The Branch Davidians

Movement·Founded 1955 CE·Dissolved

Judaism → Christianity → Catholicism → Protestantism → Seventh-day Adventism → The Branch Davidians

ArchiveWaco History, Baylor UniversityArchiveHandbook of Texas, Texas State Historical AssociationThe recordInterim Report to the Deputy Attorney General, John C. Danforth, Special Counsel, 21 July 2000

Branch
Overview Belief 3How to Live 1Practice 1Stories & Scripture 1 You × The Branch Davidians Discussion
Precept of The Branch Davidians

No meat, no tobacco, and tithe twice.

The diet and the double tithe are Houteff's, not Koresh's, and they are the part of the community that lasted longest — vegetarian cooking, modest dress, the Sabbath, and a second tenth on top of the first to fund the settlement.

Add to My Beliefs →
What it asksNo meat, no tobacco, no alcohol, modest dress, the Sabbath kept, and a second tithe on top of the first
Who it bindsResidents at Mount Carmel; looser for scattered members
Where it bitesThe double tithe funded the community, which meant leaving cost a household its savings as well as its friends
Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this passage is held

Diet and dress are the parts of Davidian practice that outlasted every leadership crisis. Vegetarianism, no tobacco, no alcohol, no cosmetics, long dresses for women, and a double tithe that funded the settlement. The double tithe is unusual and consequential: it meant members were financially invested in the community in a way that made leaving expensive. Houteff also insisted the community be productive — the original Mount Carmel had a dairy, an orchard, a print shop and its own currency for internal use.

The same ground, other faiths

claims that share this one's ideas
The Vinaya. Buddhism Go deeper →
Five vows, twice over. Jainism Go deeper →
Ihya Ulum al-Din. Islam · scripture Open the book →
The Covenant of Christian Conduct — and the arguments about it. The Church of the Nazarene Go deeper →
The rules of ordinary life, and there are a great many of them. The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (the Exclusive Brethren) Go deeper →
The dharma of one's station. Hinduism Go deeper →

The conversation

argument stays attached to the claim it is about All discussion →

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Where next

The Branch Davidians's How to Live roomback up one layer Propose a change to this passageone button — it routes to the review pool

Numbers count Panfaith activity only — never real-world adherence.

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