Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2008, Page 51
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.
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.
