In some ways, David Berg’s grooming of women for the task of literally giving their all for the cause reminds me of rumored Soviet-era KGB training of swallows (female sex spies). An early exercise would consist of forcing the novice spy to engage in public nudity. The purpose of this was to habituate her to humiliation, chipping away at her ego and self-esteem until there was nothing left of either.

Although he instituted the policy after the advent of FF-ing, Berg strongly encouraged female members to perform videotaped or filmed stripteases for him (NSFW link). At the time (early-1980s), he would often lay low in undisclosed locations while various law enforcement agencies hunted for him. Thus members all over the world would communicate with him by videotaping or filming messages to send him. In such Mo Letters as “Glorify God in the Dance” (DO, dated 24 July 1981) he praised the women who submitted to this call:

IN FACT, WE HAVE BEEN AMAZED AT THE TALENT ALONG THIS LINE that we have discovered amongst you girls in the Family, & it has been quite an attractive addition to our repertoire of thrilling Family tapes, we have personally enjoyed them immensely, most of them, that is.

EVEN SOME OF THE LITTLE INDIVIDUAL ONES which you included with the video of your own personal family in which some of you dear brave girls volunteered courageously to go all the way for us & the Lord & to give your all & your best to Jesus & his ever-loving Family, & we really love them & love you for making them & thank you with all our hearts…. [emphasis original]

As mentioned earlier, children born into the cult were essentially parentless, because of the group’s disdain for the “selfishness” of biological families, and because they often separated families. It should therefore come as no surprise that many of the sexual aspects of cult life filtered down to the kids as well. The stripteases asked of adult women were also encouraged among young girls as well (NSFW: strong warning*). In this sense, we see leadership of the CoG/FoL indoctrinating these girls into the roles the cult wanted them to play, specifically as future (or perhaps not-so-future) sex sirens.

In 1982, the cult published a DO-rated True Komix issue based on a January 1974 Mo Letter titled “The Little Flirty Fish” (NSFW link). By editing and reissuing this ML as a comic strip, the cult hoped to explain the practice of FF-ing to their children, especially the girls.  In such DO-rated publications as “My Little Fish” (NSFW: read warning below), the cult gave instructions, both to kids and adults, for how to sexually relate to each other.

Simply put, leadership intended these publication for children, and children certainly read them. As ABC News producers found out:

Figure 1. 20/20 interview with Children of God/Family of Love children



As much as the CoG were known for free sex and religious prostitution, sexual activity among its children would become its biggest source of notoriety, corroborated by many second generation members, among them River Phoenix. While one might think that a sex cult wouldn’t necessarily coerce children into sexual activity, this one did. While the cult justified this (and many other things) by the twisted interpretation of scripture, the preoccupation with pedophilia actually came from the darkest part of Berg’s psyche.


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*This link will take you to the opening frames of Children of God: Lost & Found, a 2007 documentary produced by former second-generation CoG member Noah H. Thompson for Home Box Office (HBO). Because this has been carefully edited, and aired multiple times on national television, it’s safe to say that this clip depicting the stripteases of young girls (one of them Berg’s biological granddaughter), is legal to watch in the US. This might not be the case in all countries. To be safe, I suggest you check the child pornography laws of your country before clicking that link.

I highly recommend Thompson’s film, because it’s made from the point of view of a thoughtful insider. If you watch it from beginning to end, you will find later footage of two adult women reviewing the striptease videos they made as children. Their commentary is quite enlightening.

To read later posts in this series, click here.