emblem of the sun-god
or
monogram of the Son of God?

in hoc signo vinces

How I embraced this group:

My connection to this controversial "cult" (as it has been labelled) goes back to the late sixties. I was a "hippie" -- dark-haired and gloomy complected, unsure-of-myself, searching for meaning to my life, a cause to live for, and help for my own tumults and urges. Brother B. was already an outcast among many of the churches of Fresno, regarded as a bit suspect, a bit too pentecostal or shamanistic. Before he founded Trinity Institute, he had been Chaplain at what was then "Fresno General Hospital," working with an old time Presbyterian Calvinist named Russell Knight.

The rumors about Brother B. were of several general types. One was that he strayed too far from orthodoxy in bringing to life a gnostic or "Alexandrian" cultishness. One complaint was that his teaching was too "soulish"; another that his intercessory style was too "Freudian." Some churches forgave his exuberant "holy roller" background, but were horrified by rumors that he was Pelagian, and preached a form of works, rather than Reformation-style "salvation by faith alone." (Which actually goes back to Saints Augustine and Paul, though perhaps not to Jesus himself.)

Well, my mother had been prayin' mightily for her errant son (me), and she had come into the orbit of Bishop Whitlock. She did not regard him as occultish, or gnostic, or a sexual libertine. In fact, she found his teaching to be fundamentally sound and scriptural. As I became more desperate, I finally cried out for myself, then asked my mother to pray for me, too. I also reached out to Russell Knight, the co-chaplain.

Meanwhile, half the continent away, an evangelist by the name of Clarence Shannon was ministering in Springfield Missouri at the home of one William Branham. Brother Branham, a mighty man of God in his own right, referred Clarence to a Fresno chaplain by the name of Bishop Whitlock. Through a series of circumstances, the entire Shannon clan wound up living in the Ferger Street house of Bishop Whitlock. The Shannons' daughter Linda became my wife.

Laying the axe to the root: Whitlock's teaching

Far from teaching a gnostic or sexual gospel, Brother B. merely taught that true Christianity is a straight and narrow path, and few there be that find it. He taught that you have to humble yourself, lower yourself, allow the Father to discipline you, and cleanse you. He taught deliverance, and purgation, and the prayer closet. I know of nothing he ever taught that was contrary to the fundamental core of Christian faith, at least the first five or six councils of the early Church, even up to the formulation of the Trinity doctrine.

Nevertheless, the church is in need of continuous reformation. If salvation got you in the door, the real work for us is an ongoing work of sanctification. White churchianity is oh-so-good at cleaning the outside of the pot, focussing on appearances. But the real need is to clean the inside of the pot. (See, Jesus washed dishes.)

Sola scriptura is a fine reformation doctrine. (But only a start.) Truth be told, rigid doctrine is not what we need. You got to roll up your sleeves for the real work. What we need is inner cleansing, depth cleansing, a deeper work. Theology's dead letter killeth. What is needed is a return to the Spirit, to the basics of our faith. The word must live! White christianity looks down on native wisdom for its heathenism and its stress on the body. As if there is something subversive or mystical about "the Spirit" -- the Holy Ghost. Yet does not the Bible point us to the body, to the life of the Spirit? Look at Genesis. Look at the words of Jesus.

Native spirituality teaches that wisdom must be lived. That means this world, and it means this body. White "civilization" looks down on the influence of native and African spirituality as if it is contaminated by earthy (read sexual?) influence. Supposedly the eagerness for the miraculous is suspect, too superstitious due to its craving for the supernatural. There must be something barbarian in the exuberant or existential and non-intellectual stirrings of these people of the earth. But is the smugness justified? The fact is, Jesus taught that it is not hearing his words, or concocting dogma, or constructing some elaborate religious edifice, is the way to salvation. Rather, it is DOING his words. That means, dare we say it, the body. The word made flesh. It's something to think about.

Disallowed indeed of men

It is true that Brother B. practiced laying on of hands. It is true that he sought to go deeper, to delve into the roots, the underlying causes behind the cries of the sin-sick who came seeking help. Only in that sense might we brand him, A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn. Yes, there was a focus on the body, not dogma and form. Thus the accusation of holistic believism. Of seeing "God" as both male and female. (And of seeing us humans as composed of both male and female.)

Whitlock's independence and integrity meant too much to him to sacrifice on the false altar of conformism and "to-be-seen-of-men." He was an enemy of the smugness of conventional "churchianity." He seemed at odds with the complacency and self-satisfaction of the respectable churches. Even among the socalled "full gospel" movement, Brother B. preferred the lowliness of the blunt self-designation "Pentecostal" to the niceness of "charismatic." He hated the pretension of those preachers who strained so hard to win the acceptance of man, that they forgot the reward that comes from God only. Is not much of the disdain which the "proper" folk, the pious and respectable folk have for "pentecostal" type manifestations, at heart simply a matter of prejudice?

I think there was something in Brother B. that recoiled from the priggishness and prudery of the hypocrites. The work of the prayer closet is blunt exposure, and opposing false modesty and self-delusion. The Deliverance Pentecostalism of Brother B. surely has much in common with the exorcist healings of older churches and bygone times, but beyond merely laying on of hands, Brother B. taught inner cleansing and purification. He urged us onward. We must "go on to perfection."

If salvation gets you in the door, the ongoing work of cleansing requires that "greater works" shall ye do. Following the footsteps of Jesus means that we enter into the closet, allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse us, and then, beyond simply letting Jesus into our hearts, we allow Him to teach us all things, to progressively sanctify us, purge us, and give us a reward that cometh from the Father only. This is a deeper expiation and cleansing.

"Out of Africa"

The Scripture says, "Out of Egypt have I called my son." Both Jesus in the New Testament, and Moses in the Old Testament, spent their "dark" years in the continent of Africa. Some say that Jesus probably spent his early childhood in Alexandria, a city at that time almost one half Jewish. The book of Acts says that Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. We know he had an Ethiopian wife, and there's a passage in the Talmud that describes him as commanding armies in Ethiopia for a time. For more: Moses Prince in Africa

Yet Christianity has persecuted the very ones closest to native and African spirituality, the pentecostals. St. Paul taught that every part of the body has a function, a purpose. The various parts of the church do not all have the same calling, or job to perform. What if the most despised functions (just as in the body) are actually deserving of the most honor? How appropos on this point is Edward Blyden's belief that each group and people have its unique calling, and function. (For more http://members.fortunecity.com/obia1/blyden.html)

Who rescued the Israelite spies in Jericho? It was Rahab the harlot. Who was the grand progenitress of King David? It was Ruth, the despised Moabitess. That's right, David was of interracial heritage. The list could be extended indefinitely.

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Yet all too often, white christianity is the farthest thing from the true humility that is needed. If someone is different, or not white enough, or not rich enough, he is outcast. If his "doctrine" does not pass your particular litmus test, he is outcast.

James Baldwin makes the point that our moral high-mindedness comes at the terrible expense of weakening our grasp of reality. "People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction, and anyone who insists on remaining in a state of innocence long after that innocence is dead turns himself into a monster."

Limitations of a human instrument

I would be risking self-delusion of my own if I tried to pretend that Brother B. was without fault, or without error. I frankly have NO way of knowing whether the miracles that have been attributed to him were "of the devil" or the result of (perhaps native American) shamanism. Incidentally, the word shaman is not of native American, or Cherokee origin at all. It is Russian, from Tungus.

On the other hand, the word berdashe (or related spelling) is from the Plains Indians. Brother B. was of Cherokee heritage. His people had been force marched on the trail of tears in the dead of winter. Brother B's own father suffered death through the inadvertence of (yes, prejudiced) law enforcement in Phoenix Arizona earlier in the century. It became a "burden" (a prayer) of Brother B. that law enforcement might live up to the trust that the little folk put in them. Too many times, even today, they have not.

I think I was attracted to Brother B (and his pentecostal deliverance ministry) because he (it) seemed more real, seemed to come across at a greater depth of reality, than most churches. I know I had my authority issues, and a deep craving for support in my own quest for self-discipline and personal growth. I also happened to be open to a life-mate, something that I think my parents were more attuned to, at that time in my life, than I was. I have Bishop Whitlock to thank, and indirectly William Branham, on this matter.

There have been some questions that I differed with Brother B. on. For example, while Brother B. delved deeply into the Bible, used Strong's concordance extensively, and dug into the meanings of original Hebrew and Greek, he harbored a bitter suspicion against educated and privileged elitists. He seemed to come close to rejecting out of hand formal education and learning. Rather, he emphasized that the Holy Spirit is given to lead us into all truth, and that the Holy Spirit is our appointed Teacher. It is through the Holy Spirit that we approach God's Shekinah glory, and there is a relatedness of the two, if not identity. (Yes, we who followed Brother B. learned his heavy stress on word studies, a very biblical calling. The sixties counter-culture found a 'hero' in the antiquarian Norman O. Brown for his delving into classical language to bring forth timely truth for a new generation. But Brother B. urged us to do so, too!)
Hebrew word below, right to left, is the (consonants of the) word Shekinah, the felt presence of the divine, and the female attributes of his deity:

Admittedly, Brother B. did in fact speak out bluntly against human physicians, and their exclusivist, elitist pseudo-scientific establishment. He pointedly rejected the "in-group" arrogance of modern medicine as if it were an enemy to be unmasked, and opposed. Some of us who followed Brother B. surely went overboard as we emulated his own certainty in the matter of rejecting medical care. I believe this conviction of his had roots in the anguish of his own personal experience, and my belief now is that his own pain blinded his outlook.

If I were to make a defense of Whitlock's confrontational style of "loud" preaching, I would not have to look far. The prophet is commanded to raise up his voice like a trumpet, to show Israel their sin. The proverb of Solomon reminds us that open rebuke helps the hearer, flattery does not. Discipline is teaching, and those are the stripes that heal the ones who take the discipline to heart.

On the other hand we are not to learn the ways of the oppressor, nor are we to envy him. Whether the oppression takes the form of hellfire and brimstone preaching, or the form of unscrupulous or greedy or circle-the-wagons medical "ethics," falsely socalled. A pertinent thought is found is the comment of Eric Hoffer, warning against the hardness of heart of the elites (highly educated).

The concepts of praying for the sick, of laying on of hands, of deliverance "exorcism" - are as old as our religion itself. For the open-minded, an excellent little explanation can be found in Father Mathew Swizdor's gentle booklet, Lay Hands on the Sick. Fr. Swizdor, a Franciscan priest and professor, delves not only into the New Testament basis for a Christian healing ministry, but gives numerous real life cases and testimonials.

A tentative assessment (not a verdict)

At this point in my life, aged 57, I want to say (at last) that I am proud of my humble origins, and proud of the influence of Brother Bishop Whitlock on my life. He was a surrogate father almost, to me. How often we find, do we not, that the Holy One does indeed use a village to raise His children. I would hope that I can give Brother B. due honor, the honor due to someone who has been a "father" to me.

I am convinced of the validity of the "Prayer Closet" (the secret place under the shadow of the Almighty). I am convinced of the validity of travail, and cleansing, and the "fire" of the Holy Ghost within. There is a purging ministry (See Matthew 6:6), and a kind of catharsis that goes far beyond a mere "plan of salvation" or outward shew of righteousness.

Brother Whitlock's de-emphasis on theology was, in my view, basically on track. His emphasis on the words of Jesus was Jeffersonian. His emphasis on doing the words of Jesus is both the highest challenge, and the most difficult assignment, that we who profess to follow the Lord are called to.

The issue of the human body, with all its functions, cuts right down the middle of the native spirituality versus Euro-civilization divide. Does God heal? Or is that mere savage superstition? I happen to think that the Bible, if studied in depth, would endorse much more of the supposedly unorthodox teachings of Whitlock than it would those who deny the body, ignore the subconscious, reject healing, and treat miracles as if they were shamanistic fraud or the tricks of charlatans and native medicine men.

What some of us needed

Many well meaning Christians branded Brother B. as somehow a bit too willing to jump into the area of dealing with deeper or unseemly issues like sexuality, homosexuality, licentiousness. I believe it was this boldness to trust God in these matters that was the cause of his being labelled gnostic, or anti-nominian, or too psychological. Somehow I feel that Brother B. would have embraced much of the approach of Sigmund Freud. Instead of shying away from what we can learn from dreams and fantasies and visions, we ought to allow ourselves to learn from those images and portents.

Never let it be said that dependence on a gifted or anointed leader somehow lets the beginning seeker off the hook. For all our reliance upon the manifestations of "the Holy Ghost and power" that we saw in Brother B, he was always clear than the burden of responsibility ultimately was back at square one, an issue between the individual seeker and the Lord Jesus himself. For example, I myself, right from the start, had difficulty in even so much as acknowledging some of the deep, personal issues, orientation, sexual fetters, and social obstacles that somehow I yearned to make a clean breast of. The very first step toward deliverance, and healing ... ALWAYS ... begins with the decision to admit to yourself your need. If you don't want to change, no help can come.

The simple fact, so often stressed not only by Brother B, but by psychology, by medicine, and even friends you might know, is that "confess your faults" also means coming out of the closet with the socalled secret sins that King David had to learn the hard way. Sid Jourard has demonstrated how, time and again, the hiding of a secret matter is far worse than the matter itself. For more of Sidney Jourard's insight. In any event, those matters we keep closely concealed in our private closets tend to get shouted from the roof tops any way. Maybe we'd be better off to throw ourselves on the mercy of the One we have been taught to trust in. Secrets never stay secrets, and trying to deceive ourselves is a bitter trap.

The prayer closet

Yes, God chastens those he loves. There is dross within us that can be purged only by the fires of a holy furnace. Discipline (or teaching) actually helps to banish not merely ignorance, but foolishness and a kind of "insanity" as well. This purgation is the catharis of cleansing, and we must not reject the rod of the Lord. It is a healing rod.

Brother B. could instruct quite forcefully, and his occasional sternness was legendary. One can picture him with the authoritarian inflexibility of a Moses, or the fiery zeal of one of the later prophets. He could wield a moralistic, not to say puritanical, rod of instruction. Gabriel Sivan writes: "The Hebrew Bible's stand on sexual relationships is uniquely clear-cut and severe. Incest, adultery, homosexuality, and bestiality ... are grave crimes in the eyes of Heaven incurring stern penalties; as such, they can never be viewed permissively, as they were in pagan cults, where deities themselves behaved lewdly toward one another." (The Bible and Civilization, 1973. p9 )

We who submitted to the instruction and discipline of deliverance pentecostalism were, I believe, led back to the well-springs that lay at the root of our historic Biblical faith. So often we heard, "therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection." If the journey took us to the edges of our understanding, it was more than Brother B. doing it, it was the Holy Ghost.

Every pastor has an obligation before God to gently lead the sheep. No shepherd may ignore the command of the great Shepherd and Bishop to so live and do. And we who come to Christ must, "as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that [we] may grow thereby." But there comes a time to go past the first principles of the oracles of God, an entering into the fulness of time, ready for strong meat.

An ensample to the believers

There are so many instances of fruitful fields for current inquiry. For example, a study of the word pharmakos, in Greek, is sufficient reminder of the core feature of the concept of a scapegoat, a human victim. Jesus, a human sacrifice, is the central tenet of Christian faith, and it was Jesus who taught: salvation is of the Jews. Isn't it possible that socalled pagan religion has something to teach the smug theologies and pseudo sciences of western "civilization." It probably could teach modern psychology something, too. Dreams and visions and the subconscious are far from irrelevant. They are our guides literally to who we are, and what we are.

The revealed religion of the Bible, far from rejecting visions and fantasies and myth, actually embraces them. Joseph, in Africa, excelled in the Interpretation of Dreams. Pagan religion is hard pressed in one area. To the Jews was given a fuller measure. Pagan believism sees through a glass darkly, but if by living the measure which has been given them, they are doers and not hearers only, then they rightly become ensamples to us, and we should shut our mouths and be the taught. What else is it all about? Let us Go On to Perfection. And, a recent book I would suggest is Tragedy of an Unclean Heart by Doris Rand. Until the Conesus custodians of the Whitlock archives release the volumes (of Whitlock's tapes, writings, videos) we and posterity will have to rely on the scant material not under the Conesus control.

Was Whitlock's intercessory Pentecostal Deliverance fellowship in any way a cult? In all honesty I would have to say that in some sense, yes, it probably was. Joseph Washington, Jr, in his Black Sects and Cults confronts the contempt that the experts tend to find in cults. He says,

Cults are often viewed with connotations of "small size, search for a mystical experience, lack of structure, and presence of a charismatic leader." [quoting Ernst Troeltsch]

In fact, Christianity itself began as a cult. How often we lose sight of this fact, despite the clear reminders in the epistles, in the Acts of the apostles, and in the writings of non-Christian commentators. If they were so horribly persecuted, treated as the offscourings of the earth, ridiculed, rejected, ostracized, imprisoned, flogged, tortured ... how mild is our lot by contrast? Where is our courage? Truly we deserve the reprimand "O ye of little faith" --- even more than those first Hebrew Christians who heard the words.

To yyue scyence of helthe to his puple, in to remyssioun of her synnes

God heals, and the doctor takes the fees