Armageddon and The Waco Tragedy - By James A. Haught
Library: Modern: James A. Haught: The Waco Tragedy (1994)
[This article was originally published in the Summer 1994 issue
of Free Inquiry.]
Well, the Waco cult trial is over, a year after the tragedy. But
did you know that the story actually began 150 years ago with a
famous fiasco?
Since watching weird religion is my hobby, I'll tell you the
tale:
In the 1830s, a New England Baptist preacher, William Miller,
computed from obscure prophecies in the Book of Daniel that
Jesus would return to Earth between March 21, 1843, and March
21, 1844. Miller began warning of the approaching apocalypse. By
the 1840s, he had drawn nearly 100,000 followers.
When the fateful time arrived, the "Millerites" prayed and
prayed -- but nothing happened. Then Miller re-examined the
Bible verses and announced that he had erred; the correct date
would be Oct. 22, 1844. As it neared, many of the faithful gave
away their possessions and waited on hilltops for the heavens to
open. Again, zilch.
Many Millerites lost their faith, but a hard core held firm.
Some of them insisted that doomsday actually had occurred on
Oct. 22, but it was a preparatory event in heaven that would be
followed soon by Jesus bursting forth onto Earth. This group
formed the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
As the Seventh-day Adventists grew more than 3 million strong,
some members felt that the church wasn't holy enough. In the
1930s, a Los Angeles Adventist, Victor Houteff, said Jesus
wouldn't return until an ultra-pure church was ready to greet
him. So Houteff opened a Waco commune for pure believers,
calling them Davidian Seventh-day Adventists.
He died in 1955, and the Davidians prayerfully awaited his
resurrection. When it didn't happen, his widow Florence took
over. She proclaimed that the Second Coming would be on Easter
Day, 1959. Hundreds of followers around America quit their jobs,
sold their belongings, and hurried to Waco for the rapture.
Wrong again.
Once more, the disillusioned departed, and a hard core
persisted. A member named Ben Roden took command and named the
survivors Branch Davidians. He died in 1978, leaving the
commune, called Mount Carmel, to his widow Lois and son George.
Soon afterward, a 23-year-old Texas Adventist named Vernon
Howell, a ninth-grade dropout, moved into the compound (and
reportedly became the lover of the 67-year-old widow). He had
hypnotic charisma, electrifying the others with his revelations
of the coming apocalypse.
He married the 14-year-old daughter of a commune couple -- but
soon declared that God had commanded him to establish a House of
David, in which he was to have as many wives as King David. He
bedded more than a dozen commune females, one merely 11, another
50. He gave each a Star of David to wear as an emblem that she
had been chosen by the king.
After Lois Roden died in 1986, her son George vied with Howel
for command. Roden won, temporarily. Howell took his followers
and left Mount Carmel, wandering as nomads. Then in 1987,
Howell's band returned to challenge Roden for leadership.
Roden proposed an epic contest: From a graveyard, he dug up the
corpse of an 85-year-old woman, and declared that whoever could
resurrect her would be the true prophet of Mount Carmel. Howell
evaded, and urged police to arrest Roden for corpse abuse.
Then Howell and seven armed supporters crept into Mount Carmel
in after-midnight darkness. Roden grabbed his Uzi machine gun
and engaged the intruders in a firefight. He was wounded
slightly in the hand and chest. Howell's band was charged with
attempted murder, and released on bond.
Next, Roden was jailed for contempt of court because he filed
grossly obscene motions in an unrelated case. While Roden was
locked up, Howell moved his followers back into the compound and
took over.
Their subsequent trial for attempted murder ended in acquittals.
The dethroned Roden later killed a man and was put in a state
mental hospital (He escaped last year).
Reigning as sole prophet, Howell preached that he was an angel
sent by God to implement the Second Coming. He said God ordained
him to move to Israel and convert the Jews, which would trigger
the Battle of Armageddon and make Earth a paradise for the
surviving faithful. Howell visited Israel -- but failed to
convert the Jews.
Traveling around the globe, the dynamic young prophet attracted
converts who sold their possessions, gave all their money to
him, and followed him to Waco to live in the compound. In 1989,
he proclaimed that all women in the compound were his brides,
and the rest of the men must remain celibate. Some married
couples rebelled and left. Others, utterly dominated by him,
obeyed.
In 1990, Howell changed his name to David Koresh and began
preaching that the great doomsday battle would occur in Texas.
He and his lieutenants bought hundreds of guns and machine guns,
plus ammunition, plus gas masks and other war supplies. Federal
agents heard that the commune contained illegal machineguns, and
took steps to disarm the cult. You know the rest of the story.
The Waco saga has entered history, like Jonestown, the witch
hunts and other bizarre episodes. As we go about our daily
lives, it's unsettling to realize that some people among us are
capable of believing far-out fantasies, enough even to die for
them.
"The Waco Tragedy" is copyright © 1994 by James A. Haught. All
rights reserved. The electronic version is copyright © 1997 by
Internet Infidels with the written permission of James A.
Haught. All rights reserved.
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