Inventory of the Christian World Liberation Front Collection
Donna Brown
Graduate Theological Union Archives
Graduate Theological Union
2400 Ridge Road
Berkeley, California, 94709
Phone: (510) 649-2523/2501
Email: archives@gtu.edu
URL: http://gtu.edu/library/information/special-collections
© 2008
Graduate Theological Union. All rights reserved.
Inventory of the Christian World Liberation Front Collection
Collection number: GTU 94-9-03
Graduate Theological Union Archives
Graduate Theological Union
Berkeley, California
- Processed by:
- Donna Brown
- Date Completed:
- February 2008
- Encoded by:
- David Stiver
© 2008 Graduate Theological Union. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Christian World Liberation Front collection
Dates: 1970-1988
Collection number: GTU 94-9-03
Collector:
Black, Edith
Collection Size:
2.5 linear feet (3 archives boxes)
17 documents
Repository: The Graduate Theological Union. Library.
Abstract: The collection contains records about evangelical Christians and the Jesus movement in Berkeley from 1970 through the eighties.
Materials primarily represent the Christian World Liberation Front (CWLF) and the Spiritual Counterfeits Project (SCP), but
also include materials on the Bay Area Evangelical Women's Caucus and other organizations.
Physical location: 4/C/6
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to The Graduate Theological Union. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Graduate Theological Union
as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must
also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
Christian World Liberation Front collection, GTU 94-9-03. Graduate Theological Union Archives, Berkeley, CA.
Acquisition Information
Edith Black donated these materials in 1994.
Biography / Administrative History
The Christian World Liberation Front (CWLF) was founded in 1969 in Berkeley, California, by Jack Sparks and others from the
Campus Crusade for Christ. Disagreeing with the need for headquarters approval of any published material, they became an
independent entity.
Sparks, a former teacher at Penn State in statistics and research design, led the organization to become one of the most recognizable
Christian groups in Berkeley. Along with individual approaches and distribution of their literature, the group led impromtu
gatherings and performed street theater around the University of California campus and Telegraph Avenue. Their mission was
to evangelize and convert students and street people.
In 1975, the CWLF disbanded over questions of authority. Neither group continued under the CWLF name. Some members followed
Jack Sparks, who formed the New Apostolic Order, which later became the Evangelical Orthodox Church. Other members formed
the Berkeley Christian Coalition, which became the Spiritual Counterfeits Project. This organization, despite a defamation
lawsuit filed by Witness Lee that forced them into bankruptcy, still collects and interprets information on new religious
organizations.
The CWLF published
Right On!, one of the first underground papers of the Jesus movement. After the split, the Berkeley Christian Coalition published
Radix. More intellectual than many similar publications, the papers featured interviews with local figures ( such as Loni Hancock)
and nationally known people (Theodore Roszak, for instance) and used the language of the radical and revolutionary culture
with their particular Christian orientation.
Sources
Edward E. Plowman, "Whatever Happened to the Jesus Movement,"
Christianity Today, October 24, 1975, 46-48.
"Spiritual Counterfeits Project,"
Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_Counterfeits_Project (accessed February 28, 2008).
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection records activities of the Christian World Liberation Front and its official newsletters. Other materials record
the Bay Area Evangelical Women's Caucus, of which Edith Black was a member, and similar local organizations. The collection
consists of two series: 1. Organizational and Information files (materials collected directly from the CWLF organization
and materials about the organization); and 2. Newsletters. The newspapers
Right On! and
Radix are in pristine condition. File folder headings are listed as they were in the donated collection, with headings added if
the file was not labeled.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Sparks, Jack N.
Brooks, Alexander.
Wallerstedt, Alan.
Spiritual Counterfeits Project.
Berkeley Christian Coalition.
Christian World Liberation Front.
Bay Area Evangelical Women's Caucus.
Jesus People--California--Berkeley.
Evangelicalism--California--Berkeley.
Hippies--California--Berkeley.
Hippies--Religious life.
Sparks, Jack N.
Brooks, Alexander
Wallestedt, Alan
Other Finding Aids
GTU 89-5-016, Berkeley Free Church Collection, 1959-1976, operated its street ministry in Berkeley at the same time.
GTU 92-3-1, Center for Women and Religion collection, 1969-88, contains related material on the local evangelical women's
movement.
Related Material
The 1969 issues of
Right On can be found in the periodical collection of the Graduate Theological Union, Flora Lamson Hewlett Library.
Donald Heinz,
Jesus in Berkeley. PhD diss., Graduate Theological Union, 1976. Heinz spent from 1972 to 1974 as a participant-observer of CWLF. He also wrote
an article on the Christian World Liberation Front in
The New Religious Consciousness, edited by Charles Y. Glock and Robert N. Bellah.
Steven Jude Sofranko,
Where the Jesus People Went: A Study of Santa Rosa Christian Church and An Intersection of Religious Movements. MA thesis, Graduate Theological Union, 2000.
Separated Material
Roger C. Palms,
The Jesus Kids.Valley Forge, Pa.: Judson Press, 1971.
The God-Men : Witness Lee and the Local Church, Spiritual Counterfeit Project.Berkeley, CA.: Spiritual Counterfeits Project Inc., 1977.
Box 1 - 2
Series 1
Organizational and Information Files
1964-1992
Physical Description: 1.5 linear feet
Scope and Content Note
Series 1 contains materials that Edith Black collected directly from the CWLF organization and materials about the organization.
Other materials include items from religious organizations that were active at the time. Arranged alphabetically.
box-folder 1: 1
Wikipedia article "Spiritual Counterfeits Project"
2008
box-folder 1: 2
Bay Area Evangelical Women's Caucus Part I
1979-80
box-folder 1: 3
Bay Area Evangelical Women's Caucus Part II
1976-1977
box-folder 1: 4
Bay Area Evangelical Women's Caucus -Total Women
1975-76
box-folder 1: 5
Berkeley Christian Coalition
1976-79
box-folder 1: 6
Berkeley Christian Coalition - Campus Ministry(Gates)
1979-81
box-folder 1: 7
Call to the Streets (book) - Don Williams
1972
box-folder 1: 8
Christian World Liberation Front - Couples Meetings
no date
box-folder 1: 9
Christian World Liberation Front - Council
1974-75
box-folder 1: 10
Covenant Circle: A Christian Study Fellowship
1982
box-folder 1: 11
A Critical Analysis of the Evangelical Orthodox Church (New Covenant Apostolic Order) Lloyd R. Thompson Part I
1976
box-folder 1: 12
A Critical Analysis of the Evangelical Orthodox Church (New Covenant Apostolic Order) Lloyd R. Thompson Part 2
1979
box-folder 1: 13
The Crucible : A Forum for Radical Christian Studies
1973-78
box-folder 1: 14
Crucible : mini courses
1973
box-folder 1: 16
Evangelical Lion Pacific School of Religion
1975
box-folder 1: 17
Christian World Liberation Front, Flyers and Letters
1973-77
box-folder 1: 18
Christian World Liberation Front, Family Letters.
1973-74
box-folder 1: 19
Free Church, Harlan Stelmach, draft Chapter 2
1967
box-folder 1: 21
Friends of the Spiritual Counterfeit Project
1977-87
box-folder 1: 22
Genesis Institute
no date
box-folder 1: 23
God's Forever Family, Jack Sparks
1974
box-folder 1: 24
Graduate Theological Union -
Ecumenical Associates News
1976
box-folder 1: 25
Graduate Theological Union -
So It Goes
1973-77
box-folder 1: 26
Graduate Theological Union-Office of Women's Affairs
1974 -77
box-folder 1: 27
Graduate Theological Union - Office of Women's Affairs (Flyers)
1970
box-folder 1: 28
Handwritten notes on "An Introduction to Ingmar Bergman," lecture by O.S. Guiness
no date
box-folder 1: 29
Handwritten notes on "Authority and Permissiveness," Rookmaker
no date
box-folder 1: 30
Handwritten notes on "The Creative Christian Lifestyle," O.S. Guiness
no date
box-folder 1: 31
Handwritten notes on "Current Trends of Theology," Jim Parker
no date
box-folder 1: 32
Handwritten notes on O.S. Guiness
no date
box-folder 1: 33
Handwritten notes on "Possible Answers to Basic Philosophical Questions," Schaefer
1965
box-folder 1: 34
Handwritten notes on "The True Freedom" cassette
no date
box-folder 1: 35
Handwritten notes on "View of Biblical Law," Uddo Middleman
no date
box-folder 1: 36
Handwritten notes on "Biblical Sex Ethic," Jim Hearly
no date
box-folder 1: 37
Handwritten notes on "On Marriage," Edith Schaeffer
no date
box-folder 1: 38
Handwritten notes on "God of the Gaps"
no date
box-folder 1: 39
Handwritten notes on "Verification by Linguistic Analysis," O.S. Guiness
no date
box-folder 1: 40
Handwritten notes in regard to the Schaefer Group
no date
box-folder 1: 42
Jack Sparks correspondence and writings
no date
box-folder 1: 43
Jesus Movement article from Christianity Today
1975
box-folder 1: 44
Christian World Liberation Front - Jill Shook
1974-75
box-folder 1: 46
L'Abri Fellowship - L'Abri Tape Library
1974
box-folder 1: 47
Letters to Street Christians Two Brothers from Berkeley
1971
box-folder 1: 48
Liberation Newspaper
no date
box-folder 1: 49
Local Church, Jack Sparks "The Beliefs and Practices of the Local Churches" and "Mind Bending or Mind Renewing"
1977-79
box-folder 1: 50
New Conversations Journal
1976
box-folder 1: 51
Christian World Liberation Front - member outreach , correspondence
1975-77
box-folder 1: 52
Articles, newspaper, photocopies church controversies
1978-84
box-folder 1: 53
Norman K. Gottwald correspondence
1973-75
box-folder 1: 54
Radical Religion : flyers, notes, correspondence
1973-75
box-folder 1: 55
Radical Religion Journal
1974
box-folder 1: 57
Ramparts Magazine
April 1969
box-folder 1: 58
Redeemer King Church Teachings Part I (handwritten notes)
1976
box-folder 1: 59
Redeemer King Church Teachings Part II (handwritten notes)
1976
box-folder 2: 60
SLA and Hearst Statement (an open statement)
1974
box-folder 2: 61
Sojourners- Pro Life and Anti Nuke articles
1979-80
box-folder 2: 62
Spiritual Counterfeits Project Unification Church A Challenge to Sun Myung Moon
no date
box-folder 2: 63
Spiritual Counterfeits Project Contemporary Spiritual Trips
1974-75
box-folder 2: 64
Spiritual Counterfeits Project - Cult Information
1975
box-folder 2: 65
Spiritual Counterfeits Project - Journal Part I
1977-79
box-folder 2: 66
Spiritual Counterfeits Project - Journal Part II
1980-82
box-folder 2: 67
New Covenant Apostolic Order brochure
1979
box-folder 2: 68
There is no file folder 68
box-folder 2: 69
There is no file folder 69
box-folder 2: 70
The Street People selections from
Right On
1972
box-folder 2: 71
Christian World Liberation Front Street Theatre
1974-76
box-folder 2: 72
Transcript of taped review of
Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women's Liberation
no date
box-folder 2: 73
Women's Bible Project background
1973
box-folder 2: 74
World Student Christian Federation - 28th general assembly, invitation and flyer
1981
Box 3
Series 2
Newspapers and Newsletters
1970-88
Physical Description: 1 linear feet
Scope and Content Note
Series 2 contains newspapers and newsletters. The 1969 Vol 1 issues of
Right On! are missing.
box-folder 3: 99-100
Spiritual Counterfeits Project Newsletter
1976-88
