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Divine Faithby Otis Ramsey-Zöe, Literary ManagerIn of God—set up shop in Harlem, where he founded1932, a charismatic preacher calling himself FatherDivine—and proclaiming himself an incarnationthe International Peace Mission Movement. This organizationfeatured some now-familiar elements: the worship of itsleader as God; cooperative, communal living wherein believerslabored without pay andforfeited their possessions tothe group; adherence to vows ofthe strictest morality, celibacy,and charity; and a doctrineof equality for all. Divine’sministry offered a responseto people’s cries for justice,peace, and understanding byclaiming to offer freedom fromsome of society’s burdens.Father Divine first surfacedaround 1914 proclaiming hisdivinity; records of his earlierlife—possibly as a man namedGeorge Baker, who earneda living doing lawn work inBaltimore—are obscure. Whatis certain is that, in 1919,Divine and a group of followersmoved to Sayville, Long Island.There, he converted his homeinto a residence for believers,claiming that he intendedto establish the Kingdom ofHeaven on Earth. His ministrysteadily attracted followers,and in 1932 he named it theInternational Peace MissionMovement. Not fully welcomein Sayville, Divine moved theMission’s headquarters to Harlem. (He would later moveagain—to Philadelphia—in 1942.) By 1934, internationalcongregations were taking root as far away as Europe andAustralia.Divine’s claim that he was God offered his followers freedomfrom blind faith. We think of faith as belief without proof, orwhat Hebrews 11:1 calls “the substance of things hoped for, theevidence of things not seen.” Divine felt that, in an increasinglyinhumane world, people were more likely to commit toideas of faith if they could justify their belief with proof. Sofor those needing to base their belief system on somethingtangible, Divine’s assertion that he was God—“personified andmaterialized” in the flesh—proved attractive.In the midst of the Depression, the International PeaceMission also drew followers with its promises to releasethem from the burdens ofmaterial possessions andwant. Believers who residedin a Heaven—the nameDivine gave to his communalhomes and communities—surrendered all of theirbelongings and workedwithout pay; in exchange,Father Divine provided foodand shelter. Believers whodid not live in any of theHeavens were encouraged tospend money only on essentialneeds, and then yield theirremaining income and assetsto the Peace Mission. Divineemphasized the importanceof this gesture by preaching,“Lay not up treasures onearth where moth and thiefand mouse break in andsteal, but lay it up in Heavenwith your Father.” He wouldthen urge, “He who wouldenter into the Kingdom ofGod must have nothing hecan call his own.” Followerswho obeyed this charge andresigned property to Divinewere called “Angels” andwere awarded new names like Ruth Rachel, Frank Incense,and Blessed Charity.As “the Great Provider,” Divine hosted free Sunday eveningmeals for Angels and guests. Word of these “miraculous”feedings spread, and the free dinners eventually attractedsuch multitudes that, at one point, officials brought publicnuisance charges against Divine. He was tried before a CountyJustice, convicted, fined $500, and sentenced to a year in jail.Four days after the verdict, the Justice—a robust 55-year-NEXTSTAGE | Crumbs from the Table of Joy 16
old man—died of heart failure. Manyproclaimed that Divine had used hispowers to strike down the Justice; theincident, seen as proof that Divinewas God, contributed to the furthergrowth of his ministry.Perhaps the Peace Mission’s mostattractive features were its messageof equality and its advocacy of civilrights. As early as 1936, Divineunveiled a plan for equal rights—the “Righteousness GovernmentPlatform”—and proposed a FederalAnti-Lynching Bill. In 1946, hemarried Edna Rose Ritchings, awhite Canadian who assumed the titleMother Divine. He called their union“the marriage of the Lamb and theBride,” echoing Revelations 19:7. Forhis followers, the marriage of Divineand Ritchings represented a trueportrait of racial equality. Indeed, ina sermon celebrating his sixth weddinganniversary, Divine declared, “IAM bringing all nations, languages,tongues, and people together! I havebroken that line of demarcation asaforesaid, and I AM bringing an endto that Mason and Dixon line!”I shall Unify them so effectively by theLaw of the Spirit of Life that was in CHRISTJESUS until that Law will motivate the wholemachinery of the human race. Aren’t you glad!Then we shall have a Righteous Government!Races, colors, and creeds will no longer beconsidered and you will not be low-ratedand disgraced in consideration because ofcomplexion. Aren’t you glad! For this cause,every nation, language, tongue, and people shalllove ME!It is written:“Out of one Blood, God created all nations todwell upon the face of the whole earth.”That Blood is it that is in These Veins. I AMas much of one as I AM the other, therefore,I Came to bring an abolition to that line ofdemarcation and the word that is discriminatoryin itself, which tends to Low-rate some and exaltsome.Can you not see the Mystery!(Father Divine, from his message given at CircleMission Church of Philadelphia on November 2,1943.)Father Divine’s enormous appeal wasinextricably linked to national andinternational politics at the time of his ministry.Racial and economic inequality produced ahunger for his message—an opportunity thathe seized and exploited. With each supposedmiracle, word spread of this man who claimedto be God incarnate; despite controversy andskepticism, Divine’s ministry grew. Belief inhis claim to be God dissipated after Divine’sdeath in 1965, but for those who remainedfaithful, his death was viewed as a final act ofpersonal sacrifice.Mixing Whites andBlacks at his freedinners, Father Divineshocked many Americans.NEXTSTAGE | Crumbs from the Table of Joy 17
Page 1 and 2: ne\TstageA Study Guide created by C
Page 3 and 4: This is the story of Ernestine Crum
Page 5 and 6: Glo s s ar ybanshee (n)—in Gaelic
Page 11 and 12: People & Things continuedBette Davi
Page 13 and 14: People & Things continuedJoan Crawf
Page 15: People & Things continuedOwn (1946)

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