After pulling out from membership within the Family International, and being a non-member for several months now, I have come to some conclusions, which help me to form my opinion and paradigm at this time. (This is important to me as I have been seeking direction for my life and not mine only, but also seeking to guide those whom the Lord has placed under my care, including my own children.)

This sobering thought has led me to research, ask, study, evaluate, analyze, confirm, apply, experiment, and pray fervently that I will have an open mind and heart to receive the things God has for me now, and find His direction for my life, and stick to it, as He bears the fruit His way and in His time.

I know I am nothing more than a vessel, a tool, a mere piece of clay in the hands of the potter, and Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by Me."

I am writing this conclusion of mine based on many different factors, which I will list below.
I was a member of the Children of God, aka Family International for over 35 years.
I spent the last 33 years on the mission field of Japan mostly in remote areas pioneering new works, witnessing or evangelizing or assisting others in the efforts of such.
I have spent a great deal of time this past 33 years out on the streets, in parks, shopping malls, and other public places endeavoring to spread the Word of God and introduce the concepts of Salvation , Jesus the savior of all mankind , and other Biblical truths to the Japanese people in all together 26 prefectures or more of the Japanese Islands.

Never did I at that time distribute anything I felt was wrong morally, or vulgar, although there were a few things I questioned and did manage to avoid passing out to the public.

Well I am just being honest here, and do not intend to be negative or express anything against The Family International. But if I can help it to change, and restore
some of the original goals, I think that would be good.

The results I have seen from the direct fruits of my own efforts to do this have been phenomenal and encouraging at times, and also at times problematic, because of the deep rooted cultural traditions and beliefs which encompass the Japanese society.

The successes I have I believe were due to the supernatural intervention of God, according to His will, and Jesus, the Word of God, revealing the will of the Father and performing it through the power of the Holy Spirit working and executing the will of the Father.

I only wish now that I had had the faith to stand up and when I was giving my first Acts class, and I really could have had an exciting Spirit filled meeting there in Vancouver....with healings, and miracles...

Little did I know at the time that someone named Kathryn Kuhlman was having meetings with droves of people coming, and many were getting healed, and the Holy Spirit was moving. If I did, I might have been there instead of having gone to Japan, and would have missed what God had for me.

I would have missed how the Spirit moved in my life and the lives of those I led to the Lord. I would have missed it all. Now all I can do is pray that it was all worth it, pray that those I did lead to Jesus I will see in heaven, and those who went on to be disciples and missionaries, and their kids who went on to be missionaries, and now there is another generation of Spiritual grandchildren or great grandchildren.

l sum up here in my feeble attempt to express His almighty power, in the verse that simply says in Jeremiah 33: 3, "Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty works which thou knowest not." This is still and always has been the means and final resort to finding the will of God in my own life. Simply believing that when we call upon Him in faith, sincerely, and from our hearts, believing, He has promised to answer and answer He does! "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."( If you aren't continually seeking for the truth you most certainly will not find it.)

The problems and failures I encountered I believe have been due to not only my own decisions and failure to follow His Word as opposed to other
Impulses, but also choosing to follow counsel that was not according to the Word of God for fear of man, fear of the opinions of others, fear of losing my position to someone younger than I, fear of retaliation from leadership,

All that to say there were various ways the spirit of fear attached itself to my life in different facets, to keep me from attaining the real goals God was intending for my life. Then again, perhaps each step was another step closer to finding out where it was not.

Adding in hindsight, I can truly say that one of the errors I realize I have to also take responsibility for is believing and continuing in the belief that I have to follow a certain pattern which was laid before me, a certain group, specifically in my case David Berg's and Maria's writings, rules, regulations, policies, mindsets, customs ideologies, doctrines, etc. without actually searching these things out for myself in the Holy Scriptures, as the Bereans, to see if these things be really so, and truly God's Word as confirmed in the mouth of two or more of His holy prophets in unity with the harmony of scripture and also confirmed again by the Holy Spirit, of whom Jesus spoke of that he will teach us all things.

(I cannot deny the fact that The Children of God began as a Christian missionary movement with a vision to go into all the world to preach the Gospel to every creature, many, including myself. Joining without the full knowledge of the founder, David Berg, and history of his being obsessed with fleshly lusts and pleasures , I learned about his involvement in such immoral activities as incest, child molestation and also forcing himself on other women.)

Well, what can I say? I got involved in it all and what happened happened and now I am out if it, set in my ways, going down another road, on another spiritual journey, maybe my last before it is my time to go.

This later spread through the movement as these "doctrines" were introduced as new revelations from God to move us into a( so called "higher" ) level of service to God, which was special, unique and exclusively reserved for us and not the mainstream church.
I joined in 1970. The Bible was taught as the undisputed Word of the living God, and I fell in love with it, and Jesus. From that time until now, my main desire has been to please the One who saved me from my sins and set me up on the true Rock, Jesus.

Variations from the norm and separation from scriptural decorum became more an more common with the introduction by David Berg of his revelations, dreams, visions, and doctrines that encouraged us to spend more time reading his letters than the Bible. Uh oh!

Oops! Spirit guides were introduced such as gypsies, goddesses of various shapes and forms taught to us to be spirit helpers sent from God to help us with our mission of preaching the words of David to a hungry thirsty world that would die without it. We were to follow David Berg's example and seek to make love in the spirit to these goddesses in order to bear spiritual children in their lands. There is nothing whatsoever in the written Word of God to support this doctrine.

Well, I do have my opinions and opinions can change from day to day.

One reason is that I did not know the Bible very well, and did not study it to see if the things David Berg said were true or not, and never studied it to see if I was being deceived or not, because anyone who would do that would be doubting the words of their prophet, and that is not acceptable in The Family.

It is my desire, however, to see the Bible read , studied and applied more in the Family INternational, as a rule, and in the proper context, instead of the cherry picking of Bible verses to justify a "new revolutionary" doctrine apart from the norm.

(We were told not to ever ever question the Mo Letters or other publications put out, especially the one called GNs or Good News magazine, which is now the main publication that contains the most recent spiritual food for The Family International including directions, and policies.)

(The Family members are not allowed in any way shape or form to doubt or voice their doubts about any of the material written by Maria or Peter, or any of the prophecies given through Maria's channels and sent to all of the group.)

You have to believe everything that came out of the mouth of David Berg and Maria as the words of God for today or you have to leave The Family membership to a lower level or associate or friend. Even where they contradict the Bible. Because David Berg himself did not really know the Bible like he thought he did, and even confessed that he had stopped studying the Bible as far back as 1972 0r 3, when he wrote the letter "Old Bottles" and exclaimed the Mo letters as the New Word of God for today.

The Family believing that he was the David to come predicted by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Hosea, keeps the Family following Maria even though Berg has passed away, and is the main fundamental belief that is required for membership in The Family. Without that doctrine there would be no Family.

(Even if you believed you were saved by the blood of Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit, speak in tongues, can heal the sick and do miracles, and no matter how much love you have, if you do not believe that David Berg was the Ezekiel 34 David, and believe everything that now comes from the mouth of Maria and King Peter, you would have no place inside the Family International, and would only be considered an outsider and The Family members would keep their distance from you, even your own children or parents, and have as little contact with you as possible!)

(Most of their outside friends and contacts who donate money and goods do not know anything about this belief. They are introduced to it only after months and months of indoctrination of their so-called Biblical doctrines first, as well as the sexual doctrines. They have no idea that freedom of sex is allowed, and that sexual child abuse existed on a major scale in The Family at one time.)

(They and also most of the current members have no idea that David Berg sexually molested his son Aaron's first wife, Sarah Berg, after she had just had a baby, telling her that if she can have his son's baby why can't she have his. They also have no idea whatsoever that Aaron (Paul Berg) beat his pregnant wife with a two by four board on the abdomen when she refused to have sex with Aaron's father , David berg, and David Berg had her locked up in a trailer, not allowed outside , even guarded day and night until she managed to escape with her first child.)

(The average Family member does not know these details, and has no idea about them, and may not believe you if you tried to tell them, but will retreat in
fear and say that you are being negative and hateful. They do not want to hear the facts.)

Also The Family members, let alone the outside contacts and friends have no idea whatsoever that David Berg had incestuous relations with his two daughters. The older one, Linda, called Deborah before she was excommunicated from membership, recalled this in her book called, "Inside the Children of God" Her sister, Faith Berg, did publish some writings referring to this, and also Berg published some writings which did mention their early sexual relationship, which at the time of the writings, was still going on.

The Family also does not want to admit as was officially stated in the Lord Justice Ward court judgment document that Berg forced his own grand daughter to commit sexual acts with him, and even staged a marriage ceremony to announce his new union with Merry Berg, his grand daughter. Her reaction to her grandfather led to her being beaten repeatedly, tied to her bed at night, and eventually sent to Berg's son's Johnathan's farm in Macao where her and other young teens underwent physical and psychological trauma and abuse. One of the teens who were there committed suicide. His father was working in a leadership unit called World Services and had no idea of the emotional condition of his son.

Merry ended up in a mental institution and received help for a while, but is now a virtual derelict on drugs.(Was, but thank God she is doing much much better now due to prayer and the relentless love and support of her mother and step dad).
The child born to Maria and fathered by a Tenerifian hotel bell boy named Davidito, who later changed his name to Ricky Rodrigues, killed one of his early childhood nannys, Angela Smith, and then committed suicide.

Other children brought up with Ricky in Berg and Maria's household named Davida, and Mary Dear both work as strip tease dancers. That is their choice of course and I do not intend to criticize their choice of employment, but just to make mention here that according to even The Family as well as main stream Christian churches and missionary works, this would be considered an opposite direction of the life that was intended for them, including Ricky and Merry. These people were being trained and groomed to be the future leadership of The Family. The only remaining child of Maria's fathered by a former leader named Timothy, originally named Techi, was claimed to be the fulfillment of prophecies of a spirit girl who appeared to Berg when he was seriously sick in bed and delirious.

Berg was also having a serious alcohol problem, which was the cause of much of his sickness as he himself stated in his own confession of this period of his life. During this time The Family had no idea whatsoever that they were being shepherded by a man that was drunk most of the time and that the things he was saying while in this alcoholic state were being recorded by Maria and sent out to The Family as " God's Words For Today" and were to be implicitly obeyed without exception word for word.

The Family began to pride itself in its uniqueness and radical revolutionary lifestyle and message, in order to distinguish itself from the mainstream church system.

Sexual morals and laws of God were ignored as "old hat" and a style of scriptural interpretation was adapted in order to back up the teachings of David Berg. The new revelations being presented were not received in teaching the Bible or trying to understand what the Bible says, but the Bible was searched and scriptures found and used to lay the foundation for the doctrines of David Berg, making it seem like the doctrines he was receiving were scriptural. This continued until scripture to verify his revelations and prophecies could no longer be found, at which point it was declared that the words of David were the new and latest Words of God. This meant that all God had said in the past, if it did not coincide with the Words of David, was to be disregarded as old wine, and the new wine,

The latest revelations from David Berg were to be accepted and treated as the latest Words of God from God's end time prophet.

Still there is no Biblical proof whatsoever of The Family's doctrines from the time Berg claimed that Abner, a staff member at the Texas Soul Clinic, who died in an motor bike accident while searching for water in the desert appeared to him after the accident to ask for permission to go be with Jesus, until now, Maria continuing the perpetual deception of members with her prophecies she receives from several of her personal staff members she calls her channels that receive messages for her from the spirit world.

What do we have to do to get The Family members to wake up, or rather what does God have to do? The only thing I can think of is to challenge the doctrines of The Family with Bible verses, because if they were real Christians, like they claim to be, they should listen to the Word of God , the Bible, and what Jesus Himself said.

If they reject the thousands of passages in the Bible that disprove their doctrines from Salvation, to Holy Spirit, to living together, to their sex doctrines, their spirit helper doctrines, astral travel doctrines, prophecy and prophet doctrines, prayer doctrines, keys, goddesses, Qaddafi, visual imagery, tribulation, the Jews, etc then they are rejecters of the scriptures period and will have been warned to turn from the ERROR of their ways as I have done, and for which I continually thank God for.

(The sad thing is that in the Family there are those who are sincere missionaries and are sacrificing daily to reach lost souls and help those less fortunate and God knows their hearts. These people have to raise their own support, teach their kids home schooling and do their missionary work being totally financially independent and also sent a 10%-14% or more tithe to Maria's world service so they can keep receiving their magazine regularly filled with the latest pubs. They also get to go on the Family's Members only site and download all the pubs they want.)

(But there have always been those whose purpose was to hold the bag, or collect the money, never liked going out witnessing that much, or raising funds, instead always sent others out to do it, while they use their leadership status to protect themselves from having to do the mundane tasks everyone else does).

All in All they really have most of their beliefs backwards, including the Loving Jesus revelation, in which they are instructed to praise Jesus by pretending to make love to him saying sexy words, even the men, who were instructed to imagine themselves having a vagina and having sexual intercourse with Jesus.

All those who do this are expected to have a closer relation with Jesus and will receive more blessings than those who do not do it. Totally unscriptural. Scripture can also easily disprove this doctrine.

(It is not necessary to do that and I believe totally disappoints and disgusts the Lord, who is all loving and deserving of all of our love and devotion, but does not desire to be loved in a fleshly sexual way, also requiring the men to love him as if they were women. Mighty strange.)

It isn't hard to disprove every one of the Family's non-biblical doctrines that stray away from scripture since there aren't any scriptures for them. The problem is, if you try, most of them will say things like, " well, that was for that day, and Paul was a woman hater, and we are not under the Old Testament anymore, and the Bible is ok, but we have God's new words for today, or that's just your interpretation.

So the best thing to do it to just stay loving, and accepting,live peaceably with all people, br a friend, and not argue doctrine. Share what the Bible says, and be winsome.

That doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't try to persuade them, in love and meekness, but don't expect a warm welcome or for them to want to meet you again.

There are practices that they can prove from the Bible, and these are used to appeal to outside Christians, so show that they are not that different from them, but they do not reveal the inner more secretive doctrines unless you have become close enough to join or attend their Bible studies regularly over a period of time.

(Well, this is not against The Family as people and human beings and certainly not against those who are sincere missionaries full -time doing a great work, but it is against the false teachings that are not in context with the Bible. The Bible references used to justify questionable doctrines are taken out of context and applied at will to whatever they think is "the Lord".)

(I sincerely hope that many more Family members do wake up to the truth before it is too late and they spend their whole lives in fear for the future, looking for an Antichrist to take over the world while they could have had a blessed and prosperous life for them and their children serving the Lord and helping others in peace of mind, confident about their and their children's future.)

(The promises of God are sure, and He will always bless those who seek after Him with all their hearts. He will answer the hungry heart, and fill those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.
May our spiritual house be built upon the true Rock, Jesus Christ. He is enough. and is all you need.)

Well, it is one thing to admit that all these things happened and no one is perfect, but the bottom line is, what are we going to do about it? What can we do but keep loving Jesus, keep going, not give up, keep letting the Holy Spirit change us because we sure have a long way to go! And eternity is a long time! What we do not learn now we will learn later.

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND LEAD YOU INTO ALL TRUTH