by Pastor Mark Downey

December 31, 2017

Scripture Reading: Acts 14:21-22

The following is a letter Pastor Mark wrote as an expert witness for a Christian Identity prison case up in Michigan.  They've been fighting it for years, and hopefully this will dissolve once and for all.  Those in Michigan should start making plans to attend the trial in August.

Director, Ciivl Rights Clinic
E. Lansing, MI

Dear Professor,

Let me thank you for allowing me to participate in this case as I've been pondering the ramifications, not just in the prison systems, but for pastors, authors and expositors of Christian Identity. There are adversaries who can obviously twist what we're about with impunity in a few prisons with the hopes that these political opinions transform into laws and then those laws are shown in courts to be applicable to people like myself, which would have an unprecedented prejudice against law abiding Identity Christians and perhaps trickle down to mainstream Christian churches. In fact, this strategy is already in motion and I'll discuss it when I get to the SPLC. This case is important because it is blatant discrimination and the perpetrators would love for there to be a domino effect to silence us forever.

My last letter to Scott Perreault was rejected by the mail room, containing four sermons and copies of emails between myself and your law team and my favorable opinion of the phone discussion. I sent the same material to James Fox at another prison and it was accepted. This is not uncommon, albeit a minority of institutions discriminate, but the justification for such actions is always without merit. I am not an attorney, but it would seem this is a violation of law infringing upon a basic principle of law and that is religious freedom, especially as it pertains to Christianity. The Supreme Court of the United States formally declared in the case of HOLY TRINITY CHURCH vs UNITED STATES, 143 U.S. 471, that, “these and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.” An examination of early documents, charters, and state constitutions leaves no doubt that the intent of our founding fathers was to establish a Christian nation and not a pluralistic society in spite of the propaganda and disinformation of what some would have us believe today. I only mention this to show the disparity between Christian Identity and Christendom in general, which many believe has become the apostate church, they have fallen away from the Truth and absorbed other non-Christian doctrines. In fact, the character of Christianity has morphed into the oxymoronic “Judeo-Christian”, two succinct religions opposite to each other. Therefore, I can say with all candor and certainty that Christian Identity is the last vestige of the 1st century Christian church in the world today. This is proven by the fact that 95% of churches today are 501c3 corporations created by the state. Christian Identity is created by God and one could say that the Apostle Paul was the first Christian Identity preacher, whereby his epistles are clearly about his kinsmen or race. It wasn't called Christian Identity, but it was the same thing. The entire Bible is self explanatory as far as being racially exclusive. Christianity is the only religion in the world in which God chooses His people (John 15:16), rather than people choosing their god(s) in most other religions. All of the Covenants have always been with the same race of people including the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:8 and Jeremiah 31:31). When Romans 11:25 says “Blindness in part has happened to Israel” it suggests two things 1. those who claim to be Israel today do not fulfill this aspect of blindness and 2. only part of true Israel is not blind to their identity. Christian Identity is the “part” of that fulfillment. Ironically, the tribe of Manasseh (the brother of Ephraim or Great Britain), which can be shown to be America, means “forgetfulness.”

When I was introduced to Christian Identity in 1976, I began a quest in my life to learn as much as I could to see if it was true; that is, if the White race was the true descendants of the twelves tribes of Israel. Consequently, this demanded scholarship to disprove the contention that another group makes claiming to be God's chosen people. Over the years I have spent thousands of dollars amassing an extensive library confirming the Christian Identity message with history, archeology, heraldry, language, theology etc. I have two large file cabinets full of newsletters, articles, research, pamphlets etc. So when I hear that our movement is nothing but racism and violence, I cringe at the utter vacuum of intelligence and knowledge. It was only after 20 years of prayerful study and being mentored by knowledgeable men, that I was drafted into the pastorship of shepherding a small flock of believers. Since 1998, I have written over 200 sermons and articles. I am no more ordained with worthless pieces of paper than the 12 Disciples of Christ. I stand before the Christian Identity community as a respected elder, having earned the expertise of our faith through the aforementioned. I have also collected anti Christian Identity literature, which falls short of disproving the premise of the foundational truth which we embrace.

Our adherents, which number in the millions, all accept the basic premise that the White race is the true people of the Book, the Israelites of Scripture. We have many illustrious personages who believed in the proper identity of Israel throughout history. Queen Victoria (ruled from 1837-1901) commissioned her royal ancestry to be traced back to King David of which the chart was displayed in the British Museum. Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts (1630) declared “The God of Israel is among us... we shall be as a city on a hill.” Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) wrote “How as my soul liveth, and as He liveth who hath made me ruler in Israel” (referring to Oliver Cromwell). Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596) in a prayer stated, “God may be glorified, His church, our Queen and country preserved, the enemies of truth vanquished, that we might have continual peace in Israel.” Alfred the Great (849-899) pronounced to his subjects “Be ye kind to the stranger within thy gates, for ye were strangers [i.e. Israelites] in the land of Egypt [Exodus 22:21]”. Thomas Jefferson (circa 1799) in his eulogy to the death of George Washington said, “I felt on his death with my countrymen, that verily a great man hath fallen this day in Israel.” There is a plethora of quotations which could be cited, which all proves that the identity of Israel in Christian societies throughout history have not been the group today who claims to be God's chosen people and yet have overtly rejected Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The jewish crowd before Pilate was so bent on the death of Christ that they cried out, “His blood [Christ] be upon us and our children” Matthew 27:25. How could they be God's chosen people with such hate and violence?

The appellation of Christian Identity is not as important as the basic principle which we teach; that is, we are the true Israelites, the literal descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Some of our adherents have changed their appellation, because of the harassment, intimidation and persecution, to Covenant Theology, Christian Israel, Kingdom Identity etc. The term Christian Identity was coined by Col. Wm. Potter Gale (circa 1950's) who was an aid to Gen. Douglas MacArthur during WWII. In fact, there are many high ranking retired military who have aligned themselves with our movement and become active proponents, such as: Pastor Earl Jones, author and Christian Identity speaker, who fought under General George Patton through all six major campaigns in Europe during World War II in the Third Army, and retired from White Sands Missile Range as Project Manager for Engineering and Testing with the civilian rank of Lt. General. During the start of the Korean War, war hero, Lt. Colonel Jack Mohr, was the first American wounded and captured (and tortured), escaping a Communist firing squad. He holds the record for the most number of consecutive days on the front line combat duty without a break, (276). He fought the war with a reward of $250,000 in gold, "dead or alive", offered by the North Korean government. Jack became a fundamentalist Baptist, speaking to groups for 30 years, until he discovered the Christian Identity truth. Because of his outspoken opposition to liberalism and promotion of the racial message of the Bible, he suffered much harassment from the government (the IRS). These are some of the pillars of our movement, who sacrificed everything they had to make America a Christian nation again.

The Greek word for church is ecclesia and means a called out people, not a building or place. We are not a denomination nor the putative church, although we have hundreds of fellowships, Bible study groups and multi-family worship with each being autonomous and independent. Christian Identity may not have perfect unity, but we are just the opposite of apostasy and being a cult. Our unity is based on I Corinthians 1:10, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment”. In essence, our movement is a work in progress seeking the Divine Will and God's plan for the ages. We love the truth of who we are so much that we have no hierarchy, no national headquarters, no king but Jesus. Our body of Christ is comprised of pastors, elders and members, similar to the 1st century ecclesias serving God and the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to whom Christ declared He came for (Matthew 15:24; Jeremiah 50:6). Our adherents come from all levels of society, rich and poor, white collar and blue collar, from drop-outs to Phd's, young and old alike. We are all White Christian Americans (as well as Europe, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada) and believe we are the one and same Covenant People in both the Old and New Testaments. The only reason we are called an overly simplistic “hate group”, is because our adversaries hate what we believe. If Christ were to enter the world stage today, therywould be the same kind of Pharisees who would hate Him so much, that they would crucify Him all over again. The point I'm making is that the great majority of our adherents are not the silly caricatures invented by our adversaries.

For example, the outrageous Project Megiddo in their opening self-described statement said, “an FBI strategic assessment of the potential for domestic terrorism in the United States undertaken in anticipation of or response to the arrival of the new millennium” was issued in 1999. In other words, a PSYOP group of fear mongering disinformation specialists spreading the propaganda of racism and violence. The report was meant for “official law enforcement use only”, but of course leaked to the public far and wide. The report was an intentional distraction from the scandals and corruption of the FBI to the invented threat of domestic terrorism. It's a technique deployed by political dirty tricksters to this day to avoid their own misdeeds; they launch calumnious smear campaigns against their perceived enemies. In this report Christian Identity was placed at the top of their list. They proceed to attribute a false history of its founding to Wesley Swift in the 1950's as it became distinctly American and became the sole property of Aryan Nations, a clownish organization of costumes and misfits.

However, the premise of Christian Identity was well established decades earlier by Howard B. Rand, who made the transition from British Israel to Anglo Israel to Christian Identity. One of his contemporaries was Curtis Claire Ewing who was my mentor for 3 years in the early 1980's. As early as 1927 Rand claimed that the Jews were not really descended from the tribe of Judah. This has since been confirmed by Jewish authors Benjamin Freedman, Arthur Koestler, Alfred Lilienthal and Schlomo Sands. This means that if they were not descended from any of the tribes of Israel, they couldn't possibly be Semites racially. Unlike Swift and later permutations of theology called “dual seedline”, Rand did not claim that modern Jews were descendants of Satan, but that they were simply not the true descendents of Judah. Rand's religious beliefs and teachings have been described as a “peaceful missionary imperative.” And that is the preponderant majority of what constitutes Christian Identity today.

The presumption made by the FBI's Project Megiddo was that our rank and file believed that a violent and bloody race war would commence in the year 2000, ushering in the “end of the world and Second Coming of Christ”. Nobody that I knew at the time believe any such thing. It was pure hog wash. Every Identity Christian should know that “Ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” Mt. 25:13. And yet today, evangelical Judeo-Christians are celebrating the transfer of the Israeli's capitol from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This is already fomenting hate and violence and tantamount to hitting a hornet's nest with a stick. Christian identity is not agitating this boiling point of senseless conflict, because we could care less about the old Jerusalem. Our focus is entirely on the New Jerusalem and the peace therein. But the FBI would have people believe that we are consumed with racism and violence. Not only that, but the demonization of our movement to suggest that we're preparing “for these events, they engage in survivalist and paramilitary training, storing foodstuffs and supplies, and caching weapons and ammunition. They often reside on compounds located in remote areas.” Sounds paranoid. On the contrary, we are for the most part middle class living from pay check to pay check and live everywhere. Maybe the FBI could learn what we know and practice from Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” They try their darndest to associate us with right-wing radicals, but we don't play partisan politics of liberal vs. conservative, because that is not our calling. We are called to bring the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, period.

The FBI skews what we advocate by saying, “It is a belief system that provides its members with a religious basis for racism and an ideology that condones violence against non-Aryans.” We condone no such thing. The FBI reinvents the definition of racism however it suits their mode of situational ethics. Our morality, on the other hand, is always the permanent Laws of God to know what is right and wrong. Webster's (7th Collegiate Dictionary) definition of racism is "a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race". Belief implies assent to expressing the idea or putting the belief into action, in government, religion, art, business, community, home, etc. The racism of a racial group will change from a static to a dynamic character when it becomes the victim of oppression and the peaceful security of the society is at risk. This is a natural confrontation in nature, an instinct for survival. Racism may be the most compelling force or factor in the rise and fall of civilizations. When God declared in Deut. 7:6 “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.” Whoever claims to be this “special people” can only be deemed “supremacists” or “above” all others and it is the God of the Bible who declares it, not man. So if anybody wants to talk about “White Supremacy”, they need to talk to God.

Lastly, the FBI's Project Megiddo fails miserably at trying to justify their lies that Christian Identity has nothing else better to do than to perpetrate violence. It cites a few examples of some people claiming to be Christian Identity, but these people either never read God's Law or willingly violate God's Law or are not Christians at all and work for the FBI. This couldn't have been more exemplary than Hal Turner several years ago who talked like the stereotypical madman portrayed in the Project Megiddo Report. However, as it turned out at trial, he was advocating the murder of a judge and his defense was that he was working for the FBI making $100,000 a year. There are other known government agent provocateurs that haunt Christian Identity with impunity. And yet more informants that are hired by private anti-racist organizations proliferate among us. Real Identity Christians are hard working, tax paying Americans who just want to be left alone and worship and fellowship like all other religious groups in America. Most of us are students of the American Revolution, but understand that any sort of arm-of-flesh revolution today would be a losing proposition. That's why our adversaries yearn for White violence so much. So that they can take draconian measures against us. We only seek the Kingdom of God or the government of Christ and that revolution starts in our own mind and spirit. Christ called it repentance; to sin no more. And that is why there is so much temptation today, to entice us with the trappings of the world and keep us in bondage. We now know that it is not violence that will save us, but rather the simple words and thought that the Truth shall make you free. This does not mean that we are pacifists or discard self defense.

The government document is devoid of any evidence or documentation. It was a false prophecy. The real hate groups that incited such a ridiculous hatchet job was the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). From January 1 to the end of December in the year 2000 not one thing happened to give the FBI any credibility in their assessment of the new millennium. In fact, 17 years later there have been no incidences of criminal activity from millions of adherents in our community, much to the chagrin of the FBI. The few cases that can be cited were the nominal lunatic fringe who attach themselves to our religious beliefs, but by their actions disqualify themselves from being Christian Identity. All religions suffer from bad apples who do not represent the tenets of what they believe. The early 1st century church likewise had impersonators who mimicked the talk, but could not walk the talk. Perhaps the most famous was Judas Iscariot.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear: we are not antisemitic, because we are Semitic. Those who claim to be God's chosen people, generally speaking, will not even be able to tell you what the derivation of Semite is. It comes from Shem, the son of Noah, which is also rendered Sem whose descendents were known as Semites. Antisemitism is a bogus appellation exploited for nefarious purposes, which when understood correctly points back to the false accusers. The ADL has a high dependence upon this word for their propaganda and disinformation. The ADL is an unregistered foreign agent using its money power as the nation's largest NGO, indoctrinating police, teachers, clergy etc in its self serving Zionist ideology. Zionism, by its very nature, is racist and violent in its stated expansionism in the Middle East. Compared to Christian Identity, there is no comparison to the grand scale of Zionist who represent the antithesis of peace. Why then would the ADL be one of the foremost enemies of Christian Identity in its vicious spy and intimidation campaigns to thwart our conferences, churches and right to assemble, engaging in brutal pressures against lawmakers, Judeo-Christian churches and newspapers, radio and TV who are not mainstream? And now in increasing influence within state prison systems? It's because the Truth is not antisemitic.

The other organization hellbent on misrepresenting Christian Identity is the SPLC (Southern Poverty Law Center, which is neither Southern or concerned about poverty). The SPLC is a money grubbing scam posing as the self appointed inquisitor of hate. Whoever they smear with the politically incorrect tag of “hate group” is taken by the mainstream media as gospel. What qualifies them and their founder, Morris Dees, as judge, jury and social executioner? Perhaps it's the lust for power and/or their love of mammon. The ridiculous spectrum of SPLC-certified agents of hate range from the KKK and neo-Nazis to respectable Christian groups like the Family Research Council in Washington DC and D. James Kennedy Ministries of Coral Ridge, Florida. The SPLC actually inspired a gunman attempting to commit mass murder at FRC headquarters had he not been stopped, because he used the SPLC “hate map” to target them.

The Philanthropy Roundtable calls out Dees as “a cash collecting machine.” The SPLC averages $50 million a year and has been criticized for violating its IRS non-profit status. Again the PR says “They’ve never spent more than 31 percent of the money they were bringing in on programs, and sometimes they spent as little as 18 percent.” Most nonprofits average 75%. From a November, 2000, issue of Harper's Magazine we read, “In 1986, the Center's entire legal staff quit in protest of Dees's refusal to address issues - such as homelessness, voter registration, and affirmative-action, that they considered far more pertinent to poor minorities, if far less marketable to affluent benefactors than fighting the KKK. Another lawyer, Gloria Browne, who resigned a few years later, told reporters that the Center's programs were calculated to cash in on "black pain and white guilt."

And in 2017, red flags were raised as the SPLC was busted for shuttling millions of dollars to offshore (Cayman Islands) entities. Why anybody would believe a greedy con artist, an embarrassment to the law profession and an exposed pedophile in divorce proceedings, is unbelievable. And yet this is what Christian Identity, representing several million White Christian Americans has to contend with. The big business of slander and calumny must cease and desist and it must start with the courts to dismiss fraudulent experts who twist the truth to self-perpetuate their money-making schemes. The net worth of the SPLC is an estimated $334 million in cash and securities and its luxurious offices in Montgomery, Alabama, at a whopping $34 million. As a personal affront, my church in Washington state, The Upper Room, was on the “hate map” for ten years after it had become defunct. It took them several years to put Kinsman Redeemer Ministries (KY) on the map. There's never been anything written about me or my ministries. We're just on a “hate map”, which has been designated racist and violent. I must reiterate that the Truth is neither racist or violent or antisemitic or any other number of cheap shot ad hominems.

As a pastor, author and astute observer of human nature I can unequivocally conclude that for some people, all it takes is one or two words and a person or group can be demonized to the pits of hell. In my 10+ years of prison ministry, I have experienced the rejection letters from prison mail rooms, but must say that is only about 10% of the prisons I minister to. The letter usually has the proverbial one or two words, which suffice for eternal condemnation. All because their source is none other than the ADL or SPLC. In my review of all the documents provided to me from the Michigan Civil Rights Clinic (MSU – College of Law), I could easily discern the fly in the ointment of the defendants in this case. Let me defer to the August 8, 2017 memorandum between Kenneth McKee and David Leach with the Subject “Request for Recognition of New Religious Group – Christian Identity.” Quoting from the second paragraph, it states, “It was the opinion of the CAC that many core religious beliefs of the Christian Identity religion are similar to those of other Christian religious groups recognized by the MDOC and therefor the religious beliefs and practices of the Christian Identity religion can be adequately met by an existing recognized group.” This was their core reason for denying Perreault and Fox their 'Request for Recognition.' Nothing could be made more vague than to cavalierly associate “core... beliefs” with the whole of Christendom.

It is not core beliefs that we want recognized. It is the premise which separates us from an apostate churchianity, which only gives lip service to the Word of God. “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me” Matthew 15:8. How many “other Christian religious groups” accept the premise of Christian Identity? Hardly none! The hearts of Identity Christians honor the premise of God's intent for racial exclusivity. We reject the admixture of universalism to the Bible. It's a fact that the entire Bible is only about one people. That is a premise, not a core belief, which can entail anything from baptism to communion. And even then the latter gives rise to interpretation and thus thousands of denominations having their own mode of application. There is no mode to Genesis 5:1 “This is the book of the generations of Adam.” It is clear and absolute as are thousands of other Scriptures that represent the premise. Everything revolves and hinges upon the premise, not core beliefs which can be manipulated. If the CAC thinks that Christian Identity is going to integrate our beliefs with people whose hearts are far from God, they are mistaken. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” II Corinthians 6:14. They do not believe what we believe. The reason for denial is obviously a lack of knowledge as to what Christian Identity embraces as the Truth. Our Truth(s) are plain and simple and cannot be obfuscated through sophistry. When Deuteronomy 7:6 says “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth”, it has the clear import of race. That does not necessarily make us White Supremacist if we forsake and ignore such divine callings found throughout God's Word. It does, however, make us cursed and whoring after other gods if we accept the deceit of universalism.

Which leads us to the fourth paragraph and Mr. Leach's terrible and superficial assessment of what Christian Identity is. He says our movement “Is known to have extreme racist and anti-Semitic views with a history of violence.” We know that what Mr. Leach is assuming to be true is, in fact, people who are not really Christian at all, because if they were they would know that repentance, in contradistinction to the arm of the flesh (violence) is how we change things and are blessed by God. I dare say that all of these other Christian religious groups are probably more violent than what most of our rank and file could even dream of. We do not believe Mr. Leach and his little shell game. If an academic study were able to provide statistics, I think you would find more wife abusers, substance abusers, divorce, juvenile delinquency and criminal activity leading to violence in churchianity. Most prisoners I'm in contact with tell me they believed in God and came from a Baptist or Methodist or Pentecostal etc background. They say they knew something was wrong with the church, but didn't know what it was until they found the Christian Identity Truth. Now they can order their lives into the disciplines of Jesus Christ and turn from their wicked ways. That's what I teach them. I resent armchair theologians who malign me and my ministry with half baked innuendo and outright lies. But, Mr. Leach is not finished. He has to interject the idea that we are largely comprised of Ku Klux Klan and other unnamed “white supremacist groups.” This is a bold faced lie, bearing false witness and persecuting Christians in the process. Interestingly, Mr. Leach confesses that his source for such an absurd diatribe is... the SPLC. And then makes a false conclusion that Christian Identity poses “a threat to the custody, and security of our correctional facility.” It's sad that someone with authority can't see that it's not the case with the great majority of prisons who allow Christian Identity literature and religious amenities that those things do not happen. Otherwise, my ministry would be over and I would no longer be able to teach and help my brethren understand and obey the Bible.

As I reread this memo several times, it occurred to me that Mr. Leach is a hypocrite. On the one hand he is saying we're no different than all those denominational churches and so we should just join them for worship and fellowship. On the other hand, the seed that Morris Dees planted in his mind is hatching and we're automatically labeled with the buzzwords “racist” and have “a history of violence.” We don't have a history of violence. But, here's the hypocrisy: If we're so racist and violent then it stands to reason by implication, that the Judeo-Christian churches must also be cut from the same cloth and are likewise racist and violent. Therefore, Mr. Leach would be fomenting exactly what he is allegedly opposed to. He poses a threat to his own institution. Of course, his presumptions are illogical and nonsensical for a lack of knowledge.

In conclusion, let me provide some Christian logic to what we are really about. We are by and large a peace loving, law abiding and Bible believing people who advocate helping our own people, not harming them or anybody else, because it would be unbiblical and counter-productive. What possible victory could we achieve wielding the arm of the flesh and glorify God in the process? Very little. We're not to be lobbing off the ears of centurions, but healings and miracles and walking on water, so to speak, in order to glorify our Kinsman Redeemer, Jesus, the Christ. The cognitive dissonance by outsiders presume how we are defined by our enemies, by the real hate groups. The peculiar thing about us is that we are not afraid to discuss or write about race or violence as it pertains to the Word of God. The more they know, the more they will perceive that they've been lied to. Our greatest advocacy is the identity of who we are in the Bible and the subsequent duties and responsibilities, which is to repent of our sins individually and nationally. Peter calmed the anxiety of his brethren after the death of their Lord as persecution was upon them. He said, “We ought to obey God rather than man” Acts 5:29.

Our enemy and the enemy of Christ are all one and the same who advocate violence. “The Kingdom of heaven suffers violence and violent men take it by force” Matthew 11:12. We do not live by the sword, because we know those who do, shall die by the sword. We do not advocate violence as some kind of paramilitary cult, but warn against the consequences of violence. Christ is our example, not Rambo. Those who advocate violence today miss the point of Jesus' sacrifice. That is the miracle we strive for, to heal the blind that they may see.

To Whom Pertaineth,
Pastor Mark Downey