They are/were staunch believers in the doctrines of the old Worldwide Church of God. The very same doctrines Meredith and Flurry screech on and on about keeping faithfully. We have already seen killings in Living Church of God (Meredith) because of the church teachings. How long until someone in Philadelphia Church of God snaps and more 'believers' are killed?
They told me that they were at one time affiliated with the WCG, but broke away in the 1980’s to practice their own doctrines when HWA was beginning to be discredited from within and without. They opted for a stricter approach to spiritual matters than the WCG was espousing at that time–mainly Old Testament rituals and rules, which were scrupulously followed.
[...]
The book The United States and Britain In Prophecy was a constant source for their justification in the plans and operations of the “Township.” HWA was regarded as “A prophet like unto Jeremiah” by the congregation. He was quoted daily, and any occurrence that came close to fulfilling a prophecy of his, his name would be trumpeted around, saying that wasn’t it wonderful that God had chosen such a great and wise man to be His prophet? (paraphrased)
I had been a borderline Christian before moving to their “Township,” called by them “La Vita,” in 2005. As I was a “city boy,” I had to learn the ways of working on a farm with a spread of 400 acres. I was informed of the rules governing the community, about how work had to cease at sundown on Friday and could not commence until Sunday, how the community as a whole had to celebrate the various feasts from the Old Testament, and so on.
Then it was explained that all of the so-called “holidays” that I had celebrated in the past were pagan, and I could no longer participate in them. They told me that if I visited my relatives on a Sunday, that I was engaging in a pagan ritual, because they believed Saturday was the Sabbath. The same with Christmas or Easter, Thanksgiving or New Year’s Eve–all were considered “pagan, sinful, and evil.”
I was told that the leader, a man named Richard Dugan, was a “prophet of God,” and that it was the congregation’s duty to serve him in whatever way he saw fit. As proof of his exalted status, he had two wives, both living with him. There were a few in the congregation that called Richard “Sire” in reference of the claim that he was to be the king whom Christ Himself would appoint, “Who would administer justice in the name of the Lord.”
There was another thing that concerned me, and that was the opposition they expressed toward any state or federal agency. They even said that because Kentucky is a commonwealth, that the state police are not legally police.
- Source: I Got Out While There Was TimeKevin, Exit & Support Network
These cult leaders had numerous run in's with the police. Both were arrested. Richard Dugan later committed suicide.
More articles about: Sabbatharians:What is the Levita Township and why did Richard Dugan commit suicide?
Not much is known about the small community of Levita Township, the compound that houses the members of the Sabbatarian church.
The church began in Louisville, Ky. Michael Boutte and his family joined the church when he was around eight-years-old.
He said his leader, Richard Dugan decided to commit suicide on May 1, 2007, after a grand jury indicted him for custodial interference and three counts of terroristic threatening related to a child welfare situation back in December 2006.
Boutte was arrested on May 1, after Dugan’s death. He said he was trying to protect his leader and the church’s way of life.
“The members of the Sabbatarian church have lived in the same spot in Grayson County for the last 13 years,” Boutte explained.
Residents of the community, Levita Township, live by their own code of conduct and they were led by Richard Dugan, the founder of the church until his recent suicide.
“The lord spoke to him in obtuse – well I wouldn’t say obtuse, but odd ways,” Boutte said.
They live without running water or electricity as generators provide heat. Members of this town say it’s not by choice because the town is so far from civilization that a substation would have to be built.
Some members work while others are disabled, so their way of life depends on one thing: sharing everything. They even put all of their earnings together.SabbathariansLed by Richard and Laura Dugan, this small sect has a focus on the End Times. It adheres to the doctrines of the old Worldwide Church of God.Theologically, Sabbatharians (sometimes spelled ‘Sabbathian’) is a cult of Christianity. Sociologically the group has cult-like elements as well.
“I go without electric, everybody goes without electric,” Boutte explained.
Members don’t celebrate Easter, Christmas, or birthdays.
“We stick by what’s in the Bible – the original holy days that the Israelites kept in Egypt,” Boutte explained.
Twenty-six-year-old Boutte said it’s their unconventional lifestyle that had social services on their property back in December.
Back in December WBKO reported the social worker was trying to take four children into custody after a referral of neglect was issued.
Boutte said Dugan was in foster homes when he was a child and he believes the appearance of a social worker set him off.
“I think it was eleven foster homes and three institutions …” Boutte said Dugan had resided in.
Yesterday, Dugan was indicted by a grand jury on charges of custodial interference and three counts of terroristic threatening and Boutte said that’s what drove Dugan to suicide.
“He wasn’t going to do any harm to anybody else, but it was the fact if they pushed him too much I knew that he was going to shoot himself. He promised they would not pull him out of the car alive,” Boutte explained.
Boutte said he and the other followers were arrested because they were simply trying to protect their leader.
“It looked as if they laid a rifle down in there – we figured sniper. So my mother and I sat on the hood, right in his direct line of sight, so he could not shoot Richard,” Boutte explained.
Religious sect leader commits suicide during police standoff
The quiet town of Leitchfield, Ky., went back to its normal state on May 2, 2007, after a three-hour standoff left one dead the day before.
Richard Dugan of Clarkson, Ky., is believed to be the leader of a religious group called the Levita Township.
Dugan was at the Grayson County Judicial Building yesterday facing charges on custodial interference and terroristic threatening. He was seated in his car in the health department parking lot across from the judicial building getting ready for court when an officer approached him.
Several of Dugan’s supporters were shielding him from the officers. Officers spent the next two hours trying to convince Dugan to turn himself in. The standoff ended when Dugan shot himself in the head.SabbathariansLed by Richard and Laura Dugan, this small sect has a focus on the End Times. It adheres to the doctrines of the old Worldwide Church of God.Theologically, Sabbatharians (sometimes spelled ‘Sabbathian’) is a cult of Christianity. Sociologically the group has cult-like elements as well.
Today, we spoke with several people in Leitchfield and they say they’ve never seen anything like this happen in their community.
“We didn’t know what to expect today. So far everything seems okay,” a Shell station worker said.
This is what a typical day in downtown Leitchfield looks like.
“… People in and out getting food and getting them out as quick as we can,” the station worker explained, but this was not the scene the day before.
This Shell station worker wouldn’t show her face on camera fearing retaliation from the Levita Township.
“They’ve been saying they’re going to come to Leitchfield and shoot random people. It’s got a lot of people scared,” the station worker said.
She said she doesn’t know much about this religious group, who many people in Leitchfield refer to as the bus people because they use to live in buses.
“They don’t live out here in Leitchfield. They live in the country somewhere I guess,” the station worker said.
She only knows that several of its members came to Leitchfield and disrupted their normally quiet work day.
“It was chaos,” the station worker said.
She said all of the parking lots downtown including Shell’s were full of people watching in shock.
“Anybody that saw the cops wanted to know what was going on so they just stopped,” the station worker said.
She even stood near a store window and watched as Richard Dugan killed himself.
“We seen the smoldering and we knew he shot himself. We knew the cops either shot him or he shot himself,” the station worker explained.
Five of Dugan’s supporters are in jail today, facing charges of disorderly conduct, hindering apprehension and resisting arrest. They’re scheduled to appear in court on May 3, 2007
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/520-sabbatharians
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/18141/richard-dugan
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/18142/richard-dugan-2
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