Mike Warnke Controversy in Cornerstone magasine
Douglas C. Pearson
This is a crosspost from soc.religion.christian concerning one of my
heroes, Mike Warnke, a Christian comedian who God has built an incredible
ministry on over the past few years...does anybody on r.m.c know anything
more concerning this? I really hope it isn't true...but then again, does
Cornerstone have any reason to print lies?
Pray for Mike and Rose and their family...whether this is true or not,
they're in for a long haul...
Please post to both boards, as I expect there are people in r.m.c and
s.r.c who are very interested in this issue...
clueless chuck
Pear...@NeXTWork.Rose-Hulman.Edu
DLEI...@yorkvm1.bitnet writes
> Mike Warnke is, for lack of better terminology, a Christian stand-up
> comedian. He has put out many albums and videos, to the point where his
> videos reportedly outsell those of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy.
> Warnke even put out a book entitled The Satan Seller which describes
> practices of satanism and Warnke's supposed involvement with that.
>
> Now, the latest issue of Cornerstone is supposed to have an expose on
> Mike Warnke, exposing such things as falsified testimony and four wives
> (not simultaneously, though). Can anyone confirm or deny these details
> or the report in general as I don't have access to a copy of Cornerstone
> (just access to people who have). Has Warnke responded to these charges
> yet?
>
> Mike Warnke's latest concerts included some in Canada. Someone who MCed
> one of the shows talked to Mike and the Cornerstone expose wasn't
> entirely unexpected.
>
> dlei...@vm1.yorku.ca
Robert Suto
>
>
> This is a crosspost from soc.religion.christian concerning one of my
> heroes, Mike Warnke, a Christian comedian who God has built an incredible
> ministry on over the past few years...does anybody on r.m.c know anything
> more concerning this? I really hope it isn't true...but then again, does
> Cornerstone have any reason to print lies?
>
> Pray for Mike and Rose and their family...whether this is true or not,
> they're in for a long haul...
>
> Please post to both boards, as I expect there are people in r.m.c and
> s.r.c who are very interested in this issue...
>
> clueless chuck
> Pear...@NeXTWork.Rose-Hulman.Edu
>
>
In reply to the Mike Warnke Controversy:
In the latest issue of Cornerstone, a major portion of the magazine is devoted to the investigation of Mike Warnke. (I want to apologize now, because I do not have a copy of the article with me, for I have loaned it to friends at church.) I have read the article and also listened to a seminar by the two authors, John Trott and ?(sorry), at the Cornerstone '92 festival, July 2-5. This article had not been published lightly, but is a well researched and prayerfully considered piece of journalism.
Their investigation centers around Mike Warnke's book 'The Satan Seller' which was published 20 yrs ago, and is the basis and foundation of Warnke's ministry. Several years ago, the authors did a simular investigation into Laura Stratford (Satan's Underground) and exposed her story as false. Becouse of this, several peple have approached the authors over a number of years with concerns about Mike Warnke.
The article follows several lines of evidence:
1. Mike Warnke clames in his book to have gone to college and was recruited into a group of satanists. He quickly became their leader, after which he was converted to Christianity. His book does not give exact dates, but does give enough information to establish a time line. This internal time line does not fit when examined with external documentation ( lunar cycles, college transcripts, etc.). Simply put, Mike does not have enough time to complete all that is claimed in the book.
2. The authors traked down people in Mikes past life. His close college friends and girlfriend refute Warnke's story, and describe him as a 'storyteller'. Other people, like pastors, friends, coworkers of Warnke's latter life describe a lifestyle that is not right for a man of God. Here are many witnesses that discount Warnke's claims.
3. They investigate Warnke's ministry, and there are a number of alligations and concerns here. (Of particular intrest is Warnke's rapid salary increase over the years - 200,000 in 1990 (?))
4. Finally, Mike is currently in his fourth marriage (!?!)
I would encourage everyone to obtain and circulate this article. I had never heard of Mike Warnke before this , but many of my friends have. They were sceptical at first, as you probably are, but the evidence is strong, that Mike Warnke's ministry is based on a LIE.
The authors did not fell bound by the principle found in Romans, but they did make an atempt before publishing to personally meet with Warnke, but he refered them to his lawyer. They suggested that each side bring some pastors to act a witnesses, in an effort to keep this within the Church, but were again told to contact his lawyer. (Hmmm?!)
The authors ask Warnke to repentof his falseness and to come under the discipline of the Church, and remove himself from his ministry. One problem is that Warnke is accountable to no one but himself within his ministry. Thus the Church as a whole will have to band together and make him accountable.
In closing, Mike Warnke is not being judged by Cornerstone, nor myself. The bible calls us to test those who come in the name of Jesus. God is TRUTH, and as Christians the truth counts. We are also told to lovingly bring back a fallen brother into a right relationship with God. In selecting a leader within the Church, the Bible states that we should look and see haw a man runs his own house (4 wives gives me a clue! :>).
To those who have been positively affected by Warnke's ministry, do not downplay that, because the Word of God is true, loving and pewerful, and the messenger can not corrupt that.
Robert
"If you are going to cross over, bring the cross over!"
Claude W. Anderson
If the Cornerstone allegations are true, this is very serious.
Can someone publish an address for Cornerstone so that we can
request a copy of the issue and base our reactions on the full
article rathewr than a brief summary. Or can someone who has the
article post a more complete synopsis, at least?
--
Claude Anderson
ande...@cs.rose-hulman.edu - NeXT mail welcome
Baboo (Holton, Jeffrey)
>> Mike Warnke is, for lack of better terminology, a Christian stand-up
>> comedian. He has put out many albums and videos, to the point where his
>> videos reportedly outsell those of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy.
>> Warnke even put out a book entitled The Satan Seller which describes
>> practices of satanism and Warnke's supposed involvement with that.
>>
>> Now, the latest issue of Cornerstone is supposed to have an expose on
>> Mike Warnke, exposing such things as falsified testimony and four wives
>> (not simultaneously, though). Can anyone confirm or deny these details
>> or the report in general as I don't have access to a copy of Cornerstone
>> (just access to people who have). Has Warnke responded to these charges
>> yet?
I can't vouch for the rumours about multiple wives, though I've never
heard it before. However, as far as the "accusations" about Warnke
being involved with the Satanic church...heck yes. He was a high
priest in the church. I don't think that's an "accusation" when you
consider the fact that that is the whole sum of his testimony, that
God can work through even the most committed sinner.
Now he's totally committed to something else, praise God! Listen to
his album "Alive" to find out more of his testimony.
--baboo
Jerry B. Ray
>I can't vouch for the rumours about multiple wives, though I've never
heard it before. However, as far as the "accusations" about Warnke
being involved with the Satanic church...heck yes. He was a high
priest in the church. I don't think that's an "accusation" when you
consider the fact that that is the whole sum of his testimony, that
God can work through even the most committed sinner.
Go back and reread the post you followed up on (or better yet the C-Stone
article :-). I think the point was that the time involved made it impossible
for Mike to have left school or whatever and ascended to a high position in
the Satanic church, that indeed his testimony is BASED on a falsehood.
NOTE: I've not read the C-Stone article and i'm not agreeing or disagreeing
with what it says, only pointing out a booboo in the above follow up,
no flames intended :-)
JRjr
--
'Hear the tale of a fallen people, destined to wander their broken land.
Their eyes are vacant, full of empty meaning, and what they're missing they
just don't understand. Beyond the dark horizon, out where the people are
crying, a Morningstar will be rising, rising to show us the way...' Whiteheart
The Lord Reigns
The point of the Cornerstone article is that this suppposed testimony
is a LIE. Not that he was in the Satanic church but that his claims
to have been were not true.
+------------------------+------------------------+-------------------+
| Neil Burleson Texas A&M Univerity, College Station, Texas USA |
+------------------------| ne...@tamu.edu | nab4574@tamzeus |
+------------------------+-------------------+
"Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." -- Psalm 34:8
Greg Sands
>The point of the Cornerstone article is that this suppposed testimony
>is a LIE. Not that he was in the Satanic church but that his claims
>to have been were not true.
Could someone please type in a summary of this article for those of us without
access to it? (It'll take a month or two to get to New Zealand!!) Just the
main points (without personal opinion if possible) - I don't want to trouble
anyone too much.
Greg.
--
Greg Sands. | Department of Engineering Science
----------- | University of Auckland
g.s...@aukuni.ac.nz | New Zealand.
Eric Pement
>
>This is a crosspost from soc.religion.christian concerning one of my
>heroes, Mike Warnke, a Christian comedian who God has built an incredible
>ministry on over the past few years...does anybody on r.m.c know anything
>more concerning this? I really hope it isn't true...but then again, does
>Cornerstone have any reason to print lies?
>
Hi, I'm one of the senior editors for Cornerstone magazine. We are
responsible for publishing "Selling Satan: The Tragic History of Mike
Warnke," by Jon Trott and Mike Hertenstein, in our latest issue. We
convinced that the information we published is accurate and thoroughly
researched. The main article carries 170 footnotes, and there are four
supplementary articles (two sidebars, heavily documented, and an article
by Bob and Gretchen Passantino on the validity of Christian investigative
reporting, and another article by Glenn Kaiser on accountability in the
contemporary Christian music scene).
The interviews are devastating to Mike Warnke's claim to having been a
high priest in Satanism. People who knew Warnke during the time of his
alleged involvement (1965-1966), Warnke's closest friends and family
members, univocally tell a different story. Moreover, when you work out
a chronology of events (try matching the book with a real calendar),
you'll find there isn't time for Warnke to have done what he says he did.
Warnke tried to get two of his **high school** friends to sign affidavits
in 1972 that his upcoming book was true, and they turned him down flat.
Photographic evidence: on an interview broadcast on "Focus on the
Family" (James Dobson's ministry) on March 16, 1985, Mike Warnke told the
audience that when he was at the height of his satanic power, "I had
white hair. It was down to my belt . . . I had six-inch [long]
fingernails; I painted them black." We published a photograph of Mike
Warnke, dated April 30, 1966, next to his fiancee, Lois Eckenrod (never
mentioned in "The Satan Seller"). He's a straight, almost nerdy looking
young man, whose hair is so short it doesn't touch his ears! Normal
looking hands and fingernails.
Finally, in addition to internal conflicts (e.g., anachronisms) and
external difficulties (e.g., all of Mike's college friends say he never
had drugs, a satanic following, nor two "love slaves" locked in his
apartment), we must realize that Mike Warnke has NEVER produced one
person who will (or can) admit to having been actively involved with him
in Satanic worship.
It doesn't matter if they're Christian now or not ... if Mike had been
leader of 1,500 Satanists, is it too much to expect that he could
remember 15 names of his chief lieutenants, underlings, or others he
recruited or directed in his coven? Though we would expect him to be
able to provide at least a few people who might be able to corroborate
his story (even if they're still Satanist, it'd be **something**), it
appears that the reason he has not done so is because he CANNOT do so.
He has lied to the Christian world about his background.
We are all to well aware of the negative impact this will have on
Christians who have trusted him, and on those in the secular world who
are already looking for reasons to dump on Christianity. However, it is
better to tell the truth than to piously hide a fraud and a deceiver for
the sake of appearance. No, Cornerstone has no reason to print lies.
>pray for Mike and Rose and their family...whether this is true or not,
>they're in for a long haul...
Believe it or not, we **have** prayed for Mike and his family. You
should know, however, that Mike and Rose divorced on Sept. 4, 1991, after
11 years of marriage. Mike married his fourth wife, Susan Patton, on
Nov. 18, 1991. Mike is in for a difficult time; he does not yet see the
need for public confession and repentance here. He's played the game for
too long to back down.
>Please post to both boards, as I expect there are people in r.m.c and
>s.r.c who are very interested in this issue...
If I'm able, I'll try to cross-post it in soc.religion.Christian.
>clueless chuck
>Pear...@NeXTWork.Rose-Hulman.Edu
and then in response to DLIETBOLD . . . .
>DLEI...@yorkvm1.bitnet writes
>> Mike Warnke is, for lack of better terminology, a Christian stand-up
>> comedian. He has put out many albums and videos, to the point where his
>> videos reportedly outsell those of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy.
I haven't heard that yet. Got a source for me?
>> Now, the latest issue of Cornerstone is supposed to have an expose on
>> Mike Warnke, exposing such things as falsified testimony and four wives
>> (not simultaneously, though). Can anyone confirm or deny these details
>> or the report in general as I don't have access to a copy of Cornerstone
>> (just access to people who have). Has Warnke responded to these charges
>> yet?
Don't want to be crassly commercial, but you can get a copy of the
"Warnke issue" of Cornerstone magazine (vol. 21, issue 98, 1992) by
sending a check for $3.00 to:
CORNERSTONE
939 W. Wilson Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640
The full text of the article is also available in a .ZIP file format
from "A Call for Papers BBS" in Redford, Mich. (313-535-0842); it's in a
subsection called "A Call for Papers," under the name WARNKE1.ZIP. In a
few days this file will be on the JPUSA BBS here in Chicago, available as
a FREQ (I'll post our number when we're ready). I'm also going to ask
the system admin. here at 'jpusa1' to make this file requestable on our
Unix box.
Yes, Mike Warke has responded and the faxes are flying furiously
around here. By and large, his response is to offer names of well known
people who affirm that his story is true (first wife Sue, co-author Dave
Balsiger, radio host Bob Larson, writer Johanna Michaelson), but there is
no **positive** evidence in support of his testimony. Mike also claims
to be submitted now to certain people, and to know God's forgiveness for
his past sins. He quotes the Bible from Philippians 3:13 ("forgetting
those things which are behind, and reaching forth to those things that
are before ..."), and expresses his hope that we will do the same.
>> Mike Warnke's latest concerts included some in Canada. Someone who MCed
>> one of the shows talked to Mike and the Cornerstone expose wasn't
>> entirely unexpected.
>>
>> dlei...@vm1.yorku.ca
True. Mike learned that we were doing this article many months ago.
He didn't contact us. We contacted him about a month before going to
press, and he didn't want to have anything to do with us without his
attorney present. We're Christian journalists, and we're interested in
truth, honesty, holiness and repentance -- not plea bargaining. The
subtle but tacit pressure of possible legal action is not what we're all
about, and the opportunity for dialogue, confession, or confrontation
broke down right there. We asked him to bring church leaders instead
("you pick one, we'll pick one, and we'll let them pick a third") to
moderate the discussion, but it was no dice.
We'll try to stay abreast of the postings on this area, and answer as
many direct questions as we can. Thanks.
--
Eric Pement UUCP: chi.il.us!jpusa1!jpusa2!eric
Cornerstone, 939 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago, IL 60640
Eric Pement
>If the Cornerstone allegations are true, this is very serious.
>Can someone publish an address for Cornerstone so that we can
>request a copy of the issue and base our reactions on the full
>article rathewr than a brief summary. Or can someone who has the
>article post a more complete synopsis, at least?
The Warnke issue (vol. 21, no. 98) of Cornerstone is available for
$3.00 by writing to CORNERSTONE, 939 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago, IL
60640. It's a large, full-color magazine (11x15 inches), and costs
more to mail than smaller mags.
--
Eric Pement, senior editor
Cornerstone magazine
UUCP: chi.il.us!jpusa1!jpusa2!eric
Rick Mills
would care to post the zipped article to an accessible site I can
make it available to them (thru email most likely). Drop me a line
if you're intrested.
-rick
Brian Devilbiss
but this topic is too hot to pass up. I too have read the Cornerstone article
and found it to be very convincing. As mentioned earlier, it is very well
researched and well documented (there are about 170 footnotes at the end of
the article.) In an effort to get both sides of the story, I asked about
the controversy in a local Christian bookstore. They gave me a 30+ page
statement from Warnke Ministries dated July 15, 1992. The statement included
a 12 page letter from Mike himself where he basically said the Cornerstone
article is full of errors. He unequivocally stated that all events described
in the Satan Sellar are exactly as described. He briefly talked about a few
of the pieces of evidence that Cornerstone presented, such as the April 1966
photograph of himself and an unidentified woman. Supposedly he had "waist
length white hair" and "six inch fingernails" at this time in the Satan Sellar.
The picture shows otherwise. Most of his letter focused around Carolyn
Alberty, his second wife, who he says supplied Cornerstone with all of the
"lies." He even goes so far as to call he "cold-hearted" and "temptress."
He blames Carolyn for the break up of his first marriage to Sue. Anyway,
he doesn't talk about the testimonies of his other 7 or 8 college and high
school friends, whose contributions to the Cornerstone article were most
convincing. The one thing that his friends all agreed upon was that he was
a great "storyteller" and would often stand by a story until one could no
longer argue with him. So it comes as no surprise that he would stand by
the Satan Sellar and everything in it. (It would have been a surprise if he
didn't!)
The remaining 20+ pages are written statements from Warnke's friends in his
ministry. They all say about the same thing, and they all stand behind Mike.
There is also a letter from Word, Inc. (Warnke's distributor) that says
something to the effect of "after talking with Mike, we stand behind his
testimony." Of course, does a jury ask the alleged murderer if he did it and
then base their verdict on that alone? Most noteworthy in the statement is
a notarized statement from Sue Warnke, Mike's first wife. According to Mike,
Cornerstone made an unethical error by not interviewing her, who would have
been able to verify "60%" of the events in the Satan Seller. Sue's statement
did, in some ways, verify parts of Mike's story, but she admits that during
the course of the school year (1965-66), especially the spring, she "lost
track of" Mike. She also does not mention any of Mike's friends and their
testimonies about him. (Of course, she was in Campus Crusade so may not have
known Mike's friends.) Her statement was only about five pages, but she
mentions at one point that she was contacted by Cornerstone Magazine, but
refused an interview and referred them to Mike.
If I thought it would be helpful, I would post portions of his statement
but it is awfully long and, quite frankly, doesn't say much. The other five
or six letters from Warnke's supporters are all written by people who have
been associated with Warnke since his alleged time as a Satanic high priest.
Do they actually have more knowledge and "hard evidence" that you and I?
Probably not. They are only character witnesses.
Well, those are the highlights from the statement. If anyone wants a copy
of the whole statement, email me at bdev...@uceng.uc.edu and we'll try to
work something out. Otherwise, I hope this gave some insight into Warnke's
controversy. No doubt Warnke ministries needs prayers....
In Truth,
BLD
P.S. Read Romans 3:7-8 in regards to truthfulness and integrity.
Thomas Lapp
> the article.) In an effort to get both sides of the story, I asked about
> the controversy in a local Christian bookstore. They gave me a 30+ page
> then base their verdict on that alone? Most noteworthy in the statement is
> a notarized statement from Sue Warnke, Mike's first wife. According to Mike,
> If I thought it would be helpful, I would post portions of his statement
> but it is awfully long and, quite frankly, doesn't say much. The other five
In the arena of justice and fairness, it might be helpful for you (or
others) to key in significant portions of this document and make them
FTPable from the same source as the Cornerstone article. With this
information (coming from both sides), perhaps we can make a fair
judgement on this matter.
(Or, we may end up with the same as a political situation where you
sometimes conclude that you CAN'T tell who is right and who isn't)
- tom
--
internet : mvac23!tho...@udel.edu or thomas%mva...@udel.edu (home)
: 439...@mcimail.com (work)
OSI : C=US/A=MCI/S=LAPP/D=ID=4398613
uucp : {ucbvax,mcvax,uunet}!udel!mvac23!thomas
Location : Newark, DE, USA
Stacey C. O'Brien
>In article <22JUL92.08...@lafibm.lafayette.edu>, HJ...@lafibm.lafayette.edu (Baboo (Holton, Jeffrey)) writes...
>>In article <1992Jul20.1...@cs.rose-hulman.edu> pear...@NeXTwork.Rose-Hulman.Edu (Douglas C. Pearson) writes:
>>I can't vouch for the rumours about multiple wives, though I've never
>>heard it before. However, as far as the "accusations" about Warnke
>>being involved with the Satanic church...heck yes. He was a high
>>priest in the church. I don't think that's an "accusation" when you
>>consider the fact that that is the whole sum of his testimony, that
>>God can work through even the most committed sinner.
>>
>>Now he's totally committed to something else, praise God! Listen to
>>his album "Alive" to find out more of his testimony.
>>
>>--baboo
>
>The point of the Cornerstone article is that this suppposed testimony
>is a LIE. Not that he was in the Satanic church but that his claims
>to have been were not true.
>
Satanic church doesn't publicize its membership lists ;-) but if I
were a satanist, I'd surely deny that Warnke was ever a member, because
then I could deny anything he says and also ruin his ministry. What do
the satanists say about this? Probably that they've never heard of him.
Of course!
--Stacey