Love, Sex, Fear, Death: The Inside Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment

by Timothy Wyllie, Adam Parfrey

The Process Church of the Final Judgment was the apocalyptic shadow side of the flower-powered ’60s and perhaps the most notorious cult of modern times.

Hundreds of black-cloaked devotees, often wearing a satanic “Goat of Mendes” and a swastika-like mandala, swept the streets of London, New York, Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, and Toronto, selling magazines and books with titles like Fear and Humanity is the Devil. And within the group’s “Chapters,” members would participate in “Midnight Meditations” beneath photographs of the Christ-like leader.

Celebrities like Marianne Faithful, James Coburn, and Mick Jagger participated in Process publications, and Funkadelic, in its Maggot Brain album, reprinted Process’ “Fear Issue.”

Process’ “Death Issue” interviewed the freshly-imprisoned Charles Manson leading to conspiracy hysteria in such books as Ed Sanders’ The Family and Maury Terry’s The Ultimate Evil. A lawsuit against Sanders’ Manson book led to the removal of its Process-themed chapter by Dutton.

Love, Sex, Fear, Death is the shocking, surprising, and secretive inside story of The Process Church, which was later transformed into Foundation Faith of the Millennium, and most recently as the Utah-based animal sanctuary, Best Friends.

Included will be text by Timothy Wyllie, a formative member of the Process and Foundation Faith organizations; interviews with other former Processeans; rare reproductions of Process magazines; never-before-seen photographs; and fascinating transcripts from holy books and legal actions.

The special limited edition will be hardcover, signed, numbered, and slipcased, and it will include a facsimile edition of the notorious “Death Issue.”

Genres: Cults, Nonfiction, Religion, History, True Crime, Occult, Conspiracy Theories

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Michael Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at this cult from several insiders. Despite a lot of baseless accusations linking the Process Church of the Final Judgment to Satanism and horrific crimes (Manson and the Son of Sam murders), the real story is far more interesting. Recommended to fans of 60s/70s counterculture, occult groups, and group dynamics.

[Gessy Alvarez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great beginning but in the end falls short of delivering an answer to my only question--Why?

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I trudged my way through eighty five interminably-paced pages of Timothy Wyllie's oral history of the Process Church, the mantra that ran ticker-tape style across my forehead was, "Where is the Lawrence Wright of The Process?" That author, who has created the most readable and accessible history of Scientology yet, should indeed have a twin brother or something who could put a similar microscope eye on Robert de Grimston and Mary Ann.

However, as I reached the end of the multiple short-takes on the Process by other upper-level members, I realized that this might not be necessary. Throughout his story, Wyllie repeatedly notes that the theology wasn't that important to him. It was the camaraderie and the, well, process itself mattered to most members. What at first seemed like an endless series of roundabout anecdotes about moving from town to town, seemingly with the sole purpose of selling the Process magazines on the streets, revealed itself to in fact be the full story. Scientologists (from which The Process Church was an early offshoot) devote themselves to endless study, mental purging, fundraising, and collection of extreme wealth. The Process, at every turn, seemed like a halfassed variant, with spongy, ill-defined religious beliefs with very little practical purpose to the world or outward manifestations of either fulfillment or manifestation. There was talk of sermons and meditation, and allusions to minor games of telepathy, and a few gross orgies initiated by the autocratic Mary Ann. But at the end of it, beyond the vague concept of "Uniting Opposites" in the sense of embracing both Jesus and Lucifer, I couldn't really figure out what made a Processean any different from your average RPG fan who took to wearing the clothes and selling the modules on the street. Their commitment to anti-vivisection issues (and eventual founding of the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah) and some surface-level philanthropy (seemingly more out of a wish to put on appearances to their neighbors) are admirable, and some of Robert's tracts are quite beautifully written. But at the end, it's hard to know if even the highest-order members even knew what it was all about.

To its credit, the book does include 100+ pages (many in sumptuous color) of reproductions of various Process magazine covers, tracts, and loads of behind-the-scenes photos (which further reinforce my beliefs that many of these people probably jumped ship from Team de Grimston to Team Gygax around 1977) that make it worth keeping. The possibility of the purchase of Feral House's hardback edition featuring the full contents of the Process magazines is also a very real one. But the only real reason to own this unsatisfying volume is that it's the only book like it out there on this potentially fascinating topic. Whether the Process Church will ever receive their Wright is anybody's guess. Until then, this is about as good as you can hope to get.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the most fascinating books about the cult experience that I have read.

I was mainly reading this to be some sort of Satanic Panic completist and it is a cult and hey, satan.

OK, so...no Satan or satan or the devil or whatever. I knew that already, but this is supposed to be THE satanic cult. So, no David Berkowitz and nobody was hanging out with Charles Manson but these self-described cultists lacking a fondness for good ideas (in hindsight), decided it would be awesome to interview him for one of their magazines. Seriously, those Process magazines look really cool, but they were produced by idiots who were good at that magazine. OK, maybe not idiots, but not transcendent humans with deep spiritual answers to life either.

I would snap up their magazines in a heartbeat, but I probably wouldn't finish a single article. I am just not into finding myself via spiritual means or whatever these people were seeking and continue to seek. Oh, you silly magical hippies. Because they had a class on telepathy. I like how they freaked people out with the demon garb, but they were just another cult doing cult crap.

They were nothing to worry about? Yes. Unless of course you were a member. Then, you had some worries, well founded worries. Real Life Cult Worries. Any child in this cult was neglected. I think their "leader" just hated kids, saw them as useless and inconvenient and made no accommodations for anything related to children, including pregnancy. And then the orgies. Cult orgies. Mandatory orgy time. I don't think anybody was clear on them having a ritual significance, so the only point was to control and hurt.

I think the Process experience sounds pretty awful, but a lot of the contributors have some amazing insights about life, how we change, and their cult experience . Timothy Wyllie could be a hugely bitter man, but he isn't. I just don't sense much in the way of regret from him. (This is not to say certain parts aren't clearly embarrassing or painful.) His reflections were really interesting to me. Maybe I expected some broken, shameful humans, but that's not a part of this book.

They even credit some of the techniques they learned in the cult as being helpful after they left. Which was pretty weird to me. Not sure I have ever read that in a book about a cult.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

"For the three Gods represent three basic human patterns of reality. Within the framework of each pattern there are countless variations and permutations, widely varying grades of suppression and intensity. Yet each one represents a fundamental problem, a deep ·rooted driving force, a pressure of instincts and desires, terrors and revulsions. All three of them exist to some extent in every one of us. But each of us leans more heavily towards one of them, whilst the pressures of the other two provide the presence of conflict and uncertainty.

JEHOVAH, the wrathful God of vengeance and retribution, demands discipline, courage and ruthlessness, and a single-minded dedication to duty, purity and self-denial. All of us feel those demands to some degree, some more strongly and more frequently than others.

LUCIFER, the Light Bearer, urges us to enjoy life to the full, to value success in human terms, to be gentle and kind and loving, and to live in peace and harmony with one another. Man’s apparent inability to value success without descending into greed, jealousy and an exaggerated sense of his own importance, has brought the God LUCIFER into disrepute. He has become mistakenly identified with SATAN.

SATAN, the receiver of transcendent souls and corrupted bodies, instills in us two directly opposite qualities ; at one end an urge to rise above all human and physical needs and appetites, to become all soul and no body, all spirit and no mind, and at the other end a desire to sink beneath all human values, all standards of morality, all ethics, all human codes of behaviour, and to wallow in a morass of violence, lunacy and excessive physical indulgence. But it is the lower end of SATAN’s nature that men fear, which is why SATAN, by whatever name, is seen as the Adversary."

[Rowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Timothy Wyllie's voice is by far the strongest here, and thankfully his narrative makes up most of the book. His writing is lucid, warm and, as far as I know, honest, compared to some of the later, shorter memoirs from ex-processians who haven't gone on to work as authors, which are, I guess forgivably, a little scattered and tedious. I was expecting to learn more about the tenants of the Church, and though we get some of this, it seems like most members weren't concerned with the ever-shifting particulars of it's theology, which I found pretty interesting. There is a weird Jungian archetype embodiment angle in The Processes' early history and a lot of clever play with Christian characters and symbols that gets discussion, but the meat of the book is in exposing the cult's social and economic dynamics, and it's effects on the lives of individuals. Definitely wouldn't recommend this as general reading, but it's thorough, engaging and fairly even-keeled even as it dips into the personal, as far as books about cults go.

[Fishface · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was pretty unsatisfying. The largest section of the book was written by Tim Wyllie who was maddeningly impressionistic, for instance describing the Process leader as "a gorgon" he hated on sight, but also fell in love with the same day, without ever saying what it was about her that made him feel this way or telling us that much about what happened between them. The whole narrative went this way, although he did provide a good timeline of the events surrounding the process of the Process. The other contributions, by a variety of other Process members, were far more instructive, and it was only at the very end of the book that I started to get my questions answered about what these people believed and what they were about. I'm not sorry I read it but it would have gone better if almost the entire first half of the book hadn't been by Tim "No Details" Wyllie.

[Tanja M. Laden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Sex Fear Death: The Inside Story of the Process Church of the Final Judgment goes behind the scenes of an “apocalyptic cult with an attitude.”

In the ’60s and ’70s, The Process Church preached the union of Christ and Satan, seducing wayward, occult-inclined hippies into a community that was at once terrifying and inspiring. Timothy Wyllie, then a young architecture student, was one of them. A writer and former art director for The Process magazine, Wyllie shares his story and art in Feral House‘s book.

(Originally published on Flavorwire: http://flavorwire.com/35843/love-sex-...)

[Hilton King · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love, Sex, Fear Death: The Inside Story of the Process Church of the Final Judgment cured me of my fascination with the Process Church of the Final Judgment which began with my reading of Apocalypse Culture in the 80s.
For some reason, I was expecting more action and adventure from this book. No; it seems “Processeans” mostly just wandered around town selling magazines.
Despite the lengthy testimonials in this book, it was pretty much impossible to figure out what benefit anyone got from joining the group — most members seemed to be merely satisfying their own psychological deficiencies while enriching the leadership.
Still an excellent slice of life from a different time and place.

[A.O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Process Church, which started in 1966, was out of step with the times in many ways: the group eschewed drugs and drug use; their priests dressed all in black, with Mendes goats on their robes; they openly worshipped “Jehovah, Christ, Satan and Lucifer”; their logo, a cross between a cross pattée and a swastika, was out of step with the “peace and love” platitudes of the time.

Although they never reached the massive popularity of other movements, the cult attracted a small but persistent interest among musicians, artists, and other creative types throughout the years. The cult published several magazines that are sought-after by collectors––a reprint of several is currently selling on eBay for the low, low price of $199.99.

Whether intentionally or not, Wyllie’s book reflects many of the patterns delineated in Rogue Messiahs. “The Process did have all the hallmarks of a cult,” Wyllie writes in the introduction, “charismatic and autocratic leaders, devotion to an unconventional ideology, personal poverty, obedience, celibacy (from time to time), and a strict hierarchy, with secrets held between the levels.” The end of the world formed a large part of their worldview––Processeans “viewed life through the lens of an impending apocalypse.”

Despite their reputation (the group was linked, erroneously, with Charles Manson and his “family”), Wyllie doesn’t mention any animal sacrifices, human sacrifices, blood oaths in the moonlight, or other Satanic melodramas. This doesn’t mean the group was sweetness and light. Mary Ann MacLean, the group’s autocratic leader, often forced her followers into distressing or even traumatizing situations in order to maintain control. For example, she forced her inner circle to have sex with each other in highly choreographed orgies (though this was not, as claimed in one book, a rite of initiation into the cult––most members had no idea this was going on). The impact of these orgies was devastating:

[C]hildren were conceived who didn’t know their true parents; pairs who had no desire for one another were shoved together; heterosexual men were persuaded to perform acts clearly distasteful for them; and the women were sometimes treated like goddesses and sometimes like whores.

Reading this book made me think of a Simone Weil quote: “Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating.” The Process Church’s magazines featured cutting-edge graphic design, unconventional interviews with celebrities (what does Muhammad Ali think of life after death?), provocative articles that tackled deep questions of being and belonging. The Process Church passionately opposed vivisection; they criticized the Church of England (in a concern-trollish way) for being too wishy-washy about their own beliefs. And yet the Processean reality was the same dreary one that many cult members endure, from the women of NXIVM to members of the Sea Org: despair, humiliation, and shame under control of a domineering leader.

If you want to get an inside view of life within a cult, especially in a cult’s inner circle, I’d recommend this book. Wyllie was with the cult at its beginning and, after a leave of absence, followed the cult through the turmoil of the late 1960s. Wyllie was also the art director for the group’s magazine, and a member of the group’s short-lived band, which gave him an interesting perspective on the Process Church’s attempts to spread their message to the wider culture.

Note: This review originally appeared on aomonk.com.

[CamillePAWGlia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ultimately underwhelming. Love Sex Fear Death attempts to free the legacy of the Process Church of the Final Judgement from the distorted view of works like The Ultimate Evil: The Truth about the Cult Murders: Son of Sam and Beyond who paint the Process as a violent millenarian Satanic cult. This work's depiction of the Process' theology is interesting, but that is really where its value ceases. Wyllie's account is readable but leaves most questions about the Process unanswered. The relationships to the Manson family and Son of Sam are largely ignored, save a quick word at the beginning of the text and some of the trial notes from the end. Many of Wyllie's and his coauthor's accounts are also painfully uncritical. Other than generic language describing the Process as a cult, the methodology of the Process' psychotherapy techniques remains a mystery to readers.

The only thing pulling Love Sex Fear Death out of the gutter is the reproductions of the hymns, magazine covers, articles, and publications from the Process Church. These materials offer a unique insight into groups like the Process, and their inclusion is a valuable and unique feature of this work. Nevertheless, these excerpts do not make up for the ultimately lacking retrospective they are contained within.

[Ryan Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a fan of books on cults. Not sure exactly why. Perhaps it was the Time Magazine article I read when young about the People's Church and Jim Jones or the fact that for many years my parents followed an Indian teacher. I had heard about this group as an early influence on Genesis P. Orridge in an interview and was keeping my eye out for it. Then I discovered the Process Church's beautiful magazines. The pages dedicated to their design are lovely. But what I didn't get, and really wanted, was more social details - the more whacked out stuff of human relations. I was hoping to find something similar to The Source Family book. It did not seem as celebratory which was a bit disappointing at times. But still an interesting read if you are unfamiliar with this kind of material.

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read, but even after all the anecdotes, apologies, apologias, and armchair psychoanalysis, I was left feeling as if we were only nibbling around the edges of the story the whole time. I walked away with nearly no idea of this organization's goals and only very hazy pictures of its methods. Reading Robert DeGrimston's rambling pseudo-esoteric texts at the tail end of the book, my suspicion is that beyond the cloaks and medallions there really wasn't much there at all. But we aren't even left with that assurance after making our way through these first-person accounts (and Genesis P. Orridge's essay, which was really just a brief autobiographical sketch and seemed to have almost nothing to do with the Process as it actually existed in its own heyday).

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very enjoyable to me. The main part is a first hand account from one of the original Process members and he is a lot less jaded, negative and cynical about the experience than one would think having been through and leaving a cult. The rest of the book has some other (shorter) recollections and some bits by Robert De Grimston. Then the rest of the book contains some beautiful trippy images from process literature. I would LOVE to get the original magazines or reproductions though I suppose they don't come cheap..really an enjoyable read for me and besides the taking advantage of followers and seemingly gross mistreatment of children, I was suprised how un-negative a lot of this really was.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read for anyone who's always wondered what The Process were all about. Wyllie's contribution, which makes up about half the book, is beautifully written and really conveys the spiritual highs and the terrifying lows of his many years spent in the community. I also enjoyed Genesis P. Orridge's essay on the influence the Process had on him personally and on Temple of Psyckick Youth at large. As if that was not enough, the book has a very nice layout and a lot of great color pictures from Process material such as magazines, flyers etc.[return][return]A must read for any sincere occultist or seeker.

[Kid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rad title right?

Amazing sense of design.

The actual Process Church is another story.

The shadow leaders behind this movement cherished a murky and cynical view of community and relentlessly exploited the good will of a bunch of idealists.

I'm sorry but there is nothing inspiring about this particular cult save their existence in contrast to flower power. That's not enough.

Read The Source instead. Not only were those people freaky, they also approached enlightenment in a way that merged their paranoia with some genuine good vibes. . .

There's a difference.

[Kameel Nasr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is about the Process Church, a cult that began in the 1960s, became the Foundation Faith, and later Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. The first section of the book is composed of first person accounts of what life was like inside the group, which is not how the media has generally portrayed cults. The group was made up of young people rebelling against society and finding society within the group. This is a good anthropological study and will appeal to those trying to understand social structures.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a helluva lot of fun. You rarely get this kind of level-headed look at the inside of a cult like this, and I'm really grateful. Wyllie demystifies the Process Church and a lot of their evil rep, but there's still enough dark weirdness -- especially in the figure of the cult's mysterious and beautiful guru MaryAnn de Grimston -- to keep you intrigued. Loved it.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strangely boring, considering the subject matter. Timothy Wylie is not much of a writer unfortunately.

This book is worth checking out strictly for the reproductions of the awesome artwork the Process Church created for their various magazines, events, etc. Obviously a huge influence on Throbbing Gristle and Coil etc. in the visual realm.

[Maciek Lipiec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting account on strange satan-jehova-lucifer-christ worshipping cult from the '60s by one of its core members. They loved german shepherds and later became Best Friends, the largest animal welfare organization in States :)

[Dan Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. The cult itself is interesting, and the guy has a fascinating viewpoint, but he isn't a very good writer.

[kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Memoirs from former cult members. Epilogue by Genesis P"Orridge was actually very readable and pulled it all together, why we are fascinated by Process Church and what we learned.

[Cwn_annwn_13 · Rating 3 out of 5]

.

[Ella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t feel any more informed than I did at the beginning of the book.

[William EightFingers · Rating 3 out of 5]

My opinion is this book is a boilerplate/false front narrative of what happened with the Process Church of the Final Judgment. I was unaware of many historical backstories, such as their origins in Scientology as a spin-off and a more profound understanding of Robert Moore and Mary Ann Maclean's cult leadership. They perfectly used the "how-to-become-a-cult-leader" recipe, and we're pretty effective. Wyllie whitewashed the Manichaean duality between Jehovah/Christ and Lucifer/Satan and what that meant in practical application. I would like to understand more about their ideology. It was more of a journey in his life than any speculation of what else was happening. After finishing this book, I had more questions than answers. I understood more about the day-to-day and specific aspects of the organization and how they generated revenue. Still, the deep understanding of their convictions and belief systems was underrepresented. I will look for other books that asked more questions than Timothy Wyllie was willing to reveal. I would consider this a good starter book to explore the history of the Process Church of the Final Judgment.

[Chris Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a very strong interest in religious cults / NRMs so this was a book that I'd long tried to track down (not least because of the scarcity of information about The Process Church).

It's generally good but I would have like more detailed information about their beliefs and practices - in particular Compulsions Analysis. Instead the focus is very much on the human experience and the relationships that developed within the group. A few of the contributors say that they never really bought into the theological side of things so maybe it just isn't seen as important.

I do wonder though about the extent to which Wyllie has retained the Processian concept of responsibility (whereby you are responsible both for what you do and what happens to you) as he doesn't really seem to express the outrage that you would expect from a former member when it comes to some of their more damaging practices (such as seperating children from their parents).

[Gregory Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting recollections from former members of a cult spun off from Scientology. The cult was more or less benign, unless you were a member. Even then, most ex-Processeans seemed to get over their rough times under the control of it and even think it benefitted them to a degree. The Process design aesthetic is the coolest thing about it all. The ideology is mostly pretty dopey Christian eschatological interpretations. Don’t spend big money on a rare hard copy unless you’re a cult researcher.

[Cleo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately impressionistic in its approach at times (Wyllie himself apologizes for the scattered details, blaming inability to keep track of time/dates) but still incredibly interesting discussion of arguably the most influential sect of the past 50 years

[Thiago Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

O capítulo do/a Genesis já vale o livro inteiro, que ser humano maravilhoso.

[Donabean · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you don't know about this group except lies in Geraldo and his ilk, work the consideration this book gives