The Tangled Web

The Tangled Web contains the letters and essays I wrote when I was in the Church of Bible Understanding (COBU), a religious group that some say is one of the worst mind control cults of all time. This book contains stories and descriptions of everyday life in the cult, providing the reader with a front row seat view of what life is like inside one of these organizations. America has always been a breeding ground for many kinds of religious expression, from large well-known mainline denominations to small isolated religious communities which remain, for the most part, hidden from view unless some event brings them to the attention of the media or the authorities. COBU was just another in the long line of isolationist religious communities, centered around an authoritarian leader who claimed to have the only true version of Christianity in a world where all others were in darkness. Communities such as the Oneida Perfectionists, the Shakers, the Shiloh Colony in the 19th Century - and the Church of Bible Understanding in the 20th - and now, 21st, Centuries are just some of the many expressions of Christianity on the fringe. The Church of Bible Understanding has dwindled from some 3,000 members in its heyday to about 80 members now. What was once a small legion of people who were zealous to proclaim the Gospel are now a much smaller group of people who now seem to be primarily concerned with their business operation known as Olde Good Things, an architectural antique business located in New York City and several other cities in the US.