To: alt.satanism
From: Michael.Aquino@125-430.wmeonlin.sacbbx.com (Michael Aquino)
Subject: THE PROCESS (9408.process.ma)
Date: 49940813

The Process Church of the Final Judgment was founded in 1963 by Robert
DeGrimston, a former Scientologist. It puttered along for awhile as a sort of
mix of Zoroastrianism and Scientology, but it came into some social/media
prominence in the "occult revival" of the late 60s because it professed to
worship four gods - Jehovah, Christ, Satan, and Lucifer. Although Processeans
considered this merely a balanced approach, the media immediately seized upon
the last two [of course] and pronounced the Process "Satanist". In those days
the Process was the only organization besides the Church of Satan to wear this 
label, but the C/S was quite serious and sincere about it, while the Process
was not really quite sure about it.

The Process became even less sure about it at the time of the Manson murders,
when prosecutors and the media were looking around for something oo-ee-oo
occult to hang on Manson & the Family, and came up with past contacts between
Manson and the Process. [Family member Susan Atkins had been one of Anton
LaVey's "topless witches", but Anton was considered a San Francisco pet, while 
the Process was something "obscure and murky".]

Then came Ed Sanders' _The Family: The Story of Charles Manson's Dune Buggy
Attack Battalion_ (catchy title), which hyped the "occult connection",
particularly re the Process and the Solar Lodge of the O.T.O. The Process sued 
Sanders' publisher, and the offending material was deleted from future
editions, but the PR damage was done. The Process bent over backwards to
change its doctrines, insignia, etc. away from anything remotely "Satanic".
They wound up as just another colorless Jesus-freak outfit and gradually faded 
away. They were more or less gone by 1975, although one occasionally hears
rumors that there are Process groups in New York or London.

Cf:

William Sims Bainbridge, _Satan's Power: A Deviant Psychotherapy Cult_.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978. Bill Bainbridge was a
sociologist at the University of Washington; we corresponded for awhile on
this topic. His book is a reasonably fair history, with all of the Process
names changed to protect individuals' privacy.

Ed Sanders, _The Family_. E.P. Dutton put this out in 1971 as a hardcover,
Avon the next year as a paperback. You'd need to look for one of these older
editions for the Process/OTO references, as they have been deleted from the
1989 reissued paperback.

Maury Terry, _The Ultimate Evil_. An example of how the name of the Process
can be used for all sorts of sinister innuendo, since it is no longer around
to protest the inaccuracies. [The OTO was, and kicked Terry's butt
accordingly.]

Nikolas Schreck (Ed.), _The Manson File_. Contains a brief summary of Manson's 
contact with the Process.

Trivia note: Sanders also headed one of the 60s' more colorful rock bands, the 
Fugs, notable for mildly [certainly by today's standards] off-color language & 
puns. My favorite song title of theirs: "Bury me Beneath an Apple Tree so I
May Kiss Your Lips Again".
--
: Fidonet:  Michael Aquino 1:125/430  .. speaking for only myself.
: Internet: Michael.Aquino@125-430.wmeonlin.sacbbx.com