Members Of The Branch Davidian Group example essay topic

Cultic activity has taken place since the practice of religion was established thousands of years ago. Since then, literally thousands of denominations have been inoculated throughout the world, especially in the United States. A cult, according to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary is a system of religious beliefs and rituals. By definition, this includes organizations such as Baptists, Catholics as well as Satanists and Witches.

While this maybe true, cults have been popularly perceived as Separatists who are consumed by the belief of apocalyptic events, and the leader is someone who believes he or she is chosen by God or some other deity to lead those who are to follow him or her. One group that fits this description is the Branch-Davidians. In the early 1990's the Branch-Davidians made national headlines when they had a deadly standoff with government agents in Waco, Texas, where many perished, including their infamous leader, David Koresh. To understand why this happened, we must understand the history, beliefs and the determination of the Branch-Davidians to defy the government by stockpiling arms, supplies and taking refuge in Waco, Texas. We must also enter the world of David Koresh to make sense of how he was able to have the impact he did on the minds of members of the Branch Davidians. The history of the Branch-Davidians can be dated back to 1831 to a man named William Miller.

According to chronological studies, Miller began studying end of time prophecies of the Bible in 1833 and concluded that by 1843, the end of the world was imminent. The year 1843 arrived and to the disappointment of Miller and his followers, the world had not yet come to an end as predicted by Miller, this eventually led to him revising his prediction date to 1844. In 1844, Christ failed to appear once again. This second blundering prediction by Miller known as "The Great Disappointment" led to the disbanding of the Millerites. After the splitting of the Millerites, a group of former followers formed their own organization. They formed what is known today as the Seventh-day Adventist Church who eventually became a recognized denomination by 1863.

Three people who stood out among the leaders of the Adventists were Joseph Bates, James and Ellen G. White. History shows that they were the nucleus of the group and among the three; Ellen grew into a gifted author, speaker and administrator. From White's development, followers saw her as a prophet from God through her teachings and prophecies that the Seventh-day Adventists were to be God's chosen people at the end of time. Since White was looked upon so highly among the Adventists, she would become and remain the Adventists trusted spiritual counselor for over seventy years until her death.

No other leader of her stature would not emerge again until the mid 20th century. In the 1930's Victor Houteff an Adventist follower, began to claim that he was the chosen prophet of the Seventh-day Adventist church. Houteff believed that the Adventists' doctrines and teachings were inaccurate and attempted to implement his own teachings known as the "New Light."New Light" are scriptures revealed by God to chosen prophets to show what the Bible was trying to teach what people have blinded to, thus showing ones chosen the way to salvation. Like William Miller and Ellen White, Houteff's teachings included areas of the apocalypse and the Second Coming of Christ as well as catastrophes and war.

He also believed that the kingdom of ancient Israelite monarch David was to be reestablished in Palestine where it was his task to assemble a brood of 144,000 Christians as scribed in the Book of Revelation 7: 4. Houteff's teachings were not accepted by many of the Adventists, and he was eventually ex-communicated from the church. After his dismissal, Houteff and a group of loyal followers who were also former Adventists migrated from Los Angeles, California to Waco, Texas. It was in Waco where he formed his own organization called the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, which later became more widely known as "The Shepard's Rod", which was also the name of his book where he compiled his beliefs.

Houteff and his followers also created a place for communion and worship, the Mount Carmel Center. It was here where Houteff attained more followers and continued his teachings that he started during his association with the Seventh-day Adventists. One of the most important teachings of Houteff to the Davidians was that God was to establish a literal kingdom in Israel and Jesus and his lieutenant, the "Anti typical David", will rule it. Houteff continued to have spiritual influence and leadership over the Davidians until his death in 1955, which left members shocked because they began to see him as the new Elijah who would help usher the reign of God. Houteff's death affected followers in ways similar to Miller and White because of prophecies made by Houteff were going to be unfulfilled.

After Houteff's death in 1955 and the group began to branch off, his widow Florence assumed leadership, but was met with resistance from a man named Benjamin Roden who believed that he was God's chosen prophet. To discredit Roden's claim, Houteff predicted that the world would come to an end in 1959. Like William Miller's predictions earlier, Florence Houteff's prophecy also failed to come about and like the Great Disappointment, the Davidians had split once again. Following the breakup and admitted blunder of Houteff, Ben Roden and a group of followers founded the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists and seized control of the Mount Carmel Center. While in control, Roden like Victor Houteff, declared himself as the fifth angel of succession as is written in the Book of Revelation 9: 1 and kept his teachings similar to that of previous Davidian churches; however, he also taught the Branch Davidians to observe various Hebrew feast days. Roden led the group until his death in 1978 when his former wife, Lois assumed the role of the sixth angel.

During her stint, she traveled extensively and attracted many followers as a chosen prophet of God. Roden was viewed by followers as one who had a new insight into the "femininity" of the Holy Spirit. The reason behind this was that she taught that the Holy Spirit was feminine and at the Second Coming of Christ, the messiah would appear in female form. Finally in 1981, a man named Vernon Howell who was a recent convert came to the Mount Carmel Center.

Shortly after Howell's arrival, Roden began to express her belief that Howell was going to be the group's next prophet. However George Roden Lois's on did not feel the same way. This feeling stemmed from his struggle with the succession of leadership and his mother's feminine teachings of the Holy Spirit. This led Lois to ally herself closer to Howell, and they would later be married. George Roden eventually forced Howell and his followers out of Mount Carmel in 1984. In 1988, George Roden was sent to prison for contempt charges that was unrelated to a shootout that occurred at Mount Carmel as he was trying to assume leadership of the Davidians.

From this event, Vernon Howell immediately took over as the leader of the Branch Davidians. He later changed his name legally to David Koresh. Howell chose this name to symbolize biblical leadership of a king (David), as well as one who was given the title "anointed" (Koresh). Like the leaders of earlier splintered Adventists groups, Koresh's teachings focused mainly on the Book of Revelation while implementing practices of polygamy, primogeniture and arranged marriages. Koresh would remain the leader of the Branch Davidians until his much-publicized death in Waco, Texas. Originating from a history dating back to the 19th Century, the common beliefs of the Branch Davidians were another reason for them to rebel against the government.

As stated earlier, the Book of Revelations was the foundation of the Branch Davidian's faith. As many may know, the Book of Revelations is a book in the Bible containing accounts of the apocalypse, otherwise known as the Second Coming of Christ. From this belief and influence of David Koresh, it is not difficult for one to understand why inhabitants of the Mount Carmel compound lived the way they did. From Koresh's teachings, the Davidians believed they were living at the end of time. With this mindset in place, the group began adopting survivalist tactics storing food and firearms.

Also like previous churches in their history, they remained secluded while still extensively seeking young recruits to prepare them as well for their meeting with God. They did this because Koresh was able to explain the Seven Seals of Revelation. The Seven Seals are a series of prophecies in the Book of Revelation and with this understanding; Koresh was able to maintain a strong influence over the group. His understanding of the Seven Seals also led members of the Branch Davidians, as well Koresh, himself to view him as the second Messiah. As one can determine from this, to attend a church where the Messiah was presiding made perfect sense. Why would religious faithful attend a church where the pastor interpreted scripture in either their own words or what he or she was taught?

Why not believe Koresh, the Messiah, the one who could see all, but still wore glasses. This train of thought led the Branch Davidians to believe that they were the only "true" church and receiving the gospel in its purest form. No matter what one's opinion may be, this was a true testament of faith by anyone no matter whether it was a follower of Koresh or anyone else. The Branch Davidian's belief that they were living in the end of time fueled their determination to defy the government. To feel that one does not have much to live for or has nothing to lose gives the implication that he or she does not care for much, even their lives. No matter what members of the Branch Davidians did, whether illegal or not did not matter, as long those actions taken by members were done in the name of the Messiah they did not need to worry.

In other words, if they did not obey the commands of the Messiah members had nowhere to go, everything to lose and eventually be lost with those who are unbelievers. One must remember, members of the Branch Davidians were to be the chosen people at the end of time so it did not matter what they did, they were going to be with God. Another reason they defied the government was that Koresh influenced the mentality to members of "It's us against them". With this teaching, Koresh led the Branch Davidians to believe that anyone who was not a member of the group was evil and was to be dammed when the time came for the Second Coming. He also taught that all activity, which took place outside the Mount Carmel compound, was evil.

He also told the group that they would need to be prepared for a holy war with unbelievers of their faith. He prepared them by having members watch videotapes of wars and battles, to refrain from eating for extended periods of time and as stated earlier, practice survivalist tactics. People who were considered unbelievers were also considered evil. The main group of unbelievers was eventually seen as the government agents who raided the Mount Carmel Center. Through their history, beliefs and determination, one person sits at the center of it all, David Koresh. As it is well known by many, he was the leader and main cause of the Branch Davidian's battle with government agents.

Even though we can research the previously explained aspects of this group, one must try and determine how Koresh was able to have such a powerful influence over the members of the Branch Davidian group. As described earlier, one of the general characteristics of a cult is that it has a charismatic leader who is able to impose his of her will on those who will follow and lead many to believe that he or she was sent by a higher power to achieve certain tasks. By theological definition, the meaning of the word charismatic means to be able to relate to or possess divinely inspired powers of healing, prophecy and the gift of tongues. This description epitomizes Koresh.

In other words, the affect Koresh had on members of the Davidians spiritually was equal to that of the effect of a star struck teen meeting the Backstreet Boys in person for the first time. Koresh was a poorly educated man, but he had an incredible memory for Scripture, which he was able to interpret and recite it for long periods of time. With this ability, he was a very influential figure to the minds of the Branch Davidians. He did this by convincing members as well as himself, that he was the Messiah primarily through his ability to interpret the Seven Seals in the Book of Revelation in the Bible.

Many religious faithful know that the interpretation of the Seven Seals unlocks the "real" meaning of the Bible, thus when manifested, the world will them be at its end and the chosen people of God shall be saved. Koresh utilized this ability to make members believe, even those more educated than he was. With the idea to know that God would be with them, it gave the Davidians a feeling of security and feeling of invincibility or immortality. We must not forget, this belief comes not only from Koresh's influence; it also comes from a strong sense of faith from followers. With these gifts believed to be possessed by Koresh, it is easier to understand how he manipulated the Davidians. Not only was Koresh a charismatic leader, he was also a powerful one.

Even though the Mount Carmel group was not a very large one, Koresh never showed signs of weakness during his leadership. History has shown that anyone who has taken or is currently in a position of power has a handful of dedicated followers whom has or will help their leader obtain what is to be taken or ruled. In reading this one might say that a charismatic leader has power, but this is not always the case. Though charisma gave Koresh some power, it was total obedience to authority that gave Koresh total control over the Davidians.

In other words, power perceived is power achieved. He showed the amount of power he had in many ways. First, there was his practice of primogeniture. Primogeniture is the practice of keeping the wealth of a family or group amongst themselves. Koresh controlled all of the money making members keep all their assets within the compound and having Koresh control all spending. Next, Koresh also practiced polygamy.

Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse. Every woman within the compound was considered to be his wife spiritually. No member of the Davidians questioned this because Koresh was the Messiah, and how can one question God? Third, all marriages were arranged.

Finally, members had to study their bible in a daily basis. These study sessions often lasted for hours, many until late evening hours. This was done because Koresh believed in knowing Scriptures by memory and his gospel, the gospel of the Second Messiah The element of paranoia also made Koresh an effective leader. Researchers have found that most spiritual leaders generally become dangerously extreme when either they or their members face crisis to their well-being or establishment. This means if a situation is brought forth which is hostile towards or threatening control over his or her group, the reaction of those leaders can take on drastic measures. Essentially, when a spiritual leader like Koresh feels this way, the same feeling is spread throughout a group as if it were a form of pestilence.

When this feeling of unease and irrational fear was set in the minds of the Branch Davidians, the control that Koresh already had over the group greatly increased. Koresh showed this in many ways according to the activities members were not supposed to participate in. First, members were not permitted to leave the Mount Carmel compound. Koresh did not allow members to leave because he did not want any influences of unbelievers to derail his teachings and he also told the Davidians that everything they need was there in Mount Carmel.

The Davidians were not allowed to watch television. Television was viewed as evil. It was forbidden for the Branch Davidians to learn what was going on outside the walls of the compound. Lastly, spiritual leaders like Koresh were seen as what researchers would call a victimizer. According to psychologists, a victimizer is one who had an abusive childhood and grows up learning to take advantage of other people by being able to sense their needs and then use those needs to control them. This aspect as stated earlier, led Koresh to: alienate himself and his group from others, fear any kind of loss, feel the need to have complete control over people and have a need to blame others when things go wrong.

In addition to being charismatic as well as paranoid, Koresh's victimizer mentality led him to be narcissistic. Koresh loved himself and the fact that he was in control and felt he could never have enough power or control and because he appeared to have no sense of right or wrong, Koresh had no second thoughts about manipulating others. Psychologist's studies show that this feeling of superiority displayed by Koresh may have been nothing more than an act. Their studies go on further by stating that spiritual leaders like Koresh put on acts like this because inside they feel helpless.

Whether this is true or not David Koresh had a profound effect on members of the Branch Davidians and our society. From their history we discover their origins, from their beliefs we uncover their spirituality and from their determination we come to see how important it was for the Branch Davidians to resist the government. As for David Koresh, we will never really know why he felt and gathered these people together and made them believe that he was the Messiah. We can only go by general scientific studies and speculation. Whether we are to discover why or not, the fact still remains that David Koresh just like earlier Branch Davidian leaders before him, gave a few people something that many people do not have, that something is faith. Like it or not David Koresh did what some pastors, reverends and other members of clergy have been trying to do for centuries.

He instilled an undying sense of loyalty to people who was considered to be lost. But if we were to ask one of the members who perished in the flames at the Mount Carmel center, they would tell us that it is us who is really lost.

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