From: eric@jpusa1.chi.il.us (Eric Pement)
Subject: Mike Warnke Controversy in Cornerstone magasine
Reply-To: eric@jpusa1.chi.il.us (Eric Pement)
Organization: JPUSA - Chicago, IL
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 04:52:00 GMT
Followup-To: rec.music.christian

In article <1992Jul20.142448.10094@cs.rose-hulman.edu> pearsodc@NeXTwork.Rose-Hulman.Edu (Douglas C. Pearson) writes:

>
>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
>PearsoDC@NeXTWork.Rose-Hulman.Edu
  
   and then in response to DLIETBOLD . . . . 

>DLEIBOLD@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.
>> 
>> dleibold@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
Newsgroups: rec.music.christian