Essay on David Koresh and the Branch Davidians

The word “Cult” has not always had such a negative connotation attached to it. Many religions would’ve been considered cults when they first began. By the end of the 19th century many visionaries had revealed radically new religious systems, claiming immunity to the impurities of the old ones (Powers, 1997). These were no more than a group of people organizing themselves in worship and devotion for a person, object, or movement. They practiced rituals different to other “mainstream” religions, and were therefore considered cults.

A man by the name, Victor Houteff was “defellowshipped from a Los Angeles Seventh- day Adventists church” (CRI) in 1929 and 1930. Due to his unforeseen spiritual movement, Waco Texas in 1993 experienced a 51 day biblical event like never before seen or experienced since the first coming of Christ. The Branch Davidians along with the infamous David Koresh came to be because of Houteff “sharing his “Divergent Views” with other church members” (CRI). It was five years after he was ostracized from the church that Houteff along with twelve others who believed that the Holy Ghost proclaimed him to be the Lamb of God, went to Mt. Carmel Texas. Their purpose was to have a location in which “144,000” could gather in order to fulfill requirements

The history surrounding cults is not as simple as one might think. Cults raise a

Ever since we were little, our parents, guardians, or even ourselves grew up to know the difference in between was would be considered peversive and what isn’t. Many people find it difficult to understand how people can be so devoted to a religion or something that can’t be scientifically proven, but the real question is how can a normal resident be allured by cults. A religious cult may be well known to us as a religious imposter who claims to lead the way to salvation and a lifespan of well being filled with blessings and free of the damnation a disease may bring, only because he or maybe even she may claim that he was sent from the heavens to the filthy earth. People who are believers in a omipitent kind believe this to be a ludicrous idea ,

David Koresh,born Vernon Howell, was born August 17, 1959 to a single mother named Bonnie Clark, of 14, in Houston, Texas. His father was Bobby Howell with whom he never met. Koresh in his early years reported his life as lonely and alleged that he was beaten by his alcoholic step-father. He struggled in school, was dyslexic, developed poor study skills, and also had a stutter that led to him being put into special education classes. However, after he dropped out of high school he later found his passion in the Bible and rock music. He eventually legally married Rachel Jones, with who he would have two daughters and a son.

In 1929, Victor Houteff, a Bulgarian immigrant, claimed that he had a new message for the Seventh Day Adventist church. He submitted it to the church in the form of a book called "The Shepard's Rod". In the book he points out how the church has departed from basic church teachings. The churches leaders frowned upon his claims and felt that they

A cult is a group of people with similar interests, and lead usually by a trusted leader. This leader will have to convince others into believing or provide a place where they can worship

Cults have existed throughout history since the beginning of time. A cult is defined in Webster’s dictionary as a “system of religious worship with a devoted attachment to a person, principle, etc.” Over the past thirty years numerous religious cults have caused “ tens of thousands to abandon their families, friends, education’s, and careers to follow the teaching of a leader they will never meet”(Beck 78).

There have been many staues of David sculpted by famous artists like Donatello, Verrocchio, and Michelangelo. Bernini’s version of David and is about to begin his attack on Goliath, as he appears posing. The statue seems to be moving through space and the action suggests that the action of flinging the stone requires a lot of room around David. The statue forces the observer to look past the actual subject and focus more on the surroundings. He seems to have very muscular legs, and appears to be ready to turn and throw a stone from his sling. This is the most dramatic pose that Bernini could have picked and was chosen because it shows a sudden burst of energy and a moment of suspense as well. Bernini’s David is different from that of

Most historians use the more neutral term ‘new religious movement’ instead of the cult, because there is no one definition of cults, their number and membership cannot be accurately measured even today (Sarah Pike, 2016). New religious groups are regularly developed from another, more accepted religion. An example of this is Christianity, which first began as a cult extending from Judaism (Sarah Pike, 2016). While this was regularly the case, many cults did not begin as religious groups. A famous example of this is the movement called Synanon, which was originally organised to rehabilitate drug addicts, but then later changed into a commune and won legal recognition as a religion (Sarah Pike, 2016). A theory among UFO groups, there is a widespread belief that extraterrestrials have no vocal cords, an atrophied digestive system and no sexual organs (B.A. Robinson, 2009). This is symbolic of three common religious disciplines: silence, fasting and celibacy. These attitudes may have somewhat shaped what the UFO group Heaven’s Gate believed in.

Ellen White is talked about a lot in the Adventist community. George R. Knight goes into great detail into the life of Ellen White in his book Meeting Ellen White. It is very important that we understand and learn more about the influential people that are in the history of the church. As one of the most influential people, it is important that we learn how Ellen White’s writings and her presence helped mold Adventism. Her story has shown me many lessons to apply to my life. Not only her story, but her many writings have also impacted my life in many ways.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines cult as: "a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents." Indeed, any religion involving unconditional worship and unquestioning obedience to God could be labeled as a cult (using the derogatory suggestion of the word), since such a religion would have that high level of dependency, obedience, and unwavering compliance ascribed to cults by definition. Many mainstream religions still require their members to believe in God unquestioningly, to have faith that he is good and that what he does is good, to consider one's own wants and needs as unimportant while accepting the will of God as paramount. All of these are certainly characteristics commonly attributed to cults, but while it would not be unreasonable to apply this definition of a cult to any dogmatic religion that requires strict compliance with God's word and will as a condition of membership, the notion of applying the word "cult" to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, or any other major world religion today is considered absurd. There are those who make this very claim: that those who worship God fit the classic depiction of cult members in their dogmatism, unswerving

These two groups stayed separate until a women by the name of Ellen White, a well-known supporter and a believed prophet, combined their ideas and the trio established the Seventh-Day Adventist denomination, which recieved it’s official name in 1860 (“Seventh-Day Adventism”). Later, on May 21, 1863, the headquarters for the Adventist Church was established in Battle Creek, Michigan. The Church was moved to Washington D.C and the neighboring community of Takoma Park, Maryland in 1903 and again to Silver Spring, Maryland in 1989, where it still resides today (“Seventh-Day Adventists”, 2013).

If a religion has beliefs taught in a certain, specific manner, repeatedly, it qualifies as an organized religion. Some organized religions have been known to turn into cults. People should be allowed to come and go in a church as they please. Most religions start out this way, even some organized religions. Yet at a certain point, those religions become more strict and can slip into a cult status. A cult is based on conformity and control, rather than self-awareness. One religion that many believe to be a cult is

King David proved to be a wise and effective leader for Israel. However, it can be said that his son, Solomon, made several mistakes during his reign. Many of his problems originated from his Temple, a stucture that was conceptualized by his father to be a deterrent against the paganism, which infested the land. Yet, it seemed as if several of Solomon’s policies actually encouraged paganism rather than deter it.