The Love Israel Family, formally incorporated as The Church of Jesus Christ at Armageddon, was a communal religious movement founded in Seattle in 1968 by Paul Erdmann, a former television salesman. After founding the group, Erdmann adopted the name “Love Israel,” and many members took on the surname “Israel” along with biblical or virtue-based first names, referring to themselves collectively as “Children of God.” The group’s central philosophy was summarized in four affirmations: “Love is real,” “We are one,” “Love is the answer,” and “Now is the time.”
Erdmann was born in Berlin in 1940 and immigrated with his family to Seattle in 1947. After attending college, marrying, and running a successful television business, he became disillusioned with conventional life. Around 1965, he turned toward the emerging counterculture and traveled to San Francisco, where he lived in the Haight-Ashbury district. During this period, while under the influence of hallucinogens, he later said he experienced a transformative vision of Jesus, describing it as a moment in which he saw “love” and “forgiveness” in another person’s eyes.
Upon returning to Seattle, Erdmann established a communal household on Queen Anne Hill in October 1968. The group gradually expanded, and in 1971 it formally adopted a charter as The Church of Jesus Christ at Armageddon. Members of the Love Israel Family renounced personal property, transferring all assets to the community under the control of Love Israel and the Elders. They gave up their birth names, wore simple homemade robes during the early years, and sought to minimize contact with the outside world.
Members avoided televisions, radios, newspapers, calendars, and mirrors, focusing instead on spiritual life in the present moment. The group prohibited smoking, reading material other than the Bible, and the use of driver’s licenses, watches, or clocks. They avoided debt and refrained from making appointments, emphasizing detachment from material and temporal concerns.
The Family’s internal structure was patriarchal. Love Israel was regarded as the spiritual husband of all women in the community, and unauthorized sexual relationships and birth control were forbidden. Women were expected to cook, clean, and serve men first at meals, bow when entering a room occupied by a man, and remain silent unless addressed. Children were raised communally under strict discipline. The community followed a primarily vegetarian diet and supported itself through gardening and gleaning.
By the early 1970s, the Family’s network had expanded to about a dozen communal houses and businesses around Queen Anne Hill, with membership estimated at 300 to 350 people. The community also acquired property in rural Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii, much of it donated by new members. To sustain itself, the group operated several enterprises, including the Israel Brothers Construction Company and a natural foods store. Members also performed publicly, including at the 1974 World’s Fair in Spokane.
In January 1972, two members died after ritually inhaling toluene fumes from plastic bags. The incident drew significant media attention and led to portrayals of the group as a “drug-using cult.” Adhering to their belief in eternal life and spiritual healing, members persuaded the medical examiner to delay autopsies for three days in the hope that the men would revive. The community did not observe birthdays or perform marriages, maintaining that death did not truly end life. This belief was again tested in 1974 when another member died in an accident.
By the early 1980s, the group faced growing financial and social tensions. Rapid expansion had led to debt and logistical difficulties, and concerns arose about the welfare of communally raised children. Love Israel’s leadership style, along with reports of his alleged drug use and perceived privileges, created divisions within the community.
In 1983, a major dispute broke out, led in part by elder Logic Israel, born Brian Allen. The conflict culminated in January 1984 when a lawsuit brought by former member Daniel Gruener, previously known as Richness Israel, resulted in an out-of-court settlement. Gruener, who had contributed more than $1 million to the group, was awarded $1.6 million and 14 Seattle properties. The settlement forced the Family to surrender its Queen Anne Hill holdings, and membership declined from roughly 500 to about 100 as disaffected members withdrew their assets and left.
After losing its Seattle properties, the remaining community divided. About 40 followers moved to a 300-acre ranch in Arlington, Washington, while another group of around 30 relocated to Los Angeles. In Arlington, the Family pursued self-sufficiency through farming and local business ventures. Love Israel retained spiritual authority but stepped back from direct control over finances. The group operated an organic restaurant and became known for hosting an annual Garlic Festival, which helped establish a positive relationship with the surrounding community. During this period, the group relaxed several restrictions: members began celebrating birthdays and using standard identification such as driver’s licenses.
Financial problems resurfaced in the early 2000s, and in 2004 the Family filed for bankruptcy. That year, it sold the Arlington property for $4.3 million to the Union for Reform Judaism. The land was later developed into Camp Kalsman, a Jewish summer camp that opened in 2007. Following the sale, members dispersed. Some relocated to a property known as China Bend along the Columbia River in northeastern Washington, where they operated the China Bend Winery. Others moved to Bothell, Washington, where they purchased and connected several adjacent houses, forming a smaller, non-communal network.
Erdmann died in February 2016 at the age of 75, less than a month after being diagnosed with cancer. A small group of followers continues to maintain the movement’s spiritual tradition, emphasizing the core principles of love, unity, and divine connection. They continue to identify themselves as both the spiritual tribe of Israel and The Church of Jesus Christ at Armageddon.
Key Sources:
Brooks, D. (2004, April 19). Controversial, colorful Israel family moves to more open spaces. (2004, April 19). The Seattle Times.
Haley, J. (2007, January 14). Catching up with the Love Family. The Everett Herald.
LeWarne, C. P. (2015). The Love Israel family: Urban Commune, Rural Commune. University of Washington Press.
Rivers, D. L. (2022, March 26). Love Israel Family Stories: Losing my Voice. HistoryLink.
Rudin, A. J. (2004, January 2). Jewish denomination buys former “cult” compound, for conversion to kids camp. Religion News Service.
The Seattle Times (2016, March 30). Love Israel, founder of troubled Seattle commune, dies at 75.
Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religious Movements 