CHAT: British Israelitism

Alas, "British Israelitism" tends to be the pastime of relatively
harmless crackpots in the UK I understand (correct me if I'm wrong,
but I get the idea that it's on the level of the "Flat Earth
Society"); but its theories have been taken up in the US by violent,
militant racist freaks, under the banner of the "Christian Identity
Movement," a denomination whose ministers fill the ranks of the
gun-toting white-supremacist nutcase militias which occasionally rear
their heads on the American landscape.


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Boxcars are pulling an Ed of sorts out of town.
             edheil@postmark.net
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Fabian wrote:

> > Are you familiar with various Protestant sects that teach the docrine of
> > "British Israelism" or "Anglo-Israelism," the teaching that the Brits are
> > descendents of the 10 "lost" tribes of Israel? Among other evidence, they
> > claim that "Saxons" is derived from "[I]saac's sons" and that Brit-ish is
> > from a Hebrew phrase (b'rith + ish) meaning "covenant man."  Anyone who
> has
> > a superficial acquaintance with linguistics, history, and anthropology
> > realizes this must be a coincidence, however surprising, but that still
> > leaves a large reservoir of potential converts.
>
> I have personally met one of these people. The freaky thing is, he had in
> his possession some photos. These had no obvious signs of being doctored,
> but there was an unexplained light source coming from somewhere beneath
this
> table (no, there was no way a light bulb could have been hidden there in
the
> photo).
>
> Among other things, he claimed to be psychic, and that I would one day get
> an opportunity to study with sonme monks in Mongolia. He also added that my
> intended would be somewhere in Asia.
>
> Whether true or not, he certainly told good stories.
>
> ---
> Fabian
> If a flying horse ye see, mock ye not if it stays up not.
>