Aggressive Christianity Missionary Training Corps

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“”I saw a giant mixing of people as if they were in a huge mixing bowl, going very fast. They were in hell. The Lord told me that they were being made one — blended together so that each could partake of the other's agony, damnation, torment. The Lord said, just as we, His people are made one body, so are the tormented in their misery. We are one with each other and God, they are one with each other and Satan.
—"General" Deborah Green[1]

The Aggressive Christianity Missionary Training Corps (ACMTC) is a Christian cult located in Fence Lake, New Mexico. The ministry, formerly known as the Holy Tribal Nation, Free Love Ministries, and Life Force Team was founded in California in 1981 by "General" James Green and "General" Deborah Green. The cult's name is taken from a sermon by Salvation Army co-founder Catherine Booth titled "Aggressive Christianity."[2] They are listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.[3]

Their theology is an extreme form of Pentecostalism.[4] They are viciously homophobic, Islamophobic, and paranoid.

By 1984, the Greens' Sacramento, California based "Free Love Ministries" had 50 members and had attracted media attention because of their cult-like atmosphere and crazy screeds appearing in its self-published tracts and a local radio show, "Battle Cry."[5] In 1986, a cult member died of malaria while building a "religious outpost" in Malawi, revealing more sad and sordid details about the cult, as well as its activities and beliefs.[6]

The cult was profiled on National Geographic Television in 2012, documenting the story of a mother and daughter who joined the Greens in Sacramento in 1982 and became entwined in a communal lifestyle where the members "were trained to surrender their free will." In 1989, the cult was sued by their victims but never appeared at the trial; instead they gutted their compound and fled the state.[7]

“”They had sort of holy roller-type prayer meetings in the mornings and in the evenings...everyone rolled around on the floor and talked in tongues.
—A former participant[8]

The cult resurfaced in 1993 in Berino, New Mexico, a small town northwest of El Paso, Texas, because people like this can never shut up. Here, they self-published a tabloid newspaper called "Wisdom's Cry" and maintained their established militaristic, apocalyptic beliefs.[8]

The cult was active on shortwave radio for many years, frequently buying time on private United States shortwave stations. Their show Global Spirit Proclamation, notable for Deboarah Green's "anapestic androgynous" vocal delivery,[9] appeared for several hours daily on shortwave station WBCQ from 2001 to 2014.[10]

Arrest and incarceration[edit]

In August 2017, the Greens were arrested by local authorities in New Mexico and charged with "horrific crimes against children." Deborah Green was charged with sexual assault of a minor and child abuse,[11] and her son Peter Green was charged with 100 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor.[12][13] In September 2018, Deborah Green was sentenced to 72 years in prison after being convicted of child rape, kidnapping, and child abuse.[14][15] James Green pleaded no contest to child abuse charges and in December 2018 was sentenced to ten years in prison.[16]

Deborah Green was released from prison in 2022 after appealing her conviction on child abuse, rape and kidnapping charges. A judge allowed her to withdraw her earlier "no contest" plea.[17] James Green was released from prison in 2023.[18]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Visions given to General Deborah Green directly from the Lord. cultofthelivinggod.net. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Catherine Booth. The Gospel Truth, Papers on Aggressive Christianity (1880). gospeltruth.net. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Southern Poverty Law Center Hate Map. splcenter.org. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Considerable green ink is expended on their web site about prophecy and speaking in tongues; e.g. "General" James Green, That Which is Perfect and Tongues. "To say the least, speaking in tongues has been manifested in nearly every Christian denomination up to this study (2005). Some estimate that between 140 to 380 million Christians engage in glossolalia worldwide. This ought to be alarming to the "unbelieving" believers that TONGUES HAS NOT CEASED AS THEY CLAIM..." ...and it goes on like that in larger and larger fonts for a while. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  5. ↑ Diane Divok. Capital 'prayer warriors' fight myriad demons with vigor. caic.org.au. The Sacramento Bee, 25 September 1984. Retrieved on 27 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Nancy Weaver. Mom wants her son's remains after church camp "martyrdom". culthelp.info. The Sacramento Bee, July, 1987. Retrieved on 27 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Patrick J. Kiger. "I Escaped a Cult" -- Inside the Greens. tvblogs.nationalgeographic.com. 9 April 2012. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Dan Williams. Aggressive Christianity - "Soldiers of God" have New Mexico town abuzz. culthelp.info. El Paso Times. 25 June 1995. Retrieved on 28 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Glenn Hauser. DX Listening Digest 14-01. 1 January 2014. w4uvh.net. Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Larry Will. Mining the WBCQ Archives. radionewyorkinternational.com. 3 March 2013. "February 5, 2001: WBCQ 17.495 MHz commences regular programming with the Global Spirit Proclamation..." Retrieved on 26 October 2015.
  11. ↑ Megan Cruz, Local religious group in spotlight for horrific crimes against children. koat.com, 22 August 2017.
  12. ↑ Josiah Hesse, Cops Accuse Christian Commune of Abusing and Raping Children. vice.com, 23 August 2017. "The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps is known for its militaristic brand of religion. This week, cops accused key leaders of horrific acts, including some that resulted in a child's death."
  13. ↑ Corky Siemaszko, Ex-Members Describe Military-Style Christian Sect Now Accused of Child Abuse. NBC News, 28 August 2017.
  14. ↑ Jackie Kent, 'Aggressive Christianity' cult leader gets 72 years in prison, krqe.com, 27 September 2018.
  15. ↑ David Gee, Leader of Militant “Aggressive Christianity” Cult Gets 72 Years for Child Sex Abuse, friendlyatheist.patheos.com, 29 September 2018.
  16. ↑ New Mexico sect co-leader faces up to 10 years in prison, Associated Press via abqjournal.com, 8 December 2018.
  17. ↑ Allison Giron Religious sect leader sentenced for child abuse released. KRQE, 1 February 2022.
  18. ↑ ACMTC, 2023, Aggressive Christianity, General Deborah, General Jim: RELEASED -- NOT GUILTY!' United Believers Revolution, YouTube, 2023.
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