An Account of Branch Davidian Life

This autobiography of the Branch Davidians, written by Catherine Wessenger, provides a unique inner-circle perspective on both the spiritual reasoning and ideology of the group as well as the series of events leading up to the Waco siege. This autobiography is riddled with bias favoring the Branch Davidians, with much blame for the notorious Waco standoff being placed at the feet of the United States Federal Government.

Wessenger progresses from a chronological series of events to an explanation of Branch Davidian Theology, revealing a central trend amongst religious cults worldwide. David Koresh, the infamous leader of the Branch Davidians during the Waco incident, followed a common doctrine utilized amongst cult leaders by providing his followers with a radically different perspective of baseline religion. His interpretations of scripture were considered profound and ground shattering for his followers, and through his masterful use of diction and intonation, Koresh bedazzled his followers into accepting him as a new messenger of god. Koresh was “equipped with both a creamy charm and a cold-blooded willingness to manipulate those drawn to him…the charismatic leader with a pathological edge” (Sumpter, 544). It has been theorized that this behavior can be attributed to his early childhood. A lack of a father figure led to great childhood mischief and vandalism-leading to a lifetime of disregard for empathy and authority-was combined with his insatiable fascination with the Seventh-Day Adventists to create the monster he eventually became.

Koresh’s explanations of scripture were abnormal yet still plausible and explicable by the bible. One example is Koresh’s explanation of the Holy Trinity. This Holy Trinity under Seventh-Day Adventism represents the father, the son, and the holy spirit. The gender of this “holy spirit” is open to debate amongst religious scholars, as “the Greek word use in the New Testament, pneuma (breath, spirit), is neuter [gender neutral]” (Wessenger, 77). The Branch Davidians had been taught that this holy spirit was feminine under the leadership of the Branch Dividians original founders-the Rodens. This interpretation led to the Holy Trinity being referred to as “The Family”, which was later molded by Koresh. Under Koresh’s interpretation, “God is One made up of two halves: The Father figure and The Mother figure, who are one in purpose and in unity” (Wessenger, 77). This gradual shift in interpretation-from the original Holy Trinity to the Koreshian concept-demonstrates the gradual and invasive process of rewiring the inner workings of a person’s mind. Members will begin to accept the altered perception of reality offered by the leader and progressively become dependent upon the leader’s ideas and reasoning.

Works Cited

Sumpter, R.David, and Rhonda Burroughs. “Dysfunctional Gifted Students and Counseling: Jim Jones and David Koresh.” Education, vol. 114, no. 4, Summer 1994, p. 542. EBSCOhost, proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fth&AN=9410103369&site=eds-live