Vol. 7, No. 1, 1990

Articles on the Occult

The sensational true story of former satanic high priest, Mike Warnke, may not be true after all according to a recently released two-year study by Christian journalists Jon Trott and Mike Hertenstein.

Published in the current issue of Cornerstone magazine, the highly detailed article (including over 150 footnotes) contained "testimony from Mike's closest friends, relatives, and daily associates¼ [that] knew the real Mike Warnke, who was not a drug fiend or a recruiter for Satanism. But he was a storyteller" (Vol. 21, No. 98 p. 8).

Warnke, known as America's most popular Christian comedian, has sold over one million albums and three million copies of The Satan Seller according to some estimates. He has also gained national prominence on numerous popular syndicated programs including Larry King Live, ABC's 20/20, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Focus on the Family, and The 700 Club.

Warnke, 45, has been a top-selling author and comedy recording artist since 1972 when Logos International first published The Satan Seller, with co-author by David Balsiger, that details Warnke's amazing story.

It tells how he first became a drug addict before being recruited into a satanic ring where he quickly rose to the position of high priest overseeing bizarre rituals and orgies.

Warnke states that as a satanic priest, he had fifteen hundred followers in three cities as part of a massive, wealthy network of highly secretive Satanists.

The book tells that after he was expelled from the satanic group he joined the Navy where he later became a Christian.

The testimony in the book has served as the foundation for Warnke's evangelistic ministry, an arm of his church, the "Holy Orthodox Catholic Church in Kentucky" (HOCCK).

In recent years the organization has centered on the comedy portion of Warnke's ministry and on aiding children abused by satanic cults.

Testimonies and Photographs

Besides interviews with friends who were close to Warnke at the time he was allegedly a Satanist, the Cornerstone writers produce photographs of a clean cut Warnke during the period he claimed to have "waist length white hair, [and] six inch fingernails." The article also provides a detailed time line of events that gives strong evidence that the incidents related in the book could not have occurred as they were reported (Ibid p. 8).

Trott and Hertenstein conclude that Warnke invented his tale and they are concerned that a large portion of the Christian population formed beliefs about the Occult, based at least in part on Warnke's best-seller.

While making a strong statement against Satanism and the Occult, the magazine faults Warnke for provoking public hysteria over a supposed international satanic conspiracy that they doubt actually exists.

Trott and Hertenstein claimed to have been thwarted in an attempt to confront Warnke personally with their concerns and evidence stating that Warnke "said he would only meet us at his attorney's office" and eventually requested, "no further contact with him except though his attorney" (Ibid p. 30).

The Cornerstone article was first released at the Christian Booksellers Convention in Dallas where Warnke and his third wife, Rose, were promoting a new book, Recovering From Divorce.

According to Cornerstone, Rose and Mike plan to continue the ministry together although he is currently married to his fourth wife, Susan Patton, whom he married on November 18, 1991 - six weeks after his divorce from Rose was finalized (Ibid).

Warnke: "I stand by my testimony..."

Mike Warnke was unavailable for personal comment when his offices were contacted by Watchman Fellowship. However a spokesperson for Warnke Ministries told Watchman that Warnke continues to stand by the original Satan Seller story.

Warnke Ministries sent Watchman a twelve page press statement and assorted documents responding to the Cornerstone article.

Warnke stated: "I stand by my testimony of being delivered and set free by the power of Jesus Christ after being a satanic high priest exactly as published in my book. It is an unusual accusation to be charged with `Not being as bad as you claim'" (Statement p. 2).

He explained that his friends and associates quoted by Cornerstone were often "casual acquaintances [who] well might not have noticed" his satanic lifestyle and added that his first wife, Sue Warnke, could have confirmed "60 percent of the account included in my book" (Ibid pp. 5, 7). He cited personal endorsements from Johanna Michaelsen, Bob Larson and others and stated, "I can also say with absolute conviction that I have never willfully lied to or deceived anybody. I am not the person I was twenty-five, thirteen, or even two years ago. I intend to go on serving God with all my heart and strength and soul" (Ibid pp. 10,11).