American Militias: Rebellion, Racism & Religion (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1992, many Americans found themselves riveted to their televisions as the drama between the Branch Davidian religious sect and the FBI played itself out on the nightly news. As viewers watched the news, however, they quickly discovered that David Koresh, the leader of the Davidians, was proclaiming a message of political rebellion couched in apocalyptic language borrowed from the book of Revelation. According to Koresh's messages, the Davidians saw themselves as the children of light fighting to liberate themselves from the evil empire of the U.S. government and its restrictions on the Davidian's religious practices. As Abanes points out in this masterful survey, the Davidians are only one of a number of paramilitary groups whose mission is fueled by a volatile mix of religion, rebellion against the government and racism. Abanes examines the teachings and goals of several of these groups, from the Davidians to the Christianity Identity Movement, as he attempts to show the dangers of an uncritical acceptance of narrowly conceived religious understandings of the relation between church and state. For everyone interested in the often strange and inexplicable combination of religion and politics that characterizes many paramilitary groups, Abanes' balanced and forthright study offers invaluable insight.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Grabbed from today's headlines, a well-researched, thoroughly informative chronicle of the antigovernment militias that haunt America's heartland (the third in recent months, after studies by Kenneth Stern and Morris Dees). Religion and cult expert Abanes, founder of the Religious Information Center of Southern California, sets out to deconstruct militias and analyze the events and ideologies that have led to their frightening growth. With hundreds of interviews and militia texts at his disposal, Abanes describes the incredible paranoia that stalks the movement, fueling increasingly wild conspiracy theories about a UN plot to conquer the world and a federal conspiracy to enslave American citizens. In unadorned, occasionally stiff prose, the author explores the ideology shared by the various militias and traces its origins back to centuries-old theories of anti-Semitism and white supremacy. ``White supremacists currently couch their beliefs in more acceptable terms,'' Abanes writes, ``hiding their bigotry to present a sanitized image to the public and attract new recruits.'' One by one Abanes examines the leaders of the far right, including former Green Beret Bo Gritz (who recently attempted to negotiate with the Freemen in Idaho), lawyer Linda Thompson, even Pat Robertson, and reveals their ties to the hate community. Abanes is at his best when he's stripping down their arguments, demonstrating how militia leaders ``abuse rather than use the Bible,'' and skewering the faulty logic of the movement's self-styled leaders. Still, he is on no mission from the left: He blames the government bureaucracy for generating blizzards of alienating regulations, and the national law enforcement agencies for bungling matters at Waco and Ruby Ridge, with lethal results. A balanced and intellectually acute report on the militia men and women who seem disorganized and defensive now, but who one day may raise their voices in a fearsome roar. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Intervarsity Pr; 1st Printing edition (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830813683
• ISBN-13: 978-0830813681
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,887,963 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly Researched, April 2, 2003

By	Brad Ferguson "uncle111" (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First, let me state that I am not a racist nor a member of any militia or neo-nazi group. I never have been and never will be.
I read this book by Abanes and Innis soon after it came out. It was during the time in the early 90's when the issue of militias was a hot topic and I was doing research for a novel about militias. I had read a lot of primary sources during my research and was shocked at the lack of primary sources sited in American Militias: Rebellion, Racism & Religion. The vast majority of quotes and sited sources were secondary, and at great conflict with what I found in my research. Most of these authors' sources were organizations that can only be described far left in political orientation. Sources found on either extreme of the political yard stick should never be used as sources when primary sources are available. They lack objectivity and tend to discredit one's work. I don't know if the authors' dependence upon biased sources was an indication of their own political bias, the result of laziness, or an attempt to rush a hot topic book to a publisher. Whatever the reason, I found the book to be highly biased, lacking in objectivity (read having an agenda), and poorly researched.
I'm not saying there is no value in the book. But, I would say read it if you want to study how not to properly research a topic but still "look" credible.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Objective, supported introduction to American militias, September 28, 1999

By A Customer

This book can best be judged (prior to reading it) by theinarticulate and wrong-headed criticism it takes here in Amazon.com bythose with an obvious pro-militia bias. Where Abanes reaches rational conclusions and then supports them with numerous cites, quotes, etc (roughly 60 pages of notes citing sources and quotes), his critics call him "lazy" or claim that he is a "liar." Of course these opponents fail to do more than snipe. Abanes has laid out his path for all to examine how he has reached his conclussions, which is far more than what his critics have provided.

When his detractors attempt to articulate a criticism, they get their facts wrong.

Abanes' work is thorough, well-reasoned and supported. I found his coverage of "religion," such as Christian Identity, and it's role in some militia groups fascinating. His chronology of Jewish persecution and the role that some militia goups have played in this history was valuable as well.

There is much good to say about this book, not least of which is my opinion that it will increase one's interest in the subject and inspire even more study. Unlike some of Abanes' critics, I believe that inquiry is a good thing. Do read this book, regardless of your beliefs concerning militias.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Propaganda attempting to discredit the militia movement, November 17, 1997

By A Customer

This book can be used as a sourcebook for material on both the militia movement and various racist groups, but like many other such books, it has an agenda of trying to lump the two distinct and opposed movements in order to discredit the militia movement. An example of the way the author pursues this agenda can be found on page 181, in a section on the racist Louis Beam. He references an article written by Beam calling for "leaderless resistance", then quotes the Militia Day Proclamation of 1994, without citing its author, which also discusses leaderless resistance, and says it "makes a clear reference to Beam's organizational structure". Well, I am the author of the Militia Day Proclamation, and at the time I had never heard of Beam, read any of his writings, or read any other racist literature of this kind. My discussion of the idea was based on a knowledge of the history of various resistance movements, especially the French Resistance to German occupation during World War II and various resistance efforts in the Soviet Union. Presumably Beam got the idea from a study of the same historical efforts. Abanes could hardly be unaware of this historical background. It has been mentioned in numerous histories, novels, and movies. He is trying to make his readers believe that this shows the militia movement grew out of racism. Nothing could be further from the truth.