Sex Cult : Children Of God - Excerpts From WW's Articles

Excerpts : Elijah : Where Are The True Prophets Of God : Part 1 :

Copyright 1994 - 2008 Endtime Prophecy Net

Last Updated : July 23, 2006

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Over the past decades, within and without Christianity,
there have been a variety of other charismatic figures who
have attracted followers to themselves and to their
doctrines; and their numbers appear to be growing. These
range from those who claim to be reincarnations of some of
the Prophets of old, to those who claim to be an actual
manifestation of Jesus Christ, to those who believe that the
Lord has given them a special anointing to carry out a
particular ministry in the Endtime.

In the late 1960's, one of the groups which rose to the fore
of the 'Jesus Revolution' of southern California, U.S.A. was
the Children of God. This evangelical group was founded by
David Brandt Berg, a former pastor and leader of the 'Teens
For Christ'. Mr. Berg was born on February 18, 1919 to an
evangelical couple. While the husband of this team was noted
for his excellent singing voice, it was his wife Virginia
Brandt Berg who appears to have become more widely known due
to her weekly radio broadcast known as 'Meditation Moments'.
Exactly how this program came about is an interesting story.
As a young adult, Mrs. Berg suffered an automobile accident
which left her with serious back injuries and other medical
complications. As tragic as the accident was, later events
would confirm that this was just another one of the Lord's
setups to humble one of His children in preparation for
her future ministry. As we are told in the Book of Romans:

"And we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose." (Romans 8:28)

According to her personal testimony, which I read almost
three decades ago, at the time this accident occurred, Mrs.
Berg was a staunch atheist who was thoroughly enjoying the
pleasures which this life has to offer. The Apostle John
pinpointed exactly what the world has to offer when he wrote
the following in the second chapter of his first Epistle:

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the
Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and
the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth
for ever." (1 John 2:16-17)

It would not be until the Lord had literally brought her to
the point of death as a result of her accident, that Mrs.
Berg would finally surrender her worldliness, her atheism
and her pride, and cry out to Him in utter desperation. It
was only then that the Lord delivered Mrs. Berg from her
afflictions and blessed her with a complete healing. This is
all according to her personal testimony. It was following
her miraculous healing, that Mrs. Berg conceived and gave
birth to her son, David Brandt Berg, a miracle in itself
which the doctors claimed would never happen. According to
his own testimony, David Berg for the most part remained
close to his mother's side until her death in California,
U.S.A. many years later. It was actually his mother who
first sparked Berg's interest in the hippie counterculture
of southern California, U.S.A. Before long, together with
his first wife and their four teenage children, Mr. Berg
assumed the reins of the ministry to the teens of California
first begun by his mother.

[ 5/8/00 Update - In her book, 'The Children of God: The
Inside Story', Deborah Davis, the daughter of David Berg,
and one of the founding members of the Children of God,
states that the account of her grandmother's accident and
so-called 'miraculous healing', which has been believed
without question for over three decades by members of the
cult, is in fact an exaggeration and distortion of the truth.
Please read her book, also found on this web site, for more
details. ]

In the formative years of his organization's development,
Mr. Berg initiated the practice of adopting Biblical names
by assuming the name of Moses David. This practice was
viewed as a means of fuflilling such verses as the
following:

"And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he
said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called
Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone." (John 1:42)

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

It was later revealed in Mr. Berg's weekly articles, which
became known as the 'Mo Letters', (from the name Moses),
that the reason he had chosen this particular name was
because, according to certain prophecies he had received, he
believed that he possessed the spiritual anointing or
assistance of Moses and King David of the Old Testament.
Like the Moses of old who freed the Hebrew slaves from
Egyptian tyranny, Moses David believed that his calling was
to free the hippies from a corrupt American system by
offering them a whole new way of life through Jesus Christ.
Many heard his call to become 'fishers of men' and followed
in step behind him. Some of Berg's early witnessing methods
were quite revolutionary and controversial to say the least.
One of these was the practice of leading his radical young
followers in church invasions dressed in long burlap robes,
carrying wooden poles, wearing large yokes, and bearing
large posters which contained messages of prophetic doom.
Moses David and his followers would arrive at these events
in large red buses which they dubbed 'prophet buses'.
Needless-to-say, actions such as these quickly aroused the
ire of his religious enemies.

By the mid-seventies, despite heavy persecution, or possibly
as a result of it, the Children of God, now numbering in the
mid-thousands according to their own reports, had expanded
to over eighty countries living in communities known as
'Colonies' or 'Homes'. Moses David also moved abroad and
spent considerable time in Europe, particularly in Spain. At
about that same time, they went through some major changes.
One of these was that Moses David changed his name to Father
David; and his second wife, Maria, came more to the fore.
The organization took on the new name of the Family of Love.
This was due in part to several new controversial doctrines
introduced by Father David. One of these is referred to as
'sharing'; which refers to a mutual sharing of sex partners,
be they married or not. The second doctrine became known as
'Flirty Fishing', or 'FF'ing'. This form of evangelization
utilized sex as a lure to win new souls to Christ. This
ministry was pioneered by Father David's own wife, Maria.
Based on his understanding of the Scriptures, Father David
was convinced that this activity was permissible in the eyes
of the Lord. According to some recent information I read,
due to the threat of the AIDS virus, this second practice is
purported to have been discontinued since sometime in 1987.

Another major event which occurred during that time period
was a leadership shake-up. As with many organizations,
religious or not, power and money had corrupted some of the
upper echelons of the Family of Love structure. It is
claimed by Father David that he personally fired some three
hundred leaders due to their serious abuse of their flocks.
It is also said that many of the regular members who could
not adjust to the changes also abandoned the group. While
the Family of Love claimed that they were now a whole new
organization, their enemies viewed it as nothing more than
an attempt to whitewash the public. As far as they were
concerned, as long as Father David was in power, nothing had
really changed. In their eyes, Father David was still the
main culprit as he was the one who had corrupted their kids
with his doctrines of liberal sex, communal living and
controversial witnessing techniques; as well as turning the
kids against their parents.

Another claim made by Father David was that it had been
revealed to him that he possessed the wisdom of the Prophet
Daniel. I personally have a difficult time accepting this
claim. According to the Book of Daniel, while the Prophet
was able to interpret the dreams and visions of the
Babylonian kings, when it came to the Endtime visions, even
Daniel confessed that he did not understand everything he
was being told to write down:

"And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord,
what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy
way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the
time of the end." (Daniel 12:8-9)

My skepticism regarding Mr. Berg's prophetic abilities is
based on even more concrete evidence. Throughout the course
of his ministry, he made some very time-specific prophecies.
Primary among these was the prediction of the arrival of the
Beast in 1989. In 1971, eighteen years earlier, Mr. Berg had
also predicted that his death would occur in the very same
year that the Beast appeared on the world stage; that is, in
the year 1989. Mr. Berg was also convinced, and taught his
followers, that Jesus Christ would return in the time period
1990-93. Unfortunately, neither of these two events has come
to pass as predicted. I recently discoverd that Father David
died at the age of 75 in 1994, five years after the date he
said he had been given through prophecy many years before.
As to the Return of Jesus Christ, we are all still here
patiently waiting for our Lord's Return. In light of this
evidence, and the following Scriptural admonition, it is
extremely difficult for me to believe that Father David was
the Prophet of God that he claimed to be. As the true
Prophet Moses of old wrote in the Book of Deuteronomy:

"And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word
which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in
the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to
pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but
the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be
afraid of him." (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)

While the above are some of the more apparent prophecies
which did not come to pass as expected, there are others,
such as those surrounding the 1974 Comet Kohoutek, which
also failed. This becomes apparent if you carefully read
Father David's article on that subject. In order to enforce
the belief that Father David was the fulfillment of various
Old Testament prophecies concerning the re-establishement of
the Throne of David in the Endtime, members of the Family of
Love were encouraged to memorize a set of Bible verses known
as the 'David Set'. This group of verses included such
Scriptures as the following from the Book of Amos:

"In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is
fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise
up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:"
(Amos 9:11)

As I explain in the latter portion of 'The Kings Of The
North And The South: Part Two', in my view, this and other
verses attributed to Father David were taken out of their
proper context. For a more in-depth explanation of what some
of those verses are, and what I believe them to mean, I
encourage you to read the aforementioned article. Like the
other men I have mentioned thus far in this article, I
believe that Father David founded his organization upon
strong Biblical doctrine which included Eternal Salvation
through Jesus Christ alone, the in-dwelling of the Holy
Spirit, and a vision for worldwide evangelization. This is
clearly reflected in many of his articles which I have had
the opportunity to read. In fact, despite the controversy
which surrounds this man and his organization, I must
candidly admit that it is because of some of his writings
that I was motivated to dedicate my life to the Lord many
years ago. Thus, I do not doubt Father David's sincerity and
dedication to the Lord, or his concern and love for lost
souls.

However, it appears to me that one of Father David's primary
errors was the same as that committed by these other men;
and that is that he knowingly allowed and encouraged his
followers to set him and his words on a pedestal. The
practice of memorizing the 'David Set' is one clear example
of this; but it is by no means the only one. As I discuss in
the article 'Have You Read The New Scriptures Yet?', the
Family of Love, or The Family as it is now known, also
believes that the writings of Father David are new
Scriptures which in some cases may supercede the Bible. As
shocking as this may be to some, this belief can be verified
by reading some of Father David's earlier writings. Due to
some recent information I came across, which I will share
momentarily, I suspect that this belief may still be an
existing part of The Family's doctrine.

Perhaps you are now thinking that things could not possibly
be any worse than this within The Family. Unfortunately,
there is still more. In some of my other articles such as
'Mary Worship And Catholicism', I clearly expose the lie and
deception involved in praying to statues of Mary or other
Catholic saints. As most non-Catholics are aware, there is
absolutely no Scriptural precedence for doing this. If you
are not yet personally convinced of this, then I suggest
that you read the aforementioned article. As Paul wrote in
his first Epistle to his dearly-beloved co-worker Timothy:

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;" (1 Timothy 2:5)

A thorough reading of the Scriptures will clearly show that
the only people we find in the entire Bible who are praying
to idols, are the rebellious Israelites, and the heathen
nations around them. While members of The Family do not pray
directly to idols, it may shock you to know that it has been
their practice, and may still be their practice, to pray in
the name of their founder, Father David, whom they view as a
king. A prayer by a member of The Family might end in such
phrases as 'In Jesus' and David's names I pray, amen'; or
perhaps 'in the name of David I ask, amen', or possibly 'in
your servant David's name I pray, amen.' Again, this
practice is clearly in contradiction to the Scriptures; in
fact, it is against Jesus' very own words. Consider what our
only Lord and Master said in the following verses:

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask
any thing in my name, I will do it." (John 14:13-14)

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained
you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your
fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the
Father in my name, he may give it you." (John 15:16)

"And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name,
he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my
name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the
time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in
proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At
that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you,
that I will pray the Father for you:" (John 16:23-26)

The above verses are just a few of the many places where
Jesus stressed the importance of using His name when
petitioning the Father. There are many more which I have not
listed here. In the Book of Acts, and in the Epistles, we
also discover that everything was done in the name of Jesus
Christ. People were saved in the name of Jesus Christ;
people were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ; and
miracles were performed in the name of Jesus Christ. Nowhere
in the entire Bible are we told to pray in the name of
anyone else; not in Mary's name, and certainly not in Father
David's name. Thus, while The Family may not erect physical
idols to Father David, it appears that they hold him as an
idol in their hearts which is just as bad. Remember again
what Jesus said about committing the act of adultery. The
same principle holds true for this practice of praying in
the name of David:

"But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to
lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in
his heart." (Matthew 5:28)

As with the Catholic pope and fathers, the very fact that
David Brandt Berg is referred to as Father David is also a
clear sign of placing oneself above others, and a symptom of
self-glorification. Remember again what Jesus said in the
Gospel of Matthew:

"And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your
Father, which is in heaven." (Matthew 23:9)

I am not exactly sure how Jesus meant for this verse to be
understood. I suspect, but cannot prove, that perhaps He is
not condemning the practice of referring to our biological
dad as father; but rather that He is saying that we are not
to look up to any spiritual authority upon Earth with the
same degree of respect as we do with our Father in Heaven.
In other words, if some spiritual leader we respect teaches
or practices something which we know is clearly against the
Scriptures, then it is our obligation to disregard what they
do or say, and to give our Heavenly Father and His Word
pre-eminence in our lives. To do otherwise would be to allow
this Earthly spiritual figure to usurp the position and
authority of our Father in Heaven; thus, indirectly we would
be calling them Father in place of our true Heavenly Father.
In my view, the fact that The Family views the writings of
Father David as being equal in status to the Bible makes
them guilty of this very thing.

A final clear example of the exaltation of Father David and
his wife can be found in The Family's charter. In explaining
the requirements for fulltime membership with the group,
what The Family refers to as being a DO, or Disciple Only
member, the charter begins as follows:

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"The basic responsibilities of full-time Family members
(referred to as DO [Disciples Only] members) in the Family
are in brief: They must believe in Jesus Christ as their
Savior. They must believe that David Berg, and Maria, his
wife and successor, are God's Endtime prophets."

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The first requirement is one which any sincere Christian can
easily meet; however, notice the second one. If you have an
earnest desire to serve Jesus Christ in a fulltime capacity,
unless you are willing to accept David Berg and his wife and
successor, Maria, as God's Endtime Prophets, then the clear
message is that you should not even consider trying to do it
with The Family. While Jesus did establish some requirements
for being fulltime Disciples, I don't recall that honouring
two people as Endtime Prophets was ever one of them. In
addition, considering that David Berg is now deceased, I
must sincerely ask how is it possible for a potential new
member of the group to be convinced that Berg was a true
Prophet of God? In like manner, what positive proof can his
wife Maria provide to confirm that she is a true Prophetess
of the Lord?

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