Word: cult
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Equipped with both a creamy charm and a cold-blooded willingness to manipulate those drawn to him, Koresh was a type well known to students of cult practices: the charismatic leader with a pathological edge. He was the most spectacular example since Jim Jones, who committed suicide in 1978 with more than 900 of his followers at the People's Temple in Guyana. Like Jones, Koresh fashioned a tight-knit community that saw itself at desperate odds with the world outside. He plucked sexual partners as he pleased from among his followers and formed an elite guard of lieutenants...
...Once in the cult, Davidians surrendered all the material means of personal independence, like money and belongings, while Koresh seemed to have unlimited funds, much of the money apparently from his followers' nest eggs. The grounds around the compound were littered with old automobiles that the faithful cannibalized for parts to keep their clunkers running while Koresh drove a black Camaro muscle...
...lengthy sessions of biblical preaching that cult members attended twice a day, Koresh underlined his authority by impressing upon them that he alone understood the Scriptures. He changed his interpretations at will, while his unsteady flock struggled to keep up. In a tactic common to cult leaders, Koresh made food a tool for ensuring obedience. The compound diet was often insufficient, varying according to the leader's whim. Sometimes dinner was stew or chicken; at other times it might be nothing but popcorn. On their infrequent trips to Waco, cultists could be seen wolfing down packaged cheese in convenience stores...
...Koresh's final writings, the text of which has obtained, the cult leader spoke in a ranting voice...
Once she moved to Waco, Sherri withdrew even more. She was impossible to contact, and she sought to end David's regular visits with Kiri. He grew alarmed when Breault, who had broken with Koresh, warned him and Sherri's mother of the abusive practices going on in the cult. Sherri, Breault said, was one of Koresh's favored wives. The gold pendant worn by Kiri, only 10, was a sign that Koresh planned to take her too as a wife...