The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord What does the word "terrorist" bring to mind? Without even seeing the accused, most people in this country automatically assume this person is Middle-Eastern and Muslim. Although Stern's Terror in the Name of God focuses mainly on Islamic terrorists, it begins by addressing terrorist acts of a more homegrown variety. Stern interviews American terrorists here in the United States. The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord or CSA, a group of radical Christians, became one of the "most violent white supremacist centers of the 1980s" (Phelps). Members lived communally on a 250-acre compound near the Arkansas-Missouri border (Barkun 428). The group "came to accept the teachings of Identity Christianity," which, according to Stern, means seeing "Anglo-Saxons as the 'true Israel,' America as a sacred land, and the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as a God-inspired, Christian inheritance" (17). Followers of Identity Christianity also expect to be present for doomsday (Stern 17). In fact, the members of the CSA believed the Apocalypse was imminent (The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord). As Kerry Noble (minister and second in command of the CSA explains, "we are Christian survivalists who believe in preparing for the ultimate holocaust" (Paranoia as Patriotism). And that is exactly what they did. The organization set up an "Endtime Overcomer Survival Training School," which offered a course in military tactics, "Christian martial arts" and urban warfare (Paranoia as Patriotism). All male members of the group trained in every aspect of military action (The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord) and each was issued full military gear,... ... middle of paper ... ...right." The Village Voice [New York] 25 Mar. 1997,36-38. Alt-Press Watch (APW). ProQuest. W.E.B. DuBois Library, Amherst, MA. 11 Oct. 2007 . Stern, Jessica. Terror in the Name of God. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Van Boven, Sarah, and Seibert, Sam. "Prep work." Newsweek 126.7 (14 Aug. 1995): 4. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. W.E.B. Du Bois Library, Amherst, MA. 10 October 2007. silk.library.umass.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9508147623&site=eh ost-live&scope=site>. Wheeler, Tim. "McVeigh could tell some tales." People's Weekly World [New York] 26 May 2001, National Edition: 13. Alt-Press Watch (APW). ProQuest. W.E.B. DuBois Library, Amherst, MA. 11 Oct. 2007 .
I was surprised by the author’s interpretation of the biblical text. I had never thought about what had happened to the Canaanites when the Israelites took their land. This story is very similar to the Europeans, mainly the English, coming to America. Both of these have oppressed people who leave their country to find a land that they believe is promised to them and in turn; they oppress a group of people and drive them from their land. Warrior believes that, like the Canaanites, the Native Americans are a group of forgotten people in the eyes of God. When I went to a Presbyterian church, I had learned the God loved everyone and I never thought that God would annihilate a group of people for living on a piece of land that God had promised to another group of people. During this time, the stories of the Canaanites
The US Army’s official birthday is June 14, 1775, however its origins are much earlier than that. During British colonialism, citizens often had to take up arms to defend themselves, primarily against the Indians, since the British did not have a significant military presence in America. “Two concepts that still shape the American military can be traced to this period. The first is the idea of the citizen soldier, who picks up his gun in wartime and returns to civilian pursuits in peace. The second is the concept of universal obligation…” (Brown, page xiii).
1. Carter’s book focuses on the diverse ways the Early Christians dealt with their world, where imperial politics, economics, culture, and religion were mixed together (x). Furthermore, the author organized his book around important imperial realities that New Testament writings negotiate (x). The audience for Carter’s book includes high school or college students, Bible study groups, Sunday school students, clergy, and scholars interested in insights about passages in the New Testament to study.
Morrison, Patt. “Terrorists or Saviors?” LA Times 16 June 1991: n. pag. LA Times. Web. 18 May 2011. .
For a second, the U.S. stood still. Looking up at the towers, one can only imagine the calm before the storm in the moment when thousands of pounds of steel went hurdling into its once smooth, glassy frame. People ran around screaming and rubble fell as the massive metal structure folded in on itself like an accordion. Wounded and limping from the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, America carried on, not without anger and fear against a group of innocent Americans, Muslim Americans. Nietzsche’s error of imaginary cause is present in the treatment of Muslim Americans since 9/11 through prejudice in the media, disregard of Muslim civil liberties, racial profiling, violence, disrespect, and the lack of truthful public information about Islam. In this case, the imaginary cause against Muslims is terrorism. The wound has healed in the heart of the U.S. but the aching throb of terrorism continues to distress citizens every day.
Being the oldest daughter of a Senior ATF Agent, I have been exposed to domestic terrorism all of my life. My father has investigated thousands of bombings, fires, and explosions for more than twenty years now. Many of these incidents were examples of the terrorism that I speak about. His experiences have taught me countless lessons and informed me of many current events. The information that I have obtained from him is far more valuable than anything that the media could ever possibly convey. Though he is always strictly guarded with the confidences of his profession, he has always provided me with a firsthand knowledge of the impact that domestic terrorism has on the citizens and law enforcement. Through him, I learn the facts of these incidents without the media’s exaggerations. Today I will share with you some of these facts. I will talk to you about the impact that domestic terrorism has on our citizens. These impacts include: the monetary damages that terrorism inflicts, along with the injuries to the victims, the shocking repercussions that are embedded into the minds and souls of the people who come to sort through the rubble to find the survivors and the remaining evidence.
Stanley, A. (2010, April 19). A Terrorist, Plain-Spoken And Cold. New York Times. p. 1.
Such total separation, the group preached, was necessary because Earth's human structures --governmental, economic and, especially, religious -- were under the control of demonic forces: “Luciferians” and evil “space aliens,” in the group's terms. In time, they began calling themselves “the Two,” a reference to the “two witnesses” of Christ foretold in the Bible's Book of Revelation. According to the Bible, the two witnesses are prophets who will be slain by a beast from the bottomless pit, then be resurrected and ascend to Heaven. They were both anti-establishment and intolerant, calling for total separation from society, simple living with shared resources, and adherence to a rigorous moral code. Applewhite also required members of the cult to dress, talk, and look the same.
Scherer, Ron. "Terrorism Cases Force More Muslim Americans to Grapple with Homegrown Jihad - CSMonitor.com." 7 July 2010. Web. 4 October 2010. .
The Westboro Baptist Church, Neo-Nazi, Neo- Klu Klux Klan, and many others emerged as groups that invoke and in...
The bond that men form with each other in the heat of battle is incomprehensible to those who have not experienced warfare for themselves.
Slave-owners forced a perverse form of Christianity, one that condoned slavery, upon slaves. According to this false Christianity the enslavement of “black Africans is justified because they are the descendants of Ham, one of Noah's sons; in one Biblical story, Noah cursed Ham's descendants to be slaves” (Tolson 272). Slavery was further validated by the numerous examples of it within the bible. It was reasoned that these examples were confirmation that God condoned slavery. Douglass’s master...
Wright, L. (2008, June 2). The Rebellion Within: An Al Qaeda Mastermind Questions Terrorism. New Yorker.
...e enemy is thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:1-3; 19:11-20:15), and the doom of death is celebrated (Isaiah 26:19).
Flanders, Henry J, Robert W. Crapps, and David A. Smith. People of the Covenant: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.