Is That a First Name, or a Last Name?
A 57-year-old nitwit in Zion, Illinois has petitioned the court to allow him to legally change his name to "In God We Trust."
Steven Kreuscher is a school bus driver and amateur artist. According to an article in the Associated Press, the town of Zion IL was originally founded as a theocracy by a sect that believed the world was flat. That sect, founded by a colorful kook named John Alexander Dowie, was known as the "Christian Catholic Church in Zion." Trouble is, they had no place called Zion in which to locate their church.
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| John Alexander Dowie, noted kook |
Dowie was born in Scotland in 1847, and emigrated to Australia where he served as the pastor of a Congregational church. While in Australia, he founded the International Divine Healing Association. In 1888, God laid it on his heart to take his healing tent show to the US, where he eventually ended up in Chicago just in time for the World's Fair.
But not even the hucksters of the World's Fair would let Dowie sell his sideshow healing inside the precincts of the actual fair, so he set up shop across the street from the main entrance. His act didn't really catch on until Sadie Cody, the niece of Buffalo Bill, got herself healed at Dowie's place. Having a celebrity (even such a B-lister as Cody) on his client roll turned the trick for Dowie, and he began to pack 'em in. Apparently, the money rolled in too, because by 1900, Dowie was ready for his biggest show yet: Zion City.
The Reverend Mr. Dowie was apparently unfamiliar with the Separation clause of the Bill of Rights. His vision for Zion City was a place where God would be the ruler. Of course, the con artists in the leasing office would have a say too. Dowie optioned 6,600 acres of land north of Chicago and started leasing it to followers for a term of 1,100 years. Why 1,100, you ask? Because Dowie felt certain Jesus would return within a century, and would rule for a millennium. After that, whoopee! Rapture! (At least that's what he told people. Such a pious man could never be accused of bilking credulous nitwits, now could he?)
Eventually, the whole thing collapsed under the combined weight of Dowie's failing health (he had a stroke in 1905) and a lawsuit stemming from a conflict over leadership of Zion. Perhaps God ruled Zion on paper, but in the courts it became a guy named Wilbur Glenn Voliva, who rescued Zion from insolvency and general mismanagement.
Today, the town is home to a diverse community that no longer includes the Christian Catholic Church in Zion, but apparently does include the soon-to-be Mr. In God We Trust.
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