David Berg
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| Born: | 18 February 1919 Oakland, California, USA |
|---|---|
| Died: | October 1994 Costa de Caparica, Portugal |
| Occupation: | Founder, Children of God |
David Brandt Berg (18 February 1919 - October 1994), frequently known by the pseudonym Moses David, was the founder and leader of the religious movement, Children of God, also called "The Family International".
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[edit] Early years (1919 - 1968)
Berg was born in Oakland, California, USA on 18 February 1919 to Hjalmer Emmanuel Berg and Rev. Virginia Lee Brandt (a Christian evangelist; she died in 1968). David was the youngest of three children, with a brother, Hjalmer, born in 1911, and a sister, Virginia, born in September, 1915. Virginia Brandt is the daughter of Rev. John Lincoln Brandt (1860 - 1946), a Disciples of Christ minister, author, and lecturer of Muskogee, Oklahoma.
David Berg graduated from Monterey High School (in California) in 1935 and later attended Elliott School of Business Administration.
Berg, like his father, became a minister in the Christian and Missionary Alliance and was placed at Valley Farms, Arizona, USA. Berg was eventually expelled from the organization for differences in teachings and for alleged sexual misconduct with a church employee. In Berg's writings, he claimed the expulsion was due to his support for greater racial diversity among his congregation.
Fred Jordan, Berg's friend and boss, allowed Berg and his personal family to open a branch of his Soul Clinic in Miami, Florida, USA as a missionary training school. After running into trouble with local authorities for his aggressive methods of proselytizing, Berg moved his family to Fred Jordan's Texas Soul Clinic.
He was also an outspoken anti-Semite.[1]
[edit] The Children of God/The Family (1968 - 1994)
David Berg (also known as King David, Mo, Moses David, Father David, Dad, or Grandpa to members of the Children of God), in 1968, founded the new religious movement/cult/missionary organization known as the Children of God, later known as The Family of Love or The Family and currently The Family International.
Berg and his entourage have lived in the following countries (among others) over the years:
He lived in total seclusion and secrecy from his followers and, along with Karen Zerby, is thought to have used a fake Australian passport when traveling.
At least six women, including both his daughters and two of his granddaughters, have publicly alleged that Berg sexually abused them when they were children. Berg's eldest daughter, Deborah Davis, has written a book in which she accuses her father of sexually molesting both her and her sister when they were children, and attempting to have sex with her as an adult. Her sister, Faith Berg, corroborated these claims, but described them in a positive way. In a child-custody case in the United Kingdom, Berg's granddaughter, Merry Berg, testified that Berg sexually molested her when she was a young teenager. Another of Berg's granddaughters, Joyanne Treadwell Berg, spoke on American television about being sexually abused by David Berg. Berg's adopted son, Ricky Rodriguez, wrote an article on the Web site MovingOn.org in which he describes Berg's deviant sexual activity involving a number of women and children. Davida Kelley, the daughter of Rodriguez's nanny, Sarah Kelley, accused Berg of molesting her in a June, 2005 Rolling Stone article.[2] In the same article, a woman identified as Armendria alleged that David Berg sexually abused her when she was thirteen years old.
Berg sometimes predicted apocalyptic events, though all of his predictions failed. His most well-known prediction was that a comet would destroy the United States in 1973 or 1974. He also predicted that the tribulation would begin in 1989 and that the second coming of Jesus Christ would happen in 1993.
He wrote or dictated over 3,000 booklets, known as "Mo Letters" ("Mo" being abbreviated from his pseudonym "Moses David"), which typically covered spiritual or practical subjects and were used as a way of disseminating and introducing policy and religious doctrine to his followers. Due to his obsession with secrecy, until his death any photos of him appearing in the group's publications had his face covered with rudimentary pencil drawings, often depicting him as an anthropomorphic lion.
Berg died in 1994 and was buried in Costa de Caparica, Portugal (his remains have since been cremated). His organization is currently led by his widow Karen Zerby (whom he took as a soi-disant "second-wife" in August of 1969; known as Mama Maria or Queen Maria in the Children of God) and Steven Douglas Kelly (an American also known as Christopher Smith, Peter Amsterdam, or King Peter in the Children of God).
[edit] Personal family
David Berg married his first wife, Jane Miller (known as "Mother Eve" in the Children of God), on July 22, 1944 in Glendale, California. They had four children together:
- Linda (b. September 10, 1945, known as "Deborah" in the Children of God);
- m#1. John/Jethro
- Joyanne (b. ~1964)
- m#2. Bill Davis (known as "Isaiah" in the Children of God)
- Alexander David (b. August 1975)
- m#1. John/Jethro
- Paul Brandt (b. June 21, 1947, known as "Aaron" in the Children of God and very likely committed suicide in April 1973 near Geneva, Switzerland);
- m. Judy Arlene Helmstetler (known as "Shulamite" in the Children of God)
- Merry Berg (b. 1972, known as "Mene" in the Children of God)
- m. Judy Arlene Helmstetler (known as "Shulamite" in the Children of God)
- Jonathan Emanuel (b. January 1949, known as "Hosea" in the Children of God); and
- m. Luranna Nolind (known as "Esther" in the Children of God)
- Faithy (b. February 1951)
- m. Arnold Dietrich (also known as "Archbishop Joshua" in the Children of God)
His second wife was Karen Zerby, who continues to be a leader of the Children of God. Berg informally adopted her son, Ricky Rodriguez. In the 70s and 80s, photographic depictions of Rodriguez (aka "Davidito") being subjected to sexual abuse by adult caretakers were disseminated throughout the group by Berg and Zerby in a child rearing handbook known as "The Story of Davidito".[3] In 2005, Ricky Rodriguez murdered one of the female caretakers also shown in the book before taking his own life several hours later.
[edit] Sociological views
The sociologist Dr. Thomas Robbins argued that Berg's leadership of the Children of God was based on charismatic authority.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Berg and Anti-Semitism on xFamily.org
- ^ Rolling Stone: The Life and Death of the Chosen One
- ^ Story of Davidito on xFamily.org
- ^ Robbins, Thomas. Charisma in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Society edited by William H. Swatos (February 1998) ISBN 0-7619-8956-0
[edit] External links
- Our Founder - Biography of David Berg on The Family's official website
- David Berg on xFamily.org, a wiki about the Children of God
- Story of Davidito on xFamily.org
- Berg and Anti-Semitism, a collection of Berg's writings
- John Lincoln Brandt [1] - speech at Carnegie Hall; photo
- Jones, Paul (1998). "The Family (The Children of God)" New Religious Movements
- Deep Truths - Basic doctrines of David Berg, by a member of The Family
