Whitefish, MT — In what many call a breakthrough in religious enlightenment and entertainment, the Montana-based Christian evangelical organization Jesus Über Alles announced a new “immersive experience” for believers that will allow participants to experience what it was like to be Jesus Christ.
Outside of nearby Columbia Falls, Camp Revelation will take “pilgrims” through an exhaustively accurate portrayal of the most important aspects of Jesus’ life. However, controversy erupted earlier this week when government officials discovered that the operators, Mr. and Mrs. Nicolas Thaddeus of Whitefish, MT, also planned to put followers through “an authentic crucifixion resurrection” on the organization’s secured compound along a remote part of the Flathead River.
“It’s about believing and faith,” said Nicolas Thaddeus, 58, speaking of Camp Revelation. “We see it as a way to ‘walk the talk.’ Too often, Christians give lip service to our Savior. But we believe that isn’t enough. You have to become Jesus to follow him truly. It’s not unlike Peter’s journey from being a coward and denying Christ to being crucified upside down. We want to allow all [Camp] Revelation believers to experience Jesus as only Jesus would know.”
According to a flyer produced by Jesus Über Alles, the organization was founded in 1983 by Rand Spencer, the father of outspoken Whitefish resident and alt-right spokesperson Richard Spencer, after the family relocated to Montana to escape, in the elder Spencer’s words, “that liberal cesspool of Boston.” After unsuccessfully founding several churches, the Spencers created Jesus Über Alles as a way “to unite white believers in God’s Montana sanctuary.” For several years, the church floundered until Nicolas Thaddeus and his wife Thelma purchased it in the late 1990s in preparation for the Y2K disaster. When 2000 came and went, the couple retooled the organization to “save souls from the impending liberal global apocalypse.”
Nicolas Thaddeus says the idea for Camp Revelation came to him in a dream after watching a documentary on Jonestown, Guyana.
“There were many things that Jim Jones did right,” continued Mr. Thaddeus, “And many things he got wrong, which we don’t need to discuss. For example, that night, Jesus came to me in a dream and told me to build a massive camp on the banks of the Flathead [River]. He told me I needed to build a wall around it and instruct his followers to live exactly as he did. That was in 2004, and it’s taken us until now to make it happen.”
The compound is on 67 acres, which the family has cleared for over ten years. There are barracks for the followers, a main hall and cafeteria, and a large outdoor arena for church services and “worship” concerts. But, of course, Camp Revelation’s most controversial feature is the recreated “place of the skull,” where participant crucifixions will take place. Nicolas became haughty when asked if any Thaddeus family members planned to participate in the crucifixions.
“Well, someone has to stay behind and keep the operation going,” said a somewhat indignant Mr. Thaddeus, who seemed offended by the question. “We already know what our reward will be. But for His followers, their reward will be eternal life. That is after they rise from the dead three days later.”
Jesus Über Alles Revelation Camp is open next summer and is taking reservations now. Admission is $2700 per person for 40 days and $8300 for families up to 5 members.
