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that his statistics point very clearly to more fundamental differences than similarities
between The Family members and GSS respondents.
At the outset of the book, Bainbridge asserts that his work is ―fair-minded and objective‖ (p.
xii) but, unfortunately, at times he appears to take on an advocacy role for the movement,
hence forsaking impartiality. Nonetheless, within the context of all literature on COG/The
Family, Bainbridge has taken research on the group in a new direction by supplying
researchers with an abundance of new information that addresses some new and previously
unexplored facets of the group‘s beliefs and practices.
The Children of God: “The Family” (2004) by J. Gordon Melton
At only 62 pages of full text, and 27 pages of appendices, J. Gordon Melton‘s The Children
of God: “The Family” (2004) provides a concise history of the movement.12 Despite the
brevity of the book, Melton touches on most of the pivotal points in the group‘s
development. Beginning with a discussion of COG/The Family‘s evangelical foundations,
Melton not only covers some familiar ground, but also injects some interesting historical
information about the development of American Protestant fundamentalism during the early
and mid-twentieth century and its relationship to the Jesus People movement from which
COG/The Family emerged.13 He proceeds to discuss the group‘s development from its
foundations through various organizational evolutions, and he posits that the Reorganization
Nationalization Revolution (RNR) ―disbanded the Children of God‖ (pp. 9, 16). Certainly,
Berg removed many of those leaders who were abusing their positions of power but, as
Melton states, ―most of the deposed leaders became members again‖ (p. 8). Hence, it might
be more accurate to say that, while the group went through a period of restructuring
(including name changing), a complete disbandment overstates the extent of the changes.
Melton then tackles sexuality in the movement, tracing the development of Berg‘s
prescriptions and proscriptions for the disciples‘ sexual relationships. He describes how one
of the key Mo Letters, ―Love vs. Law,‖ presented Berg‘s nascent sexual tenets as the
antithesis of Mosaic Law. In this way, Melton illustrates Berg‘s intent that the group‘s
doctrines based on ―The Law of Love‖ integrate sexual freedom with Berg‘s interpretation of
Christian scripture. Although Melton articulates that love rather than lust was the guiding
force for the group‘s sexual ethos (pp. 15–16), he acknowledges that lust became a factor.
Melton raises the issue of rape, stating merely that Berg ―condemned‖ it (p. 16). Contrary
to this assertion are Berg‘s own words in a Mo Letter simply titled ―Rape!‖ In this
publication, Berg warned female disciples that FFing might lead to rape or attempted rape.
In addition to saying that forced sex garners women no respect from God (Berg,
1974:3825), Berg stated, ―THE GIRL WHO DOES ALL THE REST AND THEN SUDDENLY
DOESN‘T WANT TO GO ALL THE WAY, IS REALLY GOING TO HAVE NOBODY BUT HERSELF
TO BLAME‖ (Berg, 1974:3821). Actual incidences of rape while FFing are undocumented (as
far as I am aware), but even the idea that women should accept it and take blame for it is
abusive.
Melton proceeds to a brief overview of the proliferation and subsequent decline of FFing,14
the increased need for organized childcare (p. 17), Berg‘s views on child sexuality (p. 18),
the group‘s views on teen marriage (p. 19), and the implementation of the video ministry
(including the controversial images of children engaged in sexually provocative veiled dance
routines) (p. 20). Melton has been a prominent contributor to research on the group in the
past, and academics that study COG/The Family are aware of his involvement in projects
such as the volume that he co-edited with James R. Lewis, Sex, Slander, and Salvation:
Investigating the Family/Children of God (1994). Much of his discussion of sexuality in this
latest book (2004) is a reiteration of his contributing chapter, ―Sexuality and the Maturation
of The Family‖ (1994b) in the earlier one. In this most recent work, Melton reframes an
earlier conclusion: ―In a decade‘s worth of writing on child and youth sexuality, Berg had

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006, Page 29
assumed that sexual activity involving children or youth would be between individuals of
compatible age‖ (p. 24. See also Melton, 1994b:91 for his earlier, comparable comment).
Given Chancellor‘s assertion that even COG/The Family members now admit that certain Mo
Letters did advocate adult-child sexual relationships, it is puzzling that Melton continues to
state otherwise (see Chancellor, 2000:138).15
Melton then turns his attention to The Story of Davidito. He correctly claims of this book
that ―most of the content was innocuous‖ however, he downplays the degree to which the
text advocated sexual contact between adults and minors, citing that only 20 or so pages
discuss child sexuality.16 Moreover, he contends that Davidito (Ricky Rodriguez) ―...appears
to have sexual access to the women of the group‖ (p. 30). This is a disturbing statement
indeed. The group produced the text and photographs that describe and depict Davidito in
sexually explicit ways when he was between the ages of about two years to about three-
and-one-half years. I suggest, rather, that the adult women of the group had sexual access
to him. A three-year-old child does not possess the sexual or emotional maturity required to
make decisions about sexual relationships. In other areas, too, Melton uses language to
minimize the atmosphere of child sexualisation (for example, pp. 31–32).
The police raids on COG/The Family homes around the globe resulted in the physical and
emotional maltreatment of many adults and children. Melton recounts the events that
occurred in Spain, Argentina, and France, detailing some of the terrible abuses that
transpired. These details include the separation of children from their parents (often for
extremely prolonged periods), judicial misconduct, physical and emotional abuse,
interrogations, and neglect. In one instance, ―A fifteen-year-old girl was handcuffed for four
hours clad only in her underwear‖ (p. 36). The raids on COG/The Family homes occurred at
a time when the movement had already undergone many institutional changes and had
purged much of its more controversial literature. In retrospect, the raids on homes not only
occurred at the wrong time, but many of the authorities involved also conducted them in a
wholly inappropriate and at times brutal manner.
Melton concludes with a look at how COG/The Family lives today. Then, following the main
body of text and before the appendices, he includes a series of 18 photographs. These
fascinating images are an appreciated inclusion to this concise account.
Book Chapters
„The Children of God‟ section of “Conversions,” in From Slogans to Mantras: Social
Protest and Religious Conversion in the Late Vietnam War Era (2001a) by Stephen
A. Kent
Kent discusses the emergence of COG/The Family within the context of the shift from youth
involvement in social and political protest movements of the 1960s to the proliferation of
new religious movements that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Against the
background of the Vietnam War, he provides a compelling argument that the youth of this
time underwent a ―crisis of means‖ (p. 5) (as opposed to a ―crisis of meaning‖). He posits
that religion became the new means to try to achieve the same ends—radical social and
political change. Hence, new religions like the COG with their political and, indeed,
revolutionary rhetoric appealed to the disenchanted activist youth of that era. Moreover, as
Kent comments, Berg offered a radically different platform from which to worship and
spread the word of God. Rather than provide a traditional image of Jesus, Berg offered a
revolutionary one that coincided with countercultural values and imagery (p. 149).
A combination of interviews, Mo Letters, academic literature, and rare publications from the
era help Kent develop his argument that the COG‘s anti-American (and specifically, anti-
Nixon) posture, along with its explicit advice for avoiding the draft, added to the
movement‘s appeal (pp. 144–145). Critically, he highlights the cognitive and behavioural