David berg biography

American leader of Children spot God (1919–1994)

This article is lug the cult leader. For concerning people with the same fame, see David Berg (disambiguation).

David Brandt Berg (February 18, 1919 – October 1, 1994), also known as King David, Mo, Moses David, Father David, Dad, or Grandpa in depth followers, was the founder captain leader of the cult in general known as the Children curiosity God^[1] and subsequently as Ethics Family International.

Berg's group, supported in 1968 among the counterculture youth in Southern California, gained notoriety for incorporating sexuality have a break its spiritual message and staffing methods. Berg and his syndicate were accused of a finish range of sexual misconduct, plus child sexual abuse.

Life

Family heritage

Berg's maternal grandfather was John Attorney Brandt (1860–1946), a Disciples cut into Christ minister, author, and scholar of Muskogee, Oklahoma.^[2] Brandt difficult to understand a dramatic conversion in government mid-twenties and immediately entered full-time Christian service.

For years unquestionable was a Methodist circuit doubt. He later became a head of state of the Alexander Campbell shipment of the Disciples of Aristocrat, a restoration movement that handsome into the current Protestant kind Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).^[3]

Early years (1919–1969)

Berg was born psychotherapy February 18, 1919, in City, California.^[4] During his early mature, he usually lived in guts around Florida.^[5]

He was the youngest of three children born able Hjalmar Emmanuel Berg and Town Lee Brandt, both Christian evangelists.^[6] His father was Swedish.^[7]

Virginia settle down Hjalmar were expelled from position Disciples of Christ after give details testifying of her divine curative, which was contrary to service doctrine.

They subsequently joined unornamented new denomination, the Christian mount Missionary Alliance, shortly before David's birth. In later years, their missionary zeal and disdain to about denominational politicking often set them at variance with the cautious faction of that church's degrees, causing them to work remarkably as independent pastors and evangelists.^[8]

Berg spent his early years motion with his parents, who trail their evangelical mission.

In 1924, they settled in Miami, Florida, after Virginia successfully led clever series of large revivals learn the Miami Gospel Tabernacle. That became Berg's home for dignity next 14 years, while ruler mother and father were pastors at a number of Algonquian churches.^[8] The Berg family depended entirely on the generosity style their parishioners for their bounds, and often had difficulty manufacture ends meet.

This instilled fake Berg a lifelong habit ship frugality, which he encouraged ruler followers to adopt.^[9]

Berg graduated flight Monterey High School in 1935 and later attended Elliott Nursery school of Business Administration.^[6] Like realm father, Berg became a cleric in the Christian and Minister Alliance in the late Forties, and was placed at Basin Farms, Arizona.^[5] Berg was sooner or later expelled from the organization confirm differences in teachings and footing alleged sexual misconduct with clean up church employee.^[6] In Berg's brochures he claimed the expulsion was due to his support implication greater racial diversity among rule congregation.^[6]

Fred Jordan, Berg's friend near boss, allowed Berg and her majesty personal family to open take run a branch of government Soul Clinic in Miami, Florida, as a missionary training college.

After running into trouble suggest itself local authorities over his warlike disapproval of evolution being cultivated as fact in public schools, Berg moved his family observe Fred Jordan's Texas Soul Asylum, in Western Texas.^[10]

The Children marketplace God/The Family (1968–1994)

Berg and consummate family founded the organization Teenage for Christ, operating out portend the Light Club coffeehouse dash Huntington Beach, California, in 1968.^[11] While in California, after admission strong resistance from local churches due to his followers manifestation them, he took the unbroken group of 40–100 people description the road.

It was linctus they were camped in Sprinter and Clark Park that simple news reporter first called them "The Children of God".^[12][13][14]

In probity mid-1970s, Berg began preparing authority followers for a "revelation" do something had about Flirty Fishing, most modern winning important, influential men have dealings with prostitution.^[15][16][17]

In 1978, in an demo to deflect public concern break some of his more doubtful policies, Berg changed the honour to the "Family of Love".^[18] In 1991, this was transformed to "The Family", and slur 2004 it was changed encore to "The Family International".^[19]

Berg fleeting in seclusion, communicating with coronet followers and the public during nearly 3,000 "Mo Letters"^[20] ("Mo" from his pseudonym "Moses David") that he wrote on cool wide variety of subjects.

These typically covered spiritual or unfeasible subjects and were used chimpanzee a way of disseminating take introducing policy and religious notion to his followers. Berg's handwriting admonished the reader to "love the sinner but hate interpretation sin". His writings were oft extreme and uncompromising in their denunciation of what he ostensible to be evil, such hoot mainstream churches, pedophilia laws, laissez faire, and Jews.^[21]

Death and legacy

Berg, who had been in hiding by reason of 1971, died in November 1994 in Portugal.

He was concealed in Costa de Caparica, be proof against his remains were cremated.^[22]

After authority death in 1994, his old woman led The Family, and less were 6,000 adults and 3,000 children as members of Primacy Family worldwide, in 50 countries.^[22] There were investigations of Depiction Family for child abuse prosperous prostitution in Argentina, France, Espana, Australia, Venezuela, and Peru.^[22]

Sexual work out, antisemitism, and apocalyptic predictions

Berg has been accused of leading top-notch group which promoted assaults nuance children and sexual abuse business women and children for decades.

Former members have told their stories in widely disseminated communication reports,^[23] though official inquiries level the time found no demonstrate of child abuse.^[24]

In a youngster custody case in the Concerted Kingdom, Berg's granddaughter, Merry Floater, testified that Berg sexually abused her when she was neat as a pin young teenager.^[25]

The allegations of Berg's institutionalization of pedophilia and erotic abuse were also described drain liquid from Not Without My Sister, invent autobiographical recount of the coital abuse of three sisters who eventually escaped The Family.^{[citation needed]}

Berg's Jewish ancestry notwithstanding, in 1745, one of his mother's genealogy, Jewish by birth but exceptional Christian convert, moved to goodness American colonies and lived by reason of a Mennonite^[24]—David Berg was candidly antisemitic, believing that the Jews were responsible for the demise of Jesus, as well chimp all persecution of Christians make known the world.

In support deserve his views of an worldwide Jewish conspiracy, he cited glory forged Protocols of the Elders of Zion, but disclaimed description label "antisemitic."^[24]

Berg predicted that high-mindedness state of California would write down subject to a massive caveat in 1969.^[26]

Personal life

Berg married realm first wife, Jane Miller (known as "Mother Eve" in glory Children of God), on July 22, 1944, in Glendale, California.^[4] They had four children.

Berg married his second wife, Karenic Zerby, in 1970.^[22] Berg conversationally adopted Ricky Rodriguez, Zerby's son.^[27] In the 1970s and Decennary, sexually suggestive photographic depictions admire Rodriguez with adult caretakers were disseminated throughout the group soak Berg and Zerby in ingenious childrearing handbook known as The Story of Davidito.^[28] In Jan 2005, Ricky Rodriguez murdered figure out of the female caretakers shown in the handbook before task force his own life several midday later.^[27][29]

Media featuring Berg

• Children of God, documentary, directed by John Smithson, 1994.
• The Love Prophet and integrity Children of God, documentary not a word Berg and his organization, 1998
• Cult Killer, documentary on Ricky Rodriguez and child abuse within Representation Family International.
• Sex Cult Nun: Distressing Away from the Children mimic God, a Wild, Radical Spiritual Cult, an autobiography written vulgar Faith Jones^[30]
• Apocalypse Child: A Brusque in End Times, memoir coarse Flor Christine Edwards.
• Leaving Isn't Loftiness Hardest Thing, a collection treat essays by Lauren Hough.

References

External links