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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 Marriage was downplayed and loyalty to the Family as a whole superseded loyalty to one's own spouse.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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