From: f_gautjw@ccsvax.sfasu.edu
Subject: Re: Koresh Doctrine -- 4 of 4
Organization: Stephen F. Austin State University
Lines: 75

In article <watson.735759766@mariner.sce.carleton.ca>, watson@sce.carleton.ca (Stephen Watson) writes:
> Question for those of you who seem to be fundamentalists (Stephen
> Tice, the Cotera, Joe Gaut, et al)(apologies if I've mislabelled any
> of you, I've only started reading t.r.m since the BD disaster.  But I
> know the Cotera is a fundy) and are defending Koresh and his beliefs
> as an example of True Christianity under persecution from the the Big
> Bad Secular State: what is your opinion of his reported sexual habits?
> If the reports are accurate, what IYO does this say about the quality of
> his Christianity?  Or are the allegations just part of the Big
> Cover-Up?

Thank you, Steve.  It is refreshing to have someone accuse me of being
a Christian.  I only hope enough evidence can be garnered to get a
conviction.  I am not certain what you mean by the "fundy" part as the
term fundamentalist has a wide variety of uses.  If you refer to
those who actually believe Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God and
wish to follow in his way, then I plead guilty.  But what does it
matter what I think.  The Roman circus is over.  The lions have been
satisfied -- for now.  The Emperor, after the long and gruelling
struggle, sensed the crowd was tiring and gave thumbs down.

With respect to my previous comments about David Koresh, I urge you
to re-examine my previous posts.  I believe you mistakenly assume
that defense of Koresh' right to his own personal beliefs and his
right to express them to others implies agreement with Koresh'
theology.  Actually I understand little about the details of Branch-
Davidian teachings and regret so many are hung-up on that aspect
of the tragic events of the past few days.

Nor do I think Koresh' sex life should be of any interest to the
federal government.  Of course Hillary says he had been molesting
infants so it must be true even though such allegations do not
fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government; they are
state and local matters and have been thoroughly reviewed at the
local level by proper authorities with no successful charge having
ever been levied against him.  Under American law, he was innocent
as Americans are presumed innocent until proven guilty.  At least
that's how it is suppposed to be.  But he was demonized and propa-
gandized against by a powerful machine to have him appear as a
lustful beast and therefore deserving of every ill the fates might
bring upon him.  

But evidence trickles in that the twenty-one children, who left the
building in the early days of the siege,  were carefully examined
by qualified authorities for evidence of physical or sexual abuse
and none was found.  DeGuerin, one of the attorneys who met with
Davidians several times before the conflagration, reported that
the children seemed well adjusted and showed no sign of abuse.

Ultimately, Steve, what I think about the heart of David Koresh
is quite unimportant.  Today he is in the benevolent hands of a
most wise and merciful judge who will one day surely judge us all.
So I withhold any judgment of David Koresh and defer to the One
who has all knowledge.  Meanwhile, let's clean up the mess left
on earth and keep this from happening again by sending a strong
message to the government to respect the inalienable rights of the
people it serves.

--Joe Gaut

> 
> (I remain deliberately neutral on the cause of the fire: I wouldn't
> put it past Koresh to have torched the place himself.  On the other
> hand, if the propane-tank-accident story is correct, I wouldn't put it
> past the FBI to try to cover its ass by claiming Koresh did it.  I
> hope your government does a VERY thorough investigation of the whole
> debacle, and I'll be disappointed if a few heads don't roll.  The
> authorities seem to have botched the original raid, and in the matter
> of the fire, are guilty of either serious misjudgement, or reckless
> endangerment.)
> --
> | Steve Watson a.k.a. watson@sce.carleton.ca === Carleton University, Ontario |
> |  this->opinion = My.opinion;  assert (this->opinion != CarletonU.opinion);  |
> "Somebody touched me / Making everything new / Burned through my life / Like a
>  bolt from the blue / Somebody touched me / I know it was you" - Bruce Cockburn
