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The Children of God
The Inside Story By The Daughter Of The Founder, Moses David Berg by Deborah (Linda Berg) Davis with Bill Davis, 1984
Two years after my husband and I left the Children of God, his mother asked him, "Bill, do you think you were brainwashed?". "Brainwashed?" he quickly answered."Why that's ridiculous, Mom! I wasn't brainwashed! There was no one telling me what to do, or forcing me. I did it of my own free will, because I wanted to. Brainwashing? That's ridiculous!" Bill was offended at his mother's suggestion that he had been made to act according to someone else's will. He was vehement in his argument. However, one year later he told his mother, "You know, Mom, you were right. I was brainwashed." Was Bill right the first time or the second? And if he was brainwashed, is he responsible for his actions in the COG? Bill's mother raised the question naturally, because while he was in the Children of God, she saw a 180-degree transformation in him. She knew her son inside-out—his personality, his temperament, his disposition—and she could say with complete accuracy, "Something is wrong with Bill. Something's not right. He's got blinders on. He's brainwashed." The word brainwashed in the context of a religious cult conjures up thoughts of an evil force, a sinister plot designed to make zombies of respectable, middle-class youth. Our minds flash back to POWs emerging from Communist prison camps with gaunt faces and blank stares, parroting Marxist philosophy and condemning "American imperialism." The brainwashed POW appears to us a rather miserable creature, the victim of intense propaganda, mind-control techniques, and great physical abuse, his change of mind the result of a coercive environment. We can all understand this kind of experienced—clear-cut case of brainwashing. But what about members of the Children of God and other cults? No one is kept forcibly against his will. Members are not captured by Viet Cong guerrillas and marched at gunpoint to the "Hanoi Hilton." Cult members join willingly, like Bill, drawn by something they see and like and desire. It is important to note that physical coercion is not necessary for cultic brainwashing to occur. In fact, the use of force is a rather primitive method of thought reform. The kind of brainwashing we see in the religious cults is far superior to anything the Communists have devised. We need to abandon our stereotypes of brainwashing, to understand the plight of people, like Bill, in cults like the Children of God. The term brainwash comes from a literal translation of the Chinese phrase "thought reform." Thought-brain; reform-wash. Hence, "brainwash." An encyclopedia defines brainwashing as "a method of forcing people to change their beliefs, and accept as true, what they previously had considered false.84 It further says, "Most victims regain their original beliefs soon after returning to their own environment." The latter comment applies to victims of Communist thought-reform programs, and implies the use of force as an ingredient in the process. A person forced into something can revert to his former state if the coercion is removed. Research shows that most victims of the Communists return to "normal" after being placed in a free environment. This indicates the limited effects of their program, and suggests why it is inferior to cultic mind-control. Whether or not cult victims revert to their earlier mind-sets readily, after coming into a free environment, is clearly a matter of debate. A remarkable aspect of brainwashing is that the victim doesn't know he is brainwashed. It is like a man who is color-blind. You might say to him, "Excuse me, sir, but I just want you to know that you are color-blind." "Color blind?" he responds."I beg your pardon! What are you talking about? There is no such thing; I can see just fine!" "But sir," you persist, "it's quite obvious you can't tell the difference between green and blue." Our color-blind friend promptly ends the conversation."Oh! Now I see! You're one of those unenlightened devils who believe the green-and-blue lie!" The color-blind man, unless shown pragmatically, is unaware of his own blindness, because he has lost, or has never known, a perspective by which to judge his error. Truth is ultimate perspective, but the man does not have the truth. This is why Bill argued with his mother. He could not see the reality of his own condition. Not until the perspective of truth and reality were restored did he recognize it. The brainwashed person will believe strongly that it is everyone else who is distorted in the view of reality. My husband thought his mother was confused. Cultic brainwashing is primarily internal. There is nothing in the appearance of a person on the street to characterize him as a cult member—red robes notwithstanding. The distinguishing marks go below the surface into the mental distortion of reality. The complexity of the problem is demonstrated when two parties enter into litigation. If a parent accuses his offspring of being brainwashed, the youth responds by accusing the parent of being a selfish and narrow-minded individual, an avid bigot, and the victim of alcohol abuse. The child will say, "Whose reality is distorted? It is you who are brainwashed." The pot is calling the kettle black. Both parties assume that there is a standard of truth, and that the other has strayed from it and adopted a false standard. If the youth has joined a cult and sincerely believes a lie, then he is in fact a victim of brainwashing. The question then arises, when does the turning point occur? What makes a person susceptible to mind control? How does it happen that a young, highly intelligent, affluent youth becomes brainwashed—or for that matter, a not-so-intelligent, economically deprived loner? The process begins when a person opens his mind to an outside influence he views with favor. There must be a voluntary suspension of the will. This process is quite similar to something that occurs everyday. It happens when we go to see an exciting space movie, watch a suspense thriller on TV, or read a good novel. The writer of a good novel must be able to weave his words and create images in such a way, as to allow the reader to voluntarily suspend his disbelief. In short, the reader must forget that he is reading a book, or the author has failed. The same is true of a good movie."Star Wars" is a fantasy, a futuristic space adventure that has thrilled millions around the world. To really enjoy the movie, the viewer must willingly trip a switch in his mind that allows his consciousness to change tracks and say, "Forget about the movie theater. Pretend you are in outer space. Forget about the exhorbitant price you paid to get in here. Disregard the fact that the people you are seeing are just actors who don't live in the year 3000, but actually live in Beverly Hills, California. Pay no attention to the fact that the people dying are not really dying." The viewer must suspend the real facts that his mind is telling him with computer like accuracy. His conscious disbelief must be suspended to thoroughly "enjoy" the movie. This is done willingly. Hence the willing suspension of disbelief is a common experience of most Star Wars moviegoers. For the children in the audience, this is a much more serious matter than for adults. Han Solo and Chewbaca are not mere fictional characters in children's minds; they are as real as Santa Claus; and this reality is reinforced by the Han Solo doll and toy spacecraft at home in the bedroom. Are these little ones brainwashed? It sounds harsh, but to a limited degree they are. Reality for them has been distorted."Oh, but that's harmless. 'They'll grow out of it." Perhaps. But the child remains in the world of Star Wars longer than his mother or father. An adult suspends his disbelief only as long as the projector is running, or until little Johnny has to go to the bathroom. As adults, we remain in a state of suspended reality only as long as our disbelief is unaltered. Then reality jumps back like the snapping of a rubber band. Brainwashing, as experienced in the COG and other cults, results from a voluntary suspension of disbelief. A clue to the phenomenon is found in the word enjoy. To "enjoy" a movie, we must flip the switch. It is a voluntary mental action. In the realm of movie-making, our willing suspension of disbelief is facilitated by the excellent technique of the producer and director, the skill of the photographer, the intensity of the acting, the genius of special effects, and so on. A high-quality film makes it easier for us to believe; and consequently, we fall into place, and vicariously take a trip into the adventures of Star Wars. With the cult recruit, a very similar process takes place. Unlike the moviegoer, however, a cult victim who suspends his disbelief doesn't necessarily come out of it. He stays in that state. The cult and its doctrine become his reality. It is significant that when we go to a movie theater, we are already prepared to suspend our disbelief. We fully intend to enjoy the movie. So it is with the cult victim. In many cases, he is ready to suspend whatever mental reservations he has, in order to "enjoy" life. Stoner and Parke, the authors of All God's Children, write, "These young people are idealistic, and are frequently searching for a goal, a purpose, and a sense of community, so the promises of the cults appeal strongly to them. Many are willing, even anxious, to be persuaded." 85 This enjoyment principle is a key factor and motivating force. The enjoyment a prospective cult member seeks lies on a deeper level than mere entertainment; he is hoping to find fulfillment, purpose, and direction for life. But like the movie goer who attends Star Wars seeking enjoyment, an individual joins a cult because he wants to enjoy the movie of life. A lack of spiritual truth and fulfillment prepares the youth for the cultic lure. He is ready to accept the beautifully-clothed lie of benign deception. Living in a society that is corrupt, tense, disappointing, and lacking the foundation of scriptural principles will produce the same yearning as the physical and mental deprivation employed by the Communists in their thought-reform programs. Through years of carefully designed imprisonment encompassing mental and physical manipulation, the Communists wear out their victim's minds, and generally make life as miserable as humanly possible, bringing them to a point where they will be happy to adopt new truths and new philosophies to gain relief. It's a simple process, totally inhuman, but not at all difficult to understand. When a cult recruit crosses the invisible barrier in his mind, when he enters the world of the cult and its doctrine, at some point during his flirtatious sampling of the cult—he is tripping the switch of his voluntary suspension of disbelief. Brainwashing or mind control then occurs naturally, sometimes effortlessly. In many cases the new cult member will struggle hard to brainwash himself. He must do this in order to balance out the guilt he feels. When doubts rush in like a flood, he tells himself, "I am following the truth. The rest of the world may be going to hell, but I am following the truth!" Other brothers and sisters are there to encourage the new recruit. He either accepts their help and counsel, or he rejects it. If he rejects it, he doesn't stay around long. If he receives their help, he goes deeper into the cultic doctrine. He will sell flowers, chant, memorize, litness, or read Mo Letters, whatever it takes, to the utmost of his ability, to prove to himself and others that he is right. The brainwashing that occurs in the cults is the finest, purest, and most effective around. The Communists have something to learn from Moses David. Another part of the cultic brainwashing process involves certain social and spiritual conditions. Cults are a manifestation of social evil and personal character weaknesses. Cults are a social statement. Stoner and Parke affirm with poignant accuracy and candor: In many cases, the emphasis on mind-control and deprogramming results from society's attempt to escape the guilt it feels. It places the blame on a cult's use of mind-control techniques, rather than blaming the character deficiencies of youth resulting from an imbalanced social environment. By the same token, many parents want to blame cultic manipulation instead of themselves or their children. The root of the problem is that society is moving collectively toward denying moral absolutes. Christ gave us a very strong absolute; namely, the world lies in sin, and He died for the remission of sin. We are absolutely instructed to "love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. . . . For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever" (I John 2:15-16). Christ gave us absolutes to deal with our problems, but no shortcuts or easy answers. Christ prayed in the garden of Gethsemane that His cup might pass. It did not, and He drank it. He set the example that the road to righteousness is absolute, but there are no shortcuts from suffering. The way of the Cross can cost a man his life. God's absolutes are anything but easy. Stoner and Parke make a statement that troubles me greatly. They write, The Apostles certainly testified with their lives that true Christianity isn't easy. It makes demands on the individual. One must resist evil within and without. Living the absolutes they learned from their Master resulted in a martyr's death for all but one of the Apostles. More than simplistic, Christianity offers us a clear understanding of life. The fact that cults offer their members a life with a set of absolutes offsets the failure of a society that, in adopting secular humanism, has left its youth without foundation and without security.* Stoner and Parke recognize this problem:
Cults are a clear sign of the sins of society, the result of society's boastful assertion that there are no absolutes and man is his own god. Oswald Chambers writes: The disposition of sins not immorality and wrong doing, but the disposition of self-realization—I am my own god."89 E. Stanley Jones clearly defines the power of the social condition: ". . . If I had to choose . . . I think I should have to conclude that an unchristian social order produces more thwarted and disrupted lives than any other single cause."90 Nevertheless, a decadent social condition begins with decadent individuals; and for this reason, every member of society, (like every cult victim), will be responsible before God for his individual part in allowing our social order to become apostate. The moral deterioration of individuals leads to a condition which becomes self-perpetuating, and we soon see the sins of the parents manifested in the lives of the children. As individuals, and as a society, we need absolutes. The absolutes revealed in Scripture go far beyond making life manageable; they give us truth and understanding. But there are no shortcuts. Stoner and Parke finally address the need of the youth face to face. But they only define the need in its specifics; they offer no solution. This is what makes cultic brainwashing so effective. Dogmatic belief in doctrine justifies and supports deep-rooted sin in a cult member's life. Sin has distorted the reality of that person's life before God, and the doctrines ameliorate this distortion. Cultic doctrine neutralizes sin, making it seem permissible, normal, and necessary. The more a person embraces a cult and its beliefs, the greater comfort and security he feels. The more he embraces it, the deeper this security grows; but at the same time, the deeper his sin grows. As he enters further into the sin habits of the cult, the more intense becomes his weight of guilt and his subconscious awareness of this sin. Hence, a stronger embracing of the cult doctrine is needed to make his position secure. The cycle continues and deepens. It is a spiritual "China syndrome", which, like a nuclear chain reaction, ends in destruction. Society's common interpretation of cultic indoctrination is summed up in the following illustration by Richard Delgado, a colleague of Robert J. Lifton: However, from the cult's perspective, this deceit is merely part of the "training process" of a new convert. The mature cult member doesn't feel he is being the least bit deceptive. He is simply presenting truth in doses suitable for a "babe," or new member. The salvation of the new convert is at stake, and the disciple has a divine responsibility to assist the convert into the cult 100 percent. Delgado acknowledges the fact that the convert does "consent to each step" of the conversion process—that is, there is a voluntary choice. But the wrongdoing, as Delgado sees it, is that the cults misrepresent themselves; they don't honestly display themselves for what they truly are. Delgado is more right than he realizes. Evil never is honest in its looks. Yet, are cult victims truly innocent? Delgado's analogy overlooks the most vital issue of life. Cults are evil, and men and women are victimized by evil because they fall prey to temptation. Here is another illustration, much like Delgado's; however, this one is a true story: It involves two marvelous people, a beautiful garden, and a very crafty snake, and it's told in Genesis 3. Were Adam and Eve informed by the snake of the consequences that would follow their decision to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? Were they informed of the final outcome of their decision? On the contrary, they were led to believe that it would greatly benefit them. They were tempted and deceived, step by step, and they lost a lot more than a leg. They lost their righteous standing before God, and were banished from His presence. The Delgado mentality overlooks an important reality; namely that the universe is in a conflict between good and evil, wherein evil will ultimately be judged. Moreover, while the universe is in a continuous struggle, so is each person in his own battle between good and evil within. Delgado's conclusion, shared by others, is that society should enact laws which would somehow make these cults transparent. If this were done, they argue, people would see them for what they are, and we would stand a chance of curtailing the evil effects of the cults and could protect "innocent victims." It would become society's responsibility to police religions, and decide what is bad, and pass laws accordingly. Most people fear this kind of legislation because it contains elements of totalitarian rule, and denies religious liberty. Legislation against wrongdoing is necessary; and in matters where cults are breaking the law, they should be prosecuted. But legislation against evil must by nature of the case be generalized, allowing exceptions only with assumed risks; and even then, its effectiveness in preventing evil and administering justice is limited. Passing laws against cults will in no wise stop them. Delgado is striking out at the extension of evil and not at the evil itself, which he cannot destroy. I admire Delgado's courage and conviction in wanting to do something to stop the damage the cults are doing, but passing laws will never totally solve the problem. It is the evil within us, from which the cults emanate, that must be conquered, and there is only One who has overcome evil. I have learned firsthand that the painful consequences of sin are not only part of God's judgments, but also helpful teaching aids that substantiate the truth of God's principles in the order of the universe. Therefore, it is dangerous to apply to cult victims the statement "the patient would not have consented to all the surgeon's steps had she known the outcome of his process." There are two reasons why. First, it threatens the individuals God-given right to make a moral decision in any given situation and be held responsible for the consequences. Second, it overlooks the reality of evil in a morally charged universe and the workings of Satan in cultic organizations; it falsely presupposes the cults are independent agents disassociated from satanic influence. The statement renders the patient neither innocent nor holy nor guilty—simply a factor in a circumstance. I ask myself how many things I would not have done had I known the outcome. How many times have any of us said, "If only I had . . ."? Mistakes are important steps to growth; through them we learn a framework of right behavior. We never know beforehand the final outcome of a moral decision. We only presuppose the outcome based on our previous experience or moral ideologies. And as Christians, we don't necessarily make decisions based on the final outcome, because making the right decision often spells out suffering. The saints who died a martyr's death because of their stand of faith, looked far beyond the temporal results of their decision. To stress the point that the patient would not have consented had she known the outcome is wrong from a Christian perspective. It avoids the most basic issue of life. It places blame on the surgeon's deceit and subtleties. Granted, the surgeon was wrong. He is deserving of punishment. However, positioned morally before God, each person must answer directly to God for his actions, regardless of the deceit of surgeons, cults, Hitlers, Stalins, David Bergs, or even Satan himself. The true and ultimate purpose of cultic brainwashing is to deaden the voice of conscience so that a person can adopt a philosophy or theology that is morally wrong. The people most susceptible to mind manipulation are those who are sensitive and sincere, who cannot accept committing a blatant wrong. They need justification or a rationale for committing sin. They need to believe that "wrong" is right—otherwise they cannot do it. One truth remains, even through the manipulative techniques of mind control: No one ever joins a cult against his will; no one ever commits sin against his will; no one becomes a victim of mind control against his will; likewise, no one commits himself to a true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ against his will. Justifying sin and the resulting guilt through mind control will not give a person rest and peace of mind. A conscience laden with sin and guilt will torture a person forever. Why? Because the conscience is the law of God within us demanding justice for our sins. I believe one reason why many psychologists and counselors meet only partial success in helping cult victims back to normalcy is that they are not separating the two guilt factors. There is a guilt born of personal failure, the result of human pride. For example, an ex-cult victim will experience guilt because he has failed the cult, failed his prophet, and become a Judas, a backslider. The "guilt trips" placed on cult members by cult doctrine, produce a form of human guilt, what I would term "unrighteous guilt." This kind of guilt can be singled out and eliminated in counseling. But there is another form of guilt, proceeding from a man's conscience. This is the guilt of sin, what I call "righteous guilt." It cannot be counseled away. To eliminate this kind of guilt a man must seek and find divine forgiveness. The guilt of sin is a spir- itual matter. Non-Christian psychiatrists, psychologists, and coun- selors do not recognize the reality of sin or the guilt that accom- panies it. Consequently they lump all guilt into one category and view it as "unrighteous guilt." They talk of "false guilt." If these two guilt factors are unknowingly lumped together and justified, the victim will continue to feel the pain of guilt, the result of sin. He will remain fragmented and alienated. Counselors are baffled as to why so many ex-cult victims are not healed, and continue to suffer severe depression, anxiety, and emotional trauma. They don't understand why they cannot seem to "break away" from their experience in the cult. The reason is that they are still carrying the guilt of sin. I find it impossible to look at cultic brainwashing and mind control strictly from a human point of view. It must be viewed in a spiritual perspective; that is, from the standpoint of sin. Oswald Chambers writes: If guilt and sin can be explained away, there exists no need for a Savior. The apostle John wrote: For millions of cult members, brainwashing is a reality. It is a deadly snare that blinds them from the truth they so desperately need to see. To step through the twilight zone of mind manipulation into the light of reality, rediscovering the truth about life and about self, is often a slow and painful process. It takes time, perhaps years. The friends and relatives of ex-cult victims should remember three things: Be compassionate, be patient, be sensitive. It is a difficult thing to admit mistakes, to face sins. This process re-awakens all the deep-seated guilt. It must be a voluntary experi- ence. We cannot force any to examine themselves. They must do it as the grace of God is revealed in their lives. They need under- standing; they need our love. They must accept their responsibility by their own choice. But when they do, they will experience a spiritual awakening. And it is most exciting. Sin lies at the root of cultic brainwashing. To explain away sin and guilt through the dynamics of mind control is an attack against Jesus as the Savior. Guilt, the result of sin, cannot be removed psychologically. It is Christ who removes the weight of guilt. It is Christ who died and rose from the dead for our sins. The cults will ultimately prove His lordship. True mental health and peace of mind lie in the remission of sin, and that gift is open to every individual. In the end, the world will see that the cultic phenomenon only proves the unseen reality of the remission of sin.
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