Comparative Religions
Professor:
Research Paper Assignment: Branch Davidians and David Koresh
The Branch Davidians began as an offshoot sect of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in 1935. They were initially a small group lead by a man named Victor Houteff who had some differing beliefs from the church. Houteff was convinced there were errors in the Adventists doctrines and practices and wrote a book called The Shepherd’s Rod outlining these errors and it caused some conflict within the church. He with 11 members founded the Mt. Carmel Center near Waco Texas; they also called their group The Shepherd’s Rod. (Robinson, 2003) Houteff and his group believed that Christ's return would only occur when at least a small number of Christians had been sufficiently purified. He believed that he was a messenger sent by God to conduct this cleansing. The cleansing and tasks he saw this group as being responsible for had two parts. The first was to reveal secret information contained in a scroll described in the book of Revelations. This scroll, described as having seven seals, they believed told of exactly when and how Jesus would return and how the world would end. The second task required the purifying of this small group and once done would bring about the downfall of Babylon (our current world) and would establish the Kingdom of David in its place. They felt that they were the chosen group. Infighting went on within the Seventh Day Adventists Church for many years until a complete break away occurred in 1942 when the Seventh-Day Adventists Church would not grant conscientious objector status to its members during World War II. Houteff then changed the group’s name to the Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists and after WW II he began to recruit new members. Houteff died in 1955 and leadership was passed to his wife Florence who moved the group further from Waco to another large tract of land. (Robinson, 2003) The community gained hundreds of members and recruited world wide. Florence a charismatic leader once predicted the end of the world and the new Kingdom of David to begin on April 22, 1959. Many of the followers sold all they had and moved to the church property. When the 23rd came with no change the group nearly disappeared completely having only a couple dozen members left. Many of the members that left formed another group called the Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist Association that still exists today. For Florence and her group they continued on the property until she left the group in 1962. Benjamin Roden took over control of the group and renamed it the General Association of Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists. He proclaimed himself to be King David's successor and lead the group for 15 years. At his death in 1978 his wife, Lois Roden, took control although a power struggle developed between Lois and her son George. Lois had claimed she had been receiving visions that God is both male and female and that the third person of the trinity was female. She went on to claim that Christ would take the form of a woman at the second coming. (Robinson, 2003)
Vernon Howell joined the group in 1981; he worked as a handyman and in 1984 married a 14 year old girl. Also during this time Howell had an affair with Lois Roden now in her seventies. He justified the affair by claiming God wanted them to have a child who would be considered the chosen one. This caused further turmoil within the group and Howell was thrown off the property by George Roden and his supporters. George was still fighting for control of the church with his mother, at the time. Howell and seven supporters armed themselves and sneaked back onto the property where a gun battle ensued. George was wounded, shot in the chest and hand, and as a result was imprisoned for weapons charges and violating a restraining order. (Robinson, 2003) (This later became a recurring theme with members getting in trouble with weapons charges.) He was also charged with contempt for writing threatening letters filled with profanity to the judge. Howell and his seven followers went on trial for attempted murder resulting in the seven being acquitted and Howell’s proceedings being declared a mistrial. (Sad when you consider a few short years’ later nearly 100 people would lose their lives.) While George was in jail Howell and his followers went back to the church property and took over.
Vernon Wayne Howell was born in Houston, Texas in 1959 to a 15-year old single mother. He never knew his father and was raised by his grandparents. Howell’s childhood was a lonely one, he had very few friends and did not fit in and he was dyslexic and a bad student. He did have musical ability and a strong interest in the Bible, but other kids teased him and dropped out of school in eleventh grade. Reading the Bible habitually most of his life, he had memorized large tracts of it. When he was 20, Howell turned to the Seventh Day Adventists Church, his family’s church, but he was expelled for being a bad influence. Sometime during the next couple of years, he went to Hollywood to become a rock star but returned home unsuccessful. In 1981 he went to Waco, Texas where he joined a small off shoot group of the Adventists Church. (Fantz, 2011)
Howell traveled to Israel with the leader of the group Lois Roden and lived there for a time. The pair returned to East Texas. In her absence Lois found out her son George had used the property to make methamphetamines as well as deal in guns, drugs and pornography. Lois died in 1986 and Howell took over leadership. By 1990 Howell was well establishes as leader the group, he legally changed his name to David Koresh. He said the change was because his belief that he was now head of the biblical House of David and Koresh is a Hebrew translation of Cyrus, the name of the Persian king who allowed the Jews held captive in Babylon to return to Israel. He was the charismatic leader of a now heavily armed group who believed they were bringing about the end of the world. The group now called themselves the “Students of the Seven Seals” again referring to the scroll referred to in the book of Revelation. The name "Branch Davidians" came from the prior leader Roden's expression "Get off the dead Shepherd's Rod and move onto a living Branch". (Robinson, 2003) The name was not actually used much by the members, but became the name most commonly used by the public and media.
For the most part the group’s religious beliefs followed those of the Seventh-Day Adventists with its emphasis on the impending return of Jesus and the book of Revelation. They followed the dietary rules of the Old Testament and believed in the inerrancy of the Bible, in other words a belief that the Bible was literally completely accurate, with no error. Along with these common beliefs they added some other new concepts centered on their role and that of their leader. (Robinson, 2003)
• God has provided their leader and he is a profit whose words equal the Bible
• Jesus’s death on the cross only provided salvation to those who had died before 32 C.E. and that salvation for everyone else since only came from their current leader.
• They held that David Koresh himself was the “lamb” spoken of in Revelations 5:2 and that he would open the seven seals and bring about the end of the world as we know it.
• After the seals are broken Christ will return and a war would start in which the group will have a significant role and once complete they alone will ascend into heaven to be with God.
• Lastly there is still some confusion regarding the standoff with ATF agents in 1993. Koresh believed that somehow the battle was related to the one spoken of in Revelations but the details did not fit his prediction of the battle being in Jerusalem in 1995.
When comparing the group’s belief system to Molloy’s 8 characteristics of religion they follow all of the major points and therefore would be accurately described as a religion.
• They shared a common belief that they were the chosen group to bring about Revelations Apocalypse and Armageddon.
• They led a very communal and highly regulated life style that bound them together as a community. They grew their own food, devoted large amounts of time to Bible study.
• The held conventions, celebrated Jewish Feast days and recruited members from all over the world. Mostly from excommunicated members of the Seventh-Day Adventists.
• They believed in Koresh’s “New Light Doctrine” which broke up the conventional marriages and allowed him to form what he called “spiritual wives” having sex with most of the women in the group, including many underage, while he required everyone else to remain celibate.
• They shared in strong ethical beliefs; physical punishment was administered to anyone seen as not following the rules. This eventually led to allegations of child abuse as well as allegations of inappropriate sexual relationships with minors. Outside agencies became involved at the courts request and ultimately played a part in the siege by ATF.
• Because of their belief in their role in Armageddon the group stock piled weapons. Some legal and many illegal, as many as 10 tons of weaponry was stored on the property they now called “Ranch Apocalypse.” This too led to the standoff, gun battle and eventual burning of the compound as well. It was well known that the group had these weapons, they bought and sold them freely at local gun shows and when disgruntled members left often they went directly to authorities giving information on the illegal activities.
On February 28, 1993 roughly one hundred agents from the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agency arrived on the compound. The goal was to search for illegal firearms, explosives and arrest David Koresh, on weapons charges. Unfortunately, the group knew the agents were coming and were waiting as authorities approached. Gunfire erupted and law enforcement officials found themselves fighting heavily armed members with explosives, military assault rifles, and other semi-automatic weapons.(Ross, 1999) The gunfight lasted 45 minutes, ending only after law enforcement personnel had retreated. After the initial fight two federal agents lay dead, and 19 others were injured with two more dying of their wounds hours later. A standoff lasted for two months until April 19th when the compound was again entered by the authorities. This time much better prepared for the group they faced. A fire began and when the fighting stopped nearly 100 people lost their lives. (Christian Research Institute, 2009)
The Branch Dravidian cult proved to be an extremely destructive group. Many members involved in the group had been subjected to beatings, sexual abuse, emotional trauma, mental torture, and spiritual ruin. Because their, in my opinion, aberrant beliefs on how the world would end and their role in bringing it about, the warning signs were there and it was only a matter of time before a terrible outcome came about. After this research I am left with a sense of grief, I am saddened and think that this tragedy could have been prevented. Members where seeking something and in their lack of knowledge followed a mad man. Authorities should have prevented the stock pile of weapons sooner and I believe David Koresh should have been imprisoned for attempted murder of George Roden. What is the answer? while it is a cornerstone of our nation to believe as you wish as well as having freedom of speech I think there is a fine line when a group becomes as destructive as this one.

References

Christian Research Institute. (2009, April 04). The branch davidians. Retrieved from http://www.equip.org/articles/the-branch-davidians/

Fantz, A. (2011, April 14). Who was david koresh?. Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2011-04-14/us/waco.koresh_1_davidian-sect-vernon-wayne-howell-branch-davidian-compound?_s=PM:US

Robinson, B. A. (2003, April 19). Branch davidians history, beliefs, and practices. Retrieved from http://www.religioustolerance.org/dc_branc1.htm

Ross, R. (1999, September ). The waco davidian standoff. Retrieved from http://www.culteducation.com/waco.html