The Twelve Tribes (New religious movement)
Encyclopedia
The Twelve Tribes , formerly known as The Vine Christian Community Church, Northeast Kingdom Community Church, The Messianic Communities, and the Community Apostolic Order is an international confederation of religious communities founded by Gene Spriggs (now known as Yoneq) that sprang out of the Jesus Movement
Jesus movement
The Jesus movement was a movement in Christianity beginning on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and spreading primarily through North America and Europe, before dying out by the early 1980s. It was the major Christian element within the hippie counterculture,...
in 1972 in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.
The group is an attempt to recreate the first century church
Apostolic Age
The Apostolic Age of the history of Christianity is traditionally the period of the Twelve Apostles, dating from the Crucifixion of Jesus and the Great Commission in Jerusalem until the death of John the Apostle in Anatolia...
in the Book of Acts
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
; the name "Twelve Tribes" also derives from a quote of the Apostle Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
in Acts 26:7. The group has also been referred to as The Yellow Deli People and informally as The Community.
History
The origins of the Twelve Tribes movement can be traced to a ministry for teenagers called the "Light Brigade" in 1972. The ministry operated out of a small coffee shopCoffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...
called "The Lighthouse" within the home of Gene Spriggs and his wife Marsha. The Light Brigade began living communally and opened a restaurant called "The Yellow Deli" while attending several churches, before deciding on First Presbyterian Church. The Light Brigade, while at First Presbyterian, experienced friction with the establishment by bringing anyone who was willing to come with them, including different social classes and racial groups than the church normally experienced. On January 12, 1975, the group arrived at First Presbyterian to find the service had been cancelled for the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
; for the group, this was an intolerable act and led them to form The Vine Christian Community Church. During this time, the church planted churches, each with their own Yellow Delis, in Dalton
Dalton, Georgia
Dalton is a city in Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is the county seat of Whitfield County and the principal city of the Dalton, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of both Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 33,128...
and Trenton, Georgia
Trenton, Georgia
Trenton is a city in Dade County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,942 at the 2000 census. It is the only incorporated municipality in the county, and as such it serves as the county seat....
, Mentone, Alabama
Mentone, Alabama
Mentone is a town in DeKalb County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 451.Mentone is home to many private summer camps, including Camp Desoto for girls, Camp Riverview for girls, Camp Laney for boys, Alpine Camp for boys, Camp Skyline Ranch for girls, Lookout...
, and Dayton, Tennessee
Dayton, Tennessee
Dayton is a city in Rhea County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,180 at the 2000 census. The Dayton, TN, Urban Cluster, which includes developed areas adjacent to the city and extends south to Graysville, Tennessee, had 9,050 people in 2000...
.
Their withdrawal from the borders of the religious mainstream turned what had been a friction-filled relationship into an outcry against them. They began holding their own services in Warner Park calling it "Critical Mass", appointing elders and baptizing people outside of any denominational authority. The deteriorating relationship between the group and the religious and secular Chattanooga community attracted the attention of The Parents' Committee to Free Our Children from the Children of God
FREECOG
FREECOG, or Free the Children of God , originally named The Parents' Committee to Free Our Children from the Children of God was founded in 1971. Scholars consider it the first Anti-cult movement group...
and the Citizen's Freedom Foundation who labeled the church a "cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
" and heavily attacked Spriggs as a Cult leader. This led to what the group refers to today as the "Cult Scare" in the late seventies. A series of deprogrammings starting in the summer of 1976 that were carried out by Ted Patrick
Ted Patrick
Theodore Roosevelt Patrick, Jr. is widely considered to be the "father of deprogramming." Some criminal proceedings against Patrick have resulted in felony convictions for kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.-Early life:...
. The group nevertheless largely ignored the negative press, the wider world in general, and continued their businesses opening the Areopagus
Areopagus
The Areopagus or Areios Pagos is the "Rock of Ares", north-west of the Acropolis, which in classical times functioned as the high Court of Appeal for criminal and civil cases in Athens. Ares was supposed to have been tried here by the gods for the murder of Poseidon's son Alirrothios .The origin...
and a second local Yellow Deli in downtown Chattanooga. In 1978 an invitation was received from a small church in Island Pond
Island Pond, Vermont
Island Pond is a census-designated place in the town of Brighton in Essex County, Vermont, United States. The population was 849 at the 2000 census...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
for Spriggs to minister there; the offer was declined but the group began moving in stages to the small rural town, naming the church there The Northeast Kingdom Community Church. One of Patrick's last deprogramming cases in Chattanooga occurred in 1980; it involved a police detective who, according to Swantko, had his 27-year-old daughter arrested on a falsified warrant in order to facilitate her deprogramming, with the support of local judges. The group continued moving, closing down all the Yellow Delis and associated churches except for the one in Dalton. At one point, a leader conceded the group was deeply in debt before closing the Dalton church down and moving the last members to Vermont.
The move to Vermont, combined with an initial period of economic hardship, caused some members to leave. The Citizen's Freedom Foundation conducted several meetings in Barton to draw attention to the group. The Citizen's Freedom Foundation had made allegations of mind control in Chattanooga, but now made accusations of child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
. In 1983, charges were brought against Charles "Eddie" Wiseman (an elder in the group) for misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
simple assault; this, combined with multiple child custody cases, formed the basis of a search warrant. On June 22, 1984 Vermont State Police and Vermont Social Rehabilitation Services seizing 112 children all were released the same day while the raid was ruled unconstitutional. Due to what the group perceived as massive misunderstanding of the events and concerns leading up to and surrounding the raid, they began formal relationships with their neighbors. Two months after the raid, the case against Wiseman fell apart after the main witness recanted, saying he was under duress from the anticult movement. The case was later dropped in 1985 after a judge ruled that Wiseman had been denied his right to a speedy trial
Speedy trial
Speedy trial refers to one of the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution to defendants in criminal proceedings. The right to a speedy trial, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, is intended to ensure that defendants are not subjected to unreasonably lengthy incarceration prior to a fair...
. Eddie Wiseman's public defender, Jean Swantko, who had been present during the raid, later joined and married Wiseman.
By 1989, the church had become widely accepted in Island Pond and grew substantially during the 1980s and 1990s, opening branches in several different countries, including Canada, Australia, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, and the United Kingdom. During this expansion phase, the group used the name Messianic Communities, before deciding on The Twelve Tribes. Through the mid-2000s, the group remained controversial, with accusations of child labor
Child labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
, custodial interference, and illegal Homeschooling
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
. In 2006 the group held a reunion for members and friends of the Vine Christian Community Church and former Yellow Deli in Warner Park, announcing a new community in Chattanooga. The movement proceeded to open a new Yellow Deli in 2008, nearly thirty years after leaving Chattanooga.
Beliefs and practices
The Twelve Tribe’s beliefs resemble those of Christian fundamentalism and Messianic Judaism; however the group believes that all denominations are fallen, and so refuse to align themselves with any denomination or movement. They believe that in order for the messiah to return, the Church needs to be restored to its original form seen in the ActsActs of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
2:38–42 and Acts 4:32–37. This restoration is not merely the restoration of the 1st century church, but of a new Israel consisting of Twelve Tribes in twelve geographic regions. Part of this restoration is the return to observing the sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, maintaining Mosaic law
613 mitzvot
The 613 commandments is a numbering of the statements and principles of law, ethics, and spiritual practice contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses...
including dietary law, and Jewish feasts. This interpretation of the prophesied restoration of Israel, combined with the perceived immorality in the world leads the group to believe the end times have arrived, though no date has been set.
One noted aspect of the group is their insistence of using the hebrew name Yahshua
Yahshua
Yahshua is an argued transliteration of the original Hebrew or Aramaic name of Jesus commonly used by individuals in the Sacred Name Movement....
, opposed to the Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
or even the more common hebrew transliterated form Yeshua. As the name "Yahshua" represents the nature of Jesus, similarly they bestow hebrew names upon on members that are meant to reflect the personality of the individual.
The group rejects the traditional Christian duality of heaven and hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
; instead believe in what they term the Three Eternal Destinies. They believe that after the Fall of Man every person is given a conscience
Conscience
Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms...
; and that after dying every person goes to a state of being called death regardless of faith. Upon the second coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
, believers will be brought back for the thousand years to reign with Yahshua before the last judgment. At the end of this thousand years, all the nonbelievers will be judged according to their deeds and be put into two groups: the righteous, filthy/unjust. The filthy and the unjust will be sent to the Lake of Fire
Lake of Fire
A lake of fire appears, in both ancient Egyptian and Christian religion, as a place of after-death punishment of the wicked. The phrase is used in four verses of the Book of Revelation. The image was also used by the Early Christian Hippolytus of Rome in about the year 200 and has continued to be...
while the righteous will go to heaven with the Twelve Tribes.
The leadership within is a structure is a series of Councils on the local, regional, and a global Apostolic Council; the group is also overseen within these councils by a fluid number of teachers, deacons, deaconesses, elders and apostles. Gene Spriggs is highly regarded as the first to open up his home to brothers and sisters, but is not regarded as a spiritual figurehead.
The Spriggs travel between the communities offering advice and inspiration but try to foster local autonomy. The group operates as a 501 (d) – a "for-profit organizations with a religious purpose and a common treasury" the community pays taxes on property and income and do not vote in elections.
Courtship within the Community involves a "waiting period" in the which the man asks the permission of the father to date his daughter. The couple then receives counseling while spending time together. The couple is only betrothed if the entire community approves of it; the couple is then permitted to hold hands. Weddings are dramatized preenactments of what the group believes will happen at the end of time when Yahshua returns to earth for his bride
Bride of Christ
The Bride of Christ or bride, the Lamb's wife is a term used in the New Testament of The Bible. Sometimes the Bride is implied through calling Jesus a Bridegroom. Sometimes the Church is compared to a bride betrothed to Christ. However there are instances where the interpretation of the usage of...
.
Children have been noted to play a central role in the group's eschatological beliefs, as future generations of the group are to be the "pure and spotless bride" of Revelations. Most children within the group are born through a home birth
Home birth
A home birth in developed countries is an attended or an unattended childbirth in a non-clinical setting, typically using natural childbirth methods, that takes place in a residence rather than in a hospital or a birth centre, and usually attended by a midwife or lay attendant with expertise in...
with a midwife, though a hospital may sometimes be used. Children are homeschooled, by both parents and others within the group. Their curriculum includes learning to read, arithmetic, writing, history, religion and dance
Israeli folk dancing
Israeli folk dancing is a form of dance usually performed to music from Israel, with dances choreographed for specific songs. Most Israeli dances are performed in a circle, although there are also partner dances and line dances.-History and description:...
. Commercial toys are not used in the group; however blocks, puzzles, sewing kits, and books are encouraged to promote imagination rather than fantasy. Within the group teenagers may take on apprenticeships in the group's cottage industries to be taught trades complementing their education. The group utilizes corporal punishment with a wet reed
Phragmites
Phragmites, the Common reed, is a large perennial grass found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Phragmites australis is sometimes regarded as the sole species of the genus Phragmites, though some botanists divide Phragmites australis into three or four species...
, balloon stick across the child's bottom or palm after which the child is forgiven. The overall goal is to make future generations within the community less materialistic and more spiritually pure for the return of Yahshua.
Controversies
Since its inception, the group has ignited controversy and garnered unfavorable attention from the media, the anti-cult movementAnti-cult movement
The anti-cult movement is a term used by academics and others to refer to groups and individuals who oppose cults and new religious movements. Sociologists David G...
and governments. The Twelve Tribes has been cited by Stuart A. Wright
Stuart A. Wright
Stuart A. Wright is Professor of Sociology and Director of Research in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at Lamar University with primary research interests in religious and political movements, sectarian conflict, violence and terrorism...
as a group suffering from "Front-End/Back-End Disproportionality" in media coverage. According to Wright, the media often focuses on unsubstantiated charges against the group, but as charges are investigated and cases fall apart, the media cover them significantly less than at the beginning. Wright then asserts this leaves the public with the impression that the group was guilty of the disproven charges.
The ministry New England Institute of Religious Research
New England Institute of Religious Research
New England Institute of Religious Research is a ministry located in Massachusetts which provides information on organizations it considers cultic. It provides training, counseling, and assistance to individuals who are involved with such groups...
's Executive Director the Rev. Bob Pardon warns in his report that "Messianic Communities, under the leadership of Spriggs, has tended towards an extreme authoritarianism and a "Galatian heresy." The Tribes have responded with a line-by-line response to the report and continue to contend its large "errors, distortions, misunderstandings, and misjudgments", while criticizing the heavy use of apostates in his report. In France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the group was listed on the 1995 Governmental Report by the Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France under the name "Ordre apostolique – Therapeutic healing environment."
Jean Swantko and husband Eddie Wiseman have made effort to combat social control and anti-cult movement
Anti-cult movement
The anti-cult movement is a term used by academics and others to refer to groups and individuals who oppose cults and new religious movements. Sociologists David G...
by engaging in dialogue with hostile ex-members
Apostasy
Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
, the media and government authorities. Swantko has presented at scholarly conferences including CESNUR
CESNUR
CESNUR , is an organization based in Turin, Italy. It was established in 1988 by a group of religious scholars from universities in Europe and the Americas, working in the field of new religious movements. Its director is the Italian sociologist and attorney Massimo Introvigne...
Communal Studies Association and Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion was formed to advance research in the social scientific perspective on religious institutions and experiences.-Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion:...
as well as chapter in James T. Richardson's Regulating Religion: Case Studies from Around the Globe.
Commentary on the Island Pond Raid
The Island Pond Raid has remained prominent in Vermont legal history; it was the subject of a Vermont Bar Association seminar in 2006. The group held anniversary events in both 1994 and 2000; and producedFilm producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
a 75-minute documentary. The Vermont Chapter of the ACLU also criticized the raid, calling it "frightening" and "the greatest deprivation of civil liberties to have occurred in recent Vermont history." The then-Governor of Vermont, Richard Snelling, who had authorized the raid, reportedly drew the "hottest political fire of his career" in the weeks after Vermont Attorney General John J. Easton, Jr. attributed the raid to assisting his campaign for governorship. In 1992, John Burchard, who had been the State Commissioner of Social and Rehabilitation Services, and Vanessa L. Malcarne, published an article in Behavioral Sciences and The Law, encouraging changes in the law that would have allowed the raid to succeed.
Twelve Tribes and Race Controversies
The Twelve Tribes religious movement has been criticized for its teachings and practices regarding race. It teaches that JewsJews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
are still cursed for the murder of Christ, and has criticized the Pope for his "request for forgiveness" asking Jews to forgive the treatment they have suffered at the hands of the Christian church throughout history. The movement advocates racial segregation, arguing that "multiculturalism increases murder, crime and prejudice", and discourages interracial marriages; however, non-white families are welcome, and interracial marriages have been tolerated in exceptional cases.
Child labor and homeschooling controversies
In 2001, The New York Post ran an article accusing the group child laborChild labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
violations; and later attributed itself as having prompted the Investigation. The Twelve Tribes responded with a press conference at the "Commonsense Farm" where the alleged child labor had taken place. The Twelve Tribes reported that during a random inspection by Estée Lauder Companies
Estée Lauder Companies
Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. is a manufacturer and marketer of prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The company has its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
the company found several fourteen year olds had been found assisting their fathers in their cottage industry; this report was later confirmed by Estée Lauder who terminated their contract with Common Sense products. The Group's official statement at the press conference stated that they believed that it was a family owned business, and children ought to be able to help their parents in the business while making "no apology" for it. The New York State Department of Labor stated they intended to visit all five of the Twelve Tribe's businesses. State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
asserted that apprenticeships amounted to indentured servitude and were illegal. Robert Redford's
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
Sundance Catalog, who had contracted with Common Wealth Woodworks (another of the group's cottage industries that made furniture), also terminated their contract as a response to the allegations. The Labor Department later fined the group two thousand dollars for a fifteen-year-old pushing a wheelbarrow
Wheelbarrow
A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles to the rear, or by a sail to push the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The term "wheelbarrow" is made of two words: "wheel" and "barrow." "Barrow" is a...
and another fifteen-year-old changing a lightbulb.
In Europe, the controversies centered on the issues of homeschooling, health, and religious freedom. The group has several times been in conflict with authorities in Germany and France over homeschooling their children, with a particularly long and protracted dispute between the community in Klosterzimmern, in the municipality of Deiningen
Deiningen
Deiningen is a municipality in the district of Donau-Ries in Bavaria in Germany....
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, and Bavarian education authorities. Homeschooling is illegal in Germany. When fines and arrests failed to have an effect on the community, authorities granted the group the right to operate a private school on the commune's premises, under state supervision. The agreement entailed that the school would not teach sex education
Sex education
Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...
and evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
.
Outreaches
The Twelve Tribes utilizes mobile operations and as vehicles to evangelize at various events.
- Peacemaker MarinePeacemaker (ship)Peacemaker is an American barquentine owned by the Twelve Tribes religious group.- History :The Peacemaker, originally named Avany, was built on a riverbank in southern Brazil using traditional methods and tropical hardwoods, and was launched in 1989...
— a Class-A Sailing Barquentine Ship bought and restored by the group sailing on the Eastern coast of the United States. The Group now gives tours and Evangelizing at ports. - Peacemaker I&II Buses
- A First Aid TentFirst aidFirst aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
is set up at various events by the group.
External links
Movement Links- Twelve Tribes official website
- "Children of the Island Pond Raid: An Emerging Culture" Documentary on the Island Pond Raid at the Twelve Tribes YouTube Channel
- "Cult Scare: The Shocking Kidnappings of Kirsten Nielsen"
Critical of Twelve Tribes