Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2005, Page 15
Several years later, reflecting upon his struggle with his granddaughter, Berg wrote to his
followers, ―And I got the most gruesome picture of [Merry], with her mouth all red &
dripping, drooling with blood like a vampire! Of course, she‘s just a little ignorant nobody,
but it shows you how the Devil is using her‖ (Berg, 1992:3). Because Merry questioned the
authority of her drunken, abusive grandfather, he dehumanized and demonized her. This
action set a precedent for what Children of God leadership would do a decade later when
adult children of first-generation members were in open revolt concerning the treatment
and abuse that they themselves had experienced.
Throughout the 1990s and into this century, these young adults became increasingly vocal
about what life was like as children in the cult. Through a Website, movingon.org, they
reconnected, wrote about their experiences, and even named alleged perpetrators. Amid
repeated calls for justice against the first-generation adults who had violated their second-
generation offspring, Children of God (now called The Family) leadership responded in much
the same way as had Berg to the challenges of someone he had abused—leadership
demonized the critics. In September 2002, current leaders Maria and Peter Amsterdam
published a missive that contained sections about demonic, blood-dripping, grotesque,
―agents of the netherworld‖ called the ―Vandari.‖ According to the text, ―The ‗van‘ is derived
from the word ‗vandals,‘ the ‗dar‘ from the word ‗dark,‘ [and] the ‗I‘ spelling of the last
syllable signifies ‗I,‘ denoting self or selfishness‖ (in Maria and Peter, 2002:para. 142).
Because of the age range of several of the demons in the text, no doubt existed that these
Vandari were second-generation critics.
In passages attributed to Jesus, these Vandari ―are let loose upon the Earth. Their mission
is to recruit those who will bow down and worship the son of perdition in the appointed day.
Likewise, they seek to oppose My truth‖ (in Maria and Peter, 2002:para. 145). Indeed, they
are vile creatures:
You‘ve seen rats, because they cohabitate with the Vandari. The Vandari
populate and dwell in the sewer systems of the world, a fitting place in the
physical world for such creatures. In the netherworld, they belong to some of
the lowest strata and levels of the spirit world, where they dwell with the
dregs of the spirit (in Maria and Peter, 2002:para. 146).
In summary, when faced with a crescendo of criticism against its charismatic leader, the
abusive policies that he implemented, and the consequences of those policies on young
people‘s lives, Children of God leaders attempted to discredit the critical adult children of
the first generation by demonizing and dehumanizing them to the group‘s remaining
members. The message to members was to avoid the criticisms at all costs because they
came from the Devil. This scenario is a remarkable example of how a cult attempts to
protect itself and its charismatic leader, even at the expense of its own children.
Conclusion
This study began with the assumption that the failure of so many sectarian groups to retain
their young into adulthood suggests systemic problems with charismatic leadership.
Charisma may not be so much based upon a leader‘s contact with the divine as it is an
indication of biopsychosocial dysfunction. Such dysfunction certainly seems to take its toll
on a number of the children who live under the pale of parents whom others consider to be
divine. Moreover, adults, who often are on spiritual quests of the highest motives, join other
devotees in encapsulated, depluralized worlds centered on reputedly divine or enlightened
charismatic figures. Their social networks weave tightly with other seekers, but often they
either neglect their children as they pursue what for them is a higher cause, or they involve
children in that pursuit in ways that do not have the children‘s needs as primary.
Several years later, reflecting upon his struggle with his granddaughter, Berg wrote to his
followers, ―And I got the most gruesome picture of [Merry], with her mouth all red &
dripping, drooling with blood like a vampire! Of course, she‘s just a little ignorant nobody,
but it shows you how the Devil is using her‖ (Berg, 1992:3). Because Merry questioned the
authority of her drunken, abusive grandfather, he dehumanized and demonized her. This
action set a precedent for what Children of God leadership would do a decade later when
adult children of first-generation members were in open revolt concerning the treatment
and abuse that they themselves had experienced.
Throughout the 1990s and into this century, these young adults became increasingly vocal
about what life was like as children in the cult. Through a Website, movingon.org, they
reconnected, wrote about their experiences, and even named alleged perpetrators. Amid
repeated calls for justice against the first-generation adults who had violated their second-
generation offspring, Children of God (now called The Family) leadership responded in much
the same way as had Berg to the challenges of someone he had abused—leadership
demonized the critics. In September 2002, current leaders Maria and Peter Amsterdam
published a missive that contained sections about demonic, blood-dripping, grotesque,
―agents of the netherworld‖ called the ―Vandari.‖ According to the text, ―The ‗van‘ is derived
from the word ‗vandals,‘ the ‗dar‘ from the word ‗dark,‘ [and] the ‗I‘ spelling of the last
syllable signifies ‗I,‘ denoting self or selfishness‖ (in Maria and Peter, 2002:para. 142).
Because of the age range of several of the demons in the text, no doubt existed that these
Vandari were second-generation critics.
In passages attributed to Jesus, these Vandari ―are let loose upon the Earth. Their mission
is to recruit those who will bow down and worship the son of perdition in the appointed day.
Likewise, they seek to oppose My truth‖ (in Maria and Peter, 2002:para. 145). Indeed, they
are vile creatures:
You‘ve seen rats, because they cohabitate with the Vandari. The Vandari
populate and dwell in the sewer systems of the world, a fitting place in the
physical world for such creatures. In the netherworld, they belong to some of
the lowest strata and levels of the spirit world, where they dwell with the
dregs of the spirit (in Maria and Peter, 2002:para. 146).
In summary, when faced with a crescendo of criticism against its charismatic leader, the
abusive policies that he implemented, and the consequences of those policies on young
people‘s lives, Children of God leaders attempted to discredit the critical adult children of
the first generation by demonizing and dehumanizing them to the group‘s remaining
members. The message to members was to avoid the criticisms at all costs because they
came from the Devil. This scenario is a remarkable example of how a cult attempts to
protect itself and its charismatic leader, even at the expense of its own children.
Conclusion
This study began with the assumption that the failure of so many sectarian groups to retain
their young into adulthood suggests systemic problems with charismatic leadership.
Charisma may not be so much based upon a leader‘s contact with the divine as it is an
indication of biopsychosocial dysfunction. Such dysfunction certainly seems to take its toll
on a number of the children who live under the pale of parents whom others consider to be
divine. Moreover, adults, who often are on spiritual quests of the highest motives, join other
devotees in encapsulated, depluralized worlds centered on reputedly divine or enlightened
charismatic figures. Their social networks weave tightly with other seekers, but often they
either neglect their children as they pursue what for them is a higher cause, or they involve
children in that pursuit in ways that do not have the children‘s needs as primary.
