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Adventist Today Keith Colburn, Secretary/Treasurer Raymond Cottrell Donna Evans Adventists Are Goal-Oriented
FOUNDATION BOARD Inside Adventist Today Keith Colburn, Secretary/Treasurer Raymond Cottrell Donna Evans Adventists are goal-oriented. We're driven. We're aChievers..We rationally calculate our Gary Fraser, Advisory Council ends, and find means. But in our penchant for working toward a better future, we need not Chair neglect the importance of Christian holy days that provide meaning for present life. Jim Kaatz W For many years we have expected the "imminent" coming of Christ, and our actions have followed Ervin Taylor, Board Chair suit-we have worked hard to that end. We have calculated how best to "finish the work." We used sani- James Walters tariums to promote health as an entering wedge for gaining converts. Eventually, rural sanitariums yielded to giant suburban medical centers. If Dorcas Societies in church basements were good, the worldwide help done through ADRA is better. Even if we are now not exactly ADVISORY COUNCIL sure when the Advent will occur, a diligent, rational work ethic has been established that pervades the Jo & Ken Abbott contemporary Adventist mindset. Gary & Jeanne Bogle Adventist Today is thoroughly Adventist, a goal-oriented, rationally-based publication that wants to Antonius & Lilia Brandon make things better by fostering thoughtful discussion of an increasingly complex church. Accordingly, for Todd Burley this issue we invited members and former members to tell their stories about why they stay, leave or return Charlotte & John Cassell to the church. Also, here we remember Waco of two years ag(}--those former Adventists who were so trag- Judy & Keith Colburn ically misled and ended in a fiery apocalypse. -
The Branch Davidians
STATEMENT DD025 THE BRANCH DAVIDIANS On February 28, 1993 at approximately 9:30 a.m., 100 lawmen from the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms division of the United States Treasury Department descended on a religious compound owned and operated by the Br anch Davidian cult 10 miles east of Waco, Texas. Their objective was to serve a search warrant for illegal firearms and explosives, and arrest the cult’s leader, David Koresh, on weapons charges. Unfortunately, Koresh and his group had been tipped off and were waiting as authorities approached. Without warning, gunfire erupted and law enforcement officials found themselves facing cult members armed with explosive devices, military assault rifles, and other semi - automatic weapons. The sound of massive firepower echoed in the compound for 45 minutes, ending only after law enforcement personnel had retreated to safety. When the violent confrontation was over, two federal agents lay dead, and 19 others lay injured; two with gun shot wounds so severe they would d ie within hours at nearby hospitals. How It All Began The way David Koresh’s cult came into existence is a long and sometimes complicated story. It began with a man named Victor Houteff, who in 1929/30 was disfellowshipped from a Los Angeles Seventh -day Adventist church for sharing “divergent views” with other church members. 1 Houteff, a self-proclaimed messenger of God,2 responded to the expulsion by crystallizing his “divergent views” and presenting them to the public in The Shepherd’s Rod Vol. 1 (published in 1930) and The Shepherd’s Rod Vol. 2 (published in 1932).3 The purpose of Houteff’s first book was “to reveal the truth of the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 7” and “bring about a reformation among God’s people.” 4 He described his second volume as “a complete symbolic revelation of the entire world’s history, both civil and religious.” 5 These two works served as the basis of Houteff’s theology, hence, the original name of his group — the Shepherd’s Rod Seventh-day Adventists. -
The Davidians of Waco
THE DAVIDIANS OF WACO BY VANCE FERRELL THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY -THE DAVIDIANS OF WACO * Who was David Koresh? * Where did he come from? * How could he take control of the minds and bodies of nearly 150 people? * Why did they let him do it? IN THIS BOOK, YOU WILL FIND THE ASTOUNDING STORY OF THIS STRANGE ORGANIZATION. * How it started over 60 years ago, by a man that a European nation expelled. * The strange reason they moved to Waco in 1935. * The terrible crisis which developed from 1955 to 1962. * The blood feud between two men in the 1980s—out of which Koresh emerged as the leader. * His food and munitions preparations to withstand an attack by the world. * In detail: the astonishing events of February 28, 1993, when the Waco raid shocked America into forgetting for a day the twin towers blast of two days earlier. * Clear evidence that, from its beginning, the Shepherd's Rod/Davidians have not been connected with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 - The Houteff Years - 1 ...................................... page 1 The Rod in Southern California 1929-1942 Houghton Starts the Rod ....................................... page 2 The Meetings Begin .............................................. page 3 2 - The Houteff Years - 2 ...................................... page 7 The Rod in Waco, Texas 1935-1955 Changing the Name to Davidian .......................... page 10 3 - The Rod In Waco, Texas - 3 .......................... page 12 The Florence Houteff Years 1955-1962 The 1955 Time Prophecy.....................................page 14 The 1959 Gathering ............................................ page 17 Florence Steps In—And Closes It .... page 18 4 - The Roden Years - 4 ..................................... page 25 The Branch In Riverside And Waco 1962-1983 5 - The Howell/Koresh Years - 5 ........................ -
A Guide to the Lee Hancock Collection
A Guide to the Lee Hancock Collection, 1975 – 2004, Bulk: 1993-2000 Collection 099 Descriptive Summary Creator: Hancock, Lee Title: Lee Hancock Collection Dates: 1975 – 2004, Bulk: 1993-2000 Abstract: Documents, clippings, videos, and other research materials represent journalist Lee Hancock’s research into the events of the Branch Davidian standoff near Waco in 1993. The materials are arranged into the following five series: Non-Branch Davidian Incidents, Media Coverage, Investigations, House of Representatives Hearings, and Lawsuits. Identification: Collection 099 Extent: 20 boxes (10 linear feet) Language: Materials are written in English Repository: Southwestern Writers Collection, Special Collections, Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos Lee Hancock Collection SWWC Collection 099 Historical Sketch On February 28, 1993 the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) attempted to issue an arrest warrant for Vernon Wayne Howell and a search warrant for the Mount Carmel Center near Waco, Texas on the basis of illegal weapons possession. The Branch Davidians in Mount Carmel and the ATF began a shootout that ended in the deaths of four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians. The occupants of Mount Carmel and government agencies remained in a standoff for fifty-one days until the FBI launched CS gas into the compound in an effort to make the Branch Davidians exit. The CS gas assault on April 19, 1993 ended in a fire in which seventy-six people inside Mount Carmel died, including twenty-three children. After the fire a series of lawsuits and investigations began, including the 1994 criminal trial of the Branch Davidians, the 1995 congressional hearings, and a wrongful-death civil trial in 2000. -
THE GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT and the Hope Ofthe Advent Let to Come Adventism Began in Disappointment in 1844And It Has Struggled with Disap Pointing Delays Ever Since
THE GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT and the Hope ofthe Advent let To Come Adventism began in disappointment in 1844and it has struggled with disap pointing delays ever since. And now, 150 years later, how are we to keep hope alive in ouryoungpeople? ecently Dale Parnell, a professor at Oregon State University, told about traveling with his preschool son. Not long after they starred out, his son began asking those all-too-familiar questions, "Are we almost there? When will we get there? Are we there yet?" Finally, the father, with some exaspera- tion, told the child to be quiet. He would tell him when they were almost there. He would tell him when they were there. He didn't want to hear another question. The boy was silent for about two more hours. Finally, he could contain himself no longer, and with all innocence asked, "Daddy, how old will I be when we get there?" Sometimes it appears that to be an Adventist is to be like a child riding in the back seat of a car on a seemingly interminable trip. Adventism began in disappointment in 1844 and it has struggled with disappointing delays ever since. And now, 150 years later, how are we to keep hope alive in our young people? Or perhaps we should ask, why should we keep hope alive? Picture Any look at Adventist hope in 1994 must be different than it Removed would have been just a year and a halfago. In that time, we have seen Adventist hope not only plagued by disappoint ment and delay; we have also seen it go awry in devastation and destruction. -
On Being the Remnant
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Andrews University Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 24/1 (2013):127-174. Article © 2013 by Fernando Canale. On Being the Remnant Fernando Canale Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Andrews University Seventh-day Adventists claim to be the remnant church of biblical prophecy. Following the historicist method of prophetic interpretation they see themselves as the end time remnant predicted in Revelation 12:17.1 Specifically, they see their movement meeting the identifying marks of the remnant in the book of Revelation. These marks include commandment keeping (12:17), having the testimony of Jesus (12:17), perseverance (14:12), having the faith of Jesus (14:12), and proclaiming the three angels’ messages (14:6-12).2 Adventists teach that one should keep all the commandments of God, believe in gift of prophecy manifested through the writings of Ellen White, persevere, have the faith of Jesus (the truths of the Bible that Jesus believed and taught), and preach the three angels’ message of Revelation 14:6-12 that prepares God’s people for the Second Advent.3 With the passing of time, however, some Adventists have become more hesitant about their identity as the remnant. Although they are aware of the identifying marks of the remnant, they find it increasingly difficult to understand what makes them the remnant and explain it to other Protestant 1 Gerhard Pfandl, “Identifying Marks of the End-time Remnant in the Book of Revelation,” in Toward a Theology of the Remnant, ed. -
The Origins of Millerite Separatism
The Origins of Millerite Separatism By Andrew Taylor (BA in History, Aurora University and MA in History, University of Rhode Island) CHAPTER 1 HISTORIANS AND MILLERITE SEPARATISM ===================================== Early in 1841, Truman Hendryx moved to Bradford, Pennsylvania, where he quickly grew alienated from his local church. Upon settling down in his new home, Hendryx attended several services in his new community’s Baptist church. After only a handful of visits, though, he became convinced that the church did not believe in what he referred to as “Bible religion.” Its “impiety” led him to lament, “I sometimes almost feel to use the language [of] the Prophecy ‘Lord, they have killed thy prophets and digged [sic] down thine [sic] altars and I only am left alone and they seek my life.”’1 His opposition to the church left him isolated in his community, but his fear of “degeneracy in the churches and ministers” was greater than his loneliness. Self-righteously believing that his beliefs were the “Bible truth,” he resolved to remain apart from the Baptist church rather than attend and be corrupted by its “sinful” influence.2 The “sinful” church from which Hendryx separated himself was characteristic of mainstream antebellum evangelicalism. The tumultuous first decades of the nineteenth century had transformed the theological and institutional foundations of mainstream American Protestantism. During the colonial era, American Protestantism had been dominated by the Congregational, Presbyterian, and Anglican churches, which, for the most part, had remained committed to the theology of John Calvin. In Calvinism, God was envisioned as all-powerful, having predetermined both the course of history and the eternal destiny of all humans. -
The Branch Davidian Siege and Its Impact on the Media and Scholarship
THE BRANCH DAVIDIAN SIEGE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE MEDIA AND SCHOLARSHIP by AMY MARIE FLYNN (Under the Direction of Sandy Dwayne Martin) ABSTRACT Reviewing trends in the academic study of religion and examining media reports, attitudes towards new religious movements in American religious history shifted dramatically after the siege on the Branch Davidian compound. Surveying how scholars of religion and those in the media approached new religions, there is a notable shift in attitudes after the second raid on Mount Carmel. After the second raid in 1993, scholars published more work on new religious movements, and the media questioned its responsibility when chronicling such events. INDEX WORDS: American Religious History, New Religious Movements, David Koresh, Cults, Waco, Branch Davidian, Religion and Media, Religion and Politics, Discrimination, Religious Freedom THE BRANCH DAVIDIAN SIEGE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE MEDIA AND SCHOLARSHIP by AMY MARIE FLYNN B.A., Mary Washington College, 2003 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2006 © 2006 Amy Marie Flynn All Rights Reserved THE BRANCH DAVIDIAN SIEGE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE MEDIA AND SCHOLARSHIP by AMY MARIE FLYNN Major Professor: Sandy Dwayne Martin Committee: Carolyn Jones Medine William L. Power Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2006 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the students, staff, and faculty in the Department of Religion for their unwavering support and friendship. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. -
Leave Blank: Table of Contents
The Raid on the Branch Davidians Interviewer: Lauren Melvin Interviewee: Lewis H. McClam Instructor: Michael Chapper Date: February 22, 2010 Melvin 2 Table of Contents Interview Release Form Statement of Purpose 3 Biography 4 Historical Contextualization: The Raid on the Branch Davidians 6 Interview Transcription 16 Time Indexing Recording Log 39 Interview Analysis 40 Works Consulted 46 Melvin 3 Statement of Purpose This project serves to provide an oral account of the tragic events surrounding the raid on the Branch Davidians compound in Waco, Texas, that was carried out by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) in 1993. This task will be accomplished through an interview with Mr. Lewis H. McClam, a former United States Secret Service agent, who assisted with the Federal government‟s investigation of the raid. This unique perspective will bring clarity to the various conflicting accounts of why and how this raid was undertaken by the ATF and whether events and actions leading to the deaths of Federal agents and Branch Davidians members were justified. Melvin 4 Biography Lewis H. McClam was born in 1945 in Kingstree, South Carolina. He attended Tomlinson High School, from which he graduated in 1964. He described growing up in Kingstree as difficult because of the many challenges and obstacles that he faced. These challenges included not having the books and supplies needed to adequately prepare him for college. Mr. McClam attended Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia and in 1968 earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration. Following graduation, he went to work for a commercial credit company in St. -
Antebellum Revival and Reform C Onte Nt S
Chapter Thirteen: Antebellum Revival And Reform C onte nt s 13.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 584 13.1.1 Learning Outcomes ................................................................................. 584 13.2 RELIGIOUS REFORMS IN THE ANTEBELLUM UNITED STATES ..........................586 13.2.1 The Second Great Awakening .......................................................................586 The Second Great Awakening in the South and in Appalachia ...................................588 The Second Great Awakening in the North ............................................................. 591 The Mormons ..................................................................................................592 The Unitarian Movement ................................................................................... 592 13.2.2 Before You Move On... ................................................................................ 593 Key Concepts .................................................................................................. 593 Test Yourself ................................................................................................... 593 13.3 CULTURAL MOVEMENTS: TRANSCENDENTALISM, UTOPIAN COMMUNITIES, AND THE CULT OF DOMESTICITY .......................................................................... 594 13.3.1 Transcendentalism ..................................................................................... 594 13.3.2Utopian Communities -
Why Waco? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America
Why Waco? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft196n99ws&chunk.id=0&doc.... Preferred Citation: Tabor, James D., and Eugene V. Gallagher Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1995 1995. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft196n99ws/ Why Waco? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America James D. Tabor and Eugene V. Gallagher UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley · Los Angeles · Oxford © 1997 The Regents of the University of California For David P. Efroymson in friendship and gratitude for a quarter century of intellectual guidance and for Jonathan Z. Smith, who taught both of us the importance of seeing ourselves in the light of the other and the other in the light of ourselves Preferred Citation: Tabor, James D., and Eugene V. Gallagher Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1995 1995. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft196n99ws/ For David P. Efroymson in friendship and gratitude for a quarter century of intellectual guidance and for Jonathan Z. Smith, who taught both of us the importance of seeing ourselves in the light of the other and the other in the light of ourselves Preface So thoroughly negative is the public perception of groups labeled as "cults" that any attempt to balance the picture may be seen as misguided, if not downright threatening, to the best interests of society. In the case of the Branch Davidians, the news media were saturated with reports of gun stockpiling, sexual misconduct, and child abuse. -
The Great Advent Movement Headquarters of the Seventh-Day Adventist Denomination, Takoma Park, Washington, D
The Great Advent Movement Headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination, Takoma Park, Washington, D. The Great Advent Movement By EMMA. E. HOWELL Issued by the Young People's Department!, of Missionary Volunteers, General Conference' of Seventh-day Adventists GENERAL CONFERENCE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TAKOMA PARK. WASHINGTON 12, D.C. RENCE LIBRARY TAKOMA PARK. WASHIN REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING ASSN. TAKOMA PARK, WASHINGTON, D. C. Printed in the U. S. A. Copyright, 1935, by the Review and Herald Publishing Association Revised, 1941 Foreword IN this abridged history of the Seventh-day Adventist de- nomination emphasis has been laid on the message in its various phases rather than on the men and women who so loyally proclaimed the timely messages. Brief character sketches have been given of some who were most closely associated with the beginnings of the advent movement, but in the main, biographies of men will have to be culled from other books. We gratefully acknowledge material help and direct informa- tion from the following books: "The Great Controversy," by Mrs. E. G. White ; "The Great Second Advent Movement," by J. N. Loughborough ; "A History of the Origin and Progress of Seventh-day Adventists," by M. Ellsworth Olsen; "Story of the Advent Message," by Matilda Erickson Andross ; "Founders of the Message," by Everett Dick; and "Pioneer Stories," by A. W. Spalding. In the revised edition of 1941, we acknowledge further courtesies of assistance by LeRoy E. Froom and the Ellen G. White Publications office staff. Access to original sources, made available by the research work of these men, has led to minor changes in some of the stories of the beginnings of this movement.