(Note: This essay was originally published on the blog of the Satanic Temple of NYC. Following a difference of opinion with the decisions of Executive Leadership at TST the author left that organization. It is being re-published here as it appeared previously).
For millenialist Christians, symbols and code have supreme power. Ministers and preachers for centuries have tried to determine the return of Jesus Christ by interpreting the writings of the Bible, in particular the book of Revelation. Amongst whores riding beasts, rampaging supernatural horsemen, and evil inversions of Christ, one symbol stands out. 666, the number of the beast. 666 serves as a simple proxy, the mark that Satan, grand adversary to Christ, places on those who forsake His teachings. Featured in the Left Behind novels by Jerry B. Jenkins, the 1972 film “A Thief in the Night”, and the eponymous song by Iron Maiden. On a symbolic level it is powerful, a way to remark on a corrupt godless world, and obviously the perversion of retail inventory systems. Yes, to some end times believers, 666 has infiltrated the very systems we use to buy groceries.
Supermarkets, while existing in some form from the early 1900s, first entered their modern format in the 1950s. Development of refrigerated trucking made possible the logistical network for a single company to operate a chain of stores in any given region. This level of scale meant potential for significant profits, but presented several new challenges. Inefficient delivery of goods could result in shortages of valuable in demand foods, or a glut of highly perishable produce. These problems continued to mount, and in 1973 the pressures became too great. The solution was the barcode. Initially developed in the 1950s using a circular design, an IBM engineer named George Laurer modified the original concept into a rectangle for simpler printing and encoding potential. The form then that we all know, titled the UPC (Universal Product Code) by the “Symbol Selection Committee”.
It is in this UPC that fundamentalists see a nefarious plot. Specifically cited; Revelation 13:16-18 "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”
At this point you are probably horribly confused. The only common thread between an inventory tracking system and this passage is a reference to buying and selling. This is where we’ll have to dive into the structure of the barcode.
In order for the code itself to contain useful information, the numbers are broken up into two sections, the left (L) and right (R). These sections have different binary formats to categorize numbers, allowing the computer to determine the correct full number irrespective of how the barcode itself is oriented. To divide these sides they are separated by three identical marks, denoting the start, middle, and end of the code. It’s here that something seemed off to the fundamentalists. These spacers were two thin lines, suspiciously similar to the thin lines seen in the six designation of a barcode. The conclusion? 6-6-6 was hidden in a modern tool for buying a selling. This is, as you may expect, a gross misreading of the numbering system, as the two thin lines are only the first three bits of a seven bit code for the number 6, and only align with the first three bits of the R side numbering system. Technicalities like these however are of little concern to the true believer, and the myth has endured.
In a post Watergate world and burgeoning culture of Satanic panic, allegations that a secretive cabal had insinuated the mark of the beast into our grocery stores took off. Here was clear evidence that the end times were upon us, that our proud American institutions had been taken over by dark forces and that evil was all around. For people of a faith system that views any adversity as motivated by Satan this story has strong emotional power. This fear would spread to many areas of American life, including a notorious California cult.
One stark example of barcode paranoia was presented in the music video VHS tape “S.O.S.” from Family International. The video contains several songs detailing how modern office society is crushing our souls, the sin of abortion, mocking Darwinian evolution, and showing the dark future of a world with UPC barcodes. In the latter example, they implore the protagonist Kathy to not go to the supermarket, and escape with her godly friend to the wilderness, so that their souls will be safe from Satan’s corruption. This story of escape from society takes on a darker tone when the history of Family International is taken into consideration.
Family International was founded in 1968, a spin off of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. A millenialist and apocalyptic cult with a theology was centered around a radical “Bridal Theology,” namely that their love for Jesus was a sexual love, one that demanded they visualize his presence in every sexual act. This practice was especially appealing to the growing hippy movement that was collecting in California at the time, drawing in people actively embracing the ethos of “free love”. Unsurprisingly, this theology had a very dark side. Detailed in a Channel 4 documentary, the cult aided and abetted sexual abuse of children in their community.
It seems shocking that anyone would allow members of their own family to be abused in such ways, but it is important to recognize the role that the cult’s propaganda plays in normalizing behavior. Those who have left such organizations almost unanimously recount how the charismatic leaders systematically isolated them from their families. In this way, we can see how the fear of a simple inventory system used in all major stores can be leveraged to drive people away from modern society, and into the confines of an abusive and manipulative cult.
It is important to note though, that Family International was not the first to accuse Satan’s work in the UPC system. The idea was first widely proposed in the book “The New Money System” in 1982. Written by Mary Relfe, a more traditional evangelical with a ministry focusing on outreach and end times prophecy. While still on the fringes of religion in America, ministries such as this still enjoy a wide latitude and de facto legitimacy, while pushing a conspiracy theory that by nature isolates it’s believers from society as a whole.
Fears of the Antichrist marking us with his barcode to corrupt our souls has waned since the 90s, but only because the vector has changed. Instead of the supermarket checkout, our cell phones stand to mark us as the Devil’s property, or the RFID chips we use to track our pets is now the first step in a sinister plot to mark us all. What makes these theories even more dangerous, is how they prey on very real and very important concerns with regards to privacy and government intrusion in our personal lives. While we may rightly worry that GPS systems logged by unaccountable corporations are likely to be turned over to government agencies without our knowledge, we must be on guard to not pass on our capacity for free thought to religious organizations that would seek to drive us away from our friends and society.