The Children of God: The Inside Story

by Deborah Davis, Bill Davis

It was the late sixties, in an America already divided by the war in Vietnam and by growing disillusion with traditional middle-class values. It was a time of "police riots" in Chicago...of flamboyant experimentation with alternative lifestyles... of hippies and flower children.
And it was an era that marked the birth of new -and sometimes bizzare- religous movements: among them, the Children of God.
Deborah Davis, born Linda Berg, lived through those years as the daughter, disciple, and -as she now sees it- the dupe of the Children of God founder, David Berg. In a personal memoir as frightening as it is fascinating, she relives her experiences in the grip of the Children of God and recounts in detail the events that led her to flee the cult and her father's sinister control, even at the risk of her life.
The full story of who David (Moses David) Berg is, of his evangelical heritage, of his descent into the maelstrom, of his spiritual hold on thousands of followers, of his prophetic mystique- all this is told for the first time by the only person capable of telling it honestly and factually.
But this is more than an autobiography. Deborah Davis takes us beneath the surface of headline-making phenomena to probe the reasons why cults happen.

Genres: Cults, Religion, Memoir, True Crime, Cult Classics, Nonfiction, Psychology

244 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1984

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

The Daughter Of The Founder, Moses David Berg
Deborah (Linda Berg) Davis

Reviews

[Aj Sterkel · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s been several years since I’ve given up on a book, but I just couldn’t stand this one any longer. It’s so poorly written that I might have been confused if I didn’t already have background knowledge about the COG. The book’s preachy tone kept me from feeling any connection to the author. The author also makes several broad statements that struck me as untrue. For example, she says, “The notion of 'innocent' victims is a myth. No one involved with the COG or any other cult has been a totally innocent victim” (62). Well, what about children? There are a lot of children who are “involved” with cults because their parents are involved. The children didn’t choose to be there. They seem like innocent victims to me.

If you’re researching the COG, there are other books about it that are much more informative than this one.

[Maria Armada · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the better books on "The Children of God" cult I've read during my cult reading kick this month - though I still rate "Jesus Freaks" as the best on TCG so far. This book was written by the prophet's (Mo Berg) own daughter who knew her father well before he became a "divine prophet" and also saw the debauchery and lies that went on in the inner circle. For the very rare insider's perspective on this very secretive group I recommend the book. (The Children of God recruited the hippies of the 60's and 70's and were known as a "sex cult" due the practice of "Flirty Fishing" (FF) which women became "fishers of men" for god by sleeping with them. "Heaven's Harlots" They have group homes all over the world to this day and people such a River Phoenix and Rose McGowan were raised in the cult during their childhood. (The sexual abuse of children was rampant and encouraged for many years in this cult - the book of Davidito was a guide to molesting children under 5 and has become infamous even though now the cult disowns it and tries to destroy all remaining copies. They claim they have rennounced these disgusting practices today.)

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skip Chapters 12-14 and 17-18, and it's a great book. In those chapters, basically she preaches about evil to the reader and repeats what she learned from Bill Gothard, who isn't exactly innocent either.

Other than that, a great, informative account of the early years of the cult and her experience. In my opinion, she does try to pin more of the blame on Maria than Moses David, but he is her father, so she may be biased.

Another thing that bothered me was her "correcting" the theorists about cults. This book is interesting, but shouldn't be academic or preachy and she crosses both lines numerous times, making it awkward to read.

[Jo Besser · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually eat books on cults up. This one took me what seemed like forever to finish.

I think Davis had so much to say, but she wasn't sure where to start. So her thoughts were all over the place and I never really knew where she was going. I know that some times people who have been in cults turn to religion...But that was what the last half of the book was. I was really disappointed. I think there could be many other books written by survivors of the Children of God cult.

[Sabrina Rutter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm going to come back to this one later. I read it up to page 11 and just couldn't get into the book. I'm just not in the mood for Deborah's writing style right now.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lost interest and didn't finish it. Interesting account but.

[Faye Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have told my personal story in my book, "The Children of God: There is Life After the Cult" by Faye Thomas, M.Div.

I have also read "The Children of God: The Inside Story" by Deborah Davis. I find the book to be an excellent Resource.

Deborah Davis provides her rendition of the personal harm the "Children of God" caused her. Particularly, while she was trying to get married to obtain support for her 8 children, Moses David rebuked her for trying to marry Alexander. Marriage is an American institution, yet in the Children of God, marriage was forbidden. You could only live together, have children (but not get married). This is anti-biblical.

I decided to leave the group after I witnessed the following (that is anti-Biblical):

1) Flirty Fishing: - Now regarded as religious prostitution.

2) Sharing: - Permitting sex with group members who lived together in a commune.

3) Litnessing: - Distributing "Children of God" literature to the community. Most of these Mo
Letters that were written by the founder, David Berg (Moses David) were anti-Biblical.
He died in 1994.

4) Child fondling - known in the Christian community as "incest."

Each Mo Letter became more and more bizarre. After 2 years of mind control and manipulation, with the help of 3 others (who were determined to Plan my ESCAPE) I eventually fled the Children of God.

Faye Thomas, M.Div.

[Tym · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was fairly interesting, despite her constant need to preach, until she left the church then it becomes full time preaching and a terrible slog to get through. The chapter on brainwashing being the best of the post-membership chapters. I should have gone to a different source.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reading a lot of great books this year. Really loved this.

[Juliette Trombatore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although the book gave me some insight into the inner workings of the Children of God cult, it did not adequately explain the events that transpired during the height of the cult's abuse and mind control. The author, on many occasions, preaches at nauseum to the reader, instead of objectively stating the events as they occurred.