imported>JJMC89 bot III: Removing :Category:Communalism per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2026 February 4#Category:Communalism

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Removing Category:Communalism per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2026 February 4#Category:Communalism

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{{Short description|Defunct Christian commune in Seattle}}
{{for|the Taiwanese TV series|Love Family (TV series)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}}
{{Infobox religious group
| group = Love Family
| image = Musicians performing at Pike Place Market anniversary celebration, 1972.gif
| image_caption = Members of the Love Family perform at the 65th Anniversary Celebration of [[Pike Place Market]], 1972. From left to right, Strength Israel, Zeal Israel, Courage Israel, Reality Israel, Integrity Israel, and Encouragement Israel.
| image_size =

| population =
| founder = Paul Erdmann <small>aka</small> Love Israel
| regions = [[United States]]
| religions = [[Christianity]]
| scriptures =
| languages =
| notes =
}}
The '''Love Family''', or the '''Church of Jesus Christ at Armageddon''', was a U.S. [[Intentional community|communal]] religious movement formed in 1968 and led by Paul Erdmann, who renamed himself Love Israel.

After a fractious conflict in 1984, the community was reduced to a small fraction residing on their {{convert|300|acre|km2|adj=on}} property in [[Arlington, Washington]]. The Love Family flourished on that acreage from 1984 until 2004, when they were forced to sell the properties due to bankruptcy.<ref name=":6">{{citation|title=Controversial, colorful Israel family moves to more open spaces|publisher=[[Seattle Times]]|access-date=September 6, 2011|date=April 19, 2004|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20040419/loveisrael19m/controversial-colorful-israel-family-moves-to-more-open-spaces}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=March 30, 2016 |title=Love Israel, founder of troubled Seattle commune, dies at 75 |url=http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/obituaries/cancer-kills-love-israel-founder-of-troubled-commune/}}</ref>

== Beliefs and practices ==
The group practiced [[meditation]] (often with the use of [[hallucinogen]]ics) and believed that life was eternal and all people were one.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=LeWarne |first=Charles Pierce |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/947838037 |title=The Love Israel Family : urban commune, rural commune |date=2009 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-99756-8 |pages=3, 20, 25–27 |language=en |oclc=947838037}}</ref> Because life was 'eternal', the group did not observe birthdays or perform marriages.<ref name=":7" /> They placed personal revelation above traditional doctrine.<ref name=":1" /> The group was committed to living in the present – "Now is the time" was one of their mottoes – to the point that they avoided making appointments or incurring debt.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Israel |first=Serious |date=1983 |title=Bringing The Vision Down To Earth |url=http://www.context.org/iclib/ic02/isreal/ |archive-date=9 March 2016 |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=Context Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309043202/http://www.context.org/iclib/ic02/isreal/ }}</ref>

Additional prohibitions including [[smoking]], owning clocks, mirrors, or watches, and reading books or magazines other than the [[Bible]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=McCall |first=Cheryl |date=2 April 1979 |title=Steve Allen's Son Brian Saw God on An Acid Trip: It Turned Him into Logic Israel : People.com |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20073299,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160317180527/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20073299,00.html|archive-date=2016-03-17 |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=People}}</ref> The group did not use [[driver's license]]s.<ref name=":5" />

The group ate a predominantly [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]] diet that they sustained in part through [[gardening]] and [[gleaning]].<ref name=":4" />

"Love Israel" is a play on one of the fundamental affirmations of the group, "Love is real". Equally important to the remaining members are three other commonly used affirmations: "We are one", "Love is the answer", and "Now is the time".<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" /> These three 'fundamental belief' statements were used to stave off deeper curiosity and invoke a deeper discussion into the role of humanity on this earth.

=== Relationships ===
The community practised [[group marriage]], although Love Israel was the only husband.<ref name=":0" /> Unauthorized sexual relationships were not allowed, nor was [[birth control]].<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" />

=== Women ===
The group supposedly "eliminated the need for women's liberation by being righteous with each other".<ref name=":5" /> Women were expected to do housekeeping and cooking, serving the men first at meals.<ref name=":5" /> They were supposed to bow when entering a room occupied by a man and were not allowed to speak unless spoken to.<ref name=":5" />

=== Children ===
Children were raised communally with strict discipline.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Powell |first=Steve |date=2018-10-18 |title=Rachel's book tells her history with Israel commune |url=https://www.arlingtontimes.com/life/rachels-book-tells-her-history-with-israel-commune/ |access-date=2022-12-30 |website=Arlington Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

== History ==
Paul Erdmann, a former television salesman from California, moved to [[Seattle]] in 1968.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2007-01-13 |title=Catching up with the Love Family |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/catching-up-with-the-love-family/ |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=HeraldNet.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The Love Family began in October 1968 as a communal household on [[Queen Anne, Seattle|Queen Anne Hill]], Seattle, with their charter being written in 1971.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> Shortly after its founding, Erdmann renamed himself Love Israel; many of his followers adopted the "Israel" surname and biblical or virtue first names.<ref name=":1" />

Within the first ten years, the community expanded to a network of about twelve communal homes and businesses.<ref name=":1" /> As more people arrived and settled in the surrounding neighborhood, Erdmann, as the leader, continued to inherit land and homes (primarily from those who joined) in other, more rural areas of [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Alaska]], and [[Hawaii]].<ref name=":4" />

In 1972, two members of the family died after ritually breathing [[toluene]] fumes out of a plastic bag.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" />

In 1974, plenty of Love Israel Family members danced and sang on stage at the [[1974 World's Fair|World’s Fair]] in [[Spokane, Washington|Spokane]], Washington.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Love Israel Family – WRSP |url=https://wrldrels.org/2017/02/12/love-israel-family/ |access-date=2022-09-22 |language=en}}</ref>

By 1979, the group had about 300 members.<ref name=":5" />

In 1983, a conflict emerged within the family, led by members such as Logic Israel (Brian Allen), one of the principal elders in the family.<ref name=":1" /> This culminated in 1984, when the family returned $1.6 million and 14 Seattle properties to former member Daniel Gruener (Richness Israel) as part of an out-of-court settlement.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{citation |title='Love Family' broke |date=May 20, 1984 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=860&dat=19840530&id=v5hUAAAAIBAJ&pg=6606,6163480&hl=en |publisher=Ellensburg Daily Record |accessdate=2016-02-03}}</ref> Membership dwindled from 500 to 100 as the group was forced to give back assets and money to disenchanted members.<ref name=":1" />

After the conflict, about 40 remaining members moved to properties in Arlington, and around 30 moved to Los Angeles.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":3" /> The Arlington commune supported both a local organic restaurant and an annual festival open to the public called the Garlic Festival, which drew crowds to the property.

In early 2004, the family sold their Arlington properties to the [[Union for Reform Judaism]] due to bankruptcy.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> In 2007, the former Arlington family grounds became Camp Kalsman, a [[Jewish summer camp]].<ref>{{citation |title=Teens spend summer in Love family's footsteps at Camp Kalsman near Arlington |date=August 2, 2008 |url=http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080802/NEWS01/93306755 |publisher=Everettt Herald |accessdate=2011-12-27}}</ref> The remaining members moved to China Bend, a property along the Columbia River, in April 2004, and later to a property in [[Bothell, Washington]].<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

Love Israel died in February 2016, less than a month after it was reported he was diagnosed with cancer.<ref>{{citation |title=Counterculture icon Love Israel near death |date=January 29, 2016 |url=http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/2016/01/29/counterculture-icon-love-israel-near-death/79543310/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131210826/http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/2016/01/29/counterculture-icon-love-israel-near-death/79543310/ |publisher=King 5 |archive-date=January 31, 2016 |accessdate=2016-01-31 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Daniel Gruener died in 2019.<ref>{{citation |title=Daniel Gruener Obituary |date=April 1, 2019 |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/statesmanexaminer/name/daniel-gruener-obituary?id=15497373 |publisher=StatesmanExaminer.com |accessdate=2022-12-15}}</ref>

==Current status==
{{More citations needed|date=December 2022}}

The small remaining core of Erdmann's community continues to this day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Love Israel Family |url=http://www.historylink.org/file/9313 |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=www.historylink.org}}</ref>

The Love Family evolved from being a highly concentrated [[communal society]] with a shared economy to what some non-members call a cult with their own laws and ways. The greater community became a social network of autonomous households that interacted through a shared culture they have continued to create together, without the robes and peer-enforced order. Presently, those that continue to claim membership in what remains of the Family are concentrated in homes and lots on the shore of the Columbia River (Lake Roosevelt), where they own the China Bend Winery, just south of Canada.

Remaining family members still maintain they were called together to help each other "[[:wiktionary:cultivate#English: nurture, foster, tend|cultivate]]" love, oneness, and the presence of God in everyday family life. Very little is spoken about the continuing belief that Love Israel is a leader directed through his vision from God. They also believe that their gathering has Biblical roots and that their purpose is to help fulfill directed prophecies to benefit man and the promises of Jesus.

The current members still claim to view themselves as both the spiritual tribe of Israel and the Church of Jesus Christ at Armageddon, where [[Armageddon]] means the time and place of the gathering of God's family. A few family members continue to be renamed (and newborns named) to remind all that each person's character is gifted with a predominant attribute such as Charity, Honor, Honesty, or Contentment that may already be who they are or part of where they need to be.

==In media==
A film ''It Takes A Cult'', about the Love Israel Family (directed by Eric Johannsen, who grew up as part of the Love Family), was shown at the 2009 [[Seattle International Film Festival]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=28896&FID=123|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528102200/http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=28896&FID=123|url-status=dead|title=''It Takes A Cult'' at SIFF|archivedate=May 28, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q127870185|title=It Takes a Cult}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Brian |date=2009-05-19 |title=SIFF: Children of the Revolution: Two New Docs Wrestle With the Old Hippie Idealism |url=https://www.seattleweekly.com/film/siff-children-of-the-revolution-two-new-docs-wrestle-with-the-old-hippie-idealism/ |access-date=2022-12-30 |website=Seattle Weekly |language=en-US}}</ref>

Rachel Israel, who spent 8 years of her childhood as part of the family, published a memoir on her experiences in 2018, called ''Counterculture Crossover: Growing up in the Love Family''.<ref name=":8" />

The podcast ''Family Ghosts'' has 3 episodes (Season 2, Episodes 1-3) produced by a woman who grew up in the Love Family talking about the group.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Family Ghosts |url=https://familyghostspodcast.com |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Family Ghosts |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
*

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040926125139/http://loveisraelfamily.com/ Love Family website]

[[Category:Hippie movement]]
[[Category:Christian denominations founded in the United States]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1968]]
[[Category:Christian new religious movements]]
[[Category:History of Seattle]]
[[Category:Intentional communities in the United States]]

Love Family - Revision history

imported>JJMC89 bot III: Removing :Category:Communalism per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2026 February 4#Category:Communalism