Here is a short clip of my remarks at the 2025 Waco Branch Davidian Memorial held on April 19th. I decided to talk about my conception of “True Religion,” transcending all groups, denominations, cults, movements, and spiritual paths. Before commenting on any aspect of the Waco tragedy please be sure…
It is that time again. A day that will live in infamy not only in American history, but in my life personally as well, as I watched with horror and disbelief the deaths of David Koresh and his Bible Students at Mt Carmel perish in the flames. Many questions, and…
Thirty-two years ago today, on February 28, 1993, my life was forever changed. It was a Sunday morning and I was upstairs in my office. Lori, my wife called through the house, “James, James, come down here, there is a shootout in Texas with some religious group and the leader…
Here we see a very young David Koresh in his defensive mode…this is before his “New Light” Revelation came, making him the Lamb of Revelation, who opens the Seven Seals, a sinful Messiah, fulfilling Psalm 45–the “Rider on the Wbute Horse-, with many wives and children, right before the End…
April 26, 2024 FIRST: I want to strongly recommend the upcoming 8-lecture on-line course that Bart Ehrman is offering “The Bible and the Quran: Comparing Their Historical Problems,” which you can watch live Sat & Sun May 4th and 5th. See link below for full details and how to sign…
The first Waco memorial was held on April 19, 1994–precisely one year after the Tragic Fire in which 74 men, women, and children burned to death. Although memorials have been held each year–including this year of 2024–there will never be another like this one. The surviving Branch Davidians who were…
I just received this archive footage of the very first Memorial at the Mt Carmel Center outside Waco, TX after the tragic fire that killed 74 men, women, and children on April 19, 1993. This was in 1994–and I could not have told you what I said and listened to…
I am at the ATL airport, for a flight connection, with one thing on my mind. April 19th, 1993. I am tuned in now to the Memorial Service via Zoom, which I can’t attend this year due to an out of town conference. Some of you will perhaps remember that…
Thirty years ago…Some of my readers remember, others were not old enough, but heard from parents, and some not even born–like many of my students in their 20s. I asked an undergrad class of 70 last year–Who has heard of Waco, the Branch Davidians, or David Koresh? Five hands went…
This unedited video, was sent out on March 12, 1993 as a VHS tape by David Koresh during the FBI 51 day siege of the Branch Davidian Center, outside Waco, TX. The tape was intended to show that those inside the compound were not being held against their will, allowing…