Edifying Spectacle

I lived in the 12 Tribes many different times. I kept going back. I had good friendships. It is a cult in that your life is totally controlled in every way. Serious abuses do occur. Your life is in their control. It damaged my mind and I am still recovering after twenty years. If you read this and are attracted to them, think very hard and long before you visit and live with them. It is the most beautiful and painful experience of my life so far.

I have to bite my tongue whenever I hear people so dogmatically proclaim that I, along with the people I live with in the Twelve Tribes are a CULT. What "Erin" posted is so far removed from the reality of my life. I have lived in the Twelve Tribes for almost 10 years. My wife has lived here for 13 years. It is a certain lie that our lives are "totally controlled in every way..." This is absurd. No one controls my life in the Twelve Tribes. I make choices every day. I make the choice as to whether I am going to believe in this life or not. I choose whether to stay or whether to leave. I choose whether to love or to hate, whether to forgive or hold a grudge, whether to be kind and merciful or full of bitterness and vengence... My hope is that my life will be "controlled" by the Spirit of Love. This is what I hope motivates me. I'd like to know what "Erin" means when she talks about "serious abuses". I have never once witnessed such abuse in my 10 years of living in the Twelve Tribes. I am not saying that we have all attained to perfect love and are without faults. But what "Erin" alludes to only leaves a person with such an awful impression of a people who actually stive to love each other and care for one another each day. If she was not cared for properly perhaps it is due to the fact that not every "member" of the 12 Tribes knows exactly how to love, yes even those who have been in places of "leadership". I wonder if "Erin" has ever tried to work through her past hurts with those who "hurt" her so badly. I have done this with people who have left and they are still gone. I don't see them as an enemy of the Twelve Tribes who are going to burn in hell simply because they are no longer with us. At least some are able to leave without spreading to the world that we are some kind of demonic, abusive, cult.

The Food Co-op and The Hate Group Art voice Magazine October 20, 2005 Michael Niman It seems wholesome enough, looking at the loaves of fresh locally baked organic whole grain bread lined up at the Lexington Food Co-op - each one bearing the homey label of Hamburg’s Common Ground Bakery. An actual visit to the bakery reinforces this bucolic image. There you’ll find a small shop with smiling friendly bakers and the lofting aroma of fresh bread. What’s not readily apparent is that shoppers on four continents are simultaneously walking into Common Ground Bakeries and experiencing the same illusion of a small independent community bake shop. In actuality, however, what they’re walking into is the local franchise of a growing multinational organization. The twelve Tribes, dedicated to spreading a reactionary racist, anti-Semitic, sexist homophobic ideology. The press started paying attention to Twelve Tribes around five years ago when their Common Ground bakeries entered into concert/events catering business, showing up at music festivals in Europe and Australia as well as stateside venues such as Buffalo’s Elmwood Festival of the Arts (where they were subsequently banned). Along with their tasty snacks and sandwiches, came leaflets, booklets and a recruiting spiel. Racism At Britain’s Glastonbury Festival in 2000, they caught the attention of the Guardian after disseminating pamphlets describing Jews as a “cursed” people, and magazines arguing in favor of racial segregation. A year later at Australia’s Woodford Festival, Australia’s Courier Mail cited the group’s reclusive leader, Elbert Eugene Spriggs, as claiming “It is horrible that someone would rise up to abolish slavery - what a wonderful opportunity that blacks could be brought over here [the U.S.] as slaves.” The Boston Herald reports that the group teaches their home schooled children a doctrine of white racial superiority. They go on to cite Spriggs, who argues that submission to whites “is the only provision by which [blacks] will be saved,” and that the civil rights movement brought “disorder to the established social order.” Spriggs defends slavery as the natural order, explaining that “if the slaves were mistreated it was the fault of the slaves.” The antebellum south, he argues, maintained a proper social order - where black slaves “had respect for people. They got along well because they were submissive.” The Twelve Tribes follow up Spriggs’ quotes by advocating for racial segregation both in their publications and on their website. In a piece entitled “Multicultural Madness,” for example, they tell the story of a “rich young yuppie” living in an integrated neighborhood. “From one side of his house,” they write, “comes the throbbing bass of his neighbor’s stereo as they gather out back for some reggae.” On the other side, the mud people are “laughing raucously over the grating syncopation of something called rap” [italics in original]. The piece goes on to explain, “Let’s face it. It is just not reasonable to expect people to live contentedly alongside of others who are culturally and racially different. This is unnatural.” People, they explain, have an instinctive desire to live with those of like mind, to congregate in neighborhoods with those of the same race and ethnic origin.” This, they claim, is because we have a “natural loathing of perverse and immoral people.” The group, however, still purported not to be racist, arguing that segregation is part of God’s natural order, in essence blasphemously passing the racist ball to God. They’re not racist, you see, they just worship a racist god. Whenever communities question Twelve Tribes businesses about racism, the group parades John Stringer, an African American, to personally counter the charges. Stringer, who they shuffle from city to city and pimp on their website, argues that “our race is becoming increasingly known for its self-destructive behavior.” According to Stringer, blacks are responsible for their history of subjection. “The only way to save our race,” he explains, “is that we would submit to reason and responsibility, just as all the other minorities who are thriving.” This simplistic and ahistorical rationale fits right in with the enlightened racism often espoused in liberal circles, while obfuscating persistent institutional racism and supporting racist stereotypes. This is obvious to people who actually listen to Stringer, instead of just looking at him. In actuality, Stringer needed to submit to more than “reason” and “responsibility.” The Boston Herald again cites Twelve Tribes leader Elbert Spriggs, who explains that blacks “must submit to [the twelve tribes] with the attitude to be a servant.” Anti-Semitism Twelve Tribes members, sort of like wiggers, dismiss charges of racism, explaining that they can’t possibly be racist since they sing black spiritual songs in their homes. Likewise, the group claims that charges of anti-Semitism are also false, because they sing Israeli folk songs, give themselves Hebrew names, and have a purported Jewish person traveling the country saying so. Their Jew, Shalom Israel, as it turns out, isn’t Jewish. All Jews, they argue, are born “cursed.” According to the group, Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus and hence “called down the guilt of his murder on themselves and their children.” They argue away the fact that today’s Christianity and Islam both descend from the Judaism of Christ’s time, explaining that the curse of the Jews is cancelled by renouncing one’s Jewishness. “For Jews who follow our master, however,” they write, “these curses are removed.” This, they argue, is why they aren’t anti-Semitic- because they will help any Jew who is willing to renounce their culture, history and beliefs. If the Jew ceases to be a Jew, they are welcome among the Twelve Tribes. Likewise, African-Americans willing to blame themselves for their own historic oppression are also welcome among the Twelve Tribes. Misogyny While individual blacks and Jews can earn the right to work wage-free in a Common Ground bakeries by renouncing their people and struggles, women have no such option. They will always be women, who, according to the Twelve Tribes, were created solely “to be a friend and a helper for man.” Sort of like a dog. They explain that women have two basic purposes: “to be a wife and a mother.” As a mother, a woman is supposed to raise her children as directed “according to her husband’s heart.” Any additional alternative life goals, or failure to “submit” to a husbands “loving” demands, goes against “God’s proper order.” They lament that, “Sadly enough today though, many women strive to be something ‘better.’ “ ”Woman, “ they explain, “is not meant to rule over man.” Hence, according to the group’s website, “they strive to be what they are not. They want careers, or money, or whatever they think will give them identity and fulfillment...” A true woman, however, they argue, “doesn’t need to become ‘greater’ than she was created to be.” Interestingly enough, one of the things it seems the Twelve Tribes believe that women were created to do, is bake bread for long hours without receiving a paycheck. This natural order seems to have bestowed upon the Twelve Tribes a competitive advantage over other organic whole grain bakeries who still have to dole out Caesar’s image to their heathen workforces. Child Abuse The Twelve Tribes has come under repeated fire for child labor violations in many of their factories and businesses. In one celebrated case, their Common Sense Natural Soap and Body Care division lost a lucrative contract manufacturing Estee Lauder’s Origins line after Estee Lauder found children working in their factory. The Twelve Tribes call the charges “false,” unfounded and slanderous,” claiming the 14 year old boys were simply helping their fathers at work. In similar incidents, the New York Department of Labor busted the group for using child labor in a Paleville candle factory and the Sundance mail order catalog cancelled a contract with the group’s Common Sense Furniture division after the Coxsackie, New York furniture factory became the subject of a child labor controversy. The Twelve Tribes claim that it is beneficial for children to help their parents work instead of, they explain, “wasting their free time on empty amusements and dissipation, which leads only to bad behavior.” The group seems obsessed with “bad behavior,” writing off entire “countries like Scandinavia” [sic] as plagued with the malady. Their response to bad behavior on the part of their children, however they define it, is for the adults to indulge themselves in bad behavior of their own, whipping kids with a reed-tipped device they call “the rod.” On their own website they explain that “To discipline your children is tantamount to loving them...it shows the child they are loved and cared about.” Children who have escaped from Twelve Tribes compounds, along with adult ex-members, talk of abuse, not love. Noah Jones, for example, left the group’s flagship compound in Island Pond Vermont at the age of 22. In an interview with Burlington’s ABC TV affiliate (WVNY), Jones claimed “They spanked me from my feet to my neck, all the way. I was black and blue, basically head to toe.” He recalls being beaten with the rod and locked in basements as a child and later, when he got older, he says he was beaten with a two-by-four. Jones was ushered to freedom by a sort of underground railroad that, according to WVNY, has “helped dozens of teenagers and children” to escape Twelve Tribes abuse. One of the ‘conductors,’ speaking to WVNY, explained “The anger of these kids coming out is amazing. They’ve been hit by so many people that they can’t even count...” Zeb Wiseman, another escapee, told the Boston Herald that his mother received no medical care when she was sick with cancer. When she subsequently died, they told him his mother’s death was an example of how God punishes sinners. Wiseman claims that he was then shuffled between twelve tribes communities and beaten daily from the time he was five until he was fifteen. Among his sins, according to Wiseman, was listening to “outside music.” He also claims that his schooling stopped when he was 13 and that he began working when he was ten years old. As a rule, Twelve Tribes children do not receive high school diplomas, and they are forbidden to apply for GED degrees or to attend college. This lack of education hinders escapees in their search for work. Essentially, the organization is breeding its own free labor force. Acquiescence The Guardian quotes a 24 year old Jewish woman attending the Glastonbury Music Festival as being “shocked on two counts.” “First,” she explained, she was shocked “that they [Common Ground] were there at all, and secondly, that no one else seemed to care.” It’s this apathy- this gross willingness to silently acquiesce to the presence of a hate group, that is truly appalling. But it’s also enlightening. Then Twelve Tribes is building its empire by feeding on the resources of some of the world’s most progressive communities, specifically because they are also apathetic and self-indulgent enough to support even those organizations who are ideologically opposed to their very presence. Hence, we see the Twelve Tribes prospering, for example, with a restaurant on Ithaca, New York’s signature Commons, despite that city’s history for progressive politics. And we see them opening up on the fringes of alternative and activist communities across New England - often finding a distribution network for their products among food co-ops and hip health food stores. Here in Buffalo, the newly expanded Lexington Food Co-op is the Twelve Tribes largest independent bread retailer, with Common Ground bread dominating their shelves. The aforementioned concertgoer explained to The Guardian that “People forget there is no such thing as a benign racist, no matter how tasty his vegetarian couscous.” This is the problem. The bread is good. And the Common Ground people seem friendly enough. Peace Studies scholar and anthropologist Robert Knox Dentan writes: “The impoverishment and polarization of US politics means that we expect our enemies to be all-evil, but they’re not.” Dentan goes on to explain that “Heinrich Himmler famously loved dogs and children. There’s a chilling photo of him hugging a little Jewish boy as the kid was waiting for the train to Auschwitz. The Twelve Tribes, Dentan surmises, “would be nice to that little boy too, as long as he converted to their brand of Christianity. They’re not, most of them, mean people.” According to Dentan, “fascism isn’t going to come to the US in the form of goose stepping Storm troopers (SWAT teams aside). It’s certainly going to depend on the help of extreme religious groups like the Tribes. The Co-op’s Response to Hate The analogy is frightening. Three weeks after I shared with the Lexington Co-op management and board the data which I subsequently used in this article, I received an official response signed by their store manager and a member of their board. It started out reading, “The Co-op takes it very seriously that one of our primary, longstanding local producers is being labeled a “hate group.” On the next line, however, they write “We have never found Common Ground or its members to be anything but friendly to our customers and staff.” No doubt this is true.. But by all accounts Osama bin Laden is also very personable, soft spoken and has gentle eyes. Yes, the Common Ground bakers in Hamburg act “friendly and warm.” But their money is supporting a white supremacist empire. Their leader, Eugene Spriggs, is cited in the Boston Herald as lamenting the end of slavery and celebrating the assassination of Martin Luther King. Money spent at the Lexington Co-op on Common Ground breads goes directly to supporting Spriggs’ group’s multinational business and real estate investments - including a new “mega development project” the group is currently putting the finishing touches on in Tampa, Florida. As self-indulgent liberals continue to buy tasty loafs of bread from “nice” bakers, they continue to fund a growing empire that targets vulnerable minorities around the world. In their letter, the Co-op management goes on to explain that they will look into the allegations presented here, writing, “Our plan is to research the available information in greater detail and within context. We will share this information and consult with spiritual and moral leaders from the community, member-owners, Common Ground themselves, and other co-ops. We will then make a decision on how to proceed.” Companies such as Estee Lauder and LL Bean, which are not particularly progressive, figured this out long ago and stopped carrying Twelve Tribes products. There is no context in which such hate speech is acceptable. And it shouldn’t take consultation with a “spiritual” or “moral leader” to figure this out.

Reasons for Leaving 89 Reasons why a past member left the Cult. WHY I LEFT ELBERT EUGENE SPRIGGS "TWELVE TRIBES COMMUNES" The reasons why a past member left the Twelve Tribes Cult. The past member that wrote this has wished to remain anonymous. Formerly known as: Northeast Kingdom Community Church, Church of God, The New Apostolic Order in Messiah, The Church in Island Pond and generally, The Communities) (Friendship-love-dogma-shame-guilt-fear-) Warning: The Tribes consider all negative reporting on their life as "malicious lies and slander." They also state "both those who lie and those who listen to lies are worthy of the lake of fire." The community started in the 1970's with a Christian couple, Gene and Marsha Spriggs, who helped troubled teens and furnished them a place to stay in their home. Somehow Christian hippie love and a free communal life degenerated into a total control religious cult mixed with Jewish Old Testament Law and the Christian Gospel. Though they beat around the bush with first time visitors, the tribes clearly consider themselves "the only true work of God on earth since the apostles." Being the called, chosen, and the faithful, one member repeatedly shouted at a daily gathering, "1 am so thankful and not ashamed to declare we're it! We're it! God's only people! We are the people He's always wanted and never obtained!" The tribes teach that only they possess God's Spirit. "If you're in the world, you have another spirit, or perhaps an angel leading you to God's body (Tribes). Only community members can preach the "true gospel." They say "the sheep will obediently receive, hear and obey a 'sent one' giving up wealth, jobs, friends, relatives and inheritance to enter the one sheepfold." To join the community "sheep" must donate their time and free labor. "Saved" means calling upon Yahshua (Jesus is a demon) and consenting to outdoor baptism even in the middle of winter. Within the communities, opportunities abound for a member to "die to themselves" and "crucify their flesh." Believing Jesus' death insufficient to save a person, they render community members totally dependent upon the group. I was told, "God created a special place for His own where His Holy Spirit dwells, the Edah, our Twelve Tribes. Currently we don't have twelve tribes, but someday we will. Forgiveness, love and restoration cannot occur anywhere else. Our Master Yahshua accomplished this through His death on the tree, suffering in our place and rising again on our behalf." Full of unclean birds and spirits, Christianity is "the bloody whore of Revelation. Her ministers are liars. Thieves and draw glory to themselves while destroying the sheep," according to Spriggs' teaching. Instructed regularly, members omit 'the bloody whore' part with new visitors. Community members also believe "Jews and Christians failed to perform God's purpose, so God cut them off, cast them aside and waited 1900 years for a people willing to obey His commands." They try to persuade people into believing that "only they bear good fruit." Members cannot enter any Church or Temple "especially on Sundays," because "evil spirits are near". E. Spriggs refers to the Bible as "the most dangerous book." The tribes also say "In order to understand the Scriptures one must connect himself to the vine (the tribes). And in another teaching Spriggs says "The Bible is written to confound the wise and meant to be misunderstood unless you are under the anointing." (Spriggs' interpretation) Stone IV 6/18/89 Before Messiah can return for "His Bride," the tribes believe they alone must perfectly keep God's laws for 49 years. Filling their members with fear and dread, the community makes it difficult for devastated members to depart. As they are leaving, defectors may hear "Whoever has the Holy Spirit and leaves the body is turned over to death. You will not live long." In another teaching Spriggs says, "If a person even thinks about returning to Egypt, our Father will provide them an opportunity to return. ..If you go back, you will drown." These damaged people can no longer trust God, themselves or others, and are unable to receive 'help from the world." AI Jayne "Ne'eman", one of my shepherds told me candidly, "We make people unable to survive and stand on their own two feet in the world." The tribes latched onto the Catholic purgatory model for their "three eternal destinies" teaching. One of their main sales pitches, they treat this teaching like golden revelation from on High. Even though Jesus said, "Why do you call me good, only God alone is good," the tribes teach some people are "good" and "live according to their conscience." The tribes "freepapers" and Website fail to give potential "sheep" the dark, depressed, painful side of life in the communes. Community members cannot accuse their leaders of wrong or voice discontent. Concerning complaints and malcontents Spriggs says, “Whoever is against the Father makes himself brother to Satan, the rebel prince of this world system." If you "oppose the anointing" (Spriggs, his elders or teachings), God may cause you to become ill, experience an accident or die." Mary Wiseman, who died of cancer, told another sister, "You don't know Yoneq (Spriggs), he can have real anger." Following her death, the elders remarked, "Our Father removed Mary from His body because she opposed the anointing." Spriggs and his henchmen are untouchable little kings. By inhibiting critical thinking among community members, a "group think" mentality prevails. Accordingly, followers surrender their right to make value judgments. (They cannot reason ). All female members must wear dresses or hideous clown-type pants. Men must grow their hair long enough to tie their hair in a short pony tail. Unity means "we perfectly agree about everything." We do not agree to disagree like Christianity with all their denominations." We are one as Yahshua commanded." They always rid themselves of those who cause division. Young adults who break away from the tribes are told, "you are forsaking God, your parents and friends, so you can indulge your flesh in the world." One young man courageously told two shepherds, "I can't live this way." Later the elders publicly blamed the young man's mother as a poor example of an imma (Hebrew mother). Gene Spriggs decides all belief, practice and lifestyle. Positioned in a place of unrivaled power-and control. Spriggs the monarch and pope of the community answers to no one. Being the sole leader of the tribes. Spriggs prefers to maintain a low profile, and keeps any knowledge of his whereabouts, lifestyle, or finances secret. Carefully guarded in each commune house, Spriggs' teachings are not available to the public nor to many of the sheep. Sometimes an elder may give a less dramatic teaching if he believes "It will help a 'sheep' to increase. One newer black member repeatedly asked to see "the Ham teaching" which describes "God's curse on the black race, their continuing sin of disrespect, and their duty to serve whites." Believing that the teaching would cause him to stumble, the elder denied him access. Outsiders often hear, "any brother may bring a teaching." Actually this means any brother may study a teaching Spriggs dreamed up and then repeat the teaching to the household. I often heard, "scripture is not personally interpreted." Another oft heard control phrase within the community is, "you need to receive and cling to the anointing (Spriggs)." Though I've heard reports of Spriggs watching television and reading whatever he chooses, the average community member cannot exercise such freedom. By contrast, radio, television, and printed materials are off limits to almost all community members. Musicians use cassette players, but soon they will not enjoy access to them. Tribal teen boys often read newspapers and various magazines when they are alone. Listening to the car radio is a gray area. Bowel movements and how you have them are critical. During bathroom visits, members squat on small unstable wooden stools. A difficult feat it is! They say "toilets are killing Americans, because as you sit not enough crap comes out. This causes colon cancer." Concerning crap, while outdoors "members must bury all bowel movements because our Father walks around and may step in the crap." Upon hearing this, I almost rolled on the floor laughing. All I could picture is a half-man half-horse deity trotting around the countryside and through the woods at night. You must honestly question who their God/god really is. A husband no longer holds authority within his family, but a shepherd usurps authority over your wife and children. This is humiliating and frightening. Eddie Wiseman beat a teenage community member leaving 89 bloody welts on her body. As a result, the family stayed away from the commune for 15 years, but sadly returned in 1998. None of them received the courage to pursue charges against "cold Eddie" (Hakam). I have heard stories of this man sexually abusing at least one boy. As the boy courageously told his elders of the abuse, they rewarded him by beating him and locking him in a closet. People like Eddie Wiseman and Gene Spriggs don't repent. They never do anything wrong. Awakened and frightened by the boring religious service, a crying 2 year old child refused to sit like a miniature adult. In response, the parents rolled their son in a sheet to prevent him from moving his arms or legs. The parents repeated this "discipline" over several weeks. One of my shepherds approached me and said, "I don't like the behavior of your two year old son. You need to hit him." I felt like telling Al Jayne "Ne'eman", "Too damn bad, look at your own children." If I didn't hit my son, I felt like Al Jayne would have enjoyed the task in my place. The tribes expect too much from small children. Burdened with the goal of raising up three successive generations of increasingly pure and perfect children, community members constantly "beat the tar out of their babies." Spriggs also says, "If our children can't learn obedience, Yahshua will not return." Many parents "in the world" punish their children as a last resort. In the tribes, parents punish their children as a first resort. Walloping their children provides some adults with an excuse to leave a gathering. Instructed to remove their "disobedient" children far from the listening ears of visitors, the parents strike their children on outstretched palms or bare buttocks with long thin flexible sticks. Foolishness, joke telling, laughing or making faces often results in "discipline" for these young children. "My imma and abba (mother and father) hit me all day, "exclaimed a little boy. After my wife and I divorced, she and my 6-year-old son lived outside the community. I asked Al Jayne, I haven't seen my son in several months, and I really miss him. You often drive to his town, can I travel with you sometime? Al responded with, ""If you visit your son when he is young you will only confuse him. As he reaches his teens, he will wonder and visit you." Another newer, but older member told me, '"You're just a babe, Eric. You must mature before you visit your relatives. Perhaps your son and former wife are sheep. They need to see you living obediently with God's people, then you can share the gospel with them." Several other members emphasized, '"You must follow the example of Abraham and place your son on the altar. You must reckon Jason as dead, just as Abraham reckoned Isaac dead." One sister suggested I seek legal custody of Jason, and remove him from his mother. My former wife is an excellent mother. Taking Jason would break her heart and destroy her. According to Spriggs "parents who send their children to public schools hate them." Community children cannot celebrate birthdays or "demonic" holidays such as Christmas or Easter. One teen-age girl boldly told me that "at one time the adults used to put children into boxes and lock them in closets. They wanted the children to experience DEATH." To control difficult teenagers, the tribes sometimes sends them overseas to sister communes. This hinders relatives from helping the imprisoned teenager. The community routinely removes children from their parents, if the parents cannot raise them according to Spriggs' standards. One young child moved into my communal home, and shortly thereafter his "teacher" thrashed him with a balloon stick. Within the community, parents routinely deny their children immunizations and medical care. They don't want doctors to discover the many scars on their children's buttocks. The community hates to spend money on "worldly medical care." The daughter of one shepherd told me, "Growing up in the Edah is difficult. As a young child, I endured constant "discipline." Currently, I am busy with never ending work, but when I marry I will have even more work, and my husband will rule over me. I know Yahshua loves me. I need to trust Him and give up my life." I was told several times, "If you don't use chopsticks during your meal, you offend and hate Japheth. (Oriental people, Native American people). The tribes hope to recruit more minorities. In Hamburg, members exercised more freedom concerning the use of forks or chopsticks. If the young children engage in imaginary play, pretend, fantasy or imaginary friends, their parents beat them. In one commune, small boys could not push blocks of wood, or make truck noises. Community children possess few if any toys, and cannot play unless an adult "covers" them. In defense of their views, they say, "we want our children to deal with real life, such as learning a trade or helping their mothers in the kitchen." A commune house may own one ball or bicycle, which, the children may play with provided they don't have too much fun. Sadly, the children enjoy little play time, because the adults must continue working "so that the sheep have a home to come to, food to eat and clothes to wear." Within the communities, tightly swaddled babies, toddlers and small children are a common sight. Unable to move their arms or legs, the poor children are wrapped in a cloth or blanket like little mummies. They are made helpless and often must sit for long periods, while their mothers work. One member explained, "swaddling helps to break their will without breaking their spirit." I often pitied a frightened little black baby wrapped in this way. She wanted to move but couldn't. Mothers who deliver their infants in the hospital, lack faith in God and their brothers. A woman named Amy who suffers from a heart condition, endured six days of sleepless labor with a breech birth. She and her husband, Aaron Anderson, refused outside medical help and chose to "remain where our Father dwells." "If you trust our Father you can accomplish anything." They place no trust in doctors, hospitals or Christians. Years earlier, I questioned my household coordinator regarding women "who are just too small to safely deliver their babies at home." Coldly he said "LET THEM RIP!" I was stunned. A cold religious spirit dominates in the community, which reminds me of some Old-Order Amish groups and "Desert Father'' type monasteries. To them the "pain of child birth is beneficial for a woman." Through many trials and tribulations we will enter the kingdom." You need to die." - - Spriggs' teachings dictate that married women must produce at least seven children. According to Spriggs he says "God is going to bring forth a male child (144,000) with absolutely no deceit in them. There will not be one lie in them. They will be just like Messiah. They will be so pure that fire comes out of their mouth and they will be righteously indignant." In each communal home, every newborn male endures circumcision. Furthermore they say, "Every adult male should desire circumcision." The tribes totally ignore the apostle Paul’s extensive teachings regarding law, grace, and circumcision. Individuals and families lack personal privacy. Because they enjoyed a "burlesque" piece of lingerie, one couple had to confess their "sin" to the entire household. I felt sorry for them. Through his teachings, I believe Spriggs instructs couples about "correct" sexual positions. Tribal control doesn't necessarily stop at the bedroom doors. Content with their one baby, one couple had to repent when they honestly stated that they wished to have no more. This couple left the tribes after an entire household collapsed in Lancaster, New Hampshire, amidst a series of hushed up scandals. As I sat in a chair and silently prayed, One brother accused me "of communing with evil spirits." A shepherd's wife told me "You should pray aloud because the angels take our prayers to God." If a wife refuses to join the tribes with her husband then "she was never his wife." Within the communities, women must obey their husbands without reasoning or questioning. The community views a disobedient wife as rebellious, independent and un-submissive. To persuade the wife to repent, sometimes the husband may withhold sex from her. A household coordinator referred to my wife as a witch when she tried to dissuade me from joining the tribes. At our baptism, we were told to 'renounce Jesus and the demonic spirit of Christianity.' Several times a household coordinator secretly tapped into phone conversations when I spoke with my wife. In response he said, "I pay the telephone bill, and I have the right to know if someone is filling your head with defiling negative information." (about the community). The tribes belittle Christians for attending church, sitting in a pew and listening to a clergyman talk about 'white bread Jesus,' yet in the community, teaching sessions may last three times longer than a sermon. I certainly didn't feel like dancing when I heard these teachings. Those who sleep during a dull teaching must stand until the remainder of the session. During teachings, members may not use the bathroom or drink water At any time, you may be asked to stand in the center of a room 'if you need help or correction." They call this a "lemon fight." You can understand why the tribes don't tell new guests the real details of their life. It's too bad for the guests who may be hypnotized by the initial love, smiles, compliments, hugs, dancing and testimonies. Because I was so sad in the world, I tried to sell myself on their "gospel." I tried daily to believe that twelve tribes members were "the only Ones being saved." After a while, I felt sick inside. Financially, the shepherds live better than "the sheep." Makes sense right? Shepherds and sheep. Overseers of the community, shepherds possess credit cards, own cars, and control the money. They can buy food, purchase gifts for their wives and children, and take frequent trips. In contrast, the dumb sheep wash piles of dirty dishes, clean the toilets and wash the clothes. While most tribal women have few if any pictures to enjoy, Prisca, the wife of "Aquilla the Gorilla" owns and enjoys an expensive camera. Shepherd Al Jayne is fond of buying new higher-grade tools for his sons. His oldest son Nehemiah drives his own van and owns expensive musical instruments. Jesus said, "If you want to be the greatest, you must be the slave of all." What did Yahshua say? "Disciples wash dishes." Shepherds and their children do not. When I once hinted that Al Jayne's boys never washed dishes, their mother responded with "you never sing songs or tell stories to my teenage sons while washing dishes." A clear double standard prevails in the tribes. I think you call it a clergy-laity division. Men and women work long hours 16-18 hours) with no wages and little if any medical care. Members give everything and receive nothing in return except dances, hugs, baked squash, millet, beets, maggot infested potatoes, teachings and house arrest. As one brother said a couple of days prior to finally leaving, "I'm so tired...I’m so tired." He could barely drive the car. After his departure, the elders said "his parents spoiled and pampered him." The twelve tribes routinely use people and then cast them aside as "weak". While working past midnight, a brother accidentally struck himself in the face with a hammer. Muscle hanging from his injured face, he called an ambulance. Because the elders desire to maintain control over communal money, the shepherds admonished the man for seeking medical care. Paid overtime isn't even in tribal vocabulary. I remember hearing brothers ridicule time clocks "in the world." If you have a time clock, be glad. Now that I live in the world, I'm glad that I receive "a living wage for a fair days work." All communities will soon pay a tithe to cover tribal expenses such as property taxes and evangelism.. Guess who profits from any left over money? Elbert Eugene Spriggs. Eddie Wiseman. Don't forget the higher ranks of "apostolic workers." Silver and gold we have some. Lowly sheep you get none. We have it all. Keep laboring you sheep. - When I last lived in the tribes, the elders allotted only $10.00 per week per person for food, clothes and personal items. I waited three weeks to receive dental floss and longer for toothpaste. The shepherds and their families always had money for personal trips, ice cream and pizza. One elder, "Aquilla the Gorilla", often frequents the local Denny's Restaurant. One sister waited over two years to receive a bathrobe. Meanwhile, the shepherd just purchased a new and expensive computer system. Another sister spoke with me about her fear and guilt as she needed an eye exam and new glasses. Members need permission to visit family or friends "in the world." They cannot attend any family funerals. Parents who oppose the Edah may never see their children again. When a young person joins the community, shepherds and their wives sometimes become the young adult's new parents. Sexual abuse of children and physical abuse of married women, continues to be a problem within the communities. One single brother repeatedly exposed himself to the small children in a bathroom, and was asked to leave. Collectively, they refuse to repent for destroying the lives of their members. Denial is a key concept with the tribes, because they are always right and the individual is always wrong. One of their favorite sayings is "It is better to be wrong together, than to be right alone." Hitler would have agreed! Emphasis added! The tribes insisted that they never helped Steve Wooten, a member wanted by the police for kidnapping. I was present at the morning gathering when the FBI arrested Steve Wooten in Florida. The tribes lied. They sheltered him for many years. Member's called his former wife, a witch, a prostitute, a liar and an unfit mother. The tribes forbid it's members from taking medication. Over a ten year period, one sister stopped taking her medication for manic - depression which resulted in irrational behavior. Repeatedly dumped at homeless shelters and cheap hotels, the elders insisted that her condition was the result of rebellion and unconfessed sin. Several months later, she returned to the community amid promises from the shepherd "Aquilla the Gorilla" that they would never again ask her to leave. Sometime later, a brother substituted a strong Tribe -produced St. John's Wort tincture for her prescribed medication. As a result, she suffered from insomnia for four days. Once again, Al Jayne ditched the penniless sister at a hotel and told her "I guess the last nine or ten years have been a real waste." When I inquired about the sister's whereabouts, the shepherd responded with "she went crazy." The community always treats the individual as a scapegoat. In contrast, the twelve tribes are always "God's holy people." The communes are far worse than the churches they condemn, because love is not the rule. The tribes condemn Christianity "for the sin of the Nicolaitins" which they interpret as a clergy -laity division. In the tribes you have Spriggs-shepherd-sheep division. Attempting to obey the many Old Testament laws, the communities in essence practice legalism. They ignore the many warnings of the apostle Paul and the Jerusalem Council. In Acts 15 Paul said, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: To abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality." Forbidden to tuck in their shirts, tribal men look like slobs. Considering clean shaven men as emasculated and Roman, tribal men cannot shave or closely trim their beards. Priestly robes and wide headbands for use during the gatherings, are on the way. Members must eat whatever is on their plate, and if someone doesn't like a particular food, they must eat more of it. Because I hate beets, one member told me, "Don't think you'll enter the kingdom if you don't eat your veggies." Sounds like legalism to me. Emphasis added! Community members can only wear cotton clothing against their skin. Community members cannot wear jewelry or wrist watches. During a gathering, his holiness Gene Spriggs smashed a member's watch under his foot when the alarm accidentally sounded. Women in the community really suffer while working in the kitchen. While the men buy new tools from Home Depot, the women must chop cabbage and shred carrots by hand because they don't have a food processor. They constantly cut their fingers on the very dull knives they must use. They must use temperamental old washers and dryers and hang out the laundry by hand. Because they refuse to install a dishwasher, the sheep must wash piles of dirty dishes. A former member once said "the community is the worst place for women since ancient China." A drinking fountain would eliminate the need to wash 400 glasses each day. Women do not participate in tribal government. Children and adults within the communities cannot own personal pets. Most tribe children are fearful of cats and dogs, because they believe them to be unclean to a true Hebrew. A man cannot sleep with his wife during her monthly period, but must sleep on a floor mat. During this time, the woman is "unclean" but not too unclean to continue her daily work. You can see why the apostle Paul said: "The law kills." Everyone in the tribes except Gene Spriggs and those closest to him are "covered." This means someone always knows where you are working or where you can be found. In my opinion, it is the aim of the twelve tribes commune to discourage all independence (thought, action, freedom of movement, opinions, access to information, access to families) and to drive them into a hopeless, dispirited, gray herd of robots. They have lost all personal ambition, are easy to rule, willing to obey and willing to exist in selfless slavery to the community. Except for Spriggs, anyone can be "cut off." Those who are "cut off" cannot wear their head covering (women), pray at gatherings, or participate in breaking of bread. Concerning those who are cut off, Spriggs says" ... Don't eat with them. We don't talk to them except to reprove them, trying to bring them back to the faith -if we believe they are a brother or sister. We don't have communion with them." He also says, "One who has fallen and contracted "leprosy" needs to be restored and washed so everyone can touch him. If you touch him before this you get dirty, you contract their leprosy. "They shun the disobedient and rebellious member until they repent. Communal cars almost always have empty gas tanks. When people are given money for fuel, they usually buy a couple of gallons of gas, and then pocket the remaining money. Members are rarely given enough money to fill the tank, unless a shepherd needs to take a trip somewhere. Do you currently know where Yoneq is? What is he doing? How much money does he have stashed away? What kind of car is he driving? Who covers him? Has he been "cut off"? Is he "clinging to the anointing?" (Himself) Has he repented? Want to cause waves in the tribes? Start asking pointed questions about Yoneq. Why have some teachings "disappeared," never to be heard again ? One brother told me he sleeps on a very hard futon so he can be prepared "for the wilderness.." The tribes are planning to gather in "the wilderness" someday because they believe the world will reject them. Sounds like Jonestown and Waco doesn't it? Spriggs and elder Hawkins of the House of Yahweh should meet sometime and compare notes. But, they would probably "cut off" each other. The elders often censored, scrutinized and sometimes intentionally opened my mail. They always wanted to know if the sender was "a friend of Israel." (The tribes). I often heard, "Only the strong survive in Christianity." I marvel at this statement when I think of all the weary eyed, broken down and exhausted people I knew in the tribes. As Gene Spriggs says, "the longer you are in the body, the harder it is to remain, Only the faithful will endure to the very end." Community members are slaves. It's that simple. Members make it possible for Gene Spriggs to fly around the world, and for Spriggs and his buddies to retire in style. The twelve tribes is a high control, devastating religious cult which robs it's members of basic human rights. Within the tribes there is no: free thought, free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, private property, freedom to travel, family contact, burial of relatives, earned income, inheritance, education, current events/world news, labor laws, workmen's compensation, health insurance, right to bear arms, voting rights, fair trial, prescribed medications, choice of personal appearance, diet choice, marriage decisions, music choice, radio and TV. Before leaving I challenged the authority of my shepherd. He took on a different personality altogether as he said, "I am God in this house. You hate me and despise our Master. You love your own life. I'm trying to help you be saved." The communities routinely give their "sheep" Hebrew names. They say, "Dead men don't have opinions." Everyone in the tribes must end each shower with a straight cold rinse. Cold not cool. This signifies the cold response disciples receive when they share the Tribes "gospel." According to Spriggs, "the cold rinse multiplies white blood cells, prevents illness, and increases longevity." I still cold rinse in the warmer months. In the winter, cold rinses terribly aggravate arthritis. Community members can only marry another member only if the body gives their holy approval. If the union benefits the body, they will approve the marriage. The last time I tried to visit the tribes, Aquilla the Gorilla escorted me out the door, because he feared I would "defile" their gathering or cause more "sheep" to leave. He was intensely interested in knowing if I was a Christian. No one needs to live in a legalistic cult to know God's love, forgiveness, and brotherhood. I was told several times, "if you don't use chopsticks during your meal, you offend and hate Japheth. (Oriental people, Native American people). The tribes hope to recruit more minorities. In Hamburg, members exercised more freedom concerning the use of forks or chopsticks.

It is the aim of the Twelve Tribes cult to obliterate all independence (thought, action, freedom of movement, opinions, access to information, access to families) and to drive them into a hopeless, dispirited, gray herd of robots. They have lost all personal ambition, are easy to rule willing to obey and willing to exist in selfless slavery to and for Elbert Eugene Spriggs (the cult leader). - Former Member

Well, I was discussing this TT's teaching with a Christian man, who happens to be the grandson of a freed slave, who later became a pastor. He quickly pointed me to the clearly gross error and misinterpretation of the supporting scriptures the TT's use, which are the same ones as the slave owners of the old south used. I was very surprised that I hadn't noticed this obvious and glaring error before. I also felt foolish that I missed it. IT IS SO OBVIOUS! Here it is: After Ham went in to Noah's tent (when Noah was drunk) and saw his father's nakedness, exposing Noah to shame, Noah sobered up the next day and pronounced a curse, BUT IT WASN'T ON HAM!!! IT WAS ON CANAAN!!!! The curse was not on Black people, because Canaan wasn't black! Canaan was the father of the Canaanites (Amorites, Jebusites, etc.), whom Joshua had displaced fulfilling the curse, that Canaan would serve Shem (Israel). DOH! Cush, Ham's OTHER SON was the one who settled in Ethiopia and is therefore considered to be the father of the black race, not Ham, whom the TT's say is the father of black people, who are under the curse!! The curse was not on Cush or Ham but on Canaan!! SO.... This teaching is clearly errant and heretical (besides being downright racist), because it appeals to scripture that is simply read incorrectly! Hmmm... maybe someone should tell them this, because it is kind of an Emperor's New Clothes type thing. They are so clearly wrong and need to know it. Does this mean that they can be wrong and fallible in their interpretations of other scriptures? YOU BET!