Six Years in Heaven

<p>“<em>A True Story of Human Credulity and Unexampled Devotion Embracing a Complete Expose of the Abominable Practices and Monstrous Professions of George Jacob Schweinfurth</em>”</p><p>It is 1889 and in Rockford Illinois George Jacob Schweinfurth sets up the Church Triumphant with himself as a new Messiah—Jesus reborn. Possessed of a strong mesmeric gaze and great personal presence Schweinfurth is adept at persuading people and especially young women to join him in “heaven.” Schweinfurth’s “angels” soon find themselves pregnant giving birth to children supposedly conceived “without sin.”</p><p><em>Six Years in Heaven</em> was first published in 1894. Written by a previously unknown writer this extraordinary story of Schweinfurth’s church is a cautionary tale of the effects of religious fundamentalism and the power of cults.</p><p>The book is interwoven with a romance telling the story of Clara and the attempts of her beau Arthur to save her from Schweinfurth. However the true purpose of the novel is most likely to have been to expose the real-life scandalous goings-on within the Church Triumphant.</p>