Wilbur Glenn Voliva
Encyclopedia
Flat Earth
The Flat Earth model is a belief that the Earth's shape is a plane or disk. Most ancient cultures have had conceptions of a flat Earth, including Greece until the classical period, the Bronze Age and Iron Age civilizations of the Near East until the Hellenistic period, India until the Gupta period ...
theories.
Early life and education
Voliva was born on a farm in Indiana on Mar. 10, 1870. In 1889, he entered Union Christian College, MeromUnion Christian College, Merom
Union Christian College was a small co-educational college located in Merom, Indiana, USA. Founded by the denomination called the Christian Church which eventually merged with the Congregational denomination which later joined with the Evangelical and Reformed Churches to form the United Church of...
Indiana; he graduated five years later and became a minister. In 1898 he was drawn to the teachings of John Alexander Dowie
John Alexander Dowie
John Alexander Dowie was a Scottish evangelist and faith healer who ministered in Australia and the United States. He founded the city of Zion, Illinois, and the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church...
and eventually joined his congregation, the Christian Catholic Church
Christian Catholic Apostolic Church
Christ Community Church in Zion, Illinois, formerly the Christian Catholic Church or Christian Catholic Apostolic Church, is an evangelical Protestant church founded in 1896 by John Alexander Dowie. The city of Zion was founded by Dowie as a religious community to establish a society on the...
of Zion, Illinois
Zion, Illinois
Zion is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,866 at the 2000 census, and estimated at 24,303 as of 2005. The city was founded in July 1901 by John Alexander Dowie. He also started the Zion Tabernacle of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church, which was the only...
.
Leadership of church
In 1906, the congregation revolted against Dowie's leadership and elected Voliva head of the church, which Voliva then renamed to the "Christian Catholic Apostolic Church." He kept tight control on his some 6,000 followers, which made up the community, even up to the point of dictating their choice of marriage partners. The city of Zion was effectively controlled by the church; all of its real estate, while sold at market rates, was conveyed under an 1,100 year lease, subject to many restrictions and subject to termination at the whim of the General Overseer. Religions other than the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church were effectively banned - visiting preachers from rival sects were harassed and hounded out of town by the city police force.Voliva diversified Zion Industries, an industrial concern owned by the church that manufactured Scottish lace, to include a bakery which produced the popular Zion brand fig bar cookies and White Dove chocolates. Zion was a one-company town and its workers were paid substandard wages.
Flat earth and other views
He gained nationwide notoriety by his vigorous advocacy of flat earthFlat Earth
The Flat Earth model is a belief that the Earth's shape is a plane or disk. Most ancient cultures have had conceptions of a flat Earth, including Greece until the classical period, the Bronze Age and Iron Age civilizations of the Near East until the Hellenistic period, India until the Gupta period ...
doctrine. He offered a widely publicized $5000 challenge for anyone to disprove flat earth theory. The church schools in Zion taught the flat earth doctrine. His radio station broadcast his diatribes against round earth astronomy, and the evils of evolution. He was quoted about the sun as follows:
Voliva also frequently predicted the end of the world: his predictions that the end would come in 1923, 1927, 1930, and 1935 were incorrect.
Decline and death
Like his predecessor, Voliva increasingly developed an overtly lavish lifestyle, which began to alienate his followers, especially after the hardships brought on by the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, which forced Zion Industries into bankruptcy. In 1935 Voliva tried to revive the flagging fortunes of the church by instituting the annual Zion Passion Play, along the lines of the famous one in Oberammergau
Oberammergau Passion Play
Oberammergau Passion Play is a passion play performed since 1634 oberammergau-passion.com. 2009. Retrieved November 19, 2011. as a tradition by the inhabitants of the village of Oberammergau, Bavaria, Germany.-Origins:...
. However, in 1937, a disgruntled employee set the church's huge Shiloh Tabernacle, where the play took place, ablaze. Shortly thereafter, Voliva was forced into personal bankruptcy
Personal bankruptcy
Personal bankruptcy is a procedure which, in certain jurisdictions, allows an individual to declare bankruptcy. In other jurisdictions, bankruptcies are reserved for corporations.-Canada:...
. In 1942 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Voliva made a tearful public confession to his followers that he had misappropriated church funds for his personal use and committed other misdeeds. Shortly thereafter on October 11, 1942 he died (he had previously stated that he would live to 120 due to his diet of Brazil nuts and buttermilk
Buttermilk
Buttermilk refers to a number of dairy drinks. Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. It also refers to a range of fermented milk drinks, common in warm climates where unrefrigerated fresh milk otherwise sours quickly...
), and the church all but dissolved. A small remnant was reorganized under the leadership of Michael Mintern. It was later renamed to "Christ Community Church."