The Twelve Tribes, a religious cult, was formed in Chattanooga Tennessee in 1972 to live out the word of God. This cult from the outside looks like a hippie commune that emerged from the 1960’s, but it is much more than just that, this religious cult has spread to areas throughout the world to establish the twelve tribes of Israel again, while doing so they have come under fire for child abuse in multiple countries. The Twelve Tribes are also known for their chain of restaurants such as the yellow deli, and other shops in the areas they are established. The Tribe appears to be an idealistic commune but has deep roots of obedience and child abuse.
The Twelve Tribes, also known as the Yellow Deli Cult, was formed around Acts 2:14 ‘And all that believed were together, and had all things common’, and Acts 4:32 ‘And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common’. This cult was founded by Eugene Spriggs, a charismatic individual, who gained insight from reading the Old Testament. He created this community in which they live by the literal word of God written in the Old and New Testaments. According to their website, they are a confederation of twelve self- governing tribes, composed of self-governing communities. They believe that they are the disciples of the son of God who they refer to as ‘Yahshua’.
Along with being an exclusive community that lives the literal word of God, they have an interesting end times prophecy. They speak of the Dream of the Colossus from Daniel 2:31-35 in which depicts a dream about a statue. This statue had a head of gold, breast, and arms of silver, belly, and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and its feet a mixture of iron and clay. This statue was destroyed by a stone that was cut without human hands. They believe that each part of the Colossus has symbolism relating to humankind and it being destroyed by this stone cut from God. This stone is then used to represent the final kingdom, in which would be a society of people whose priorities and values were the same as Gods. They believe that this is coming and was prophesied by Daniel. In order for the kingdom of stone to be established though, will be when the Roman empire is revived back on earth. According to the website of the Twelve Tribes:
We believe that we are living in those days. In a world that is rapidly shrinking, the global mind and economy that is emerging are setting the stage for this ruling federation. Its beginning is reflected in Europe with the emergence of the European Economic Community. For this reason, we believe that we live in the time that Daniel spoke of, a time in which we are beginning to see the restoration of all things. The life of the first community that fell away so many centuries ago is reemerging. It is giving birth to an actual community — one which will bring to completion in the 21st century what the early church began in the first century. This renaissance will usher in a kingdom of peace on earth at the return of our Master Yahshua. For such a community to accomplish this goal, it must be founded and established in His true love.
They believe that the day of end times is coming but is a day that will restore the peace that is only obtainable to them essentially. They believe that they are the chosen people, Yahshua will not return until the twelve tribes of Israel are established back geographically, once that is done then they will be able to produce a pure 12,000 individuals from each tribe who will be able to usher in the kingdom of God.
Another core belief of the Twelve Tribes is centered around obedience. In Proverbs 12:24 it states ‘He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes’. This is fundamental in the way that the group raises their children and what has brought them to public light. The founder, Eugene Spriggs, said ‘From the cradle to the grave you must discipline your children. From the age of 6 months, you would start to discipline them with a rod on the palm of their hand’. That the children soon learn that the choice is theirs. if he chooses willfully to ignore the commands, he chooses to receive pain. That you (the parent or adult) have to make it hurt enough to produce the desired result and that its better for a child who dishonors his parents to die rather than the whole nation, If we allowed that to happen, it would permeate the whole nation, and the nation would be destroyed. This is all written within manuals of the group on child training. In a documentary series by A&E they investigated the twelve tribes and interviewed a former member who now goes by the name of Sammie.
She gave details and insight to growing up within the cult. In her recount, she talks about being restricted, that they weren’t allowed to read books, listen to outside music, TV, have access to doctors or school. That they were raised to be the perfect embodiment of the Twelve Tribes and were seen as communal property and it would not be surprising if another adult who was not your parent hit you with a rod for being disobedient. Samie ran away from the tribe when she was a teenager, her first attempt at running away resulted in her being kidnapped by her older sister and taken to her father in a cottage in the middle of nowhere. She was then forced to stay there in some unknown location for two months until her father eventually disowned her and she was shunned. Samie’s story depicted child abuse and this is something that the media has exposed about the Twelve Tribes globally. On June 11m 1984 the community of Island Pond, Vermont was raided by 90 state troopers and 50 social workers. More than 100 children taken into custody and 40 hearings were held that day, however, a district judge ruled the state lacked enough evidence to hold the children. All 112 children were released and never examined for signs of abuse and the Twelve Tribes commemorate this ruling as the day of deliverance.
In 2013 a journalist went undercover in Germanys Twelve Tribes group in Bavaria. He secretly gathered footage of 50 children being beaten. He was able to report to the children’s daily routine of being woken up at 5 AM for an hour of prayer and then the rest of their day doing forced labor on the farms. It is illegal to hit your children in Germany and as result of this investigation, 40 children were moved from the twelve tribes and placed into foster homes. The tribe in Bavaria has since moved to the Czech Republic where it is not illegal to hit your children. More recently there has been a look into child labor within the tribes’ multitude of businesses. A team from the New York State Department of Labor Worker Protection Unit conducted an on-site investigation at Common Sense Farm, which is run by the cult Twelve Tribes. They found multiple violations in which involved 12 minors who were working for their factory in Cambridge. This investigation was incited by an episode of inside edition in which a journalist went undercover and secretly recorded children as young as nine working on an assembly line within the factory. With the common sense farm, they had footage of a 6-year-old boy attempting to push a wheelbarrow and pick potatoes. The Twelve Tribes have been fined by New York twice for child labor-law violation in 2001 and 2006.
While the group does have the makings that one expects of a cult, such as, biblical scholarship, the regulation and control of information through isolation and compliance, a strong force of obedience, and apocalyptic beliefs, they are not extremist like what happened to the Peoples Temple or other cults that emerged during the 1970s. They do not believe in stockpiling weapons or group suicide, instead, their views lead them to lead a life that will fill the earth in peaceful life. They also do not believe that God only speaks through one leader but he speaks to everyone. The Twelve Tribes, however, do claim to not be racists but endorse segregation. Spriggs once said that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was filled with the evil spirit and ‘It is horrible that someone would rise up to abolish slavery. what a marvelous opportunity that blacks could be brought over here to be slaves so that they could be found worthy of the nations’. They believe that multiculturalism increases murder, crime, and prejudice and that politicians who rally different races are the antichrist. The embodiment of this cult is based upon the word of God, they live a peaceful life that can be seen as idyllic in such a way of the days of the past yet they hold these beliefs of corporal punishment to the extreme, racism, and sexism.
References
- Bible.com. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2018, from https://www.bible.com
- Eustachewich, L. (2018, June 5). Religious cult probed for child labor after factory expose. New York Post. Retrieved November 12, 2018, from https://nypost.com/2018/06/05/religious-cult-probed-for-child-labor-after-factory-expose/
- Patterson, T. (2013, September 10). In Germany’s Twelve Tribes sec, cameras catch ‘cold and systematic’ child-beating. The Independent. Retrieved November 12, 2018, from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/in-germanys-twelve-tribes-sect-cameras-catch-cold-and-systematic-child-beating-8807438.html
- J. L. (2018, April 30). The Idyllic Restaurant Chain Owned by a Homophobic, Racist, Child-Beating Cult. Vice. Retrieved November 12, 2018, from https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d35qmz/twelve-tribes-homophobic-cult-owns-california-restaurants
- The Twelve Tribes | We are the commonwealth of Israel… we have a wonderful story to tell. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2018, from http://twelvetribes.org/
- Cults and Extreme Belief: Twelve Tribes [Television series episode]. (2018, June 26). In Cults and Extreme Belief. A&E.
