Kerry Noble
“Even small acts of compassion will change two lives: yours and the one you show compassion to.”
As a young preacher with a small family, Kerry Noble’s desire was to live in a Christian community where he could work with other Christians, worship freely with them, and raise his family in a quiet, peaceful, country environment. In 1977, he did that. But by 1983, that dream had turned into a nightmare; that community had become the #2 domestic terrorist group in the US. In 1984, Kerry came within seconds of committing what would have been the largest domestic terrorist act in US history when he took a bomb into an LGBT church. It was a moment that would change his life forever. Thirty minutes after taking the bomb into the church, Kerry contemplated his actions and left with the bomb.
In 1985, Kerry’s group (The Covenant, The Sword, and The Arm of the Lord) was raided by 300 law enforcement agents in a four-day armed standoff. Kerry spent 26 months of a five year sentence on weapons charges in federal prison. He was committed to straightening out his life.
Since then, Kerry has written two books based upon his experiences: Tabernacle of Hate: Seduction Into Right-Wing Extremism (originally in 1998 and then reprinted in 2010—featured at the Texas Book Festival in 1998) and Tabernacle of Hope: Bridging Your Darkened Past Toward a Brighter Future (2008—featured at the Texas Prison Bookstore). Kerry has been interviewed by NBC’s Today Show, CBS News, the BBC, and the Canadian Broadcasting Network, among others. He has spoken at law-enforcement conferences, human-rights conferences, colleges, and high schools about the mentality, philosophies, theology, and dangers of hate groups.
Today, Kerry and his wife live in Texas near their 6 children and 6 grandchildren. He speaks out today about hope and not hate.
