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Makestraightpaths.com examines the teachings of the religious group
variously known as “the Family,” “The Family International,” the “Children of
God,” or the “Family of Love,” and evaluates these teachings from a Christian perspective.
The
Family International
If you have stumbled on this site
from somewhere in cyberspace, a brief word of explanation. The Family is a new
religious movement founded in America in the late 1960’s. It has been known as
‘The Family’, ‘The Family International’, ‘The Family of Love’, ‘The Children of
God’ and other names. While it purports to be a Christian movement, it has
attracted a great deal of controversy due to its radical interpretation of
Scripture. It is that radical interpretation that this web site examines in
depth.
The Family
is often described as a cult. Family members usually reject this
pejorative label, preferring to call themselves a New Religious Movement
(NRM). Rather than argue about the most appropriate term, it may be
better for outsiders to consider the reasons why people join such a
group, and for Family members to take a long hard look at the reasons
why they have attracted the 'cult' label.
A brief history
The Family was founded by
David Berg in California in 1968 mainly among the hippies and the
social drop-outs of the 1960's counter-culture. Berg preached a radical
message tailored for young people and found an eager audience. The
movement was first known as the Children of God. It grew as more young
people joined, and spread across the USA, then branched into Europe.
From the beginning, Berg insisted on obedience to
himself as the Prophet, and began writing encyclical letters to the
various 'colonies' of his followers, urging them to become more and more
radical.
During the 1970's, he expounded on his sexual views,
promoting among other things, sexualised evangelism ('FFing'), polygamy,
and profligate sex between Family members. Marriage was downplayed and
loyalty to the Family as a whole superseded loyalty to one's own spouse.
Children began to be born, forcing collective attention to be given to
their education.
The Family distanced itself from the name, the
'Children of God,' due to world-wide negative publicity, and even
claimed to have disbanded. However the group was reborn as the 'Family of Love,' later shortened to the Family. In
reality, the Family of Love was entirely run by former members of the Children
of God, used the same literature and believed the same teachings. It is
therefore somewhat disingenuous to say that the Children of God
disbanded. Rather, it was rearranged and given a new name.
In the 1980's, the AIDS epidemic forced the cessation of FFing and
limitations to be placed upon inter-home sexual relations.
Reports of sexual abuse of minors began to surface, and age-restrictions
for sexual interaction began being formulated.
By this time, the movement had spread into many
countries, following a strong emphasis on missionary evangelism. The
Family began producing audiovisual products as fundraisers, beginning
with colour posters depicting various Family teachings about heaven,
Jesus, sex, and so on, music videos and books. A list of Family-produced
videos may be found
here. The Family have rarely been open about the origins of these
products. They
currently publish numerous items under the name 'Aurora Productions.'
During the 80's and 90's, the Family became embroiled in a number of
court cases involving custody of children, allegations of child abuse,
and other legal concerns. These court cases had a significant influence on the
formation of a governing charter of rules, first published in 1995.
Berg died in 1994, whereupon his defacto spouse,
Karen Zerby took full control. Emphasis on personal prophecy grew and family members were encouraged to sexualise their relationship with
Jesus.
The Family remains active in a number of countries,
but Family members are not always easily recognisable, and may or may
not readily admit their connection to the group.
For more general information on the Family, you could read
the entries in Wikipedia,
although as Wikipedia is public domain, the entries tend to favour the
most recent editor. There is a
detailed history of
the Family here, and an even more detailed, although
unfinished history here.
Both histories are hosted by
exFamily.org.
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