Lois Roden
Lois Irene Scott Roden 1916 -1986 was a president of the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Church, an apocalyptic Christian sect which her husband, Benjamin Roden founded. The sect began in 1955 as a succession to the Shepherd's Rod movement led by Victor T. Houteff, itself a secession from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Contemporaneous with the Feminist Movement surge of the 1970's, Roden asserted that women, like men, were made in the image and likeness of God, and that they thereby hold a position of co-dominion with man in all things. She openly shared this concept with the members of her sect since 1973, despite some resistance within the sect. In 1977, a year before Benjamin Roden died, Lois said she had received a vision of the person of the Holy Spirit symbolized as a feminine "shimmering silvery Angel." She asserted as proof her ideas that the Hebrew word for Spirit (ruach) is feminine, and that Jews regard the concept of "Holy Spirit" and the "Divine Presence" ("shekhinah"...both of which are "feminine" words in Hebrew) are one and the same. (Although Judaism does not subscribe to any concept of "Her individual Personhood", the feminine aspect of the "Holy Spirit" is a prominent feature in Kabbalah).
From 1977 until the time of her husband, Benjamin's, death in 1978 she was co-president of the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Church along with him. When Benjamin Roden died, Lois remained as the sole lawful president until her death in 1986. Early in her presidency her leadership was challenged by her son, George Roden, and later (in late 1983) by Vernon Howell a.k.a. David Koresh. Both challengers drew away supporters from the congregation, scaring away others by their reliance on the force of arms to further their aims. Before Koresh challenged her leadership, he and Roden (who was then in her late sixties) had an affair, which Koresh justified by claiming that God had chosen him to father a child with her, who would be the Chosen One.[1]
In 1979, along with publishing many related tracts, Roden began publishing a magazine entitled Shekinah. The magazine explored the issues of the feminine aspect of the Godhead and women in the ministry of the Church. Shekinah magazine contained Lois' commentaries as well as reprints of news articles and excerpts of publications from a variety of Christian, Jewish, and other sources which addressed women's place in the world of religion. She received minor awards and commendations for the magazine from various religious groups and individuals. Among them were an Award of Excellence from Excellence in Media Angel Awards, and another from The Dove Foundation.
Though Roden received some support for her work regarding women's position of equality on earth as it is in heaven, she also received heavy opposition from male-dominated ministries. Some of the strongest of this opposition came from those Church members who left her leadership to follow that of Howell/Koresh. One of his unique teachings was that Lois was no longer to publish her message of a feminine Holy Spirit. In early 1983, the Church's publishing building was destroyed by fire.
She died in 1986 of breast cancer.