Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 108
Branch Davidians/Koresh/Waco
Video Game Based on Waco Disaster
The new video game ―Waco Resurrection,‖ a 3-D version of the 1993 tragedy that creators
call a documentary, allows players to use their joysticks to experience the event. In the
game, leader David Koresh ―can run, jump, shoot, and hide. ..players have special
weapons they use to energize themselves. Koresh‘s energy comes from massive Bibles that
rain from the sky. Those Bibles also rain bullets and turn federal agents into [Branch]
Davidian followers.‖ The game is one example of a new genre that includes Palestinian,
Israeli, and Islamic ―political unrest‖ games.
Branch Davidian survivor David Thibodeau says: ―It‘s not a game. What happened there
was real and real people died.‖ (Jeff Douglas, Kansas City Star, Internet, 7/5/04)
Brother Julius
Late Leader’s Followers Surface
Followers of the late Julius Schaknow [Brother Julius], the self-proclaimed ―sinful
messiah‖ who settled former followers‘ sexual abuse cases against him out of court, have
been visiting Fairfield, CT-area Christian and Jewish clergy, sometimes disrupting services
with verbal abuse. According to one minister, the visitors deliver a ―harangue‖ about how
their way must be followed in order to achieve salvation. (Chris Clarimiello, Fairfield
Minuteman, Internet, 4/22/04)
Casa by the Sea, Casa La Esperanza, Genesis.
Mexican Authorities Shut Down Rehab Centers
Mexican authorities have shut down three private U.S.-owned rehabilitation centers in Baja
California that try to reform teenagers who have drug addictions and behavioral problems.
Officials acted on complaints and reports that the youth were being physically and
emotionally abused at Casa by the Sea, Casa La Esperanza, and Genesis. (Sandra
Dibble and Anna Cerley, San Diego Union-Tribune, Internet, 9/11/04)
Child Abuse
Claims Freedom of Religion Allows Marriage to Children
An unidentified 52-year-old man in Montreal is being prosecuted for child abuse because of
his self-proclaimed marriage to a 10-year old girl five years ago. The prosecution says he
used his position as founder of an evangelical Christian sect that ministered to the homeless
to abuse the daughter of a down-and-out-follower whom he helped land a job and regain
custody of her kids when they were eight and six. He allegedly continued to help her,
sometimes paying electricity and phone bills, even keeping the children on weekends,
financing their dental care, taking the whole family on vacation, and attending parent-
teacher meetings at school while their mother worked long hours.
The defendant argues that he is innocent of the charges thanks to freedom of religion and
his marital rights. He refuses to say whether he consummated the marriage, declaring only:
―If you‘re married you have the right. It‘s like I‘m being charged with breaking and entering
my own home.‖ He adds that he believes the mother is being pressured into testifying
against him, and that they are threatening her with loss of the children if she doesn‘t. She
says she only heard about the ―marriage‖ from the police, and was shocked. (Allison Hanes,
The Gazette, Internet, 8/19/04)
Branch Davidians/Koresh/Waco
Video Game Based on Waco Disaster
The new video game ―Waco Resurrection,‖ a 3-D version of the 1993 tragedy that creators
call a documentary, allows players to use their joysticks to experience the event. In the
game, leader David Koresh ―can run, jump, shoot, and hide. ..players have special
weapons they use to energize themselves. Koresh‘s energy comes from massive Bibles that
rain from the sky. Those Bibles also rain bullets and turn federal agents into [Branch]
Davidian followers.‖ The game is one example of a new genre that includes Palestinian,
Israeli, and Islamic ―political unrest‖ games.
Branch Davidian survivor David Thibodeau says: ―It‘s not a game. What happened there
was real and real people died.‖ (Jeff Douglas, Kansas City Star, Internet, 7/5/04)
Brother Julius
Late Leader’s Followers Surface
Followers of the late Julius Schaknow [Brother Julius], the self-proclaimed ―sinful
messiah‖ who settled former followers‘ sexual abuse cases against him out of court, have
been visiting Fairfield, CT-area Christian and Jewish clergy, sometimes disrupting services
with verbal abuse. According to one minister, the visitors deliver a ―harangue‖ about how
their way must be followed in order to achieve salvation. (Chris Clarimiello, Fairfield
Minuteman, Internet, 4/22/04)
Casa by the Sea, Casa La Esperanza, Genesis.
Mexican Authorities Shut Down Rehab Centers
Mexican authorities have shut down three private U.S.-owned rehabilitation centers in Baja
California that try to reform teenagers who have drug addictions and behavioral problems.
Officials acted on complaints and reports that the youth were being physically and
emotionally abused at Casa by the Sea, Casa La Esperanza, and Genesis. (Sandra
Dibble and Anna Cerley, San Diego Union-Tribune, Internet, 9/11/04)
Child Abuse
Claims Freedom of Religion Allows Marriage to Children
An unidentified 52-year-old man in Montreal is being prosecuted for child abuse because of
his self-proclaimed marriage to a 10-year old girl five years ago. The prosecution says he
used his position as founder of an evangelical Christian sect that ministered to the homeless
to abuse the daughter of a down-and-out-follower whom he helped land a job and regain
custody of her kids when they were eight and six. He allegedly continued to help her,
sometimes paying electricity and phone bills, even keeping the children on weekends,
financing their dental care, taking the whole family on vacation, and attending parent-
teacher meetings at school while their mother worked long hours.
The defendant argues that he is innocent of the charges thanks to freedom of religion and
his marital rights. He refuses to say whether he consummated the marriage, declaring only:
―If you‘re married you have the right. It‘s like I‘m being charged with breaking and entering
my own home.‖ He adds that he believes the mother is being pressured into testifying
against him, and that they are threatening her with loss of the children if she doesn‘t. She
says she only heard about the ―marriage‖ from the police, and was shocked. (Allison Hanes,
The Gazette, Internet, 8/19/04)
