

Reading this reminds me that we need to be ready to help people who are facing the daunting prospect of walking away from TT with no more than the clothes on their back. I encourage this person to write us back and tell us more about how children and adults are treated inside TT communities.

If, like the author of the above, you can enlighten us regarding conditions inside TT for recruits and for children, please write us. We'll also continue to publish any obscenity-free rebuttals to anything posted here in the comments sections.

Peace out.

Resolve in 2007 to eat responsibly!

2007-01-03T21:21:00.000-05:00

What are your New Year Resolutions? Eating responsibly (in more ways than one) is one of mine. Something else appropriate to do in the first couple weeks of January is to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King by reflecting upon the privileges of personal liberty given to us by law--our civil rights--that some of us had to fight long and hard to obtain.

I reflect not only on the gains our society has made since Dr. King’s time (and how far we have yet to go), but also upon the fragility of those gains. It's naive to think that once protected by law, civil rights are forever guaranteed and need no defense. Habeas corpus might already be a casualty of George W. Bush's “War on Terror.” Who is to say that other rights of ours--or rights for certain groups--couldn’t eventually suffer a similar fate in the war on Enlightenment values currently waged from numerous quarters? Commitment to Dr. King’s vision of equal rights for all Americans needs to be renewed each generation. These rights need to be extended to those yet left out (the gay, lesbian and transgendered community here comes to mind) and defended from those nostalgic for white supremacy, patriarchy and theocracy who would turn back the clock.

It will surprise some to learn that there is a group here in Ithaca who promote the idea that our society would be a better place had the civil rights movement--and indeed the 13th & 14th Amendments to the Constitution--never happened. They are an odd bunch who thrash their children for playing make-believe games while they never cease playing make-believe First Century Jews for Jesus. They are called the Twelve Tribes and they run the Maté Factor restaurant on the Commons.

If you find the Twelve Tribes' ideology as unsavory as we do, we urge you to overlook the savoriness of the chai, salads and wraps they serve at Maté Factor and get your grub elsewhere. Point others to the information on this website so that they can make an informed decision about where to spend their money.

And Happy New Year!

P.S. If you haven't already seen it, check out John Sullivan's guest commentary column in the January 2nd Ithaca Community News titled "Why We're Boycotting Maté Factor on the Commons"

"The time is always right to do what is right."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Like trying to love sodomites

2006-09-21T18:36:00.001-04:00

“It is healthy in our fallen world to keep the races separated.”

- TT publication “Alien Ant”

I live with my wife in an apartment complex in Ithaca. One thing we like about it is the diversity of people that live here. Opposite our front door live a Chinese family consisting of a young couple, their three young children and a grandmother who has taught the oldest child, 3 year-old Sophie, to blow us kisses and call us “sho-sho” and “ay-yi” (“aunt” and “uncle” in Chinese). There are numerous couples and families from different Asian countries. A Native American woman lives in the adjoining apartment and is a close friend. Our other neighbors, many of whom we know by name, are African-American, Peruvian, and Ukrainian. Almost every day, I see children of different “races” playing together outside. If you had come by on the Fourth of July, you would have seen quite a diverse bunch of folks sharing barbeque and cold beers, waiting for the fireworks at Ithaca College to begin. In a Twelve Tribesperson’s ludicrous terminology, we were the sons and daughters of Shem, Cham and Japheth enjoying each others’ company.

But according to the Twelve Tribes, this can’t be happening.

Here, from their online publication “Multicultural Madness” is the reality I’m supposed to be experiencing:

“Consider the rich young Yuppie in his multicultural neighborhood, sitting in his living room ready to enjoy an evening of classical music. Tonight it's Beethoven. From one side of his house comes the throbbing bass of his neighbor's stereo as they gather out back for some reggae. The house shudders to every note, while on the other side of his house the neighbors fire up their barbecue and boom box, laughing raucously over the grating syncopation of something called rap. Fleeing from the violent lyrics, our Yuppie hero, himself a multicultural enthusiast, shuts the windows, grits his idealistic teeth and dons his headphones, trying to convince himself that all music is good.”

Gee, is it just me, or do you think we’re supposed to infer that the “Yuppie hero” is white and the troublesome neighbors on either side are black, based on their musical selections? (I don’t suppose this guy has ever been bothered by “Shemmites” blasting this guy or this guy.)

Our reality at home is that on the rare occasion that someone is playing music too loudly, Virginia, our 62-year-old African-American neighbor and mother hen of the block, will publicly shame the perpetrator into being more considerate.

The not-at-all racist TT author then goes on to say:

“Let's face it. It is just not reasonable to expect people to live contentedly alongside of others who are culturally and racially different. This is unnatural, and sometimes forces people to go against what they instinctively know in their conscience.”

“Multiculturalism is birds of different feathers caged together and forbidden to squawk. It's an artificial scheme, a world vision crammed down the throats of a humanity that would rather live in its own neighborhoods if it could.”

Such great writing. I had no idea that a vision could be crammed down a throat (although Spriggs arguably demonstrates that one can be pulled out from the other end). Perhaps my favorite expression of the Twelve Tribes’ disdain for multiculturalism is found in their oddly titled brochure “Alien Ant,” published in the year 2000.

“Multiculturalism pressures people to cross boundaries that go beyond the realm of natural law, coercing them to be one with a neighbor that doesn’t even speak their language or have their culture. It goes beyond the realm of how God wanted people to live in separate nations for their own welfare and safety. Multiculturalism increases murder, crime and prejudice. It goes against the way man is. It places impossible demands on people to love others who are culturally and racially different. This is unnatural, like trying to love sodomites.”

Such skillful use of the helpful sodomite analogy to crystallize the point for the reader!

So what, then, could possibly explain our experience here? A thoughtful writer of their in-house publication “Intertribal News” provides what might be an answer:

“We know that since the days of Nimrod and the Tower of Babel our Father has effectively dealt with this fallen potential of mankind to act universally, by dividing men into separate languages and cultures. ...it has been our Father’s plan to keep man separated. Now, there is a conspiracy to break down the boundaries.” (ITN, July 2000.)

Could my apartment block really be participating in a global Nimrodian conspiracy against God’s plan for humanity? It seems a stretch. (But, I confess, exciting!)

So should sociology professors from Cornell and their graduate students descend upon our multi-hued, multi-lingual community to figure out how we are accomplishing the impossible feat of generally getting along and being civil to each other? I think not. Cheap rent has brought us together, not a governmental program of coercion. The atmosphere is tranquil because the neighborhood is dominated by couples starting families and elderly folks.

Of course the very fact that the TTers with their odd culture are tolerated in the “worldly” communities in which they reside gives the lie to their premise that tolerance is unnatural and must be coerced. It’s just a bit ironic that the live-and-let-live attitude they denounce is the same one they require for themsleves in order to settle and do business in places like Ithaca. While it may seem odd, it’s no accident that a group pedaling sexism, racism and homophobia finds a home in a municipality in which citizens have elected a female mayor and a Common Council on which 40% are female, 30% are African-American, and one is a gay rights activist. The diversity in local leadership here is related to Ithaca's comfort level with the non-traditional from which Twelve Tribes benefits.

The greatest irony is that Eugene Spriggs and his crew, these guardians of separation and difference in the outside world, remove not only all cultural differences among their adherents, but also all outward personal variation in hairstyle or attire, as any casual observer of TT men, women and children will note. A TT man doesn’t have the personal freedom to tuck his shirt into his trousers. They must even defecate in a prescribed way, with their legs propped up on stools because Yoneq the Great says so. (Care for a little scatology with your eschatology?) All their prescribed uniformity might seem a contradiction until you realize that in their view what’s best for “fallen man” (us) and what’s best for the “bride of Messiah” (them) are two very different things.

You might object that if TTers really find racial and cultural diversity so distasteful, they would have picked nearly any upstate NY town instead of Ithaca. (E.g., perhaps lovely Whitey, err, I mean Whitney Point.) You might also point out that the Ithaca TT community's web blurb seems to celebrate Ithaca for its diversity. (At least that's the way I read it the first time.) With the Twelve Tribes' appreciation of multiculturalism in mind, let's give it a re-read, shall we?

“To some it is considered an ‘enlightened’ city, due to the influence of Ivy League academia and the many ‘open-minded’ people who congregate here. Ithaca is a multicultural hub here in upstate New York, with many nations and cultures represented, as well as the many different facets that make up American culture. People of many different inclinations, orientations, and associations converge on this city, many looking for ‘enlightenment.’”

“Enlightened,” “open-minded,” “multicultural.” What most Ithacans would regard as complimentary descriptors are in fact put-downs by the writer of this text. This paragraph is like one of those geometric optical illusions in which the shape pops into or out of the page depending how you look at it. On an informed reading, it is dripping with derision & contempt for anyone who regards these things as positives. Hence the " " marks. They picked Ithaca not because they admire its multicultural flavor, but for two reasons: they knew they'd be tolerated and they knew they'd find lots of young potential recruits.

Time to sum up. The Twelve Tribes’ views on multiculturalism are shallow, flawed and transparent to the racism and prejudice at their core. Their belief that people from different backgrounds can't get along in the same neighborhood is contradicted by our everyday experience. In their publications they mock the very principles that allow those with unconventional views and lifestyles (such as themselves) to live unmolested in our community. Their prescription for society’s ills is anti-democratic and anti-American. The only version of E Pluribus Unum they acknowledge requires that we all dress and coif alike, beat our children with switches, never question the authority of Eugene Spriggs, and worship a white supremecist god.

FYI: the grilled veggie wrap over at Juna’s tastes about as good and comes pang-of-conscience free.

Boycott the Maté Factor!

The shameful sham of Shem and Châm

2006-09-09T00:25:00.000-04:00

Amazingly, it can't be denied, there are a few African Americans in the Twelve Tribes. I saw one with my own eyes and talked to him. They are trotted out whenever and wherever TT comes under public scrutiny, for instance at the "Merrymakers Caravan festival" on the Commons on August 12. This has been quite effective, apparently, at throwing TT's critics for a loop. These black TTers who have adopted the robot culture of the group and accepted their "giftings" of serving and cooking are accepted by the others. (See "Why blacks deserve to be slaves, explained" below.) As the revealing note from a former TTer reproduced below relates, TTers only disapprove of those 99.999% of blacks not yet in the TT, most of whom believe they are the equal of white people and that the civil rights movement was a good thing, etc. Because they accept black recruits and regard Sprigg's teaching on the Curse of Ham (Cham) as the Word of God and not the product of the hate-filled, twisted mind that it is, TTers don't think of themselves of racists. (But come to think of it, find me a racist who does.) I thank this former TTer for his/her honesty and for clarifying some of the niceties (or not-so-niceties) of Sprigg's racism as revealed in his exegesis of the Curse of Ham story. Turns out that according to Spriggs, apparently only white people have a conscience. So where is his?

It is hard to explain how they actually "hate" blacks, because the blacks in the TT are not treated any differently than any other race. It is the blacks that are not in there that are technically "hated" .

(They would never use that term, and most living there don't even have those emotions towards others!)

an example:

"Without conscience there would be no restraint. By the time of Gen 6:5, everyone had continually gone against their consciences, to the point that every intent of their hearts was continually evil — all except Noah and his family. Then after the flood, Châm went against his conscience and again brought this principle in the world. But Abraham kept a good conscience. Through a line of Shem, obedience to conscience was preserved."

That is Yoneq, from the Confession Teaching, Sus France, March 1989

So Cham ( All Africans, according to their teachings) is the sole responsible party for bringing evil into the current world, and apparently are not even able to listen to their conscience, if they even have one. While wonderful Shem can do this. And what about Yapheth?

(An example of a question you probably won't get an answer for. Things kind of get made up as you go along there.)

Anyhow all is forgiven when you come into the Tribes, see? God changes your DNA.

So it doesn't really appear racist at all, to most.

It took me a long time to see that I had been racist in my thinking, because I had all these good fuzzy "feelings" towards other races, yet adhered to these teachings, that I really had little knowledge or understanding of.

An ex-TTer's account

2006-08-26T23:13:00.000-04:00

I thank the person who sent in the following informative and compassionate note describing life in the Twelve Tribes, based on his or her personal experience.

Here's a classic picture of a typical family situation in the Twelve Tribes: A couple and their children joined the Community. They gave everything to the Tribes after liquidating the husband's building contractor business, or other self-employed job. They were very disillusioned with "mainstream churches" and wanted fellowship with real believers out from under the umbrella of paganism and false doctrines. They wanted to live like the first believers in Acts. Once they got situated with a group, let's say one of the several in Massachusetts, they were ready to "give their lives" for their fellow Community members. This translates to: the husband goes to work wherever he is most needed, whether it has anything to do with his actual skills or not. The husbands, especially new recruits, are worked 18 hours a day. The wives are put to work in the kitchen or doing the tons of laundry, etc. If they have small children, the children stay with the mother all day. If the children are of school age, they get sent to training, or home schooled by the mom if that particular community doesn't have designated "teachers" for the children.

Let's say this couple are born again believers, and that is how they came to faith in Yahshua. Well, they are told they need to renounce that because they were deceived. See, the TT believe you are really not born again or "part of the anointing" (their anointing) until you are baptised into their Community. The wife and children rarely get to see the husband, because he is out working from early morning until dinner time (7pm or so). The wife doesn't get to spend too much time with her children, because she is busy helping with the mountains of housework that is required to run a group home. The children are not allowed to play with balls or any type of truck, car or bicycle. Their reading is limited to approved books and they are not allowed to use their imaginations. If they do something wrong, any adult in the Community is allowed to "discipline" them with the stick. By the time the husband gets home, the kids barely get time to spend with him, and they don't get to spend time with him in the morning either because he has to leave so early to work. Family devotions are discouraged because community members, especially new converts need interpretation of the scriptures in order to understand it correctly (according to Yoneq and other elders).

Family autonomy in the TT is a joke. A family owns nothing, because whatever they had they gave up when they joined. Their survival (food, clothing, shelter) becomes dependent on the Community, so they have to subject themselves to the "shepherd" of the household (elder or boss) and cannot make decisions for themselves, because they have no money to carry out any decisions, and anything that does not get approval from the elder is forbidden. If they go against what an elder says, they will be disciplined, which means you can't celebrate the Sabbath with everyone else, and everyone gives you the silent treatment. Furthermore, if they see that you are actually trying to maintain some type of order in the family and do what you think is best anyway, you are likely to be cut-off by the community, which means you have to leave. If they cut you off, they don't give you any money or any way to leave, you just have to walk away with the clothes on your back.

I know many people in the TT and who have left. I think of some of the wonderful families that are there and my heart aches for them, because I know what they go through. For the most part, the folks who are part of the TT are very honest, hardworking, calm and generous people. A lot of them have a hard time stomaching the teachings like the Ham teaching and the child discipline stuff, however they are between a rock and a hard place, and it's not worth it for them to rebel against those teachings because their survival depends on their submission to authority.

If you ever visit one of the Communities they will be super nice to you, feed you, invite you to stay for as long as you want or need, give you gifts, let you stay in the nicest rooms, let you eat for free or half price at their restaurants, give you cookies and bread, and basically give you the royal treatment. They bombard you with love and make you think that it's like this every day. But in reality, it's not. It's just a way that they court new recruits and makes them think, "Hey, these people really are living out the book of Acts chapter 2."

Lots of TT'ers will point out that obviously God (YHWH) has blessed them and what they are doing because look at all the properties and businesses they own and how many new people are joining. This is a twisted version of the prosperity message from mainstream churches. Also, following that line of logic, then the Catholic church, the Moonies and the Church of Scientology are also blessed by God because look at all the properties, businesses and new converts they have!!

I support the boycott of all Twelve Tribes businesses because of the following: 1. They prosper because of slave or coerced labor. 2. They are really an outreach to the world in order to gain new recruits. 3. They portray a false view of what the TT is about and have no qualms about recruiting new members who are deceived by this false view of the day-to-day life of the Community. Because of their sincere belief in the Bible/Holy Scripture TT'ers buy into what they are taught: the only way to be saved is to be part of the body of the Messiah, which according to them, is exclusively the Twelve Tribes. So, to get recruits/converts to the TT however they need to get them (coercion, deception, fear, etc.) is for the recruits/converts own good in the end.

People need to know what it's really like for TT'ers, why it’s called a cult and why we need to prevent them from gaining new members. The efforts of those who have posted this blog are a positive step towards this, especially when done in a respectful, loving manner.

Blue wounds

2006-08-20T20:20:00.000-04:00

Reading as much as I have of the Twelve Tribes' literature over the past few weeks has been an interesting experience. But digging through garbage has its hazards and what I’ve just found has made me ill. Proceed through what follows at your own risk.

The “Twelve Tribes Teachings” site (for which there is a link on this page) contains material the group wisely doesn’t put into their recruiting magazines. This is stuff that was never supposed to leave their compounds to be seen by prying eyes like mine, but that has been smuggled out one way or another. Apparently the TT elders use these “teachings” to instruct the underlings from time to time. I have no reason to think that these are not 100% genuine. In fact this one, “Execution of Justice” was the subject of conversation and mentioned by name by ex-TTers on a discussion board. Even without such external evidence of its authenticity, who could possibly make up stuff this weird and sick?

The entire thing is available here.

I’ll reproduce just two short sections of it. Here’s the beginning:

Teaching: Execution of Justice (Letter from Elbert concerning discipline and the seed of Abraham)

David Jones,

The execution of justice is joy for the righteous, but is a terror to the workers of lawlessness. A man who drifts from understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead (Pr 21:15-16). He who spares his rod hates his son. This is a high standard of justice; many will be terrified at the standard in the last days and will desert that standard. They will drift away from what they have heard. But he who loves his son will be “diligent to discipline him.” The ground which drinks the rain which often falls upon it produces vegetation, but if it yields thorns and thistles it is worthless and ends up being burned. "Diligent to discipline” and “disciplines diligently” can be kingdoms apart in their meanings. We may be diligent to discipline, but the discipline that we administer may not be with diligence within the standard we have received. The difference is according to our hearts (Ex 19:5).

Unless your son has blue wounds, by this standard, you know what kind of a standard is in you — it is the spirit that hates your son. If one is overly concerned about his son receiving blue marks you know that he hates his son and hates the word of God. There is a destructive spirit in him and somehow he can’t detect it. It is like a false shepherd who has a ravenous spirit within, yet he covers it with a mask of meekness and mildness. Poverty and shame will come upon him who neglects discipline.

Who is Elbert? None other than the man who thinks he's Elijah, Elbert Eugene Spriggs. (There is no date on this document, but it seems to predate his adoption of the name "Yoneq.") I have no idea who David Jones is/was. I hope there was some sense left in him and that this letter spurred him to take his family out of harm's way & maybe give Presbyterianism a second try.

I find yet more troubling what's to come: Spriggs practicing what he preaches. The authorship of the teaching seems to change after Spriggs signs off with this information about how he's thrashed a little girl named Hephzibah.

Tell Hannah that Hephzibah is like Paul and says: “From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the brand marks of Yahshua.” They are blue and she is receiving her discipline. She is growing up to be that last generation, being prepared, even in her nervous system, to be in that hour of supreme demand.

I dare not imagine the state of this poor girl's nervous system, especially after learning what we are told next. An unidentified author fills in the details of what the little girl did to deserve punishment and how Spriggs responded, likening the situation to the story of Abraham and Isaac. Remember, this act is recorded and presented as an example of proper parenting! Several ex-TTers have informed me that Spriggs is not the biological father of this child.

The reason Isaac was so willing to let his father sacrifice him was because he had been raised his whole life knowing that he did not belong to himself, but belonged to his father, and he was not living for himself, but living for his father. Hephzibah is coming to understand that she is living for her father and belongs to him. The other day she was having great difficulty being obedient to his command: not to suck her thumb in bed. Elbert asked her to stick out her thumb because he was going to cut it off. He took a huge pair of scissors and came toward her. She was terrified, but (after receiving her discipline) she willingly stuck out her thumb to be cut off rather than let it cause her to stumble in her obedience to her father. Elbert didn’t actually cut it off, but he wants Hephzibah to understand that it is better to have your hand cut off now rather than later. He wants her to be saved. It is absolutely necessary to raise our children to know that they do not belong to themselves, but to their father.

The Horror. And there is a subtext here that goes beyond child-rearing. "Authority" is a fractal and is absolute to TTers: As a child must show complete submission to the authority of parents, so a wife must to her husband, so the initiates must to the TT elders, so must all TTers show to Spriggs. And of course Spriggs, the prophet, answers to God. The message is that each member of the flock, just like the little girl, belong to Spriggs and they had better unquestioningly submit to whatever he demands.

I need to state here that I have no evidence that anything constituting child abuse of the physical or psychological kind described above is going on at the Ithaca Twelve Tribes community. Of course, I hope there is not. But this "teaching" is what they have in place of Dr. Spock's childcare manual, written by their infallible leader. It would be nearly impossible for an outsider to detect were such abuse going on. As Kathy Cunningham, a Vermont state trooper, told a Newsweek reporter back in 1984 after authorities raided the Twelve Tribes community at Island Pond, "They've taken away all our normal ways to detect child abuse. There are no teachers to report scars, no doctors to report anything funny."

The best question

2006-08-14T13:23:00.000-04:00

I can’t claim the honor of asking the most revealing question to the Twelve Tribespeople Saturday at their “forum.”

After some prodding by questioners, myself included, we had just heard that it was the Bible story of the curse on Ham's son, Canaan that justifies the separation of the races and the slavery of black people to white people (see below for the TT's masterful exegesis). This story, according to them, is God’s Word and so blacks questioning the authority of whites--as for instance, Martin Luther King, Jr. did when he supported the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott of 1955/56--goes against His Will.

A young fellow with a goatee and a backpack asked: “Where in the Bible does it say that Ham was a black man?”

Silence.

“It doesn’t,” a TTer conceded, while what seemed to me a look of embarrassment flickered momentarily across his face.

The Twelve Tribespeople and their ilk dupe themselves with the simplistic notion that everything they believe comes directly from the Divine Source of Scripture, unadulterated by spin or interpretation. And yet Ham being a black man isn’t in there. If the Bible alone is the Word of God, then their belief that Ham = African people with dark skin must have come from a non-Divine source: someone’s interpretation of the story. Whose? And why trust this person and their interpretation? They didn’t say.

A debate over whether the Bible is or is not the Word of God will never be won with them, or with any anyone else. But this one insightful question reveals that believers themselves must concede that every Bible verse requires a human mind to interpret it. TTers can’t look to scripture to understand why they believe black people and Jews and others are cursed. The place to look is inside their own hearts and minds and inside those of their leader, “Yoneq,” Mr. Eugene Spriggs.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the name of the guy with the goatee and the backpack and I didn’t talk with him long enough to learn his full take on the Twelve Tribes, but in conversation with us outside of the forum, he shared with us this wonderful quotation from Christian author Anne Lamott: "You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that He hates all the same people you do."

* * *

P.S. I note that Ham is depicted as a redhead on the Brick Testament !! What if?...

Two interactions

2006-08-13T19:19:00.000-04:00

I was only able to put in about 45 minutes at the protest, but I had two significant interactions with the cultists.

1. I was standing watching Aloysius and others participating in the Open Forum when from behind me a voice asked "Is that a Bible in your back pocket?" It was in fact my black Moleskine notebook, and I laughed and turned around and said "No, it's my notebook." I realized who I was talking to as he grew belligerent and said "Why are you laughing? What's so funny about the Bible? You're totally disrespecting my religion." I said that on the contrary, I was laughing at the fact that I'm a highly unlikely person to be carrying around a Bible, and that I amused at the mixup. "I'm laughing at myself, not you" I told him. He sort of sullenly said "Oh, sorry" and then an elder Tribesman called him away.

2. I was watching my wife talk to a cultist and his daughter when I lost a very important and very tiny piece of my eyewear. The guy noticed me looking and immediately helped out, without saying anything at all creepy. Finally I gave up but he kept looking, saying "I have faith." I laughed.

Merrymakers Caravan leaves Ithaca

2006-08-13T15:50:00.000-04:00

Not sure the Twelve Tribes folks had the kind of recruiting day they expected on the Ithaca Commons yesterday (Saturday, Aug 12). By the end of the afternoon, I saw more concern than merriment on their faces. We came with a card table and a one-sheet pamphlet with quotes from their leader Eugene Spriggs that illustrate his views on African-Americans, Jews, gays, and child discipline. Our first hundred copies were gone quickly, then a second hundred, and then a third hundred (only five left over). On the other hand, the stacks and stacks of their publications placed around the Commons pavilion seemed to go untouched.

It’s good to know that when racists come to town to spout their beliefs and win new followers, some Ithacans will take the time to challenge them, even on a beautiful Saturday when other activities are calling. Thanks to everyone who pitched in and for the words of encouragement we received from so many.

I’ll have more to say about the experience of spending hours on the Commons with the Tribesmen and Tribeswomen soon.

Why Blacks deserve to be slaves, explained...

2006-08-09T16:23:00.000-04:00

When confronted by critics charging racism, TT'ers usually counter that the statements of Spriggs and other leaders are taken "out of context." If only we saw the statement "in context," they say, the loving intent of the teaching would be made clear. So in the interest of fairness to these chowderheads, here is an unexpurgated article from the April 1997 "Intertribal News" that lovingly explains why people of African descent (Cham) need to give up the uppitiness and serve their rightful master, Shem (white folks). It's all right there in the Bible. You see, Ol Noah passed out naked after a bit too much wine and his son Cham didn't cover up his pop's exposed "loins" when he had the chance and so from then on all black people are cursed to be slaves. But there are a few things to consider when you compare this interpretation of the story (the one used by 17th - 19th century apologists for slavery) and the actual story in Genesis 9:18-29. Most importantly for our purposes, where does it say that Ham (Cham), Shem and Japheth correspond to African, Asian and European? How could skin tones or other features be much different between Ham and his brothers, who are presumably full siblings? Did that come later? I have to admit that for me this Bible story raises many interesting questions, but none of them have to do with race or skin color (which is not mentioned). Why does Ham get the blame for this incident and why is his inadvertant glance curse-worthy? Why does Canaan get the curse? Why was Noah naked? Did he take his clothes off before getting drunk, or after, or were his clothes stolen by someone while he was unconscious? Is this proper behavior for the sire of all post-diluvian mankind and what do we make of Yahweh's s silence on drunkeness and apparent consent to the curse? And finally, where is Noah's wife when all of this is going on? (I am quite sure my wife would prevent such an incident from ever taking place in our household.) Of course, these aren't questions to put uniquely to the Twelve Tribes, but I wonder, can a curious Twelve Tribes child ask their parents or Yoneq (Spriggs) these questions?

I apologize for the length of the article below, but I couldn't bear to leave out a word.

LEPROSY........... A PEOPLE

Slow... insidious... imperceptible... deadly!!! If one were to describe leprosy, the above words would be necessary as part of the description. Most cases of leprosy come as a surprise. The causative agent stays in the body for up to three years before the signs and symptoms start to appear. This means that for three years the victim walks around thinking that he is perfectly normal, yet within him is the sentence to a horrible, devastating form of death. Before modern technology and the loss of common sense, lepers were rejected from society... outcasts... untouchables... unapproachables... unacceptable. People wanted to protect their society from contamination by contact. They knew that lepers were “unclean,” whether they had that terminology in their society or not. A leper was perhaps the loneliest person in the world... longing for another life... wishing he could be different... hoping that it would, by some miracle, just go away. Only in the last few moments of his ravaged life does the hard reality strike him... there is no healing. Like a leper, Cham spends his whole life being superficially “ac- cepted,” when, in reality, he is neither accepted, nor acceptable. He feels always held at a distance, never able to come close, or be approved of. As a people, Cham’s whole being aches for that approval. He tries every false, empty way to gain it. Cham desires the approval of Shem, and of God. He can psychologi- cally convince himself of God’s approval through the influence of the numerous churches so prevalent among Chamites, but the reality of Shem’s rejection... rather Shem’s insistence that Cham remain in his “place,” reminds Cham that God is not pleased with his striving, his arrogance, and his rebellion. Cham, instead of humbling himself, be- comes even more arrogant and rebellious (except for those truly sensitive ones who receive their lot, and are grateful to a merciful God, as far as they can understand things). What makes Cham unacceptable, full of strife, longing to be accepted? The answer lies in history. Everyone knows the story of Noah and his three sons, how they built the ark in the midst of a time of turmoil and corruption that had reached it’s peak... so much so that the day of toleration was to end as soon as Noah and his family entered the ark. Noah’s sons were men well advanced in age upon entering the ark. It took them and Noah more than 100 years to build it. They were not naive little boys. They were aware of the kinds of corruption that filled the earth to the point that God had to destroy all humanity, except for a remnant. There was, therefore, no excuse for Cham’s later behavior. Being the only human beings to survive the flood, Noah and his sons, and their families had the incredible opportunity to repopulate the earth with a righteous people, all turning their hearts to the God of Noah. They were given the same command as Adam was given before he fell... to be fruitful and multiply, filling the earth with those who would honor God with all their hearts, as Noah did. That’s why Cham’s sin was so serious. Embarking on this journey into a new age had no deep significance to Cham. He saw, and understood how the corruption in people had destroyed all humanity just a few days before, yet he didn’t allow it to affect his own heart. He had allowed the decadence and immorality he had seen around him while growing up to find a comfortable place in his heart. He carried the memory as a cherished object of his reflections. He carried it from the age of destruction into the new age. A defilement as deadly as radiation, ready to be released upon a yet unborn humanity. The defilement was subtle and seemingly insignificant. Cham went to his brothers, after having seen his father lying nude in his tent, to defile them with his description of what he saw... his own corrupt and defiled heart gushing out like detestable rottenness. That’s how Shem and Yapheth received Cham’s words and spirit. They saw the dishonor and disrespect. They remembered the flood and why it happened. Together Shem and Yapheth delivered two-thirds of mankind in their loins from being cursed. They sensed the magnitude of such defilement. Backing into the tent, they preserved their father’s dignity, and their own race... and covered him. By that one act Cham plunged his descendants into a morass of behavior, attitudes, and mind-set that have plagued and imprisoned the whole race down to this day. Noah’s curse upon Cham’s son Canaan was real and valid. All heaven supported and assured it’s effectiveness. Noah was God’s only spokesman... the curse must go into effect. Canaan and his descendants were cursed to be slaves to the descen- dants of Shem and Yapheth who saw the value of preserving what is good and righteous. Shem and Yapheth honored their father above all else except God. How can serving be a curse? It is a curse when one’s tendency and desire is not to serve. Cham was lazy and perverted. Noah, his father, knew him well, and he was aware of the fact that Cham would put his fallenness into... pass on his iniquities to his son Canaan. Noah knew the son would be just like the father and worse. Therefore serving, being in a low place... the very thing Cham’s seed hated and avoided... this was to be upon the seed of Cham until it went into their genes and chromosomes, causing the race to be known for their servitude and hospitality. Through the centuries of history this curse was never realized until Shem took his ships and brought Cham to his tents. Then began the training... the discipline. It was clearly as Noah spoke it. Most of Cham’s descendants submitted... many chose to rebel... masking their rebellion with the “noble” cry for freedom from the “op- pressor.” The rebels encountered the solid wall of resistance in the form of harsh discipline, and even death. Those who chose to submit found loving masters who cared for their needs... masters who wept when they were sick or dying... who entrusted their own flesh and blood to be nursed and nurtured on the breasts of Cham. Shem, the eldest son of Noah... lovingly carrying out the discipline of our Father for the good of his baby brother Cham who was the youngest son of Noah. Cham found his place. He found acceptance and approval while in submission. He was given responsibility, and his giftings came out in marvellous ways, especially in the culinary arts, and in serving. To this day no one can cook and serve like Cham when he is submissive. There was peace, and there was order. Shem, who lived by the covenant God made with man after Adam fell, understood in his spirit this discipline of servitude was good for the race of Cham and for humanity. But those of Shem who rejected the instinctive knowledge of God, and the instinctive understanding of God’s ways, strove against God’s purpose for Cham’s healing. Men rose up among Cham... “leaders.” Men crying out for “justice” in the name of God, while working against the very machinery God had instituted. Shem became affected by the outcry, and began supporting Cham, while in his heart not wanting to be near him. Shem was not making laws to make things easier for Cham because he loved him... he made those laws because of political pressure from both Cham and fallen Shem who have no place for the knowledge of God in their hearts. Cham knew he was not accepted. The black liberation movement, accompanied by much pomp and circumstance, proclaimed “Freedom.” Shem was successfully made to feel guilty for carrying out the purpose of God which was meant for the healing of a race.. The contamination entered every phase of American and European life. Civil Rights became Human Rights... Gay Rights... Women’s Lib...Cham now had no loving master. There was no place in this modern society where his perverted bent, inherited from his progenitor, could be dealt with, and he could be brought into order, fulfilling the instinctive purpose God put into him. He strives now to be like Shem. In this unstable territory he is suspicious, sullen, angry, bitter. Whether he becomes president of a large corporation, economically successful, or even president of the United States... the ever-present droning goes on in his spirit... Cham is neither accepted, nor acceptable. ...Every member of the race of Cham who has ever lived in the midst of Shem knows the deep loneliness, insecurity, and the fears of not being accepted... being told that you are not acceptable. It matters not how strongly Cham denies it, or uses his success as a means of denial... he feels the alienation. God’s purpose and plan in the cursing of Cham was to bring about, through that discipline, a people who would serve willingly, thus making them worthy of the nations. Many will be great in the nations, because they chose to submit to their masters... the instruments of God’s choice. Now, through Yahshua, there is the lifting of the curse that has plagued Cham through the centuries. Only in Him can Cham be made acceptable, and be accepted. Only in that place where Yahshua’s life is a living demonstration can Cham find those who will receive him as a human being worthy of the dignity that is inherent in those created in God’s image. In that place Cham can begin to learn to be who he was created to be... serving right along side of Shem and Yapheth who always served from the beginning. Brothers finally serving brothers on an equal basis, as priests of God... truly submitting to one another. Those warm, loving hands, kind voice, compassionate eyes are living reality where God has gathered those who were once “lepers” from every nation and people. -Shalom from Yochanan Abraham in Sus"

P.S. now a shocker: I learned after posting this from several ex-TTers that "Yochanan Abraham" is himself a man of African descent (a "Chammite" in TT-speak). On August 12th on the Commons, some of us saw and heard what seemed a real black man explain how the civil rights movement of the 1950s & 60s was wrong-headed and against God's plan. If you're an African American with severe self-esteem issues, you're wanted, welcome, and oh-so-very useful in the Twelve Tribes!

Are the Twelve Tribes a "hate group"?

2006-08-01T01:39:00.000-04:00

While hate is probably not the primary motivation for people joining Twelve Tribes and there is no evidence that they seek to do violence to anyone outside the group, their leader Eugene Spriggs teaches that God approved of the slavery of African Americans, that Martin Luther King, Jr. was “evil,” that Jews are born "cursed," that the “three races of Man” should be separated and that homosexuals as individuals "are detestable, not just their sin" and “deserve death.” The Southern Poverty Law Center characterizes a hate group as one that has “beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics.” Of course they will tell you that their beliefs aren't motivated by hate, but out of obedience to the Word of God. That line's a bit played out in 2006, don't you think? Hate group? Check.

About Us:

2006-07-30T19:46:00.000-04:00

I've composed this "misson statement" of sorts that also appears on the upcoming.org page. I'd like to hear people's comments, criticisms & suggestions.

We are Ithacans interested in raising awareness about the beliefs and practices of those who belong to the "Twelve Tribes" religious cult who own and operate the Maté Factor on the Ithaca Commons and live in a group house in Fall Creek. As citizens committed to civil rights for all, tolerance for people of diverse cultures and faiths, equal rights for women and a liberal education for our children, we are concerned about the presence in our community of a group who promote an ideology antithetical to these ideals while actively proselytizing and recruiting new members. The First Amendment guarantees to us all the right to our views and speech. While we affirm this right of theirs, we are conscious of our own right and responsibility to exercise judgment regarding which business establishments we patronize. IOTTC advocates a boycott by all Ithacans of the Twelve Tribes Mate Factor on the Ithaca Commons and close scrutiny of this group by local authorities to ensure that they are complying with all New York State and Federal laws. IOTTC expressly does not endorse any form of harrassment or intimidation of those belonging to the Twelve Tribes. (For more information on the history and beliefs of the Twelve Tribes, see links on this page.)

Welcome to IOTTC!

2006-07-29T16:12:00.000-04:00

IOTTC is a community group that is forming to raise awareness about the true nature of the Twelve Tribes group that owns and operates the Mate Factor restaurant in the old Home Dairy building on the Ithaca Commons. Check back soon for more information about meeting times and places.