Page Suggestions: Freemasonry, The Order of the Illuminati

Reprinted from Christianity Today

The Legend of John Todd

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Berry has produced a manual, "The Christian During Riot and After Revolution," that incorporates Todd's views. It includes a section on "the morality of killing," and tells Christians to buy weapons and ammunition, and to build retreats.

As Todd tells it, he was born into witchcraft and became a Grand Druid high priest in the Illuminati, a secret group of powerful conspirators, which, Todd says, plans a world takeover. He says he was also a member of the "Council of Thirteen," one of the chosen few who rank just below the world-ruling Rothschild family, Jewish bankers with roots in eighteenth-century Europe who Todd claims are really demons.

Todd says he joined the army to establish covens of witches, that he became a decorated Green Beret in Viet Nam, and that he was later transferred to Germany, where he killed a former commanding officer in a two-hour shootout in Stuttgart. He says the Illuminati got him out of jail and that the Pentagon destroyed all his military records.

The Illuminati, Todd says, have already begun implementing their plans for a world takeover. He says an upheaval is slated in the United States in 1979. Todd also publicly claims that President Jimmy Carter is the Anti-Christ, and that his sister Ruth Carter Stapelton is a leading high priestess of witchcraft who taught Todd the finer points of the bewitching arts. The President, Todd alleges, takes orders directly "from the Rothschilds."

According to Todd, Carter would push through legislation that would outlaw private ownership of guns, remove tax exemptions from all churches except those associated with the National Council of Churches, ban conversion to another religion, and prohibit the storing of food and medicine.

To survive, Todd says, Christians must arm themselves, build up food supplies to last five years, hide in wilderness fortresses, and kill attackers.

Todd claims that he delivered $35 million to founder Demos Shakarian of the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship; he alleges that Shakarian is a leading figure in the Illuminati. The witches, Todd says, also helped build Melody- land Christian Center in Anaheim, whose pastor--- Ralph Wilkerson--- is part of the conspiracy. Todd similarly implicates the CBN and PTL Christian tele- vision networks and their leaders. He hints that glossolia, itself, is an invention of witches.

In a recent attack, Todd alleged that television preacher Jerry Falwell, a non-charismatic, was "bought off" with a $50 million check during a trip to the Middle East. (When some of his hard-core followers expressed dismay, Todd tried to have the remark erased from the tapes, according to an informant.) Falwell's church, Thomas Road Baptist in Lynchburg, Virginia, last month returned Todd's fire with a blistering editorial against Todd in the church newspaper, which is sent to many of Falwell's TV viewers.

Incredible as it all seems, thousands of church members, including a number of pastors, have apparently accepted all or most of Todd's message as gospel truth--- despite statements of outrage and denial by charismatic leaders, along with protests by experts in occult studies that Todd's accounts are simply false.

Most of Todd's listeners have assumed that he is also telling the truth about his conversion from witchcraft to Christianity, an event that took place in San Antonio in October, 1972, according to his testimony in numerous churches last year.

He says he embraced Christianity after reading a Chick Publications tract, seeing the movie The Cross and the Switchblade, and being exposed to the ministries of a Christian coffeehouse and the Castle Hills Baptist Church. The church pastor at that time, Jack Taylor, affirms that Todd indeed had made a profession of faith, though little else was known about him. Taylor later uncovered discrepancies in Todd's accounts and since has become a Todd critic.

Strange Things Happen

"Strange things began to happen" when Todd returned to California from his first eastern tour in early April, 1978, says Pastor Roland Rasmussen of Faith Baptist in Canoga Park. Todd claimed several times that he had been shot at in the vicinity of the church parking lot.

Todd told Rasmussen that he had gone through a period of backsliding. He said he had sold occult books from a store he ran for a while in Dayton, Ohio, but emphasized he had never gone back into occult activity.

Then one of Todd's friends in the congregation, occult researcher Mike Grifin, informed the pastor about a startling discovery. Griffin had borrowed from Todd a recording made from a television newscast of a meeting the "ex-witch" had conducted in Ventura, California. Listening to it privately, Griffin heard more than the brief newscast since the taped cassette had also been used to record an earlier meeting where Todd was instructing would-be witches how to mix potions and cast spells. Todd's own statements during the recorded class session indicate that it was held on March 3, 1976, in the Dayton store known as The Witches Caldron [sic], and that he had been involved in occult practices since at least the previous March.

Rasmussen called a meeting of the deacons on May 27, when they confronted Todd with excerpts of the tape. The pastor also reminded Todd that he carried no gun--- contrary to what Todd had told an Indiana audience from personal knowledge a short time earlier. Todd, offering virtually no explanation, shrugged and left--- after retrieving his automatic pistol that tumbled from his hip pocket when he got up from his chair. On the next night, the church voted unanimously to eject Todd from membership and remove endorsement of his ministry.