Northern Idaho has a low population density, one of the attractive qualities for those drawn to the American Redoubt. Photo by Tracy Simmons
(RNS) Twenty years ago mass panic swept the globe as 1999 came to a close and programmers scrambled to fix faulty technology that some presumed would send society into disarray at the strike of midnight.
Some believed Y2K would be doomsday.
But when the new millennium began, networks and daily life continued as normal.
Survivalist author Jim, Rawles who lives off grid somewhere in the Pacific Northwest and who prefers to separate his given name and his family name with a comma said the frenzy was a good thing.
If it werent for the hype, he said, tech companies wouldnt have put the time and resources into remediating the computer codes, and the effect would have been catastrophic for the banking systems.
Two decades later Rawles is helping people, mostly Christians, prepare for whatever could be the next disaster heading toward civilization.
James Wesley, Rawles. Courtesy photo
His website, SurvivalBlog.com, has 100,000 regular visitors.
Its common sense, he said. The government has proven itself time and again woefully inadequate when it comes to disaster relief. You cant depend on the government. Youre on your own.
He said its up to heads of families to find a way to provide.
Rawles lives with his wife in a lightly populated area in the Inland Northwest, where they home-school their children, grow their own food, raise livestock, hunt and fish. He wouldnt say where they live, and he uses a Georgia phone number so as to not give any hints.
As part of the American Redoubt movement, he advocates for others to do the same. Not just for family preparedness, but also for political reasons.
American Redoubt, he explained, is a migration movement that encourages like-minded people to relocate to the Inland Northwest so they can be in a geographically safe area and make that area more conservative.
For example, he explained, the Palouse a pastoral region in southeastern Washington and northern Idaho has miles of pea, wheat and lentil fields with hydroelectric dams nearby. Its also generally free of natural disasters, like hurricanes and earthquakes.
The Palouse in southeastern Washington. Photo by Lynn Suckow/Creative Commons
The other goal is to take an already conservative Christian area and make it more conservativeby encouraging conservatives coast to coast to move here, he said, to make a red state a deeper shade of red.
The Redoubt movement is growing, but because many choose to live off grid, its hard to know just how much.
Conservative Christian families tend to have large families, so demographically weve already won the war.If liberals moving here have 1.8 children and we have 3.5, we win, he said.
His forthcoming book, The Ultimate Preppers Survival Guide, explains how to survive in the short term as society begins to collapse, and how to thrive in the long term.
Rawles said those who cant afford to move out of a big city can still prepare by storing a minimum of four months of food and, most importantly, keeping a water filter on hand.
And although Rawles does believe collapse of society is near, he doesnt wade into Armageddon prophecy though many preppers do.
However, he does believe we are living closer to the end times than ever, and we need to be prepared spiritually and physically.
A map of the American Redoubt region of the northwest United States. Map courtesy of Creative Commons
He said there are economic concerns, like a potential recession, that will drive more people to the Redoubt.And with the new coronavirus outbreak, more people are likely to move away from populous cities and join, he said.
I think its cause for considerable concern, Rawles said. I think it has the potential to sweep the planet.
In recent years, controversial televangelist Jim Bakker has focused on faith-based survivalism, selling a host of products meant to help believers survive the end times, including packs of 24 buckets, each with 90 meals, for $3,000.
Fears of the end times were also cited in a recent missing-children case in Idaho.
Matthew Sutton, Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor at Washington State University and author of American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism, said apocalyptic sensibility has helped fuel the evangelical movement in the U.S.
It you look at the world and you see chaos and despair and death and destruction, it allows you to make sense of that. It gives meaning. It gives purpose, he said.
And, he added, it creates a sense of urgency.
Good religious liberals might be working to build the kingdom of God on earth, but they know theyve got hundreds of thousands of years to do it. So theyre eager to do good, but dont have this sense that the clock is ticking, Sutton said, Whereas apocalyptic-thinking evangelicals recognize that they have to act, and they have to act fast, and they have to act now because Jesus is right around the corner.
He said this mindset spikes when there are global problems, potentially like the coronavirus outbreak.
Pastor Chuck Baldwin. Courtesy photo
Pastor Charles Baldwin of Liberty Fellowship in Kalispell, Montana, is a proponent of people moving away from big cities and to freedomist areas of the country, but he said panic shouldnt be the reason.
Hysteria feeds into the fear factor, which makes people less reasonable and more willing to accept government protection, he said. People under normal circumstances would never surrender to government, but in panic mode look to the government to come save us.
Baldwin, who ran for president in 2008, moved from Florida to Montana in 2010 with his wife and extended family after years of prayer and discernment, he said.
His family doesnt live off the grid, but his home is self-contained with its own water supply, he said.
The purpose of the move, he explained, was to live under Gods law and not mans.
When a city or government is not allowing you to live free, find a place that will let you live free. I think that message is attractive to Christians and non-Christians, he said. People want to be away from the rat race, the big metro areas, and move to a more family friendly community. They want to be someplace they know they wont be persecuted for having a gun in their truck, or because they like to keep to themself. Its more of a live and let live mentality.
American Redoubt, Baldwin said, is more of a freedomist movement than a Christian movement. But the Bible is filled with examples of God protecting his people by leading them to new places, he said.
More concerning than the new coronavirus, he said, is the possibility of nuclear exchange. Rural America is the safest place to be when, or if, that happens.
However, Baldwin said, relocating is a big decision and shouldnt be taken lightly.
You have to know what youre doing and why youre doing it, he said.
Original post:
Doomsday Preppers Put Faith in God and Plan for the End of All Things - Word and Way
- Kurt Saxon - Survivalism, Survivalists - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Survivalism Wikipedia - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Survival Plus - Kurt Saxon, survivalism, survivalist - December 8th, 2016 [December 8th, 2016]
- Survivalism (song) - Wikipedia - December 19th, 2016 [December 19th, 2016]
- Bomb-shelter builder busy as customers prep for 'Trumpocalypse' - Atlanta Journal Constitution - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- The Wild Eight is survivalism served extra-cold - Eurogamer.net - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Commentary: Always something to panic about - Park Rapids Enterprise - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Lynn Hummel column: Always something to panic about - Detroit Lakes Online - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Phobophobes Announces New Single and UK Tour with LIFE - Broadway World - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- The Essential Animation Charms of 'My Life as a Zucchini' and 'The Red Turtle' - Film School Rejects - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Green politics can save us - Drexel University The Triangle Online - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- At home with the Saviors: Recapping 'The Walking Dead' Season 7 Episode 11 - Chicago Tribune - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- Witnessing the Ghosts Of the Past and the Struggles Of the Future in Kashmir - The Wire - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- MAGIC Fall 2017 Fashion Trend: Puffer Jackets WWD - WWD - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Wolf Pack 2017 - Creative Collectives Australia - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- How a mythical 'hermit' criminal hid in the woods for decades - New York Post - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- Feminist pacifism or passive-ism? - Open Democracy - March 7th, 2017 [March 7th, 2017]
- 'The Walking Dead' Reminds Us That Rick Is Terrible At What He Does - Glide Magazine - March 7th, 2017 [March 7th, 2017]
- Wingin' It - The Portland Mercury - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- South London's Phobophobes Share Sinister New Music Video - Broadway World - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- One of Trump's treasury assistants is a survivalist who invented a bizarre techno-bow - The Verge - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Brazil Really Needs Its Most Hated Politician - Bloomberg - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- The Founding Fathers Of Survivalism - Survive Tomorrow - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Via 'The Florida Project,' meet two of the youngest stars in Cannes Film Festival history - Los Angeles Times - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Click Your Hiking Boots Together: Oz Farm Is NorCal's Eco ... - 7x7 - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- It Comes at Night | Film Review | Slant Magazine - slantmagazine - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Survivalist shares experience in Harker Heights | Local News ... - The Killeen Daily Herald - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Upcoming "Far Cry" video game is set in Montana - KTVQ.com | Q2 ... - KTVQ Billings News - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Humanity 2.0: The Unstoppability of Singularity - HuffPost - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- You'll Find Far Cry 5 ProvocativeEven if It's a Mess - WIRED - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- Margaret Atwood on the utopias hiding inside her dystopias and why there is no the future - Vox - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- Recently unveiled documents reveal anarchist strand festered at Evergreen for nearly a decade - The College Fix - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- Veteran teaches disaster preparation skills at Heights library - The Killeen Daily Herald - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- It Comes At Night stars on survivalism, the apocalypse - WDEF News 12 - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- What's Next for the Indie Horror Movie Wave - VICE - June 10th, 2017 [June 10th, 2017]
- Next "Far Cry" video game is set in Montana - KRTV News in Great Falls, Montana - KRTV Great Falls News - June 11th, 2017 [June 11th, 2017]
- Here's Everything Microsoft Just Announced at the Xbox E3 Show - TIME - June 14th, 2017 [June 14th, 2017]
- E3 2017: State Of Decay 2 Features A More Open And Diverse ... - GameSpot - June 14th, 2017 [June 14th, 2017]
- Map reveals where billionaires are stockpiling land that could be used in the apocalypse - SFGate - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- Map reveals where billionaires are stockpiling land that could be used in the apocalypse - Business Insider Nordic - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- Where billionaires are stockpiling land for the apocalypse: Map - The Real Deal Magazine - June 18th, 2017 [June 18th, 2017]
- Billionaires are stockpiling land that could be used in the apocalypse here's where they're going - The Advocate - June 18th, 2017 [June 18th, 2017]
- U.S. Billionaires | Apocalypse | Billionaires Buying Land - The Real Deal Magazine - June 20th, 2017 [June 20th, 2017]
- Are you ready when disaster strikes? These Minnesota doomsday preppers are - Charleston Express - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- 'It Comes at Night' a Spellbinding Tale of Family and Survival - Shepherd Express - June 27th, 2017 [June 27th, 2017]
- What it Means to Finish Pikes Peak + Results - Hot Rod Network - Hot Rod Network - June 29th, 2017 [June 29th, 2017]
- DJ CherishTheLuv, Music Missionary - HuffPost - July 1st, 2017 [July 1st, 2017]
- Review: Paranoia thriller It Comes At Night is impressively tense and ... - Norfolk Eastern Daily Press - July 7th, 2017 [July 7th, 2017]
- Film Review: War for the Planet of the Apes - Consequence of Sound (blog) - July 11th, 2017 [July 11th, 2017]
- Queued Up: 'The Lego Batman Movie,' 'XX,' 'Logan,' and More - Aquarian Weekly - July 12th, 2017 [July 12th, 2017]
- 'War for the Planet of the Apes' Review: Finale of biblical proportions - Rappler - July 18th, 2017 [July 18th, 2017]
- Do you Have What it Takes to be a Christian Survivalist? - CBN News - July 20th, 2017 [July 20th, 2017]
- Fear the Walking Dead Comic-Con Trailer and Interviews - ComingSoon.net - July 22nd, 2017 [July 22nd, 2017]
- Review: Nolan's 'Dunkirk' is as Riveting as it is Groundbreaking - First Showing (blog) - July 22nd, 2017 [July 22nd, 2017]
- Webster - Soundblab - August 10th, 2017 [August 10th, 2017]
- Silicon Valley luminaries are busily preparing for when robots take ... - Mashable - August 10th, 2017 [August 10th, 2017]
- Naked - slantmagazine - August 10th, 2017 [August 10th, 2017]
- Noir Thriller Wind River Examines An Ignored America - Willamette Week - August 10th, 2017 [August 10th, 2017]
- What I Learned From the Neo-Nazi in My Prison Book Club | The ... - The Marshall Project - August 11th, 2017 [August 11th, 2017]
- Film Review: The Glass Castle Fails on Almost Every Level - Splice Today - August 12th, 2017 [August 12th, 2017]
- For Doomsday Preppers, the End of the World Is Good for Business - New York Times - August 12th, 2017 [August 12th, 2017]
- Film Review: Good Time - Consequence of Sound (blog) - August 12th, 2017 [August 12th, 2017]
- North Korean Tensions Are Spurring Doomsday Survival-Goods Sales - Fortune - August 13th, 2017 [August 13th, 2017]
- Oregon 'Hate Map' Reveals 11 Racist, Separatist Hate Groups In The State - Patch.com - August 22nd, 2017 [August 22nd, 2017]
- 'American Made' Review: Tom Cruise Flies Between Comedy and Tension, Missing Both - TheWrap - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- Doomsday Desperation - Southern Poverty Law Center - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- Internal Authority vs. External Authority | Alligator ... - March 16th, 2018 [March 16th, 2018]
- Survivalism (song) - NinWiki - April 11th, 2018 [April 11th, 2018]
- Life Legacy - Morgan & Nay Funeral Centre - June 2nd, 2018 [June 2nd, 2018]
- Surviving Survivalism | Commonweal Magazine - April 20th, 2019 [April 20th, 2019]
- Gary K. Wolfe Reviews Trapped in the R.A.W., A Journal of My Experiences during the Great Invasion by Kaylee Bearovna by Kate Boyes - Locus Online - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- A brief history of John Krasinski's transformation into a guy who absolutely loves the CIA - Business Insider - November 23rd, 2019 [November 23rd, 2019]
- Richard Tobin of Brooklawn accused of conspiring to initimidate minorities - Courier Post - November 23rd, 2019 [November 23rd, 2019]
- Market Experts Weigh in on the Next Major Mergers & Acquisitions in Media - Observer - November 23rd, 2019 [November 23rd, 2019]
- Amazon's holiday gift to Orlando's sci-fi fans is a revitalized season of 'The Expanse' - Orlando Weekly - December 16th, 2019 [December 16th, 2019]
- This Scary Fractal Suggests Bitcoin Price Is On Its Way to $3,000 - newsBTC - January 5th, 2020 [January 5th, 2020]
- Trader Who Called Bitcoin (BTC) Breakout Says Top Cryptocurrency Poised for Monster Rally to $150,000 - The Daily Hodl - February 3rd, 2020 [February 3rd, 2020]
- This Albertan YouTuber Is the Bob Ross of Stealth Camping - VICE - February 3rd, 2020 [February 3rd, 2020]
- Analyst: Bitcoin is printing the same pattern that marked Decembers $6,400 bottom - CryptoSlate - March 6th, 2020 [March 6th, 2020]
- Jenny Offill's Novel of Climate Dread - The Nation - March 6th, 2020 [March 6th, 2020]