Razing The Children of God

The Children of God tour bus, 1972 (from UVA's Religious Movements site)

Groomed from birth as the messiah to David Berg's Bible-based sex cult, the Children of God, Rick Rodriguez finally snapped in 2005, taking the life of his childhood captor Angela Smith as well as his own.

Not for the faint of spirit or weak of stomachs, the Chanel 4 (UK) film Cult Killer: The Rick Rodriguez Story chronicles the events that lead to Rick's tragic collapse. As seen in the film, the cult's institutionalized pedophilia and patriarchal mind-control techniques set it apart from the hundreds of other freaky sects of the Love Generation. The Children of God still exists today but vehemently denies any sort of wrongdoing. However, several ex-members posted their controversial literature online and it's pretty clear that ritualized child abuse forms a core part of their doctrine. 

I found the show intriguing on several levels: as utopian subcultural anthropology, "seekers gone wild" high tragedy and pop news exposé. I'm also reminded of the phantom "Satanic child abuse cults" of the late-80s, which turned out to be case after case of mass hysteria fueled by the moral panic of Reagan-era culture wars. (Capturing the Friedmans brilliantly captured that moment of American history.)

The Children of God, however, is the real deal. River Phoenix was easily the most famous former member. (His mother even renamed the family "Phoenix" to signify their escape from the group in 1977.) Rose McGowan, too. My parents have some very close friends who were members back in the 1970s. They're some of the sweetest people I know, eccentric but giving—they raise the kids the rest of us don't want: the emotionally and physically disabled. Needless to say, the cult messed them up pretty bad.

I got a seriously gross feeling while doing this research. It's not pretty. Yet it serves as a fascinating glimpse into the ongoing American quest for enlightenment, no matter what the cost.  

Comments

[mir]

Why don't you post some real facts about this group you one sided fuck?

The Children of God / The Family International
The History of our Movement

The Family International traces its origins to 1968 and Huntington Beach, California. It was there that our founder, David Berg, also known as Father David or Moses David, together with his wife and teenage children, began a ministry to the counterculture youth who flocked to that seaside town. Many of these experienced dramatic changes in their lives as they came to understand that there is a God and that they could have a personal relationship with him through Jesus Christ, God's gift of Love.

Some of them chose to work with Father David, dedicating their lives to the service of God and others. Thus, The Family was born, although it was not to become known by that name for many years. At the end of 1969, when the group had grown to about 100 members, it was dubbed The Children of God by the news media. By 1972, there were 130 Children of God communities scattered throughout the world.

In early 1978, The Children of God was formally dissolved and a new group, The Family of Love, with a new organizational structure, was formed. In recent years, we have become known simply as The Family.

Who is David Brandt Berg?

David Berg's parents were both active Christian pastors and evangelists, and his early years were spent traveling with them in evangelistic work. In 1941 he nearly died of pneumonia, shortly after being drafted into the U.S. Army. After determining to rededicate his life to Christian service, he experienced a miraculous healing.

For most of the next 27 years he worked as a pastor and in various evangelistic endeavors until, in 1968, he received God's call to take the Gospel to the hippies of southern California. There he and his then teen-aged children began a ministry to the youth that grew and was known as The Children of God, and eventually became known as The Family. Today, members of The Family engage in missionary and humanitarian work in about 90 countries worldwide.

[Atheist]

It's interesting that a comment made by someone called MIR trying to defend COG said that the author of this blog is a one sided "fuck". Hahaha... I bet the "devil" bit his tongue on that!!! Facts? People can google it. Can't hide something "flirty fishy". It smells! :D

[Nici29ie]

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