Support the show:
https://www.patreon.com/branham
Available on Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts:
https://william-branham.org/podcast
The discussion delves deeply into the intersections of religion, politics, and race within the history of the Pentecostal and latter rain movements, with a specific focus on William Branham's influence. John Collins, the host, engages with Dr. Carrie Edwards, a former minister, as they explore how Branham's ministry intertwined with political ideologies and racial doctrines. The conversation uncovers surprising links between Branham and white supremacist movements, particularly the Ku Klux Klan, and how these connections shaped the doctrines promoted within the latter rain and subsequent movements. This intricate web of religious fervor and political motives reveals how deeply embedded racism and authoritarianism were within these movements, often disguised under the banner of Christian revivalism.
Throughout the podcast, they trace the historical roots and evolution of these ideologies, highlighting key figures and events that propelled the movement forward. The dialogue underscores the deceptive nature of these doctrines, which were often introduced under the guise of religious teachings but carried significant political and racial undertones. They also touch upon the modern implications and the ongoing influence of these movements, particularly in the context of the New Apostolic Reformation. The discussion is not just a historical recount but also a critical examination of how these movements have shaped and continue to shape contemporary religious and political landscapes.
00:00 Introduction
00:31 Welcome and Guest Introduction
01:21 Political Themes in Branham's Movement
03:33 Authoritarianism in Pentecostalism
05:06 Christian Identity and British Israelism
09:05 Political Parties and Christian Identity
12:19 Political Shifts and White Supremacy
17:00 Deceptive Doctrines in Latter Rain Movement
22:00 Politics and Religion in Pentecostalism
25:03 Racial Dynamics in Branham's Teachings
33:23 Historical Context of Fundamentalism
38:01 Science and Supernatural Beliefs
47:16 Differences in UK Pentecostalism
52:06 Reading the New Testament Chronologically
55:04 Closing Thoughts and Summary
______________________
– Support the channel: https://www.patreon.com/branham
– Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBSpezVG15TVG-lOYMRXuyQ
– Visit the website: https://william-branham.org
– Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WilliamBranhamOrg
– Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@william.m.branham
– Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wmbhr
– Buy the books: https://william-branham.org/site/books
https://www.patreon.com/branham
Available on Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts:
https://william-branham.org/podcast
The discussion delves deeply into the intersections of religion, politics, and race within the history of the Pentecostal and latter rain movements, with a specific focus on William Branham's influence. John Collins, the host, engages with Dr. Carrie Edwards, a former minister, as they explore how Branham's ministry intertwined with political ideologies and racial doctrines. The conversation uncovers surprising links between Branham and white supremacist movements, particularly the Ku Klux Klan, and how these connections shaped the doctrines promoted within the latter rain and subsequent movements. This intricate web of religious fervor and political motives reveals how deeply embedded racism and authoritarianism were within these movements, often disguised under the banner of Christian revivalism.
Throughout the podcast, they trace the historical roots and evolution of these ideologies, highlighting key figures and events that propelled the movement forward. The dialogue underscores the deceptive nature of these doctrines, which were often introduced under the guise of religious teachings but carried significant political and racial undertones. They also touch upon the modern implications and the ongoing influence of these movements, particularly in the context of the New Apostolic Reformation. The discussion is not just a historical recount but also a critical examination of how these movements have shaped and continue to shape contemporary religious and political landscapes.
00:00 Introduction
00:31 Welcome and Guest Introduction
01:21 Political Themes in Branham's Movement
03:33 Authoritarianism in Pentecostalism
05:06 Christian Identity and British Israelism
09:05 Political Parties and Christian Identity
12:19 Political Shifts and White Supremacy
17:00 Deceptive Doctrines in Latter Rain Movement
22:00 Politics and Religion in Pentecostalism
25:03 Racial Dynamics in Branham's Teachings
33:23 Historical Context of Fundamentalism
38:01 Science and Supernatural Beliefs
47:16 Differences in UK Pentecostalism
52:06 Reading the New Testament Chronologically
55:04 Closing Thoughts and Summary
______________________
– Support the channel: https://www.patreon.com/branham
– Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBSpezVG15TVG-lOYMRXuyQ
– Visit the website: https://william-branham.org
– Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WilliamBranhamOrg
– Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@william.m.branham
– Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wmbhr
– Buy the books: https://william-branham.org/site/books
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00You
00:30Hello and welcome to another episode of the William Branham historical research podcast
00:36I'm your host John Collins the author and founder of William Branham historical research at
00:42William dash Branham org and with me I have my very special guest. Dr
00:46Carrie Edwards former minister at the Philadelphia Church in Chicago and together
00:52We're discussing the unusual mixture of religion and politics
00:56That birthed the latter rain movement and eventually the new apostolic Reformation
01:02carry, it's been a few weeks since we have spoken and
01:05We got to talking, you know during the course of the last time we spoke and you know aired the our stories to tell
01:13Your story and and then since then and even even this morning. I'm learning new things about you and
01:19all of this come together and we just decided that it would be good to have you back again because
01:24You're a wealth of knowledge on things that I have been digging into and you have sort of an inside view and
01:32Just today. I learned that you were a
01:35former minister at the Philadelphia Church in Chicago
01:38that is the probably the strongest promoter of William Branham's ministry throughout the latter rain movement and beyond and
01:46a lot of people even the
01:49Historian that I talked to for the latter rain movement. I I had a series of conversations with him
01:55he had no idea that people like Joseph Mattson Bose 80 and
02:00Rasmussen and others were still promoting William Branham after the fall of William Branham's ministry in the decline and
02:09Anyway, I thought it'd be good to have you back on to go through that and more and
02:14specifically
02:16We have uncovered some information that is just fascinating with regards to the political
02:22Themes that were embedded in this movement, and I wanted to talk to you a little bit more about the politics
02:29Yes, so yeah, the politics really interest me a couple of comments about the Philadelphia Church when I was there
02:35I had no idea that William Branham had been promoted by that church and that Jim Jones had been ordained by
02:43Mattson Bose
02:45So it's it's kind of intriguing that that element even though I grew up in a latter rain
02:51Pentecostal denomination and I ended up at that place kind of accidentally after I graduated from Bible College
02:58I was not aware of its history at the time and
03:01Even recently I was talking to my sister who who has a friend who currently works at that church
03:08And she was unaware of the history with William Branham and Jim Jones
03:14It took some convincing on my part to get them to
03:20Acknowledge that fact, but yes, and the political implications of this are
03:29Very important to me personally right that
03:35one of the reasons I'm not a part of that movement any
03:39Longer is because very early on after I graduated from Bible College
03:45It became clear to me that there were very authoritarian
03:50components
03:52Involved in
03:53Latter rain Pentecostal ism, and I found it quite disturbing even as a Pentecostal myself
04:01so it doesn't surprise me today that it's ended up in the United States as
04:09a
04:10authoritarian movement
04:12but
04:15Yeah, so the political implications are
04:18Quite disturbing. I can't remember if last time we discussed
04:22Anything about the politics of Pentecostal ism in Latin America, but that's where I first
04:28became aware of its
04:31authoritarian
04:33Obent if that's what you want to call it
04:36And I suppose I should have been
04:40Growing up in it. I should have been much more aware that it has no real theory of democracy as
04:48Fundamental to his point of view right it's all
04:52focused on obedience to God's will as opposed to
04:56Thinking critically about how we want to organize our lives together
05:01In a society of some kind or another
05:04Right, and it's really good that we're talking about this today because we are
05:08diving into the Christian identity roots of the movement and
05:13You know, it's a it's a political issue
05:16It's not a real current political issue. And unfortunately the news media today
05:22When they mention the phrase Christian identity and they're tying it to one party or the other
05:28A lot of people don't understand what that the significance of that what that means and the news media doesn't really get into the history
05:35So that the people who are unfamiliar with that movement can even understand it
05:41But what we're talking about when we say Christian identity and the podcast that we're doing
05:47This was a movement that spawned off of British Israelism
05:51There was a notion that the
05:53Isles and Great Britain and the United States were the lost
05:58Children of Israel the lost two tribes of Israel Manasseh and Ephraim, I believe
06:03and as such they deserved more royalty than
06:07Than they were getting and the peoples from other nations
06:12were
06:13Somewhat they weren't really it wasn't really a big deal. It was a big deal
06:18But it wasn't a big deal. It was a big deal
06:21Somewhat they weren't really it wasn't really a racial element until Christian identity was birthed
06:26But they were seen as a lesser or inferior people
06:30Because there was this notion developing in British Israelism
06:35starting about the around late 19 early 1900s and a little bit into the 20s
06:42that they're
06:43the lesser peoples the ones who aren't the British Israelites were
06:48Developed from mud peoples and so that's why they had black skin
06:52and this
06:54You know eventually emerged into the Christian identity
06:58themes where there was a lot of discrimination and
07:01They viewed anybody with white skin as elite and those who had dark skin
07:06Were not and that included not only people
07:10African-americans, but also jews and people in latin america because they had dark skin
07:15So it's a really
07:17destructive movement
07:19and
07:20Whenever I began to understand what that was
07:23I was digging into William Branham and understanding that he was working with
07:28supreme authority figures in the clan in the Ku Klux Klan
07:33And at that time I only knew you know, he's working with the imperial wizard of you know, multiple times
07:40He was imperial
07:41He's working with the imperial clud, which is the supreme religious chaplain of the clan caleb ridley
07:47and you know other figures that he's working with and I assumed that gordon lindsey and some of the others were unaware of
07:56Branham's racist views and the views of the men he's working with
08:00However, we just discovered last week that gordon lindsey was actually a key speaker for
08:08British israelism
08:10Before it was starting to transition into the christian identity movement
08:14And then after it had made the transition
08:17He's speaking for two of the most
08:20critical movements
08:21That developed the notion of christian identity and he's speaking at their conferences during the time when they were
08:29christian identity movements
08:30So he is an authority on the christian identity movement and the british israel movement
08:36Which makes it all the more fascinating when you consider that he is the one who most strongly promoted william branham
08:42And others who were in this
08:45this uh, very racist component of american history, so I have a question in regards to that and i'm
08:52fairly
08:53ignorant about this
08:55Have you explored in any way the connections between political parties and the christian identity movement?
09:02I'm assuming in the south in the early part of the 20th century
09:06that most of
09:09the racist
09:12White pentecostals would have been democrats at that point in time
09:17and that part of the so that
09:21There was a split
09:24between
09:26Uh
09:29Religion and politics in that the political parties were not united around
09:37racial
09:38themes
09:40whereas the power of
09:43Lateran pentecostal politics nowadays
09:48It seems to me could be explained partly by how
09:52uh
09:53the racial issues have become concentrated in one party as opposed to
10:00Being split between two parties in the early part mid
10:0420th century. Do you know anything about that? I have studied it extensively
10:11And not because i'm interested in politics at all i'm actually disinterested in
10:15Modern politics, I think both parties should just they should wipe the slate clean and bring in some new people. That's that's my opinion
10:23but I have studied it historically because I have heard the argument that
10:27It was it used to be the democrats and now it's the republicans
10:31Which is partially true, but it doesn't tell the whole story
10:35and
10:35it was really hard for me to grasp that concept because
10:41Like the pentecostal movement and like the cult that I escaped
10:45Whenever you consider the cult as I knew it working with other groups that had a different
10:53religion
10:54Even though they were
10:55You know children grandchildren of the movement. It was a different religion
11:00You tend to think very black or white and you tend to try to link the two groups together
11:06by
11:07Their mode of intent which would be the religion and so you see them as two disconnected entities
11:13And you don't get the whole story
11:15If you look beneath the surface of the cult that we escaped
11:18It was a political cult that was disguised as a religious cult and the political agendas
11:24Can match between the children the grandchildren all the way to the nar?
11:29Because religion wasn't the purpose
11:32and
11:33with white supremacy in the united states
11:36It's much the same
11:38It's not that one party or the other owned the white supremacy
11:43Whenever the 1915 clan was birthed you have people like william upshaw, for example
11:51He was the clan's
11:53most
11:54outspoken person in washington
11:57He's literally the one who saved the clan and the reason that the clan continues to exist
12:02and interestingly, he is also working with leaders who were in the
12:08You know the latter rain movement and he was a key figure in the latter rain movement
12:11So you have a he was a democrat. So you have a democrat
12:15Who's fighting for the white supremacy agenda who's working in latter rain?
12:20and so
12:21You begin to think well, okay. This must be a democrat thing
12:25But then fast forward until the indiana clan was reigning in power. It became the largest
12:31clan for its its time period its era
12:35they
12:36invaded the
12:38Indianapolis government with the ambitions of taking over washington and they did it under the republican party
12:46And so there was this shift at that time because they had planted a lot of republican people
12:51Not just in indianapolis, but also across the nation with the ambition to take over control of the white house
12:59Using the republican party as a ticket
13:02that lasted for
13:04A long time because they had already infiltrated the republican party
13:09and
13:10you have different shifts like this the only thing that I can say that
13:15Was a clear transition from one party to the next
13:19Was whenever franklin delano roosevelt was in office
13:22You had all of the white supremacists who were rising up against him and they all changed parties
13:28because
13:29again, it's
13:31It's separate from the politics the agenda and
13:34at that point in time the christian identity cults
13:38had taken the
13:40uh, this fictional book called the protocols of the learned elders of zion, which was a
13:47Conspiracy of a jewish plot using communism to overthrow world governments
13:52And yes, i'm familiar with i'm familiar with that book. Yes, right
13:56so they saw franklin delano roosevelt as the fulfillment of
14:01The propaganda that was in that book and everybody rose up against roosevelt and you saw this significant shift from
14:08One party to the other because of roosevelt
14:11So there are there are different shifts in politics as you go through history
14:15And you can't say that it was the democrats and now it's the republicans or vice versa
14:20It literally depended on who was in who was running and what party they were affiliated with
14:26And who were they going to be against I think that's the better way to look at it
14:31Okay. Yeah, so I i'm not sure I totally agree with you about the difference between politics and religion that it being a political
14:39cult
14:40versus a religious cult
14:42They seems to me that they're pretty closely infused with each other
14:48and it's hard for me to see
14:51a sharp distinction between the two
14:54Except insofar as early pentecostals
15:01Didn't want as much to do with politics if anything at all
15:06Because they were interested in the kingdom of god and not the kingdom of this world
15:10But by the mid 20th century, I would say that was starting to diminish
15:17Um, but it seems to me that politics and religion are pretty closely
15:22Aligned with each other throughout the whole movement
15:26so I agree with you that it's a
15:28political
15:29Cult, but it's also a religious cult and I can't draw that distinction quite
15:36right
15:37Precisely perhaps. I think the reason why i've come to that conclusion
15:42Had to do with the anti-civil rights movement that developed in the 60s
15:47You had see I I escaped the branham cult
15:51Which was the central hub for all of this and you had all of these different splinter groups of the latter rain movement
15:59some of which
16:00It may not look as deceptive as what the core was
16:05But in the core william branham, for example
16:08He took the two-seed christian identity doctrine of wesley swift, which was the most racist
16:15Doctrine of the era and it was proposed as a
16:20You know pseudo-christian doctrine
16:23Wesley swift was a christian minister out of trained out of the angeles temple
16:27And he was seen as not pentecostal but very closely affiliated with the pentecostals
16:33And it was the mixture of religion and politics as you say
16:37so if you examine wesley swift, I would agree with you wesley swift was this mixture of
16:42Pseudo-christianity and politics
16:45But then on the flip side you had william branham that was doing the same exact thing using wesley swift's
16:51You know two-seed doctrine his version of it, but he introduced it into the latter rain movements as um
16:59as a very deceptive
17:01not racial doctrine
17:04for example, he wesley swift he took the doctrine and he
17:08Traced the lineage of what he said were the lineage of the black people all the way back to a second