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Religion and Politics
Tabernacle of Hate: Seduction Into Right-Wing Extremism
In the summer of 1984, Noble came within seconds of committing what would have been the largest domestic terrorist act in U.S. history at that time. As one of the founders of the Covenant, Sword, and Arm of the Lord (CSA), a cult paramilitary group, he carried a bomb into a gay-affirming church, intending to murder over seventy congregants. In Tabernacle of Hate, Noble provides an unprecedented first-person account of how a small spiritual community moved from mainstream religious beliefs to increasingly extreme positions, eventually transforming into a domestic terrorist organization.
Written after his release from prison, the author's cogent narrative reveals the deceptive allure of extremist movements and the unmatched power of charismatic leadership. Noble also chronicles the intense standoff with federal agents at the group's compound in northern Arkansas in April 1985. Originally published in 1998, this second edition includes an authoritative introduction placing Noble's narrative and the CSA into the broader picture of American religio-political extremism.
Written after his release from prison, the author's cogent narrative reveals the deceptive allure of extremist movements and the unmatched power of charismatic leadership. Noble also chronicles the intense standoff with federal agents at the group's compound in northern Arkansas in April 1985. Originally published in 1998, this second edition includes an authoritative introduction placing Noble's narrative and the CSA into the broader picture of American religio-political extremism.
- GenresMemoir
463 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2010
78 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 7, 2023
Having known several people mentioned in the book, I still found it difficult to understand how so many people were caught up in the charisma of Jim Ellison. I met him later in life, broken, but still arrogant, thinking he had all the answers. I met Robert Millar and sensed his charisma; but by that time, I knew to be wary.
I found it scary that so many good people who were seeking God could lose their way. When Kerry Noble began to realize where the group was headed, he wanted out, but felt that God wanted him to stay with the group. He didn't understand why and I didn't understand why God would want someone to stay in a situation so full of error. Then I realized that God wanted him to stay because once the siege started, Kerry Noble was the only person there who had negotiation abilities, thereby avoiding bloodshed and saving hundreds of lives. This book also made me realize that as Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” Obviously this applies to not just an individual but to a group of people also.
Meeting these people after the fact (Bill, Gary, Cheryl, Annie, Kerry, Kay, Billy, Margie, Donna, Eric), and knowing that they were basically good people, made me realize that but for the grace of God, it could have been any one of us.
The book is a fairly fast read, I believe there was more of Kerry's early background than his book, Tabernacle of Hope , gives. Reading about community life, Kerry makes one feel that they could have been there - feeling the cold, the heat, the dust from the tree logging business, the comradery as women cooked and canned, children playing.
The one thing I think could have been left out or placed elsewhere in the book (maybe divided up) were the "tracts" at the end of the book. The book ended on such a positive note, then reading the tracts at the end was a downer. I think I actually skimmed through a couple of them. I found it too difficult to entertain the ideas. Reading through some of them, I wondered how can people believe this stuff? But then it also caused me to realize the power of peer pressure, especially when one is isolated in a small group that is seems big because that's all that's there.
I found it scary that so many good people who were seeking God could lose their way. When Kerry Noble began to realize where the group was headed, he wanted out, but felt that God wanted him to stay with the group. He didn't understand why and I didn't understand why God would want someone to stay in a situation so full of error. Then I realized that God wanted him to stay because once the siege started, Kerry Noble was the only person there who had negotiation abilities, thereby avoiding bloodshed and saving hundreds of lives. This book also made me realize that as Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” Obviously this applies to not just an individual but to a group of people also.
Meeting these people after the fact (Bill, Gary, Cheryl, Annie, Kerry, Kay, Billy, Margie, Donna, Eric), and knowing that they were basically good people, made me realize that but for the grace of God, it could have been any one of us.
The book is a fairly fast read, I believe there was more of Kerry's early background than his book, Tabernacle of Hope , gives. Reading about community life, Kerry makes one feel that they could have been there - feeling the cold, the heat, the dust from the tree logging business, the comradery as women cooked and canned, children playing.
The one thing I think could have been left out or placed elsewhere in the book (maybe divided up) were the "tracts" at the end of the book. The book ended on such a positive note, then reading the tracts at the end was a downer. I think I actually skimmed through a couple of them. I found it too difficult to entertain the ideas. Reading through some of them, I wondered how can people believe this stuff? But then it also caused me to realize the power of peer pressure, especially when one is isolated in a small group that is seems big because that's all that's there.
June 18, 2023
Interesting, at times frustrating. The author comes across with what seems to me an odd blend of clear self-appraisal in some ways and grandiosity in others.
This memoir tracks the devolution of an idealistic religious community into a dangerous militant group centering criminal activities and plans for extreme violence around a cult of personality. A charismatic leader follows the dreary and familiar path from narcissism to trampling the boundaries of others to believing himself infallible and anything he wants justified.
It is in reference to leaders like the one Noble describes here that Sheldon Kopp titled one of his books "If You Meet the Buddha On the Road, Kill Him!"
Particularly in a time of rising authoritarianism, anti-intellectualism with hostility to objective facts, and militant "Christian nationalism," I recommend this book to anyone who is watching these trends and finds them disturbing.
This memoir tracks the devolution of an idealistic religious community into a dangerous militant group centering criminal activities and plans for extreme violence around a cult of personality. A charismatic leader follows the dreary and familiar path from narcissism to trampling the boundaries of others to believing himself infallible and anything he wants justified.
It is in reference to leaders like the one Noble describes here that Sheldon Kopp titled one of his books "If You Meet the Buddha On the Road, Kill Him!"
Particularly in a time of rising authoritarianism, anti-intellectualism with hostility to objective facts, and militant "Christian nationalism," I recommend this book to anyone who is watching these trends and finds them disturbing.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews