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The truth

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I have included comments about my changes to Mike Warnke. The real evidence is out there although it is hard to see in one place I suppose. 64.251.168.209 (talk) 13:12, 17 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The truth is that Warnke's timeline as reported in his books does not work. The truth is that people who knew him during the period when he claimed to be a Satanist high priest say he wasn't. The truth is that he is a great story teller and he crossed the boundary. Walter Görlitz (talk) 14:42, 17 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Isn’t the point, of being in a SECRET satanist cult, to keep it a secret? Being a satanist in the time period he claims, was not a popular or well accepted “religion” operating as “science” like it is in 2023. I imagine secrecy was a top priority until such a time that society was more accepting. 192.24.31.160 (talk) 13:20, 30 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Aside from Warnke being unable to provide any evidence the "secret Satanist cult" he describes actually existed, he's made claims that can be shown to be untrue. Probably the most famous example from the Cornerstone exposé are Warnke describing himself as having had six-inch painted-black fingernails and a head of hair extending to his belt, whereas the exposé showed a photograph of a very normal-looking Warnke during the period in question, with friends interviewed confirming his physical appearance wasn't what he subsequently claimed it was. That's just one example. --Ismail (talk) 11:11, 1 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
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But Mike wasn't an expert on Satanism

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The sites I've checked out are pretty upfront that Mike was a fake and a fraud, just no other way to put it. This includes Christian sites, with some members angry at Mike, understandably so, since he lied to them. Now, a couple have said, Christians are the only army who kill their wounded, which is not really strictly true on either count. Plenty of groups have in-fighting. And, Christians are pretty good at forgiving, although they have very high standards.

Plus . . .

It is not our job to just reflect widespread views. Instead, it is our job to use a variety of good references to present what is actually the case. And Mike is not an expert. And yet, we currently say, one of evangelical Christianity's best-known experts . . . discredited in 1991 by the Christian magazine, Cornerstone. Why do we go through the first part only to take it away? And the article in Cornerstone was '92, although perhaps there were murmurings the year before.

If ever there was a case for scare quotes around expert, this would be it. Although I tend to think we can phrase it better. FriendlyRiverOtter (talk) 17:13, 7 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

While I 100% agree he is no expert, would the wording not be appropriate to not have square quotes? It is true that he was regarded as an expert (and I think that is why his story is so notable), especially because of the caveat of prior to his exposure Heymisterscott (talk) 21:11, 12 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The key phrase here is "he was regarded." In a hypothetical scenario where Wikipedia existed back in the 1980s and people were editing his article at the time, it'd probably have to include something like "Warnke has been regarded as an expert on Satanism" with references to the multiple times he's presented as an authority on the subject in mainstream publications and talk shows and whatnot. Thing is, we don't live in the 1980s; the 1991 Cornerstone exposé seemed to pretty much annihilate whatever credibility he had in society at large so that when he does come up nowadays it's invariably as a man who lied. --Ismail (talk) 10:00, 13 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with everything you wrote. I’m just confused why the scare quotes are needed. If the statement was “he is an expert on…” I can see why quotes around expert might be needed. For example, in the imaginary 1985 Wikipedia, I can see it saying “he is regarded as an ‘expert’ in Satanism.” But since we are speaking about the past tense, especially given the widespread of the satanic panic with police, news, councils, and more (more than just religious groups), it’s a true statement that he was regarded as an expert, full stop.
To be clear, he should not have been, and personally I find the fact that he still collects donations very disturbing. But one thing about the mass hysteria that occurs during these years is that he is considered an expert. I think that scare quotes might have the tendency to minimize the degree to which he was considered an expert, like he was considered a quasi-expert at the time, when news, police, teachers, and courts at a time considered him an expert. Heymisterscott (talk) 01:15, 18 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
A fair point. I suggest the article's sentence read as follows: "Before being debunked by the Christian magazine Cornerstone, he was presented in media appearances as an authority on Satanism." --Ismail (talk) 11:49, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Quite agree; the scare quotes were entirely unnecessary, and i have edited the sentence as suggested by Ismail ~ LindsayHello 12:53, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Did Mike Warnke actually serve in Vietnam?

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If he did, how much of what he says he did and what happened to him in the military is true or false? Bizzybody (talk) 11:03, 17 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The authors of the book Selling Satan note (pp. 119-120) that Warnke served "as a hospital corpsman with a moving combat unit" and that naval records show he was awarded seven medals, notably a Purple Heart and a Combat Action Ribbon. But they also write, "Mike was in Vietnam only six months, an awfully short amount of time to have been involved in the long and gory list of events he later claimed." The book notes Warnke's dubious statements and gives evidence contradicting some of them. --Ismail (talk) 01:47, 18 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Mike moved to California with his (half) sister not aunt

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Been seeing this error for a long time, but did nothing about it. Per "Selling Satan" Mike lived with his aunts before finally moving out to California to live with his half-sister Shirley Schrader who was much older than Mike.

Quoting from the book, After Al Warnke divorced her mother, Shirley's mom remarried and the family moved to California. It then talks about how Shirley met her father (Al) again after she had turned 30 and her, her husband and son moved back east to work at the truck stop. (pp.26-29 Internet archive). It seems in some people's quest to go on the Warnke which hunt, some facts have been ignored... 50.88.229.139 (talk) 20:58, 10 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Take another look

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I read this book back in the 80s, it was outstanding! If he wasn’t in the satanic church he certainly had a lot of facts about it! One of the specific points I remember the most is (paraphrasing) how the satanic cult planned to infiltrate every social aspect of society; government, health/medical, education, main stream churches, entertainment, etc. so I say again, take another look, because that is EXACTLY what has happened! He’s either the most honest “fraud” or he just made up a bunch of crap that just coincidentally is exactly on point! 192.24.31.160 (talk) 13:11, 30 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Why so popular?

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I only listened to Mike Warnke on his first cassette tape. Since when he dressed as a jester I tuned him out. My point here, what people need to know, is that the reason people listened to him is his stories were like and as funny as Bill Cosby. He was extremely funny in that cassette. There are two verses he gave I will always remember 1 John 1:9, and Psalm 102:12. Easeltine (talk) 16:58, 20 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

“As funny as Bill Cosby” lol. I’m not going to doubt that people found him funny, you can hear laughter in the tapes and humour is subjective.
But to address your question, why was he so popular, he is not primarily notable as a Christian comedian. He is notable due to his writings and media appearances where he claimed to be a former satanist, and was used as a source during some key culture wars of the time. The fact that his claims were debunked by a Christian magazine further adds to this notability.
I’m not sure what you are trying to say with those verses you mention. Here is certainly not the place to debate any sort of faith-based topics. However, I think it’s fair to broadly state in response to your comment that it is widely agreed in most of Christianity two facts which can co-exist: forgiveness is offered for all sins, and those who exercise spiritual authority while lying or abusing should not be followed. Of course there is nuance to how different Christian groups follow such beliefs, but it seems it is a false dichotomy to imply forgiveness cannot coexist in consequences of abuse or deception. Perhaps that’s not what you were implying, I can only infer from what you wrote. Heymisterscott (talk) 21:06, 12 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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