Thread by @MsEntropy

That thread on abortion, Christianity & the White supremacy blind spot is going to take me a while today.

I'm feeling sick and need a clear head b/c it's complicated and I don't want it misinterpreted, so I'm pre-organizing it instead of usual stream-of-consciousness Tweets.

So here's the basic question we'll be taking on:

Why do we remember only “Christianity” in relation to anti-abortion political violence—and not the equally crucial role of white supremacy as a motivating factor?

And: how is this relevant to the Capitol Siege?

Obviously it's going to be simplistic, but here's a general outline of the basic areas:

1.Christian Identity vs. Christianity vs. evangelicalism
2.Abortion in CI theology
3.CI strategy of dissimulation & cooptation

4.Historical, political, cultural factors conducive to CI (Nixon and Reagan)
5.Shifting white supremacist strategy after the 1988 Order sedition conspiracy trial
6.Christian nationalism and evangelical lobbying power
7.Relevance to the Capitol Siege

(Don't expect this thread to move quickly. I planned it out so I can take my time, because I don't feel great today, and I'm going to get to it piece by piece across the day).

In the meantime, if you just got here and want to know more about CI in general, there's an overview here

https://twitter.com/MsEntropy/status/1349546016886820865

If you want the basics of Christian Identity theology, you can find it here

https://twitter.com/MsEntropy/status/1350151471887597568

1. Christian Identity vs. Evangelicalism

In the simplest terms:

Evangelicalism: Jesus' atonement provides redemption; faith in Christ is the source of salvation

Christian Identity: White Americans are the true Chosen people and Children of Israel

1. Christian Identity vs. Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism: Anyone can be saved through belief in Christ.

Christian Identity: Only whites can be saved. Jews are "Satan's children," and manipulate minorities to disenfranchise the white "Chosen" people.

1. Christian Identity vs. Evangelicalism

The End Times (very basic):

Evangelicalism: Christ will return and be victorious at the End of Days (interpretations vary)

Christian Identity: End of Days entails a race war obligatory on all believers to fight (details vary)

2. Abortion in CI theology (somewhat self-explanatory):

-White people are under attack by Jews and minorities via reproduction / "demographic threats" etc.
- White majority control is divine-right; fighting those who threaten it is religiously obligatory

2. Abortion in CI theology (somewhat self-explanatory):

-Abortion itself is often coded as a Jewish conspiracy to erode the white majority's divinely ordered control
-more orthopraxic v. orthodox (action over belief); believers are obligated to fight 'evil' with action

I'll pick up with 3 (CI strategy of dissimulation / cooptation) in a bit.

In the interim, remember: why should we care about Christian Identity theology in relation to the Capitol Siege?

Well, in part:

https://twitter.com/MsEntropy/status/1350152417359192064

RE this thread + people messaging me with requests for publications etc : I need to pause this for the day, probably. Not feeling well and can’t really focus, and that’s a big problem for this topic. Will answer you and resume this thread as soon as I can.

To save us all the time:

I literally share a living space with a fully reformed CI member (decades before I knew him) who preached at Peters’ LaPorte Church of Christ in the 90s.

If you don’t believe me, he’s more than happy to clear up these dangerous misconceptions.

Please don’t make me do this 5000 more times.

https://twitter.com/msentropy/status/1350561625598615554

I’m going back to bed now, and will pick up on Christian Identity later here:

3. CI strategy of dissimulation & cooptation

I’m going to try to pick up the Christian Identity (super) long thread tonight after I finish the infiltration article.

I’ll pick up at 3) CI dissimulation, and then 4) the anti-abortion connection. In the meantime, you can find theology / threat etc above.

And FYI, relevant:

https://twitter.com/naveedajamali/status/1351157143576207360

If you’re just joining, here’s this thread’s beginning roadmap: on Christian Identity (note: not a synonym for evangelicalism - it’s literally Nazi theology) and political violence.

After I finish my infiltration article tonight, I’ll pick up at part 3.

Getting ready to take a writing break and tackle #3 on the Christian Identity (again, literally Nazi theology, NOT a synonym for Christo-fascist tendencies among evangelicals):

3 - Christian Identity: Infiltration and Cooptation Strategies

--> incoming in about 10-15.

[Before I start, caveat: I'm not interested in arguing; if I have to correct a dangerous misunderstanding - like 'CI = Christianity,' I will. We're here to understand and address the problem, not make it worse. This isn't an ego contest, and I'm sick of it happening.]

3 - Christian Identity: Infiltration and Cooptation Strategies

First, remember what I said earlier above about Bruce Hoffman's 1988 study.

Of all far right terrorist groups he surveyed, every single one had ties to CI. Every. Single. One.

Christian Identity is one of the most influential ideological strains underpinning violent white supremacist groups in the United States - and it's also one that's quite often ignored, or overlooked.

That's unwise beyond words. So here's the thing: why is it overlooked?

I'll return to this point in a later part of the thread (sections 4 & 5), but for now:

Obviously, "Jesus Christ wants a race war and only white European Americans go to heaven so kill everyone else" isn't the best pitch to attract a wide group of support.

CI's not that dumb.

Oh, as an aside:

Christian Identity adherents, early on, were more than happy to work with different religio-ideological groups.

For example, Odinist skinheads were routinely at the Aryan Nations compound in Hayden Lake (now defunct).

Take Tom Metzger, for example - founder of White Aryan Resistance and former KKK Grand Wizard of California - was an ordained CI minister (before later eschewing Christianity entirely).

Metzger was notorious for not caring (even then) about religion - race came first.

Now take a guy named Pete Peters. He ran the Laporte Church of Christ, where members of the 1988 Order (behind Berg's murder, the sedition conspiracy, etc.) worshipped.

Peters downplayed the "CI" label, but you can be damn sure that was utter BS.

How do I know? Well..........

Peters wrote one of the single most influential tracts for Nazi Christians, called 'Scriptures for America.'

The title of one section?

"Be Wise as Serpents: Reject the 'Identity Label.'"

So...yeah.

Here's where we get to infiltration strategy more generally, and where anti-abortion activism becomes particularly relevant.

CI groups like the Army of God deliberately appeared with conservative groups that shared certain concerns like abortion.

They blended, in short.

In many cases, when Army of God didn't claim responsibility for violence against abortion providers, they took up the causes of those who did.

The whole neo-Nazi "race war for Jesus" didn't appear in much of their outward communications.

Let's take a very striking case, and one that should remind you of... Richard Spencer, alt-right media darling "the dapper white nationalist."

I'm talking about Christian Identity adherent and head of Army of God's predecessor organization, Defensive Action:

Paul Hill.

Paul Hill was executed in 2003 for murders committed in 1994.

ABC's Nightline gave him a platform to defend his actions.

Think Christian Identity's racist ties were featured on those airwaves? Absolutely not.

(Btw - Army of God is very nebulous, and tricky to pin down. Christian Identity's influence can be seen in a number of ways - including members of the anti-abortion extremists' intermingling, as well as convicted extremists' own words, such as signing threats "Virginia Dare.")

The rise of anti-abortion violence in the early 1990s by a variety of groups bears the unmistakable imprint of Christian Identity's influence.

One reason? Peters' Laporte Church of Christ was a central hub.

Remember: "Be Wise as the Serpent."

https://twitter.com/MsEntropy/status/1351379528099139584?s=20

Another example: The 'Phineas Priesthood' (see Richard Kelly Hoskins' 1990 treatise 'Vigilantes of Christendom).

This is way more nebulous than a group - "Phineas action" is a WS term, and has included abortion clinic bombings and attacks on minorities and interracial couples.

Although AoG claimed to disavow racism at various points, materials echo not only explicitly CI points of theological emphasis, but counted attackers among the ranks who invoked overt white supremacist talking points (a la Virginia Dare, etc) + CI ties to Peters et al.

I'll pick back up on 4 & 5 (and hopefully finish the whole thread tomorrow), but in the meantime:

Remember Pete Peters' explicit directive: "Be Wise as Serpents: Reject the 'Identity Label.'"

Dissimulation is, and was, a key component of cooptation.

See you later.

Christian Identity's explicitly neo-Nazi, "race war for Jesus" theology has exerted an outsized influence on American far-right political violence.

Peters' positioning as 'conservative Christian values' is one reason why.

It's high time everyone stopped overlooking it.