Douglas Coe Theocracy in America

So who is Doug Coe? He shuns almost all interview requests. But in hours of audiotape and videotape recordings obtained exclusively by NBC News, he frequently preaches the gospel of Jesus to followers and supporters. In one videotaped sermon from 1989, Coe provides this account of the atrocities committed under Chairman Mao in Communist China: "I've seen pictures of the young men in the Red Guardthey would bring in this young mans motherhe would take an axe and cut her head off. They have to put the purposes of the Red Guard ahead of father, mother, brother sister and their own life. That was a covenant, a pledge. That's what Jesus said."

In his preaching, Coe repeatedly urges a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. Its a commitment Coe compares to the blind devotion that Adolph Hitler demanded from his followers -- a rhetorical technique that now is drawing sharp criticism.

"Hitler, Goebbels and Himmler were three men. Think of the immense power these three men had, these nobodies from nowhere, Coe said.

Later in the sermon, Coe said: "Jesus said, You have to put me before other people. And you have to put me before yourself.' Hitler, that was the demand to be in the Nazi party. You have to put the Nazi party and its objectives ahead of your own life and ahead of other people."

Coe also quoted Jesus and said: One of the things [Jesus] said is 'If any man comes to me and does not hate his father, mother, brother, sister, his own life, he can't be a disciple. So I don't care what other qualifications you have, if you don't do that you can't be a disciple of Christ."

The sermons are little surprise to writer Jeff Sharlet. He lived among Coe's followers six years ago, and came out troubled by their secrecy and rhetoric.

We were being taught the leadership lessons of Hitler, Lenin and Mao. And I would say, Isnt there a problem with that? And they seemed perplexed by the question. Hitlers genocide wasnt really an issue for them. It was the strength that he emulated, said Sharlet, who is a Contributing Editor at Rolling Stone and is an Associate Research Scholar at the NYU Center for Religion and Media in New York.

Sharlet has now written about The Fellowship, also known to insiders as The Family, in a soon-to-be published book called The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power.

Theyre notoriously secretive, Sharlet said. In fact, they jokingly call themselves the Christian Mafia. Which becomes less of a joke when you realize that they really are dedicated to being what they call an invisible organization.

Federal tax records for Coe's non-profit group shows it funds charitable programs around the world -- but that it is also a family business.

The 990 tax forms for 2005, the last tax year available, show that both of Coes sons were on the payroll, at $110,000 a year each. The organization also paid his wife, his daughter and his daughters-in-law.

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[klard]

What a bunch of psychopaths run this country.

[Brad Mattax]

"In no instance have . . . the churches been guardians of the liberties of the people." - James Madison

" The divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity." - John Adams

"Lighthouses are more helpful than churches." - Benjamin Franklin

"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."

- Thomas Jefferson

"Men never commit evil so fully and joyfully as when they do it for religious convictions"

-- Blaise Pascal

[mjazzguitar]

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

-John Adams

[abram730]

Yes it's real

"Doug Coe, cultivated Suharto, Somoza, Siad Barre, Savimbi, and last century's fascist leaders of Greece and Spain, all right alongside every US president and other, more apparently respectable, world leaders."

[abram730]

"One such was Suharto of Indonesia, whose bloody authoritarianism Doug Coe saw as a sign that Suharto, a Muslim, had nonetheless been anointed by Jesus. Coe effectively lobbied on Suharto's behalf among American congressmen and arranged for meetings between the dictator and American oilmen". . . "those same Americans made sure that Suharto had all the guns he'd ever need to massacre the East Timorese".

[journeyer58]

Is this for real? Are we sure that this person is sane? We need to know if this individual has any influence over any candidate or party. Why would anyone listen to such an obtuse and obscure person? I believe this is truly a symptom of the golden rule, which is 'he who has the gold makes the rules.' This family seems to have enough money to influence candidates and people who are in the halls of power. Don't stand for this kind of influence peddling and corruption.

[QTV2008]

Wow and some people say there is no illuminati...illuminazi....

[Sam Crawford]

Coe's analogies on devotion are subversive, disturbing, and shocking. To draw conclusions that they represent his feelings or belief on the morality of genocide is short sighted and causes one to miss his point. The devotion he talks about is to the mission of Jesus Christ; love, good deeds, etc. Independent research shows Coe's effort has been to reach out to leaders across the world to END genocide. Don't let sensational media blind you to one of the truly positive stories in our world.