Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No.
3, 2008, pp. 279-290
Not Without My Sister: The True
Story of Three Girls Violated and
Betrayed
Kristina Jones,
Celeste Jones, and Juliana Buhring
HarperCollins UK. 2007. ISBN-10:
0007248067; ISBN-13: 978-0007248063
(hardcover), $24.95 ($18.21
Amazon.com). 416 pages.
HarperCollins UK. 2008. ISBN-10:
0007248075; ISBN-13: 978-0007248070
(paperback), $13.95 ($11.86
Amazon.com). 432 pages.
Jesus Freaks: A True Story of
Murder and Madness on the
Evangelical Edge
Don Lattin
HarperOne. 2007. ISBN-10:
0061118044; ISBN-13: 978-0061118043
(hardcover), $24.95 ($18.21
Amazon.com). 256 pages.
Reviewed by Miriam Williams
Boeri, Ph.D.
Two books
published in 2007 and written by
authors outside academe provide an
in-depth understanding of life in
The Children of God, a new religious
movement started in the 1960s by
evangelical preacher David Berg.
This group was popularly recognized
as a cult. The Children of God were
later called The Family and are now
known as The Family International.
Both books
provide evidence of the group’s
leadership encouraging and engaging
in sexual activities with children.
Such accounts are disputed in
scholarly publications and dismissed
by some scholars as exceptions or
exaggerations. Both books, however,
depict much academic research as
inadequate, misguided, or
misrepresented. Although the authors
of these two books provide shocking
details about growing up in The
Children of God, the honest
discussion of respected research is
perhaps the greatest impact they
will have on the academic field of
cultic studies.
The first book
in this review, Not Without My
Sisters, is a memoir. Popular
media reviews of the book focus on
the “horrific detail” in the lives
of the authors, who were “treated by
their 'guardians’ as sexual beings.”
Some academics who label appeals to
mainstream values as “moral panics”
that are beneath the objective
perspective of scholarly research
dismiss such shock tactics by
publishers and marketers. In some
corners of academe, these
supercilious scholars are regarded
as “experts” in their field, but
those dark corners are becoming
increasingly exposed by books such
as this one. In my opinion, the
major contribution of Not Without
My Sister to the field of cult
studies is its insights into the
processes and effects of
brainwashing (a.k.a. mind control or
thought reform), a disputed concept
in academia.
There are
differences of scholarly opinion
regarding memoirs written by former
members of such groups as The
Children of God/The Family. Although
these differences exist on a
continuum, the extreme on one side
includes the apologist scholars of
cults who claim that memoirs are
self-accounts distorted by personal
biases, and on the other side
academics who claim the
apologists—those scholars who debunk
anti-cult allegations—promote
perspectives distorted by hidden
agendas. The apologists have labeled
these scholars “anti-cultists”
because they typically present data,
analysis, and findings that are less
than favorable to cults and often
based on interviews with former
members or memoirs by former
members.
As a memoir
writer and academic, I am familiar
with both sides of the debate. As a
former member of a cult and
researcher, I can identify the blind
spots and pretense of scholars who
claim to remain objective, as well
as those of the individuals who,
influenced by their life experiences
in a cult, write with righteous
indignation. I have tried to
maintain neutrality, but I suspect
that both sides will challenge some
of my views and critiques.
Not Without
My Sisters is about growing up
in The Children of God. The authors
of this book are two biological full
sisters, Kristina and Celeste, and
their half sister, Juliana. They all
have the same father, known in the
group as Simon Peter. I mention
“biological” because as a
sociologist I am amazed at the
strong connection between these
sisters, who by their own accounts
were separated at a young age and
continued to be kept apart with very
little physical interaction or
communication throughout their
lives. Also, as a former member of
The Children of God, I know that
this group not only espoused but
also enforced its communal ideal by
physically, emotionally, and
psychologically dividing families,
or what they called “selfish little
units.”
The authors’
accounts of sexual, emotional, and
physical exploitation and abuse will
interest all readers concerned with
social justice and human rights. The
book will be a compelling read for
any parent, instructional material
for any student of social sciences,
and an informative account for
anyone with family members involved
in cults or other fanatic religious
groups. But my primary
recommendation of this book is for
scholars of controversial religious
and social movements, and
professionals working with abuse
victims, dysfunctional families, and
cult survivors.
I was a member
of The Children of God for fifteen
years. Based on my insider
knowledge, as well as my informed
understanding of the academic
debates regarding this group, I
found Not Without My Sister
most effective in its exposure of
the way in which sexual and physical
abuse was not only encouraged but
also practiced by its leaders
throughout the group’s history. I
have written in my memoir that I did
not see child sexual abuse
everywhere, but we group members all
read reports that indicated it
existed in the homes of the cult’s
leaders. This book sheds more light
on the degree and progression of
child abuse in the Children of God,
starting with the perspective an
abused child.
The book opens
with the story of Celeste, the
first-born of Simon Peter, a
charismatic young disciple of the
Children of God who rose to fame and
favor with the leaders of the group
as a result of his “Music with
Meaning” radio shows in Greece.
Readers become aware that Simon’s
access and unfailing obedience to
top leadership resulted in his
children’s subsequent exposure to
some of the worst child-abuse
scenarios in the history of the
group. I am not denying that perhaps
Celeste’s story chronicles one of
the more bizarre and atrocious abuse
experiences of children in The
Family, but I remain suspicious of
scholars who claim that this abuse
was isolated, since the extent of
such activities is still unknown.
Celeste
describes scenes that have become
legends among ex-members of this
group, such as the beatings at the
huge “Combo homes” for teens, the
rapes of young girls, and the
suicides of young male members.
These stories have been exposed in
Internet sites and newspaper
articles for years, but Celeste’s
account supports the stories and
offers more detail from a true
insider’s perspective—as a young
child growing up and viewing the
scenes first-hand. Moreover, Celeste
herself is not spared these
injustices, and while the reader is
aghast that her father is not
protecting her, Celeste continues to
excuse him and hold him on a
pedestal. Any pretense that the
leadership did not know of adults
forcing sex on children is dispelled
by Celeste’s account of living in
leadership homes where she is forced
to have sex with adults. Celeste
lived in the homes that most Family
members only read about in The
Family newsletters. More-concerned
parents in the group feared that
their teens would be sent to one of
these “Combo” homes, which were
considered the juvenile detention
homes of The Family. Celeste is sent
there not because she is bad but
because her father is needed in
secret homes where she is not
needed.
Celeste longs
for reunion with her absent mother
and sister, who left the group after
being separated from the rest of the
family. A golden opportunity for
escape and justice arises when she
is asked to testify in a British
court case involving child abuse in
the Children of God. Because Celeste
is one of the young girls dancing
naked and suggestively on a video
used as evidence in the case, a
reputed religious expert interviews
her and asks her to explain her
childhood strip dance experience.
Celeste repeats exactly what the
leaders of The Family prompted her
to say, knowing it is not true but
unable to decipher lies at that time
of her life. The conversation
between Celeste and the research
expert in the book is a pivotal
passage of evidence for the
unreliability of research data
collected from current cult members.
It appears from this account of the
interview that Celeste easily
convinces the scholarly expert that
she (Celeste) was not abused. The
expert witness scholar of “new
religious movements” seemed to
convince the Lord Justice Ward that
abuse was not widespread in the
group, which may have influenced
Ward’s ruling to allow the child to
remain in The Family.
Soon after this
incident, Celeste, among the
hundreds of teens in the group, is
singled out to live in the most
secret of Family homes and meet the
top leaders of the cult after the
death of Moses David (Berg)—namely,
Maria (Karen Zerby) and her consort,
Peter Amsterdam. Celeste is told
that Maria received “prophecies”
(spiritual messages) from the
deceased Berg and the Lord to call
this home the “house of the open
pussy.” Here Celeste sees firsthand
that the sexual activities that had
destroyed her childhood happiness
were initiated and blessed by these
same top leaders. Although no
turning point is without preceding
doubts, it is here that Celeste has
her epiphany that The Family leaders
are not the God-sent messengers of
love as she had been taught all her
life. She leaves The Family after a
short visit to her beloved father,
who refuses to accept responsibility
or hold his leaders accountable for
his daughter’s abuse.
The second
story is told by Juliana, who is
born from a union of Celeste’s
father and one of the many Family
sisters he “mates” over the years to
serve his sexual needs. Juliana
suffers immense emotional pain as a
result of the separation from both
her parents, and she is depicted as
the lost child whom nobody loves.
She is subjected not only to sexual
abuse but also unrestrained
emotional and physical abuse that
she recounts with chilling
detachment.
Desperately longing for adults who
will love her, she secretly
wishes that the strange Indian
couple who knock on the door of The
Family home one day looking for a
child to adopt will take her. Her
father, who brags he has fathered
more than twenty children, appears
not to know of his children’s
whereabouts, living conditions, or
personal anguish.
Juliana is
rarely with any of her siblings as
she is shuttled from home to home
and suffers under various guardians
who appear to care little for her
safety or happiness. Despite being
taught all her life that “we are all
one family,” when Juliana learns of
a biological relative, she clings to
the idea of a sibling bond. This
hope is depicted in the scene in
which she fondly remembers a
photograph of a little girl in India
who her father casually states is
one of Juliana’s sisters. In the
end, while on a visit with her older
siblings in London, after they had
already left The Family, Juliana has
her epiphany and begins the turning
point in her slow journey out of the
“bizarre upside-down world that made
no sense.”
Readers might
be astounded that it takes so long
after her revelation for Juliana to
physically leave the group, but it’s
important to bear in mind that she
endured a most intense socialization
and isolation from the rest of the
world. In her story we see the
long-term processes and effects of
such extreme indoctrination. In the
end, even while Juliana appears free
to travel, leave, and marry
according to her own desires, she is
tied by strings we cannot
distinguish in shorter versions of
these lives, such as those presented
in scholarly publications. Although
some scholars hotly debate and
debunk the “brainwashing” process,
evidence of the mind-control tactics
groups such as the Children of God
use is seen in Juliana’s extended
withdrawal from the group. Apologist
scholars for cults often use the
fact that members are free to leave
when they want as proof that
brainwashing or mind control does
not exist. However, Juliana’s
account, and other stories about
leaving cults, reveals the
superficial level of such an
argument.
The third story
is told by Kristina, the younger of
the two sisters born to Simon Peter
and his first wife. Kristina is
separated from Celeste and her
father soon after her birth in
India. She lives her childhood with
a malicious stepfather who enforces
strict rules on his new stepchildren
and seems eager to follow Berg’s and
Zerby’s directives on sexual
activities with children. While her
mother is often bedridden with
difficult pregnancies, Kristina is
sexually abused by her stepfather.
The abuse began when she was three
years old and he performed oral sex
on her as she lay on her top bunk
bed. As he continued with similar
sexual behaviors along with
increased physical abuse, other men
in the group forced Kristina to
engage in sexual activities she
detested but endured in silence.
Kristina’s molestation is conducted
mostly in private. She is forced to
have sex in secret with relative
strangers as she travels among small
missionary homes in India and other
Eastern countries. For example, her
stepfather hides his sexual
exploitation of Kristina from her
mother. Kristina describes her
mother as living in a trance while
in The Family, and it appears that
her mother is not cognizant of her
children’s abuse until she is
finally out of the group.
Kristina’s
accounts of sexual activities with
adults appear to be more hidden that
those of her sisters, yet one might
wonder why she does not inform
anyone of this behavior. Recall that
Kristina has read The Family
literature in which the group’s
leader and prophet endorses adult
sex with children, so she has no
reason to report this behavior as
abuse to her mother or other group
members who should have protected
her. She also knows that whatever
occurs in The Family is not to be
revealed to those outside the group,
and she learns to live a “double
life” when she is around
“systemites” (those living outside
the Family). Yet the most redeeming
characters in Kristina’s story are
in fact those systemites she comes
in contact with throughout her
travels. It is by observing the
differences between the behaviors of
systemites and the behaviors of
adults in The Family that Kristina
is encouraged to testify with her
mother in a court case involving
child-abuse accusations.
Unfortunately, their testimony
appears to garner less respect than
that produced by the scholarly
experts with their theoretical
alleged insights. It is two other
systemites, her grandparents on her
stepfather’s side, who defend her
when a teenaged Kristina is trying
to force an apology from her
stepfather (their son) for the
sexual abuse she suffered as a
child. Overhearing the girl’s plea,
the elderly couple storm into the
room, condemning their son for the
accusations they were loathe to
accept previously.
In my mind, the
support by Kristina’s grandparents
represents a dilemma we find in
academia. This incident is symbolic
of how academics seem to find it
difficult to accept stories of abuse
as valid until the stories hit home
in a personal way. This may be why
scholarly research, which is biased
toward producing findings that
support the reigning paradigms,
ignores the anecdotal evidence in
favor of
dissenting theoretical views.
Regrettably, the popular theories on
cults (new religious movements) have
too easily dismissed the stories of
child abuse in cults as “atrocity
tales.” Only those scholars who
listen to stories such as those
written in this book have honestly
examined the issue of cult abuse.
And these scholars are typically not
published in the academic journals
that would allow their theories to
receive attention on a broader
scale. Thus, the issue of why, how,
and which cults engage in this type
of abuse, and how to stop it, is
rarely addressed in academic
circles.
In Not
Without My Sisters, the
apologist scholars are subtly
exposed as naïve or misguided. In
their brave effort to provide an
honest account, the sisters reveal
how the experts are too easily
convinced of The Family’s innocence,
the blamelessness of the leaders,
and the extent of the abuse. The
authors suggest veiled deceit on the
part of the academic expert
witnesses.
In contrast, in
the book Jesus Freaks, Lattin
does not engage in subtleties but
explicitly and intentionally exposes
the apologists’ agenda by devoting
an entire chapter to their scholarly
misdeeds. Jesus Freaks,
written by a renowned newspaper
journalist well-versed in new
religious movements and
fundamentalist religious groups,
provides a detailed life account of
Ricky Rodriquez. Ricky, known as “Davidito,”
is the son of the leader of The
Children of God, David Berg.
Davidito is also the
second-generation member whose
suicide/murder in 2005 was broadcast
in media around the world. The book
is recommended to anyone interested
in cultic studies.
The book
chronicles the history of The
Children of God. As a former member
of this cult, I found the details of
the group’s history and life inside
the group accurate and revealing.
There were occasional
inconsistencies with the names of
characters, or perhaps the author
was asked to change some names and
not others. However, in a group that
required new members to change their
names on joining, encouraged name
changes of members to disguise
identity, and enforced frequent name
changes of the top leaders where
Ricky lived, it is remarkable that
Lattin was able to keep pace with
identities to the extent that he
did.
More importantly, he unravels the
intricate processes involved in
constructing a worldview that is as
bizarre as it is hidden from all
public scrutiny. Whereas
lawyers and expert witnesses have
persuaded esteemed judges around the
world
to deny justice to its exploited and
abused members, Lattin exposes not
only the moral atrocities but also
the criminal acts committed by its
leaders. He does this through
investigative research into every
aspect of Ricky’s life. Some
scholars claim that it is not an
academic’s responsibility to expose
or judge morality issues in his or
her objective research. As noted
earlier, it appears that the
scholars who have dominated in
academic publications largely
overlook or discount abuse issues in
these groups,
especially
in The Children of God. In a chapter
devoted to these scholars, called
“Expert Witness,” Lattin provides
specific details of how much
of their research ignores or
distorts the facts.
Lattin writes
in primarily chronological order
with occasional flashbacks that
might be difficult for a reader to
follow. For example, when a new
character is introduced, Lattin
revisits earlier history of the
group that allows the reader to gain
a more in-depth understanding of the
communal environment in which Ricky
was raised. Lattin briefly recounts
the histories of some of the other
young adults he interviews—most have
horrific stories of abuse.
The author
acknowledges that not all children
born and raised in The Family had
childhood experiences as damaging as
did Ricky, who lived in the house of
the leader, David Berg. For example,
near the end of the book, after
having recounted story after story
of unimaginable abuse, Lattin
informs the reader that all members
and former members “lived in the
shadow of David Berg”; but of the
13,000 new members who were born
into this group between 1971 and
2001, “when they were born and where
they were raised determine the
darkness of that shadow” (p. 207).
Despite
remarking that some children fared
better than others, Lattin states a
few pages later that he could not
find one former member from the
second generation who "rose above it
all and found justice and
redemption” (p. 210).
Such statements offer apologists
fodder for their arguments.
Without much effort, members
of the second generation can be
found who were able to live
well-adjusted lives after leaving
the cult and who may not think they
needed to pursue justice and
redemption. Although Ricky and most
of the second-generation ex-members
interviewed in this book were indeed
seriously abused by adult members,
deserted by their own parents, and
suffered lasting effects, it is
possible to find second-generation
members who left the group and who
were able to live relatively
well-adjusted, happy, and fulfilled
lives. I mention this one criticism
of this excellent and
well-researched book to preempt
further criticism by other scholars
who might dismiss this work as an
“atrocity tale.” Lattin does focus
on some of the worst cases, but in
his defense, the topic of the book
is about the worst case of cult
abuse in at least the past decade.
I recognize
that in academic writing both sides
of the cult debate tend to focus on
accounts that favor their own
perspectives. Apologists will use
Lattin’s book to show how the news
media presents only the sensational
stories. The so-called anti-cultists
(where I am categorized) will
promote the book to show how the
group commits atrocities that must
be acknowledged and analyzed in the
literature. I will return to this
point later. First I provide an
overview of the main themes of the
book.
Lattin writes a
detailed history of the group and
Ricky’s heritage. Long before Ricky
is conceived, his mother, Karen
Zerby, joins the newly formed group
and soon becomes a personal
secretary and mistress of its
leader, David Berg. Berg is known in
the group as Moses David or “Mo,”
and Zerby was called Maria for many
years, although she later became
known as “the Queen,” and members
were encouraged to call her “Mamma.”
Although Zerby was officially the
mother to all members and authorized
the sexualized childhood
instructional material of the group,
Lattin provides enough evidence to
show that she lacks any motherly
traits common to most cultures, such
as compassion, love, and patience.
Together with Berg, she has absolute
power over the entire worldwide
group and communicates with them
through letters (printed material)
sent to members only. Periodically,
she and Berg order the systematic
public ridicule and oftentimes
physical torture of any members who
question their authority. If such
members are not repentant, they are
excommunicated. Over the years,
Berg’s entire biological family is
excommunicated or publicly denounced
and stripped of any leadership
roles, leaving Zerby with absolute
power over a prophet who appears to
be drunk and crazed for most of his
life as leader of an estimated
12,000 dedicated disciples. This is
the woman who conceives Ricky in a
sexual encounter with a restaurant
waiter during the period of the
group’s practice of “Flirty
Fishing,” essentially using sex to
proselytize, recruit, and fundraise
for the group. Berg receives a
“prophecy” that Ricky is the
end-time prophet who will lead the
true believers during the impending
end of the world. Ricky’s childhood
training is meticulously recorded
and sent to members as a guidebook
for Family childcare. This is the
role that Ricky must fulfill as he
grows up in the “King’s house,”
typically located in mansions in the
most beautiful places in the world.
Lattin provides
a remarkable account of life in
Berg’s secret homes. But he does
very little to give the reader a
sense of what typical Family
children experienced in homes around
the world. In many Family homes,
parents struggled to provide food
and shelter while reaching “the lost
souls” with God’s word and sending
ample tithes for the King’s home and
service outposts. Few in The Family
ever meet their leader or the
members of their leader’s home in
person, but all read how the leaders
raised their prophet child (Ricky)
and were encouraged to emulate this
lifestyle. Readers should know that,
in most Family homes, emulating such
a lifestyle was difficult, in terms
of either following or enforcing it.
This disparity of voices leaves
readers without the knowledge that
many members of the group were too
busy “serving the Lord” to follow
Zerby’s directives on how to raise
their children. Ricky was supplied
with multiple nannies to take care
of him, but most regular Family
mothers had multiple babies to take
care of alone, while they were
servicing men in the group and
flirty-fishing men outside the group
for financial support. For many
mothers, especially those who were
separated from their husbands, the
abuse of their children occurred
while they were out doing the Lord’s
work. Whether these mothers were
cognizant of the abuse, ignored it,
disbelieved it, were naively
ignorant, or were otherwise
negligent of any emotional,
physical, or sexual abuse of their
children is research that remains to
be explored; but what Lattin does in
this book is give a vivid account of
how the abuse occurred.
Jesus Freaks
chronicles Ricky’s story very well,
but readers should be aware that not
all of the Jesus Freaks in The
Children of God are represented by
Ricky’s story and the stories of the
former members he came in contact
with after he left the group. This
acknowledgement, however, does not
in any way excuse what occurred to
these children. We know that
children were exposed to various
forms and levels of abuse in The
Family, such as harsh discipline and
lack of education and healthcare;
however, those parents who left the
cult with their children before the
Combos were widely implemented
usually spared their children many
of the cruelties described in this
book. Lattin’s book provides valid
exposure of some of the worst cases
of abuse, as well as evidence of
some of the worst cases of
unsubstantiated scholarly research
on cults.
Apologist
scholars claim that members of cults
cannot be brainwashed, and these
apologists then attempt to debunk
any theory of brainwashing or mind
control. Yet they themselves
continue to ignore or dismiss the
multiple stories of abuse and
criminal atrocities committed by the
very same leaders who have assisted
these scholars in their research by
providing what they call “open
access” to Family homes. My
experience in communicating with
these scholars over the years since
I have conducted research in this
area leads me to conclude that many
of them refuse to adequately address
the stories of abuse. Furthermore
they refuse to acknowledge that the
people responsible for the abuse are
the current leaders of the group.
After Ricky’s story made it
perfectly clear that the leaders of
The Family International instigated
sexual abuse with children, the
apologist scholars kept a low
profile. These scholars have
condemned themselves with their own
theories. With the access to Family
homes the leaders allowed them, they
might have been brainwashed by the
same processes that affect members.
However, if, as they claim,
brainwashing is not a valid process,
then these scholars have no excuse
for their apologies for this cult.
Not Without
My Sister and Jesus Freaks
leave no doubt in my mind that
the abuse committed on these
children can be linked to
identifiable perpetrators, including
current leaders of The Family
International. More accounts of
abuse can be found on the Website
referenced in Lattin’s book,
movingon.com. As noted, some
scholars have expressed doubt that
all of the stories former member
children have told are true; yet if
only a few are true, those few are
enough reason to seek justice.
Sadly, the apologists’ research
appears too often to stand in the
way of justice. Despite these
scholars’ claims that abuse was
isolated and occurred in the past,
the architects and executors of the
abuse still can be brought to
justice so that at least some of the
second-generation young adults who
have been unable to “move on” with
their lives can find redemption.
Unfortunately, journalistic works
and memoirs do not appear to sway
courts of law, but academic experts
do. Until we can find more effective
ways to counteract the “experts” and
scholars of religion who refuse to
acknowledge this evidence, hope for
redemption and justice is as
unattainable as the utopian ideal
Berg proposed.
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