Branch Davidian

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The Branch Davidians are a religious group originating from the Seventh-day Adventist Church. From its inception, the group inherited Adventism's apocalypticism, in that they believed themselves to be living in a time when Christian prophecies of a final divine judgment were coming to pass. They are best known for the 1993 siege of their Mount Carmel Center near Waco, Texas, by the FBI and the BATF, which resulted in the deaths of eighty-two of the church's members, including head figure David Koresh. However, by the time of the siege, Koresh had encouraged his followers to think of themselves as "students of the Seven Seals" rather than Branch Davidians, while other Branch Davidian factions never accepted his leadership.

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History

In 1929, Victor Houteff, a Bulgarian immigrant, claimed that he had a new message for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was submitted in the form of a book entitled "The Shepherd's Rod". His claims were not accepted and were considered divisive by the leadership because he pointed out what he saw as their departures from basic church teachings and standards. Therefore, he was disfellowshipped (excommunicated) from the church.

In 1935, Houteff established his headquarters outside Waco, Texas. Up to 1942, his movement was known as the Shepherd's Rod, but when Houteff found it necessary to formally incorporate so members could claim conscientous objector status, he named his association the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists. The term "Davidian" refers to the restoration of the Davidic kingdom. Houteff directed Davidians to focus exclusively on converting Adventists. Under Houteff's heavily typological system, Davidians believed prophesy to foretell a cyclic series of events, described as a spiral, with history returning to prophetically foretell events but each time, advance in terms of cosmological progress.

In 1955, after Houteff's death, a split of this movement formed the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, headed initially by Benjamin L. Roden. "Branch" refers to the new name of Christ. The group established a settlement outside of Waco, Texas, on the property previously occupied by the Davidian group. In 1977, Benjamin Roden's wife Lois claimed to have a message of her own, one element of which was that the Holy Spirit is feminine in gender, causing much controversy in the group. When Ben Roden died the next year, their son George tried to assume leadership, claiming that he was the rightful prophet of the group, but she beat back his attempt.

In 1981 Vernon Wayne Howell (later renamed David Koresh) joined the group as a regular member. In 1983 Lois Roden allowed Howell to begin to teach his own message, opening the door for him to build a following before their split in early 1984. Lois also faced dissent from Canadian Charles Pace. There was a general meeting at Mt. Carmel of all Branch Davidians over Passover 1984 and the end result was that the group split into several factions, one of which was loyal to Howell. At this time George Roden forced Howell and Pace to leave the property.

Howell took his followers to Palestine, Texas, while Pace went to Gadsden, Alabama. But by 1988, George Roden's support had dwindled, and while he was in jail for contempt of court, Howell took charge of the disputed land in his absence. Meanwhile, Lois Roden had died in 1986, and her will appointed Teresa Moore as her successor.

In 1990 Howell changed his name to David Koresh, invoking the biblical Kings David and Cyrus. Koresh centered his teachings around the Seven Seals and his ability as the "Lamb" to open them. Koresh supported his beliefs with detailed biblical interpretation, using the Book of Revelation as the lens through which the entire Bible was viewed.

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Raid and Siege

Defectors from Koresh's group alleged that he practiced polygamy with underage brides, physically abused children, and stockpiled illegal weapons. Eventually, legal authorities investigated their charges.

On February 28 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) raided Mount Carmel, resulting in the deaths of four agents and six Davidians. The subsequent 51-day siege ended on April 19 when the complex was completely consumed by fire killing seventy-six people, including Koresh.

The government put some of the survivors on trial. All were acquitted of conspiring to murder federal agents, but some were convicted of voluntary manslaughter. Skeptics continue to dispute official government inquiries that claim to definitively prove that the fire was set on the inside by Davidians.

For more information, see Waco Siege.

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Today

Survivor Clive Doyle and supporter Ron Goins live at Mt. Carmel Center and run a small visitor museum as well as hold weekly Bible studies on the Sabbath.

Charles Pace, a Davidian who leads a non-Koresh group, also lives on the property and holds his own worship services.

In 1996 the court ruled that the land belongs to the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Church. However, the court has until this point refused to rule on who exactly constitutes "the church". Currently Amo Bishop Roden, George's former wife, is attempting to sue for ownership and access to the land. Most survivors and supporters recognize Clive Doyle as the trustee of the organization and the land.

Also in 1996 a number of Koresh's remaining followers filed an action to quiet title to the church's property under a claim of adverse possession. Adverse possession requires that the claimant file it against a party that holds title to the property. However, they filed this suit as the "Trustees" of the church. Thus they claimed to be the Trustees of the church while simultaneously claiming they possessed the property adversely against the Trustees of the Church; the two positions were contradictory. With opposition from a church member (Doug Mitchell) who did not join Howell's faction, and who joined the case in 1998, they dropped their claim for adverse possession the day before the trial began, proceeding only on their claims of being the Trustees of the church. In 2000, a jury ruled against them and against Amo Roden, another claimant to the ownership of the property.

In spite of this court ruling, they and others still continue to assume the identity of the true church, and its property. For reasons not explained by the judge, Alan Mayfield, Doug Mitchell's claim to be the rightful Trustee of the church's property was not allowed to be considered by the jury when the survivors' and Amo Roden's claims were considered. Mitchell was only allowed to defend against the others' claims. Mitchell contends that when Koresh left Mt. Carmel in 1984, he adopted the name "Davidian Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist" for his followers, thus "leaving" the church, forfeiting their claim to be the true Branch Davidians.

During the pre-trial proceedings, Mitchell's attempts to obtain an injunction against Koresh's remaining followers that would have prohibited them from using the church's name and property was dismissed for "lack of jurisdiction". That is, the judge (who was not a legal professional before he became a judge), felt that the matter involved church issues which the court could not rightly consider. Mitchell disputes this reasoning.

Currently, Koresh's remaining followers still have access to the church's property (living on it, and holding regular services there), in spite of the judgment affirmed by Judge Mayfield in December 2000 against them on their claim of being the lawful Trustees of the church's property.

Because of the way the government has been portrayed as having acted in the 1993 standoff, the Koresh survivors have received much sympathy and support from various people and groups who felt that the actions that the government took were wrong. This support has provided them with the means to further their assumption of the church's identity and property, to the detriment of those Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventists who did not join Koresh. This situation has left those who opposed him in a difficult position in two ways. First, they cannot rightly use the property without conflicts with the survivors and others who are antagonistic or indifferent to the original members' rights. Second, they have a great hurdle to overcome because of the notoriety that Koresh and his followers have brought upon the name and identity of the church.

Renos Avraam, one of the imprisoned Davidians, has declared that he is receiving prophetic new light, as the "Chosen Vessel of the Remaining Bride." However, most of the survivors spurn his "Hidden Manna" faction.

A new chapel has been built by the survivors and their supporters near the site of the original complex. The ruins of the old building, including the tornado shelter and incomplete swimming pool, can be seen by visitors. There are also several memorials to the victims - both the Davidian victims, and the Federal Agents who lost their lives. Memorial trees with plaques with the name of each Davidian who perished have been planted on the property. Finally, to show their deep sympathy to the victims of the Oklahoma City Bombing, a memorial has been erected at Mt. Carmel for them as well.

Approximately fifty [1] to seventy [2] people attended the yearly memorial service on April 19 2005.

Former President Bill Clinton recently claimed that the two things he regretted the most while in office were standing by while the Rwandan genocide occurred and failing to find a peaceful resolution to the Waco standoff.

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Bibliography

  • Kerstetter, Todd. "'That's Just the American Way': The Branch Davidian Tragedy and Western Religious History", Western Historical Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 4, Winter 2004.
  • Lewis, James R. (ed.). From the Ashes: Making Sense of Waco (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 1994). ISBN 0847679152 (cloth) ISBN 0847679144 (paper)
  • Reavis, Dick J. The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995). ISBN 0684811324
  • Tabor, James D. and Eugene V. Gallagher. Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995). ISBN 0520201868
  • Thibodeau, David and Leon Whiteson. A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story (New York: PublicAffairs, 1999). ISBN 1891620428
  • Wright, Stuart A. (ed.). Armageddon in Waco: Critical Perspectives on the Branch Davidian Conflict (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995).
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See also

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External links

es:Davidianos fi:Daavidin oksa lt:Dovydo šaka nl:Branch Davidians no:Branch Davidian sv:Davidianerna zh:大衛教派

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