But in 2009, sometime in November or December, I came across another reason to oppose this teaching: race hatred. As it turns out, Wilson was a segregationist. Given his Southern origins, this should not have come as a surprise. But it did. After all, “Word of the Kingdom” says Christians need to be aware that they are accountable for their actions.

Apparently, this is not so.

Had Wilson merely been a product of his age, I suppose I would have written off his views as an unfortunate circumstance of history. But there is more. Through the 1970s, Wilson continued to preach that blacks were cursed, and that no equality should be afforded to them. In 1981, his admirers felt his teachings should be memorialized in a published collection of his writings. Chitwood edited and promoted this text, callously disregarding its racist content.

Since publishing several articles on Wilson’s racial theories, only one advocate of the “Word of the Kingdom” has stated that Wilson was wrong on the race issue. Pastor John Herbert of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Jacksonville, Florida, disavowed Wilson’s position on race, saying, “I would not adhere to that under any circumstances.” In this regard, he stands alone.

The Response of Others:

• Chitwood has declined repeatedly to explain his role in editing and promoting Wilson’s racial theories; in fact, rather than contradict Wilson, he wrote his own treatise on the Hamitic curse, declaring that, in fact, blacks are cursed¹
• John “Driftwood” Chitwood — Arlen Chitwood’s son and webmaster — concluded that Wilson’s book was not “racist”²
• Radio preacher Arlen Banks replied by e-mail that “Wilson is not a racist” ³
• Ralph Alley, an edler at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Los Gatos, California, wrote on his church’s website that “a few of A. Edwin Wilson’s writings can be problematic at times, and the one in question was from a time (some 40+ years ago) when such writing was acceptable in certain circles”⁴
• Jim Brooks, who spoke at a “Word of the Kingdom” conference at Herbert’s church, continues to disseminate Wilson’s racial teachings⁵
• Royce Powell, another speaker at that conference, also taught that certain races shouldn’t intermingle⁶
• Schoettle Publishing Company continues to sell Wilson’s book (now in its third printing)⁷
• RaptureReady.com continues to publish Wilson’s book on-line⁸

Does accountability matter at all? The hypocrisy of these advocates of the “Word of the Kingdom” is galling.

——————–

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.

Regarding the teaching of the “Word of the Kingdom,” it is held that the spirit of a Christian is saved, but the soul and body are not (yet saved). But it is not clear how the soul and body are ever saved. If someone who teaches the “Word of the Kingdom” can tell me, please comment.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.

Wilson, who died in 1987, taught that blacks will be cursed until the millennial reign of Christ.

Banks said he created the website to counter one created by KingdomExclusion.com (http://aedwinwilson.com). “As for the web site that I created, Wilson supports himself with his own writings and audio, I add nothing. You only show your disturbed view of a portion of Wilson’s Writings on your site. The site in question aewilson.org gives the reader both sides of the spectrum.”

An Internet search of “aewilson.org” yields no results concerning Wilson’s teachings on race.

In December last year, KingdomExclusion.com reported that in the 1950s through the 1980s, Wilson opposed integration as a work of Satan. The website also reported that Wilson taught that blacks are cursed, and that blacks have special proclivities toward sexual sins. Wilson also asserted that blacks should occupy “a position of national and personal servitude” until the millennial kingdom.¹

Answering e-mail inquiries, Banks stated that “A. Edwin Wilson is not a racist. Arlen Chitwood, is not a racist. Royce Powell, is not a racist. I, Arlen Banks, am not a racist.”

However, KingdomExclusion.com has identified several racist teachings from some of these prominent figures in the “Word of the Kingdom” movement:

• Wilson was an avowed segregationist²
• Powell, Wilson’s successor at Daytona Heights Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, taught that certain races shouldn’t intermingle³
• Chitwood edited and promoted Wilson’s teachings on blacks, endorsing Wilson as a Bible teacher “pre-eminently qualified” to speak on such subjects; and, he wrote independently that blacks are indeed cursed⁴

Banks seems more concerned to defend the “Word of the Kingdom,” which Wilson and Chitwood originated, than to answer questions regarding the racial views of these teachers. Banks regards all of these men as “God’s Preachers.”

————

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.

Don’t know much about the pastor in this video — he appears to be a devout, fundamentalist Baptist preacher — but I found his comments on Joey Faust, pastor of Kingdom Baptist, interesting. That Christians could end up in hell, which is what Faust teaches, is indeed an extraordinary heresy. The pastor in this video connects Faust’s teachings to those of Jehovah Witness’s.

Note, this pastor preaches the strange doctrine of “King James onlyism” –

Frankly, his teaching regarding the NIV is as heretical as Faust’s teaching on soul death.

What we have here is a faction of Baptist preachers forming a “house divided.”

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.

He went on to write, “Mark Adams does NOT want you to read this book!” This is untrue. Why anyone would want to read the racist ramblings of an uneducated Southern preacher from the Jim Crow era escapes me, however I would recommend the text as a case study for racism in that period.

My review of the book is as follows:

A. Edwin Wilson preached the “Word of the Kingdom,” arguing that unfaithful Christians will be excluded from the presence of God in the millennial rule of Christ. He also preached segregation. “What God has separated, let not man integrate!” — chapter 15. I suppose you could argue Wilson was simply a man of his times (he pastored in the South), but the book was published in 1981! Wilson died in 1987. Neither the author, the publisher, nor the editor of the book bothers to explain why such rhetoric is relevant in post-Jim-Crow America.

The book remains unchanged in subsequent printings.

As an artifact of a bygone era, I guess the book is worth owning. No doubt we should preserve history. But I found the book’s themes disgusting. It’s very sad to see a man leave that sort of legacy. (Ironically, the book was published to honor the man!)

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.

“Is there any contemporary people group under the Hamitic curse? Don’t know. The Bible doesn’t tell us. The Bible’s genealogies don’t carry into the present day.” — Leadership at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Los Gatos, California

“People in the Lord Jesus Christ cannot be under a curse…” – Pastor John Herbert, Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Jacksonville, Florida

What saith you?

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.

Apparently unconcerned to distinguish his beliefs from those of his spiritual predecessor, A. Edwin Wilson, Chitwood repeated his assertion that curses and blessings pronounced by Noah over his progeny (cf. Gen. 9:24-27) constituted “prophecies” that remain effectual in this current generation. He did not explain how his interpretation of the so-called “Hamitic curse,” the age-old theory that blacks and other races should serve the dominent races (especially whites), is substantively different from interpretations that Chitwood acknowledges “have been used in a perverted manner to teach and foster racism.” Nor did the state whether Wilson used the Hamitic curse in a “perverted manner.”

In the introduction to Selected Writings, Chitwood wrote that Wilson was “pre-eminently qualified” to write on the subjects contained in the 1981 book. Chitwood has never disavowed Wilson on segregation, despite repeated inquiries from KingdomExclusion.com.

Chitwood’s pamphlets, “Sons of Noah, pt. 1″ and Sons of Noah, pt. 2,” are published here: http://lampbroadcast.org/PAMPHLETS.HTML.

—————

Below are two replies Chitwood did offer in response to inquiries by KingdomExclusion.com.

Chitwood’s first reply:

Mark:

One can no more change that which is written in Gen. 9:25, 26b, 27b than he can change that which is written in Gen. 9:26a, 27a.

The curse connected with Gen. 9:25, 26b, 27b, of necessity, remains in effect today, will remain in effect until the Millennium, and will then pass out of existence (Zech. 14:21b).

The blessing connected with Gen. 9:26a, 27a, of necessity, remains in effect today, will remain in effect until the Millennium, and will then be realized in its fullness during the Millennium and throughout the endless ages following, never passing out of existence (Gen. 12:1-3; Ex. 4:22, 23 [and there is an entire O.T., plus a N.T., filled with verses which could be referenced to show that it “must” and “will” be this way, with the two references shown revealing “why” it must be this way]).

The preceding would reflect A. Edwin Wilson’s position, my position, and the position of anyone who takes the Bible at face value and believes it. The latter would have to be the case, for the preceding is simply what the Bible states — something which no one can get around, no matter how hard that person might try.

Now, if you put the preceding on your web site, I don’t particularly care. But, if you do, I want the whole of what I have written in the preceding four paragraphs quoted, exactly as I’ve written it. Also, do not reference me on this matter in any way on your web site unless you do as I’ve previously stated.

What you might think or say about what I’ve stated is immaterial. I could care less. But, if you are going to comment on the matter, I want it all out there, exactly as I’ve written it, so people can see what you are commenting on.

In fact, if this goes on your web site, put the whole of the previous out there — all six paragraphs.

ALC

Chitwood’s second reply:

Mark:

As usual, in your latest attempt to do whatever it is that you are trying to do, you have all types of material in your latest article on your web site that has no basis in fact. But your misdirecting my statement above does need corrected on your part, since you are the one who made the mistake.

Note the pronoun in my statement — “his” — referring back to Wilson, not to me. All I did was comment on your statement concerning Wilson, since that had been the continuing subject of your previous inquiry. I didn’t go on and answer your question about my view on the matter.

The English language shouldn’t be twisted in this manner to drive a point home, else the point could easily be false, as it is in this case.

And it is false because I don’t even agree with a number of things wilson has in that chapter in his book, along with things here and there that he has elsewhere in the book. I was just the editor of the book, not the author.

Now, if you were to ask me what race of people today is under the curse in Gen. 9, I would take the matter no further than to tell you to find out who the descendants of Ham through his sons are today, and you will have that segment of society. I’m going to let you find that out for yourself so that you can’t do what you have already tried to do on your web site.

This will be the last communique with you on the matter. There are too many people out there who want to know the truth for me to waste time with those who don’t.

You can put this e-mail on your web site to correct what you have done if you like. But if you do, again, put the whole message out there.

ALC

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.

Past 90 Days:

• Kingdom seekers split over race issue
• Arlen Chitwood on the “Hamitic curse”
• Wilson: Sin of blacks found in the “perversion of the flesh”
• Kingdom believer claims to be unsaved
• Cornerstone elder defends Wilson on race issue

All Time:

• Are black people cursed?
• Kingdom seekers split over race issue
• “The day Billy Graham did the unthinkable”
• Race hatred and the “Word of the Kingdom”
• Identifying Gnostic tendencies in the writings of Arlen L. Chitwood

A post with many comments, obviously, has gained many readers. Among the 50+ articles at KingdomExclusion.com, these are the ones that stand out.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.

(KingdomExclusion.com also purchases keywords to promote site content.)

The purchase of keywords apparently came after the leadership of CCFLG posted “Guilt By Association,” in which they complained they were being treated unfairly because of their association with Arlen L. Chitwood, who edited and published Selected Writings of A. Edwin Wilson.

Wilson, who died in the late 1980s, had written that blacks were cursed by God.

The leadership at CCFLG stated that it was being falsely assumed that they “must believe everything that A. Edwin Wilson believes because we are associated with a man who is associated with him.” They did not explain why they believed this was the case.

That CCFLG purchased keywords for “a edwin wilson” suggests the church wanted to advertise its association not merely with Chitwood, but also Wilson. The following screen image was captured Dec. 18, 2009 (click on image to view):

It is possible that someone else purchased these keywords, but that is unlikely.

Cornerstone’s website links to several sites offering Wilson’s book, though some have recently pulled the text. CCFLG has stated categorically that they oppose segregation.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.

Wilson had maintained that blacks were cursed.

Ralph Alley said CCFLG was not repulsed by Wilson’s beliefs, but that CCFLG disagreed with his “interpretation and conclusion.” In an unnamed article in the church’s web forum (perhaps written by Alley), the leadership at CCFLG also stated that they did not entirely disagree with an essay entitled, “Sons of Noah,” in which Wilson wrote that blacks would remain under a curse until the end of time.¹ CCFLG added, however, that they believed “Sons of Noah” contained “inflammatory, racist remarks.”

CCFLG did not specify which parts of the essay they agreed with.

Genesis of a Modern Race Controversy

“Sons of Noah” was published in 1981 in Selected Writings of A. Edwin Wilson, and edited by Arlen L. Chitwood, a self-published author and theologian. Wilson, and subsequently Chitwood, formulated a teaching called the “Word of the Kingdom,” which CCFLG now espouses. The teaching maintains that salvation is partly conditional and that Christians can “win” or “lose” positions in Christ’s millennial kingdom.²

Last December, KingdomExclusion.com published several articles detailing Wilson’s and Chitwood’s racial theories. These reports revealed that, for decades, Wilson taught that blacks were cursed and that integration was a work of Satan. In a 1971 sermon, Wilson proclaimed, “Now why is the eleven o’clock hour in Chattanooga the most segregated time and place in the world? There is a reason for it. Because in a majority of the pulpits you’ll still find the word of God.”³

Chitwood, who wrote that Wilson was “pre-eminently qualified” to teach upon such subjects, defended his mentor, writing in an e-mail that the Hamitic curse, the underlying assumption of Wilson’s racial theories, “remains in effect today.” He said that this view reflected “A. Edwin Wilson’s position, my position, and the position of anyone who takes the Bible at face value and believes it.”

Chitwood has not disavowed “Sons of Noah,” and Selected Writings continues to be sold with his endorsement.

CCFLG Expresses Concern Over Reputation

CCFLG posted comments about Wilson to its website shortly after inquiries were made last December by KingdomExclusion.com into the racial dimensions of the “Word of the Kingdom.” In a thread entitled, “Guilt By Association,” the leadership complained that CCFLG was being falsely accused of racism because of its association with Chitwood.

“Fact: It has recently been said by one of our brothers in Christ that racism exists within the doctrine that we teach,” claimed CCFLG.

No such statement was published at KingdomExclusion.com. In fact, CCFLG was not mentioned in any article regarding Wilson until after “Guilt By Association” was posted.

Defending themselves against a perceived accusation, the leadership stated that they opposed segregation “because the Bible doesn’t support it,” but hedged elsewhere. “Is there any contemporary people group under the Hamitic curse?” asked the leadership. “Don’t know. The Bible doesn’t tell us. The Bible’s genealogies don’t carry into the present day.”

Blacks Are Cursed… True Or False?

Some time ago I posted a few comments at Cornerstone’s website, hoping to elicit further comment on the subject. As the leadership had accused an unnamed person of lying, I suggested that perhaps Wilson lied when he said that blacks were cursed and that Ham violated Noah because Ham was black. Since CCFLG agreed that Wilson’s comments were “racist” and “inflammatory,” I figured that they would agree that Wilson’s interpretation of scripture was not founded on truth, but a lie.

Alley offered this reply: “Although a few of A. Edwin Wilson’s writings can be problematic at times, and the one in question was from a time (some 40+ years ago) when such writing was acceptable in certain circles, I see no hard evidence to support your claim that he was indeed ‘lying.’” To arrive at this conclusion, though, Alley narrowly defines “lies” to mean deliberate falsehoods only; however, liars can be deceived themselves, and most dictionaries allow that a lie need not be deliberate. Any falsehood is a lie.

Further, Wilson’s statements about blacks were not limited to “one” writing. A past survey of recorded sermons revealed that Wilson advocated segregation throughout the 1970s, and the “one” essay, which was written in the 1950s, was specially selected for publication in 1981, while the author was still alive. Certainly, within that time period, Wilson had been warned about his error (we know for certain, for example, that he read Billy Graham’s 1954 essay condemning segregation). That Wilson chose to ignore such warnings does not excuse him.

Research, Revelations and Reports

The first article published on the subject of Wilson’s racial views, “Race hatred and the ‘Word of the Kingdom’,” focused narrowly on the following details:

• Wilson’s theological justification of segregation
• Chitwood’s role in editing, publishing and promoting Selected Writings
• Chitwood’s belief in the Hamitic curse and insistence upon it as a tenet of premillennialism

Around the time of that first article’s publication, inquiries were sent to organizations and individuals associated with Wilson or Chitwood. They were asked privately whether they knew about Wilson’s segregationist views and/or whether they supported segregation. Their responses were noted in subsequent articles at KingdomExclusion.com. Pastor John Herbert of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Jacksonville, Florida, offered the strongest denunciation, saying in a telephone interview, “I would not adhere to that under any circumstances.”

Few others, however, disavowed Wilson’s segregationist stance, either offering no comment or else excusing it.

• Schoettle Publishing Company, which sells Selected Writings, refused comment
• Unsolicited, Chitwood twice affirmed belief in the Hamitic curse, the underlying assumption of Wilson’s segregationist views; Chitwood did, however, pull an electronic edition of Selected Writings from his website
• Arlen Banks, a self-described national radio evangelist, defended Wilson several times before finally pulling Selected Writings from his website
• Pastor Jim Brooks, whose websites offer both Selected Writings and Wilson’s sermons, never answered
• Nor did the owner of HopeofGlory.net, another site offering Wilson’s book, answer

KingdomExclusion.com was unable to locate Pastor Royce Powell, who succeeded Wilson as pastor at Daytona Heights Baptist Church, and who also preached that certain races should not “intermingle.”

Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Los Gatos, California, was contacted because of its close connection with Chitwood, and its endorsement of his teachings, two points acknowledged in “Guilt By Association.” The church also participates in conferences wherein Brooks, Chitwood and Powell are speakers.

CCFLG did not directly reply to KingdomExclusion.com, but instead posted comments to its website, though without reference to whomever it was they believe accused them falsely. (It is possible, though unlikely, that some other blogger was in view.)

“Guilt By Association”

If there is any “guilt” to be felt by the leadership of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship (either in Jacksonville or Los Gatos) it is their uncritical association with Chitwood. What Alley and the rest of the leadership at both Cornerstone churches refuses to acknowledge is that their doctrine is drawn so exclusively from Chitwood/Wilson that to confront either man (Chitwood for his current sins; Wilson for his past sins) would be to acknowledge that the “Word of the Kingdom” is not “what the Bible says,” but an interpretation of scripture (and a highly novel one at that).

Again, it should be observed that the matter is not “one” writing from 40 years ago. This is a current issue: (a) Chitwood continues to maintain that Africans are cursed; (b) Wilson’s book continues to be published, and with Chitwood’s glowing introduction; (c) Powell continues to preach at “Word of the Kingdom” conferences, as does Chitwood; (d) Brooks continues to distribute Selected Writings.

These are the very leaders of the “Word of the Kingdom” movement, and they promote and propound the Hamitic curse.

And the year is 2010.

——
Footnotes:

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.