Church Universal and Triumphant

Another example that religion is a scam.


Church shifts to retail evangelism as message of Armageddon fades
By MATTHEW BROWN - Associated Press - 11/30/08
A religious sect in Montana that has maintained a massive bomb shelter near Yellowstone National Park for the last two decades in preparation for Armageddon, in Corwin Springs. In the background is King Arthur’s Court, the sect’s new chapel.
CORWIN SPRINGS — They’re still ready for Armageddon at the Church Universal and Triumphant, a religious sect that for almost two decades has kept a bomb shelter stocked for 750 people deep in a forest near Yellowstone National Park.

Church leader Elizabeth Clare Prophet has been silenced by advanced Alzheimer’s disease. And her followers say they’ve given up the assault rifles and armored vehicles they amassed in the late 1980s — part of a post-nuclear war ‘‘re-emergence’’ plan that brought national notoriety and a federal investigation.

Scrambling to stay current as it reaches its 50th anniversary, the church has transformed itself into a New Age publishing enterprise and spiritual university. But still in the background is its ‘‘insurance’’ against the end — the shelter buried beneath a hillside on the sect’s 7,500 acre Royal Teton Ranch.

There, more than 20 feet underground, 22,000 hours of video and audio recordings of Prophet survive. They’re stacked alongside periodically rotated, floor-to-ceiling crates of canned fish, dried meats, grains and cooking oils.

‘‘Like Benjamin Franklin said, an ounce of preparation and prevention is worth a pound of cure,’’ said Lois Drake, the church’s co-president.

On the grounds of the ranch — the picturesque mountain property just outside Yellowstone the group purchased from billionaire Malcolm Forbes — most of the decrepit trailers and worker’s shacks that once housed 700 of the church’s most faithful are gone.
In their place has risen a large, two-story office building. Behind the walls of a quiet lobby furnished with antiques, workers in cubicles busily translate Prophet’s words into 27 languages.

Nearby, a sparkling new chapel known as King Arthur’s Court hosts regular conferences such as the recent ‘‘Prayer Vigil for the God-Victory of the Elections and the Economy.’’

Church wares, available online or from its gift shop, range from a wallet-sized ‘‘Chart of Your Divine Self’’ — $1.25 apiece — to a framed portrait of Elizabeth Clare Prophet for $239.95. The church’s publishing arm, Summit University Press, has sold more than 3 million books in the last decade.

The church’s parent organization, Summit Lighthouse, was founded by Elizabeth Prophet’s first husband, Mark, who spent years touring and preaching from a gold-painted Trailways bus.

After his death in 1973, Elizabeth Prophet eventually relocated the sect from California to Montana. She preached from an altar crowded with icons from the world’s major religions, mixing western philosophy and mysticism with a dose of Reagan-era patriotism — and, by the mid-1980s, warnings of nuclear war with the Soviet Union, according to her daughter Erin, who has since left the church.

To ensure its survival, Erin Prophet said, the church spent an estimated $20 million to build the massive shelter near Yellowstone and many smaller ones in surrounding communities. As members amassed weapons for post-apocalypse protection, Elizabeth’s Prophet’s then-husband, Ed Francis, and at least one other church member were convicted of violating federal gun laws after purchasing some of the guns illegally.

In March 1990, thousands of church members who had descended on the Yellowstone area entered the shelters to await the end. In a new book called ‘‘Prophet’s Daughter,’’ Erin Prophet said her mother had predicted Soviet missiles were on the way. Church leaders today insist the incident was a drill.

After the predictions of doom went unrealized, the church gave up its firearms under an agreement with federal authorities. As Elizabeth Prophet’s charismatic presence faded, most of her followers left or moved into the nearby towns of Livingston and Bozeman.

Observers estimate that fewer than 10,000 remain, from a peak of 50,000. Church leaders refuse to give a number, saying membership information is ‘‘proprietary.’’

Those adherents say their mission is no longer to absorb Prophet’s message, channeled from on high, but to disseminate her words through books, CDs and online tutorial services.

With spiritual teachings now offered over the Internet, the long-term goal is to expand beyond the church’s ‘‘physical community’’ and create an ‘‘online community’’, said its second co-president, Kate Gordon.

‘‘It’s time to get in touch with Facebook,’’ she said.

At a recent Sunday service at the church’s teaching center in Bozeman, about 30 of the still-faithful gathered in a room hung with portraits of Jesus, George Washington and St. Germain. A table at the front of the room displayed small statues of Buddha and the Virgin Mary. A sword and dagger lay near a replica of the Statue of Liberty.

The church’s Rev. Carla Groenewegen invoked Christopher Columbus and Camelot’s legendary wizard Merlin as spiritual guides, then led the congregation in singing ‘‘Battle Hymn of the Republic.’’ A video on a large flatscreen TV showed Elizabeth Prophet delivering a 1992 sermon in Atlanta — closing her eyes and channeling messages from the ‘‘ascended masters’’ with a trancelike voice.

While Prophet’s warnings of Armageddon never materialized, church members say a quick glance at the news — global financial instability, terrorism, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — suggests the doom she forecast is still unfolding.

‘‘What we believe is that it has been happening for a number of years. It’s not over,’’ Drake said.

She refers to the shelter as ‘‘an insurance policy.’’

Its main denizen these days is Michael Galloway, a church employee and coach for the local high school ski team. He’s maintained the shelter for the past 15 years — making sure the stacks of food don’t spoil, flashlights have fresh batteries and mice populations are kept in check.

Inside sleeping compartments that line a long, narrow corridor are bunkbeds. Many are stacked with bags of clothes and other personnel effects from church members who never returned in the wake of the 1990 prophesy.

As Galloway exited through the shelter’s heavy steel doors — past shipping containers stocked with camping supplies and other equipment — he said the facility was stocked with enough food, water and fuel to last 750 people for 49 days.

‘‘Even after all these years I don’t find it spooky at all,’’ he said as he stepped into the outside world. ‘‘I find it peaceful.’’

Be Gods License Plate

A Wayne County woman is moving forward with a lawsuit against the Bureau of Motor Vehicles even though the agency reversed a decision that disallowed the renewal of a license plate that reads "BE GODS."

Liz Ferris said what started as a personal belief is now about her constitutional rights, 6News' Sarah Cornell reported.

"I associate it with the Bible verse Romans 14:7, 8," Ferris said. "No one belongs to himself. If we live, we live onto the Lord. If we die, we die unto the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord."


When I first saw the words "Be Gods" I first thought she meant we should Be Gods. without an ('s) its hard to tell what she is trying to say.

I am torn over personalized plates, I had the navy veteran plate once, but opted with a regular plate when I last registered my car. Its amusing to drive up behind someone and try and figure out what it says, most are very cryptic. I wonder how much time is wasted by state employees processing these orders for plates? Maybe they need to raise the rates to make money or get rid of them.
At least with the veterans plates, part of the cost goes to the veterans burial fund. The number of plates now for non-profits is growing, I hope that continues. I don't have one now, because, silly me, none match the color of my car and I don't like the new veterans plates, you can't tell which branch you served unless you bend over behind the car and take a closer look. I hope they change it back to the large obvious anchor for the Navy.

The best thing Montana has done with car registrations, is now my husband and I will have all but one of our vehicles permanently registered. All but my Outback are over 11 years old. Good thing because my hubby has 2 Chevelles, 2 Chevettes, a Chevy 4X4 3/4 ton truck, an old beat up snowmobile and a broke down ATV. He may have more vehicles but they are probably stashed at a friends place without my knowledge.

Boys and their Toys!!! Luckily we don't have to register the 3 tractors he also picked up over the last 5 years. At least I don't think we have to register those. OH, and I forgot the 2 old trashed out pick up trucks he is sitting on. One has a for sale sign on it and the other he is tearing apart for the big block engine, to add to his collection of other big block engines he already has, transmissions, rear ends,.....I keep telling him he needs to buy crappy land and open a junk yard. Oh and I forgot we have a large car trailer and smaller one we register. He also has begun a new collection, old tractor implements. "Yard Art" he calls it.

Wow, I went off on a tangent didn't I. ....And the 1960's camper trailer parked up in Lincoln....

I wonder if he has all his guns registered?

Majority backs library on gay sex book

By Independent Record - 11/03/08
Last week’s Question of the Week asked whether the library should have censored the book “Joy of Gay Sex.” In a huge turnout, as befits this election week, a majority of readers came out against censorship.Among 1,705 votes cast in this unscientific poll, 914 said the library was right to retain the book. On the other side, 731 wanted it removed.

Some readers’ comments:•
Any book that has graphic illustrations of sex should not be sitting on the library shelf. There is nothing wrong with reading and learning about sex. The problem is obviously about WHO should have access. Children are not mentally and emotionally ready for this information. Mature adults who are interested in this topic should definitely have access to these books. Isn’t it possible to put them behind the counter and let the readers request them?•

No. Censorship of literature no matter how controversial the book may be is abhorrent and should not be condoned in our community. The evangelical members of our Christian community who use the library are under no obligation to peruse this book. If they do and take umbrage at its contents, that does not give them the right to dictate to the general public what kind of reading material can be displayed on the library’s shelves.•

I’m not feeling inclined to vote for the next library levy. I don’t want to be part of purchasing and providing pornographic material.

"• The book should stay! If people want to show their concern for the well-being of children, they should get involved in local youth programs, not parade their intolerance of homosexuality by targeting a book for censorship.•

Yes. I would not consider this censorship. The library has to set a policy of what is inappropriate for a public library. The library considered this book appropriate. It is the public’s right to be able to question the actions of a public institution and I feel the use of the term censorship distorted and inflamed the public involvement process.

Atheist Aphorisms

Abstinence Makes the Church Grow Fondlers
Honk If Your Religious Beliefs Make You an Asshole
Intelligent Design Makes My Monkey Cry
Too Stupid to Understand Science? Try Religion.
There’s A REASON Why Atheists Don’t Fly Planes into Buildings
“Worship Me or I Will Torture You Forever. Have a Nice Day.”­ God.
God Doesn’t Kill People. People Who Believe in God Kill People.
If there is No God, Then What Makes the Next Kleenex Pop Up?
He’s dead.
It’s been 2,000 years. He’s Not Coming Back. Get OVER It Already!
All religion is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry. Edgar Allen Poe.
Viva La Evolución!
Actually, If You Look It Up, the Winter Solstice Is the Reason for the Season
I Wouldn’t Trust Your God Even If He Did Exist
Cheeses Is Lard. Argue With THAT If You Can.
People Who Don’t Want Their Beliefs Laughed at Shouldn’t Have Such Funny Beliefs
Threatening Children With Hell Is FUN!
GOD - APPLY DIRECTLY TO FOREHEAD!
Jesus Told Me Republicans SUCK
God + Whacky Tobacky = Platypus
God Doesn’t Exist. So, I Guess That Means No One Loves You.
When the Rapture Comes, We’ll Get Our Country Back!
Q. How Do We Know the Holy Ghost Was Catholic? A. He Used the Rhythm Method Instead of a Condom.
You Say “Atheist” Like It Was a BAD Thing
I Love Christians. They Taste Like Chicken.
Science: It Works, Idiots
“Intelligent Design” Helping Stupid People Feel Smart Since 1987
I Found God between the Sheets
I Gave Up Superstitious Mumbo Jumbo for Lent
My Flying Monkey Can Beat Up Your Guardian Angel
If God Wanted People to Believe in Him, Then Why Did He Invent Logic?
Praying Is Politically Correct Schizophrenia
ALL Americans Are African Americans
I Forget - Which Day Did God Make All The Fossils?
I Was an Atheist Until the Hindus Convinced Me That I Was God
The Spanish Inquisition: The Original Faith-based Initiative
If we were made in his image, when why aren’t humans invisible too?
JESUS SAVES….You From Thinking for Yourself
How Can You Disbelieve in Evolution If You Can’t Even Define It?
Q. How Can You Tell That Your God is Man-made? A. He Hates All the Same People You Do.
Every Time You See a Rainbow, God is Having Gay Sex
I Went to Public School in Kansas and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt and a Poor Understanding of the Scientific Method.
The Family That Prays Together is Brainwashing the Children
Oh, Look, Honey another Pro-lifer For War
Another Godless Atheist for Peace and World Harmony
God is Unavailable Right Now. Can I Help You?
When Lip Service to Some Mysterious Deity Permits Bestiality on Wednesday and Absolution on Sundays, Cash Me Out. Frank Sinatra.
No Gods. No Mullets.

Anne Rice xfav author

I am disappointed, another article dissing atheism today

'the deserts of atheism' !! this just pisses me off


And in this new 245-page memoir, Rice presents her former life as vampire writer as that of a soul-searching wanderer in the deserts of atheism; as someone akin to her most famous literary creations -- Lestat, her "dark search engine," Louis the aristocrat-turned-vampire and Egyptian Queen Akasha, "the mother of all vampires."

"I do think that those dark books were always talking about religion in their own way. They were talking about the grief for a lost faith," she said.

In 2002, Rice broke away completely from atheism -- nearly four decades after she gave up her Roman Catholic faith as the 1960s started. It happened when she went off to college and found her peers talking about existentialism -- Martin Heidegger, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre. Religion, she writes, was too restrictive to the young Rice. Too out of step.

Yet, religion had to come back into her life, she writes. For her, it was something she'd have to face up to again like an absent parent or a long-lost love child or Banquo the ghost in "Macbeth."

By the late 1990s, when she went back to Mass, Rice -- the author whose books sold in the tens of millions and who had recharged Hollywood's appetite for vampire-inspired horror -- had fallen on hard times.

Her husband, poet and artist Stan Rice, died of a brain tumor in 2002. And she had become victim to diabetes.

Always over-the-top and beyond the rational, she writes that her return of faith was preceded by a series of epiphanies -- many while on travels to Europe's cathedrals, Israel and Brazil. In one episode, when she visited the giant Jesus statue above Rio de Janeiro, she writes that she felt "delirium" as the clouds broke and revealed the statue.

Her professed revelations recall the religious intoxication she describes of her childhood.