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Miller was an anti-cult activist in the early 1980's, around the same time he formed
Concerned Christians. He was working as a marketing executive at Proctor and Gamble at
the time and he began to lecture at local Denver churches. Miller formed Concerned
Christians in response to the New Age movement and his perception of anti-Christian bias
in the media. His newsletter,
Report from Concerned Christians
focused on such topics as feminist spirituality, the Harmonic Convergence of 1987,
New Age trends in the Christian church, and alternative medicine.
By the mid-1980s Miller's views began to deviate from orthodox evangelical Christian doctrine and practice. It is claimed that Miller began to have conversations with God at this point, but this is disputed. By around 1988 Miller's focus began to shift even more. This is evidenced in a series of newsletters criticizing the World-Faith movement and the Roman Catholic Church. Although this in itself is unremarkable, as many religious organizations were also voicing concern in regards to these groups, it served as a precursor to Miller's attacks on organized Christianity.
Miller began to isolate himself starting in the early 1990's. In 1996 he began
producing a radio program entitled
Our Foundation
. The program was removed from the air after Miller refused to pay for air time,
claiming that God had ordered him not to pay. Miller declared bankruptcy after becoming
more than $600,000 in debt. He asked his followers to contribute up to $100,000 apiece.
When they refused, it is alleged that he advised his followers that they were going to
hell.
It was also during this time that Miller began to channel messages from God. His
prophecies became increasing apocalyptic. He proclaimed himself to be one of the two
witnesses of Revelation 11, that would be killed in Jerusalem in December 1999, and then
resurrected after three days. He also prophesied that the Apocalypse would begin after
Denver was to be destroyed by and earthquake on October 10, 1998.
Seventy-two members of the Concerned Christians group abandoned their homes on
September 30, 1998 and apparently fled to Jerusalem. The alleged reason for their
abrupt departure was both to avoid the destruction of Denver and also to prepare
themselves to witness the coming of the Messiah in Jerusalem during the milennium.
Israeli authorities raided the homes of 14 members of the group on January 3, 1999,
alleging that the group was planning to commit a violent action in an attempt to
instigate Christ's Second Coming. The members were deported on January 8, 1999, and
they were returned to Denver.
Bimonthly newsletter, Report from Concerned Christians . Our Foundation radio program. The Old Testament is also used, but their beliefs primarily deal with the New Testament.
There were 78 members of the group in September 30, 1998. How many perceive themselves
to still be members of hte group is unknown.
The beliefs of the Concerned Christians group reflect those of many religous fundamentalist groups. Monte Kim Miller focuses on several key issues and is concerned primarily with the New Testament, especially the Book of Matthew. The following concepts are derived from the only known source available regarding the beliefs of this group, the transcripts of a radio program, Our Foundation , preached by Miller. There are 45 numbered programs.
First and foremost, Miller teaches about the importance of spiritual rebirth. This spiritual birth, as opposed to our natural birth, leads to eternal life. To glorify the importance of flesh is to lead a life contrary to the spirit of God. Following that, Miller preaches that humans must become meek and lowly in heart so that they can decrease themselves and Christ can increase himself in them. This suffering and the death of self (and his own ways and desires) correlates with the theme of diminshing so Christ can prosper, and this is accomplished through the Holy Spirit.
Through this decreasing/increasing of the self and Christ and the concept of "cross- carrying" (the idea of suffering identified with Christ bearing the cross), the fruits of the Holy Spirit can be attained. When it is no longer the self that lives, but Christ within the self, it is then that the fruit of the Holy Spirit can be manifested. The fruits of the Spirit include meekness, temperance, longsuffering, gentleness, love, joy, peace, and goodness. Faith is also a fruit of the Spirit, but more importantly it is the means by which these fruits can be achieved.
Humility and self-denial are the next two issues dealt with in the radio programs. Humility is produced by faith, and humility is a centerpiece of each fruit of the spirit. Christians are to humble themselves before one another and also before non- believers. Christians are not to attempt to achieve rulership status over the governments of the world during this age (the present). This is the age for humility, not reigning over the fallen world system. Miller believes that the Heavenly Kingdom Teachings are what christians should live by, and they include:
One cannot abide by these teachings unless the Holy Spirit is in the heart. These teachings to Miller represent the divine edict to turn the other cheek and to love your enemies. It is this concept that is later expounded on it great detail in future programs. Miller's focus in the programs numbered 10-20 is on self-denial and its consequences.
One should submit to the Holy Spirit and deny oneself. Men who do not know Jesus Christ pursue self; they pursue their own lives and dreams. They pursue the desires of their flesh, and these are the fruits of self-will. The fruits of the Spirit come from self-denial - and that self-denial is a result of the giving up of your own life for the pursuit of Christ's. One must ignore the earthly kingdom's "wisdom of this world" because it will lead to the pursuit of self and the fallen natural man. One must strive at all costs to avoid this downfall. The fallen natural man, for example, will take revenge when wronged. Miller then describes the various characteristics ascribed to the self, such as selfishness, self-importance, self-centered, self-serving, self-interest, self-love, and self-pity, among a few.
Miller contends that the only positive aspect of self is self-improvement, which comes about only through a denial of self (a "death to self") and a subsequent victory in Jesus Christ. There should be no self-defense, even in the example of slanderous accusations are made against one's nature. Like Christ on the cross, one should merely accept those accusations and forgive his enemies. Along this lines, Miller challenges people to:
The next issue that Miller addresses is resistance to evil. He argues that true believers should not resist evil, but should resist Satan. Consequently, Miller argues that one is in fact resisting Satan when one refuses to resist the evil perpatrated by those who do not have Jesus Christ in their lives, and who are Satan's agents in the flesh. Miller contends that any form of resistance to evil, even non-violent (as demonstrated in the actions of Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr.,) is unbiblical.
The rest of Miller's sermons are devoted to the transition from the Old Testament rule of law to the New Testament world of grace.
One should not merely see God's grace directed to the believer, but one should see God's grace shining through the believer. One is not to render judgement and attempt to punish non-believing snners according to Old Testament law, because the new covenant is stronger than the old.
Miller's emphasis in the last sermons is to establish the idea that believers not challenge government, or attempt to create laws that would punish sinners, but rather to not resist their evil, because one had no legitimate right to judge non-believers.
Like Christ, who came to earth without judging but only to save, believers should try to offer the non-believer eternal life through Jesus Christ, in the same spirit that Christ saved the world. Miller cautions his listners against the easy trap of a "common religious purpose", which serves to bring together true believers into deception and alliance with those who are religious but do not truly follow Jesus Christ into the resistance of evil in society. This deception can lead a believer to think is is acceptable to resist evil in order to make society more righteous. An example of this is an anti-abortion law. Miller argues that it is not the place of believers to make these laws, because that is a example of resistance to evil.
So begins an article in the Denver
Rocky Mountain News
, and so also begins the difficulty of distinguishing and discerning the truth from
opinion, not only in this article but also all articles written about the Concerned
Christians. There most certainly is a discrepency between the written and/or oral
teachings of Monte Kim Miller and the accounts given by family, friends, former members,
and self proclaimed "cult experts". While there doesn't seem to be any immediate
consequences arising form this simple fact, complexities arise because only one faction
of this divide is talking to the media - and it isn't Mote Kim Miller and his followers.
A careful examinion of the archive of newspaper articles written about the Concerned
Christians, suggests that local newspapers have been less than objective. The
statistics that follow are derived from the archives of the
Denver Post
- I have also read through all of the articles from the
Rocky Mountain News
and found that the articles presented in it follow the trend that is illustrated
below, therefore I have chosen to only focus on one newspaper for the sake of clarity.
There were 39 total articles published on the subject of the Concerned Christians
between October 7, 1998 and January 3, 2000. In those articles there were 57 sources
quoted. By calculating the number of times any given source was quoted, I concluded
there are 132 "quotes" in the 39 articles. A few persons accounted for many of the
quotes. To clarify, a quote is not calculated by ascertaining the number of times a
certain person spoke throughout the same article, but rather if that person is quoted at
least once in the article, that is considered a "quote" for him or her. The "quote"
number ascribed to a person or group is the number of times that person or group was
cited as a source in the articles. The majority of these sources (35) were quoted only
once. The breakdown of the sources is as follows:
There were 22 family members or friends quoted. These family members and friends
accounted for 52 "quotes".
There were 5 anonymous sources quoted. These sources accounted for 10 "quotes".
There were 13 "official" sources quoted. These sources accounted for 15 "quotes". Of
these 13 "official" sources, 9 issued neutral statements regarding Concerned Christians,
3 issued what can be considered negative statements, and 1 issued a positive statement
on their behalf.
Perhaps most interestingly, there were 3 anti-cult activists quoted as sources, but
between the three of them they make up 35 "quotes". That is almost 1/3 of the quotes
attributed to 3 people.
Family spokespersons
Among the family members and friends portion, the most often quoted include John
Weaver, Sherry Clark, Jennifer Cooper and Del Dyck.
John Weaver is the father of Nicolette Weaver, an outspoken critic of the group who
falls under both the family member and former member rubric. Nicolette's mother, Jan
Cooper, is believed to be a high-ranking member of the group and Nicolette has testified
that her mother often told her of the short time they had left on earth and that if
directed by Miller, she would kill Nicolette.
Sherry Clark is often the unofficial spokeswoman of the family members, and she
testifies that when she met with Miller he told her the only way to be saved was to
write a check for $70,000 while simultaneously twisting his mouth and talking in a
"weird voice"
Jennifer Cooper is the daughter of John Cooper, who is the husband of Jan Cooper and
who also is believed to be the primary financer of the group's activities. Jennifer
successfuly petioned for a conservatorship for control of her father's estate. To do
so, she had to convince a judge that her father was unable to make financial decisions
for himself. Cooper claimed that her father had been "brainwashed" and was acting out
of character.
Lastly, Del Dyck only made the news around January 7, 1999, when 14 of the members were
being deported from Israel back to the United States. Knowing his son would be among
the members returning, he flew to Denver and met every incoming flight from Tel Aviv -
to no avail. These four people are characteristic of the family member's testimonies as
a whole. Generally, family and friends express frustration, anger, sadness, and hurt,
which is not surprising. Their sentiments, however, cannot be considered objective.
The anti-cult experts
It is understandable that a group that believes the media to be biased against them
would be reluctant to respond to requests for interviews. How much effort the Denver
media made to speak with group members is not known, but there are no quotes from
members of Concerned Christians in the news stories I examined. One would expect the
media would call upon family members for perspective about a group that was believed to
be controversial even before they disappeared. If this is understandable, it is also
clear that the media have not sought more objective or neutral perspective. Indeed, as
I noted above, three local anti-cult activists account for approximately one-third of
all quotes. To more clearly understand the context of the quotes used by the media, it
may be instructive to offer brief sketches about the three most frequently cited
"experts." In each instance, it is clear that these "experts" are working with
presuppositions that preclude much objective analysis.
Bill Honsberger
is referred to in many news articles as a "local cult expert." He is, in fact, a
Christain missionary with the Baptist church. Honsberger virulently attacks the
legitamacy of both Miller and his followers. He is quoted in 15 of the 39 articles.
Some of his more aggressive accusations include:
Honsberger also believes Miller's divine edicts could turn violent, and that he
[Miller] is capable of ordering a group suicide. Honsberger feels that Miller would not
mind dying if his prophetic role in the universe was intact. He further considers
Miller to be a danger both to those in his group and those around him. Miller's power,
Honsberger asserts, lies in his ability to convince his followers to abandon their
families and isolate them completely.
Honsberger has also said that Miller has threatened to kill him and casts him as the
Antichrist.
Mark Roggeman
, tied with Honsberger as the most quoted source about Concerned Christians, is a
Denver police officer who "tracks cults in his spare time".
III. The Media
"There's a gulf of Biblical dimensions between what Monte Kim Miller preaches on tape
and what some have heard firsthand"
Roggeman often issues statements of a rather generic sort, usually he comments on
the status of family members or general concepts of the members' beliefs. While he may
not provide harsh attacks on the cult members, Roggeman is clearly anti-cult. He was
indicted on June 11, 1981 for second degree kidnaping and false imprisonment. He was
charged with forcibly kidnapping Emily Dietz and holding her against her will for nearly
two weeks before she finally escaped by jumping from a second story window in the middle
of the night.
Hal Mansfield
is the director of the Religious Movement Resource Center. The Center is concerened
with dissuading people from entering into what they term "destructive cults". They
define a destructive cult as "an organization that inhibits individual freedom of
thought through the use of violence, deception and mind control".
Both of these resources are considered by scholars of religious movements to have dubious validity.
Mansfield is the most outspoken and derogatory of the anti-cultists. He often compares
the Concerned Christians to the members of Heaven's Gate, Jonestown, and the Branch
Davidians. He has said he considers the Concerned Christians a "very dangerous group",
Mansfield has also alluded to previous instances of Miller's "violent tendencies," but there is no verifiable evidence to support his statements.
Official sources
The "offical" sources that were quoted usually offered neutral statements, and many times were not directed at Concerned Christians specifically but rather at new religious movements generally. There was, however, some interesting contradictions among these sources. Consider the following:
There is no question that there is an obvious discrepency between the theology presented in the Our Foundation radio program and the reports of mass suicide and violent tendencies, apocalypic predictions, "God-voice", and anti-government rhetoric.
The only testimony relating Miller and his followers to the extremist ideas presented in all of the news articles are former members, family members, and anti-cult activists. The problem at hand is assessing the objectivity of these sources and getting to the truth of what really happened.
An issue of considerable importance is why the media so readily adopted these stories
as the truth, and why the media seemingly made such little effort to engage Miller and
current members. In the early articles about the Concerned Christians, Bill Honsberger
was the only person who could attest to Monte Kim Miller's prophesies and "extreme"
beliefs. Consequently, the statement about these beliefs were always credited to
Honsberger. For example, "Honsberger said that Miller teaches Concerned Christians
members that he is God and prophesies he will die in the streets of Jerusalem in
December 1999, only to rise again in three days. He also believes the apocalypse will
strike Denver on Saturday, Honsberger said"
However biased the presuppositions of the source, this is probably proper journalism.
Around November, 1998 the attribution "Honsberger said" began to be left out of stories.
So, for example, we read "Miller, who considers himself the last prophet of God, has
said he will die on the streets of that ancient city [Jerusalem] in December 1999 and be
resurrected three days later"
The group known as Concerned Christians remains shrouded in mystery. Monte Kim Miller seems clearly to be a charismatic leader who holds (or has held) considerable influence over his small group of followers. Whether Miller and his followers are dangerous to themselves and others is not clear. The uncertainity pivots very substantially on the credibility of the evidence about them.
We have essentially no first hand information about the group -- only accounts of a few persons who claim some level of involvement in the group in the past. And, at this point, we have little basis for assessing the reliability of their accounts.
What we do know is that a small number of zealous anti-cultists have waged an assualt on the Concerned Christians, and these attacks have been transmitted uncritically by the mass media. I have focused on the Denver media, but the national media in the U.S., as well as well as Israel and Great Britain, have largely accepted the anti-cult presuppositions.
Religious movements are the product of human initiatives and, thus, are subject to all the somecomings of human beings. Monte Kim Miller may turn out to be a real scoundrel, but that is not clear to me at this point.
As a student of religious movements, I am struck by how closely this case seemss to conform to the gulf between public perceptions and the objective reality of so many other religious movements in the course of American history.
Religious
Tolerance.org
The Religious Tolerance website is very complete and offers some opinions regarding
the role of media in the perception of the movement, however it does not have a history
of the group. The sources quoted all consist of other media (other newspaper articles
and reporters) so this too must be taken into account.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/dc_conc.htm
The Watchman
Expositor Profile
The Watchman Expositor Profile is one of the most comprehensive resources available
about Concerned Christians. The Watchman Fellowship is a counter-cult organization.
While this Profile is throughly documented, they rely in considerable measure on
correpondance from Denver anti-cultists.
http://www.watchman.org/concernedchristianspro.htm
Religous Movement
Resource Center
The homepage of Hal Mansfield's Religous Movement Resource Center. This site explains
the method behind terming a group a "destructive cult" and contains many links to
academic articles. An excellent source of anti-cult sentiment and doctrine. Contains
articles that argue the merits of deprogramming and thought reform.
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~ucm/rmrc1.htm
CultAware Unzipped
This is the homepage for CultAware Unzipped which reports on the anti-religous
movement in Australia in the interests of Freedom of Belief. It contains the
testimonies from victims of deprogramming and provides working definitions for many of
the terms associated with new religious movements. It also contains information
concerning other various new religious movements.
http://www.jeack.com.au/~parkdale/cultaware_unzipped/intro.html
The Milennium: An Introduction
This page compiled by Christopher Smith presents information on new religous movements
and the millennium. It contains seven segments and a comprehensive list of internet
links. Of special interest is the section concerning false prophecies - it helps give
some understanding to the actions of the Concerned Christians. Also, the segment about
the potential for violence surrounding milennium groups (a concept that has caused a
great deal of worry for some people) helps to elaborate on the type of psychology needed
for such a venture. Finally, in the portion that discusses public response, Mr. Smith
discusses the Concerned Christians specifically and makes valid points.
http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/millennium/intro.html
Student Presentation: Concerned Christians
A student presentation done by students at Loyola Marymont University in the Spring of
1999. There are no sources listed, and the information is a bit scanty, but there are
useful graphics.
http://clawww.lmu.edu/faculty/fjust/Students/Concerned_Christians.htm
Rick Ross: Expert Consultant and
Intervention Specialist
Rick Ross is a self-proclaimed "exit counseler", so his views of new religious
movements tend to be heavily anti-cult. However, he offers a great deal of links to
outside sources, especially newspapers, which are for the most part objective and
present a chance to examine recent events of the Concerned Christians and the
presentation of them through the media. However, Rick Ross does insert his own opinions
about quoted sources in parentheses, so be on the lookout for that.
http://www.rickross.com
Concerned
Christians
http://www.channel1.com/mpr/Articles/73CC.html
Concerned Christians:
Alleged Charles Manson Connection
There is an alleged connection between the Concerned Christians and Marilyn Manson,
although this has yet to be made popular through the press. This site offers an
hypothesizes about the connection.
http://www.cesnur.org/testi/Concerned.htm
Sad Saga of
the Concerned Christians
A heavily anti-cult website comparing Miller to Jim Jones and David Koresh. An
example of what conclusions can be derived from the media.
http://members.tripod.com/~tokyoboardwalker/cc.html
Apologetics
Index
This site offers a biography for almost anyone who is involved with any kind of new
religious movement, and also offers an archive to articles about Concerned Christians.
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/c35.html
Created by Kacey Chappelear
For Soc 257: New Religious Movements
University of Virginia
Spring Term 2000
Last modified: 04/19/01