Arrest of Hutaree members brings renewed focus on militia groups

ApologeticsIndex.org — The F.B.I.’s arrests of members of a Michigan-based Christian militia over the weekend has poignantly highlighted the re-emergence militia movement — the militant arm of the patriot movement

Nine members of the group, called the Hutaree, face sedition and weapons charges in a scheme to kill law enforcement officers to incite an anti-government revolt.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SLPC), an organization that tracks U.S. hate groups, Hutaree is one of 127 armed militias in the US. That number has increased 200 percent since 2008, when there were 42, SPLC says.

Hutaree

According to the Hutaree’s website the group’s name means ‘Christian Warrior.’

On its website, the Hutaree uses Christian terminology and Bible quotes that position it as a military organization prepared to confront an Antichrist.

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“Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment.… We, the Hutaree, are prepared to defend all those who belong to Christ and save those who aren’t,” a passage reads.
– Source: Hutaree militia arrests point to tripling of militias since 2008, Mark Guarino, Christian Science Monitor, Mar. 29, 2010, quoted by Religion News Blog

While it claims to be Christian, the group’s theology falls outside the boundaries of historical, Biblical Christianity — marking the Hutaree as, theologically, a cult of Christianity.

Research Resources

Apologetics Index has collected a number of research resources on militia groups and the patriot movement.

Start by reading a quote from ‘America’s Patriot Movement: infiltrating the church with the gospel of hate’ by Richard Abanes, author of ‘American Militias: Rebellion, Racism & Religion’ in our section on the Patriot Movement.

Continue with the resources on the Militia Movement, and also check the information of Christian Identity — the un-biblical, racist theology that adhered to by many so-called ‘Christian’ patriot and militia groups.