Reading about or studying or “hearing” about the Twelve Tribes is somewhat like watching a closed-captioned television script which replaces the sound track. Words appearing on the screen like “splash” and “bang” or “explosion” or “laughter” or “ocean waves lapping the shore” or, “she takes a deep breath of ocean air” do not relay or communicate what is actually happening. Reading the words is meant to supply a meaning for those who cannot hear the sounds…that is what it’s like trying to figure out what attracts people to the Twelve Tribes. Those who have never wanted to actually live the way they do or without having ever experienced life from within their support system cannot comprehend what life within the Twelve Tribes is about and why those who join “for life” feel compelled to do so.

What causes people to voluntarily want to live within the confines of the Twelve Tribes? Well, the answer to that question invites another question. What causes a person to view the world the way members of the Twelve Tribes do? One who is outside their spiritual experience, an alien to the “life” Twelve Tribes members experience, you simply miss much of the essence of their life. Yes, you can see the screen play and see how the action fits with the words, but you do not have the “under your skin” experience. This is not necessarily a bad way to view the Twelve Tribes “communities.” But it does bring into question why (for varying reasons) what is missing from the whole picture when critics and detractors pass on hear-say or impressions without having ever been fully immersed in what members experience.

What validates Twelve Tribes members and makes them steadfast believers in the gospel they preach and live by? That is certainly a central focus of any “study” of this group. And, in all fairness to them, any homogeneous group has a peculiar phenomenon of experience and habits that make them who they are. The Japanese are “a people.” They take their shoes off at the door. You do not wear shoes in the house. Not to comply would be very rude, if not downright uncouth. Japanese people do not shake hands…it is culturally regarded as insulting. They bow to one another and put their own hands together in front of the person they are “honoring” or saying hello to.

In a parallel manner, members of the Twelve Tribes have developed a unique set of behaviors that have fashioned them into “a people.” They have willingly subscribed to their own dress code, diet (choice of foods), prayers, rituals and moral standards. Many of their moral positions are very traditional and conservative. Some critics and scholars have called them “fundamentalists.” But, that term is somewhat tainted and not completely accurate.

Twelve Tribes members live in a world of automobiles and cell phones and laptops and modern washing machines and appliances. They do not preach that modern inventions are “from the Devil.” They do not teach their children that the Earth is six thousand years old either. They do teach their children about anatomy and chemistry and American government and history.

But they have also stated emphatically that Yahshua will be returning from Heaven to rule the Earth once he has a “compatible bride,” which is to say, the members of the Twelve Tribes. There is no “scientific basis” for this belief. One either believes this as a “fact” or one does not.

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