The Children of God (1968–1977) The founder of the movement, David Brandt Berg (1919–1994), was a former pastor in the
Christian and Missionary Alliance, an
evangelical Protestant denomination. Berg started in 1968 as an evangelical preacher with a following of "
born-again hippies" who gathered at a coffeehouse in
Huntington Beach, in
Orange County, California. In 1969, after having a revelation "that California would be hit by a major earthquake", he left Huntington Beach and "took his followers on the road". By 1971, the COG claimed that it had 4,000 members, mostly consisting of teenagers and people in early 20s. In November of 1971, COG's colony was evicted after a serious disagreement with American Soul Clinic's head Fred Jordan and other associates. Berg communicated with his followers by writing letters. He published nearly 3,000 letters over a period of 24 years, referred to as the
Mo Letters. In a letter written in January 1972, Berg stated that he was God's prophet for the contemporary world, attempting to further solidify his spiritual authority within the group. Berg's letters also contained public acknowledgement of his own failings and weaknesses, for example, he issued a Mo Letter entitled "My confession – I was an alcoholic!" (ML #1406 Summer 1982) relating his depression after some of his closest supporters quit in 1978. and by the mid-1970s, it had "colonies" in an estimated 70 countries. In 1976, Berg reorganized the movement, dismissing "more than 300 leading members after hearing unspecified 'reports of serious misconduct and abuse of their positions." The Family of Love period was characterized by international expansion. After 1978 Flirty Fishing "increased drastically" and became common practice within the group. A Mo Letter from 1980 (ML #999 May 1980) for example was headlined "The Devil Hates Sex! — But God Loves It!". In some areas flirty fishers used escort agencies to meet potential converts. According to TFI "over 100,000 received God's gift of salvation through Jesus, and some chose to live the life of a disciple and
missionary" as a result of Flirty Fishing.
The Family (1982–1994) According to the Family's official history, the group had "far fewer common standards of conduct" during The Family of Love stage than it had previously. In the late 1980s the group "tightened its standards" "to ensure that all member communities provide a very wholesome environment for all, particularly the children", and changed its name to "The Family". In January 2005, Claire Borowik, a spokesperson for TFI, stated: Due to the fact that our current zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual interaction between adults and underage minors was not in our literature published before 1986, we came to the realization that during a transitional stage of our movement, from 1978 until 1986, there were cases when some minors were subject to sexually inappropriate advances ... This was corrected officially in 1986, when any contact between an adult and minor (any person under 21 years of age) was declared an excommunicable offense. After a 1993 expose in the
Los Angeles Times, the group broke "years of virtual silence" and began "inviting reporters and religious scholars" to visit its commune in
La Habra, California, where
Washington Post journalist Gustav Niebuhr found its members to be "a clean-cut bunch, friendly and courteous". At that time The Family claimed to have "about 9,000 members worldwide, with about 750 scattered across the United States". The group emphasized its mainstream Christian opposition to abortion, homosexuality, drugs and drunkenness and its respect for Rev.
Billy Graham.
The Family (1995–2003) After Berg's death in October 1994, Karen Zerby (known in the group as Mama Maria, Queen Maria, Maria David, or Maria Fontaine) assumed leadership of the group. In February 1995, the group introduced the
Love Charter, which defined the rights and responsibilities of Charter Members and Homes. The Charter also included the
Fundamental Family Rules, a summary of rules and guidelines from past TF publications which were still in effect. In the 1994–95 British court case,
the Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Alan Ward ruled that the group, including some of its top leaders, had in the past engaged in abusive sexual practices involving minors and had also used severe
corporal punishment and sequestration of minors.
The Family International (since 2004) The Love Charter is The Family's set governing document that entails each member's rights, responsibilities and requirements, while the
Missionary Member Statutes and
Fellow Member Statutes were written for the governance of TFI's Missionary member and Fellow Member circles, respectively. FD Homes were reviewed every six months against a published set of criteria. The Love Charter increased the number of single family homes as well as homes that relied on jobs such as self-employment.
Teachings TFI's teachings have become based on beliefs which they term the "new [spiritual] weapons". TFI members believe that they are soldiers in the
spiritual war of
good versus evil for the souls and hearts of men.
Spirit Helpers "Spirit Helpers" include
angels, other religious and mythical figures, and departed humans, including celebrities; for example the goddess
Aphrodite, the Snowman,
Merlin, the
Sphinx,
Elvis,
Marilyn Monroe,
Audrey Hepburn,
Richard Nixon, and
Winston Churchill.
The Keys of the Kingdom TFI believes that the Biblical passage "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:19), refers to an increasing amount of spiritual authority that was given to
Peter and the
early disciples. According to TFI beliefs, this passage refers to keys that were hidden and unused in the centuries that followed, but were again revealed through Karen Zerby as more power to pray and obtain miracles. TFI members call on the various Keys of the Kingdom for extra effect during prayer. The Keys, like most TFI beliefs, were published in magazines that looked like comic-books in order to make them teachable to children.
Loving Jesus "Loving Jesus" is a term TFI members use to describe their intimate, sexual relationship with
Jesus. TFI describes its "Loving Jesus" teaching as a radical form of
bridal theology. They believe the church of followers is Christ's bride, called to love and serve him with wifely fervor; however, this bridal theology is taken further, encouraging members to imagine Jesus is joining them during
sexual intercourse and
masturbation. Male members are cautioned to visualize themselves as women, in order to avoid a homosexual relationship with Jesus. Many TFI publications, and spirit messages claimed to be from Jesus himself, elaborate this intimate, sexual relation they believe Jesus desires and needs. TFI imagines itself as his special "bride" in graphic poetry, guided visualizations, artwork, and songs. Some TFI literature is not brought into conservative countries for fear it may be classified at customs as pornography. The literature outlining this view of Jesus and his desire for a sexual relationship with believers was edited for younger teens, then further edited for children. == Criticism and accusations of sexual assault ==