Posted by Lone Wolf on July 26, 2006 at 19:45:05
In Reply to: Cultic Studies Review article Pt.1 posted by Lone Wolf on July 26, 2006 at 19:42:06:
[continued from previous post]
Heaven’s Harlots: My Fifteen Years in a Sex Cult (1998) by Miriam Williams
Some academics may have a problem with Miriam Williams’ status as an ex-member and therefore classify her as a “career apostate” [vii], but I found her account a useful complementary read to Chancellor’s book for two main reasons. First, Williams provides an oral history that is personal, and thus reads like an expanded version of one of Chancellor’s interviews. Her account, of course, is a subjective one, but for the most part her narrative is particularly nuanced, despite her prior involvement with, and subsequent detachment from, the movement. Moreover, in her self-reflection, Williams displays vulnerability that lends legitimacy to her analysis. She fully acknowledges her own role and makes clear that she was a part of the decision-making process when she chose to participate in various disciple activities. She demonstrates an ability to recognise to what extent she felt pressured to conform, and to what extent she believed the path she took was the right one for her at the time. With the hindsight of maturity, she notes also that her youthful idealism contributed to some of those decisions.
Second, Williams recounts both her positive and negative experiences, and so examines both the advantages and drawbacks of belonging to COG/The Family. One gets the sense that she still advocates the benefits one can gain from communal living. She states quite frequently that one main appeal of the group was its communal approach to life; others were the opportunity it gave disciples to talk about Jesus and God to Systemites and the promise of being able to help people in tangible, meaningful ways. Throughout her account, Williams portrays both the joyful and the heart-rending times during which she tried to realise these goals, and she expresses her own inner conflicts and mixed feelings about her journey. COG/The Family was an enormous part of her life for 15 years, and she does not reject the group out of hand; nor does she portray the group as having realised fully the utopian ideals that she hoped it would.
The majority of the book focuses on FFing, although she does also provide some valuable insights into other aspects of the group, including her role as a childcare worker and the strain of frequent moves. She reveals her own initial nonchalant response to sexual sharing and FFing, stating that the Biblical and spiritual dimensions of these practices made them seem (for her, at least) like an acceptable dimension of life in the movement (p. 77). Williams comments on her sexual relations with the men she FFed:
Whether I was rationalizing or not, I finally concluded that I was helping the men I loved through a sexual channel. I personally believed in Jesus’ salvation message, and even if these men had not asked Jesus into their heart, at least they had heard the message. (p. 112)
Only later, when the full ramifications of such a lifestyle began to take its toll on her, did she gain insights into how these ideals played out like a social experiment gone awry: “...I gradually came to realize that the leaders seemed to be using sex as a tool to gain powerful friends and contacts...” (p. 113). Her description of her time FFing in the French Riviera is particularly significant because in it she reveals both the enjoyable and the difficult experiences she and other members had there.
Abuses of power and the authoritative nature of leadership are part of Williams’s story, although she fails to contextualize them within the structural conditions of the group. Absent from her narrative is a discussion of the Reorganization and Nationalization Revolution (RNR) and other organizational changes in the movement. She does discuss, however, the differential nature of power within different COG/Family homes, depending on their geographic location and the status of members who lived there. Thus, she describes the often substantial differences that existed among the various homes, and she discloses her own shock upon reaching South America, where, confronted with squalor, she realised that she had led a relatively privileged way of life, having lived mostly in band homes that were more liberal and better funded than those she encountered there. [viii]
Eventually Williams rejected the group because of the abuses taking place; but by her own admission, she and her husband chose to ignore some of the explicit indicators that Berg was advocating adult sexual contact with children (pp. 220–221). That she and others remained part of an organization that engaged in the sexualisation of young children (while personally finding such behaviours abhorrent) leads Williams to grapple with her own demons. After returning to the United States, she sought to confront her own family’s problems, including the child abuse that she suffered as a child.
Interestingly, Chancellor (2002) described Williams' book as “feminist” (p. 194) in a way that suggests (to me) that he is slightly scornful, or at least suspicious, of it. Williams’ account is less a feminist analysis and more one woman’s autobiography of her experiences. Indeed, she seems quite loathe to place responsibility for some of the more problematic experiences that she endured solely on leadership, and when she does allocate culpability, she does so as part of her narrative rather than from a theoretical-feminist perspective. [ix] This said, Williams does engage in more of a critical analysis toward the end of the book. A more rigorous critical feminist reading, however, would include thorough deconstructions of the power hierarchy, the patriarchal nature of the group, the bestowal of a misleading sense of female sexual empowerment (through FFing), the sexualisation of children at an early age, and the harsh discipline that Berg and others meted out to both children and adults.
Williams’ book, although not an academic account, does stand as a good illustration of conversion and commitment (during both happy and difficult times) to a new religious movement. Hence, her work is a worthy addition to the broad body of research on the group.
The Endtime Family: Children of God (2002) by William Sims Bainbridge
In The Endtime Family: Children of God (2002), William Sims Bainbridge presents the outcome of his statistical survey in which he compares the results of 1,000 completed questionnaires (from The Family) to responses compiled by the General Social Survey (GSS). [x] Bainbridge’s goal was to examine to what extent life in the group is different from or similar to life in general American society. As well, his aim was to apply a survey technique to an area to which scholars do not typically employ it—namely, new religious movements (p. xi). Bainbridge’s focus is the current, full-time members of the movement.
Despite his claim that the book is for a “diverse audience” (p. 25), for those unfamiliar with COG/The Family, this book does not contextualize its subject matter. [xi] He makes few references to the larger history of COG/The Family, and the survey information tells us only about current beliefs and activities. The strength of this narrow temporal focus is that it provides a wealth of contemporary statistical information that might act as a catalyst for future quantitative and qualitative research. Indeed, the impressive amount of information that Bainbridge gathered likely shall provide springboards for a variety of detailed studies.
Bainbridge received more than 1,000 completed questionnaires, which provided him with information on many facets of the group’s beliefs and practices. The coverage is remarkable: Questions deal with topics such as frequency of prayer, beliefs about God, beliefs about Satan, spiritual experiences, alienation, government, the meaning of life, fate, morality, sexual attitudes, marriage, parenthood, and many more. The survey data reveals that members, like nonmembers, are not a homogeneous group; rather, they comprise a diversity of types of people who not only come from differing backgrounds, but also at times hold quite diverse views.
Similarities between the population and COG/The Family are evident. For example, in Bainbridge’s examination of people’s beliefs on “determinants of fate,” 56.2% of The Family members and 57.1% of GSS respondents believe that “Some people use their willpower and work harder than others” (p. 109). On matters of alienation from power structures, 54.3% of The Family respondents and 55.6% of GSS respondents believe that people in positions of power will attempt to take advantage of others. As well, 25.3% of The Family and 28.3% of GSS respondents felt “left out of things going on around [them]” (p. 93). Other topics that elicited comparable responses between The Family members and the general population include desirable qualities sought in friendship (p. 120), and the belief that God “reveals himself in and through the world” (p. 106).
Many of the findings illustrate interesting differences between GSS respondents and The Family members. For example, 95.6% of The Family respondents declared their unwavering belief in the existence of God, compared to 64.9% of GSS respondents (p. 46). As one might expect, attitudes toward sexuality were significantly different: Only 18.7% of The Family members thought it wrong for young teenagers (under the age of 16) to have sex, compared with 68.3% of GSS sample; and 1.2% of The Family members felt it was wrong for married couples to engage in extramarital sex, compared to 78.4% of the general population. Other major differences emerged, including (but not limited to) the belief in the reality of the devil (p. 53), frequency of prayer (p. 70), and attitudes about salvation (p. 77).
Bainbridge wrote in his foreword to Chancellor’s (2000) book that COG/The Family “institutionalized nuclear family” (Chancellor, 2000:xiii), a comment that seems quite discordant with the realities of familial dynamics within COG/The Family. For example, the “One Wife” doctrine (historically, a central COG/The Family tenet) in no way resembles the mainstream nuclear-family ethic. This Mo Letter remains part of The Love Charter and is “priority reading” for The Family members (The Family, 1995:201). In “One Wife,” Berg stated, “BUT GOD’S IN THE BUSINESS OF BREAKING UP LITTLE SELFISH PRIVATE WORLDLY FAMILIES TO MAKE ... A LARGER UNIT—ONE FAMILY” (Berg, 1972:1368). Bainbridge’s findings on COG/The Family’s approach to nonmarital sex (p. 125), general “marriage–related attitudes” (p. 127), the “ideal and actual number of children” (p. 142), and morals for children (p. 154) illustrate more differences than similarities in terms of family structure and beliefs. I do not suggest though that the “nuclear” family is prevalent in mainstream society, either; family configurations in society are varied and fluid. The ideology of a nuclear family, however, is more prevalent in this setting than in COG/The Family. Moreover, Shepherd and Shepherd (2005) note that following the implementation of The Love Charter, the “increase in the number of single-family homes” has become one of Maria and Peter’s many concerns because it contravenes] core Family values...” (p. 72).
Bainbridge concludes that “The Family is a novel religious movement in considerable tension with the surrounding sociocultural environment, yet its members are very similar to nonmembers in many respects” (p. 169). Although I agree that similarities exist, I found that his statistics point very clearly to more fundamental differences than similarities between The Family members and GSS respondents.
At the outset of the book, Bainbridge asserts that his work is “fair-minded and objective” (p. xii); but, unfortunately, at times he appears to take on an advocacy role for the movement, hence forsaking impartiality. Nonetheless, within the context of all literature on COG/The Family, Bainbridge has taken research on the group in a new direction by supplying researchers with an abundance of new information that addresses some new and previously unexplored facets of the group’s beliefs and practices.
The Children of God: “The Family” (2004) by J. Gordon Melton
At only 62 pages of full text, and 27 pages of appendices, J. Gordon Melton’s The Children of God: “The Family” (2004) provides a concise history of the movement. [xii] Despite the brevity of the book, Melton touches on most of the pivotal points in the group’s development. Beginning with a discussion of COG/The Family’s evangelical foundations, Melton not only covers some familiar ground, but also injects some interesting historical information about the development of American Protestant fundamentalism during the early and mid-twentieth century and its relationship to the Jesus People movement from which COG/The Family emerged. [xiii] He proceeds to discuss the group’s development from its foundations through various organizational evolutions, and he posits that the Reorganization Nationalization Revolution (RNR) “disbanded the Children of God” (pp. 9, 16). Certainly, Berg removed many of those leaders who were abusing their positions of power; but, as Melton states, “most of the deposed leaders became members again” (p. 8). Hence, it might be more accurate to say that, while the group went through a period of restructuring (including name changing), a complete disbandment overstates the extent of the changes.
Melton then tackles sexuality in the movement, tracing the development of Berg’s prescriptions and proscriptions for the disciples’ sexual relationships. He describes how one of the key Mo Letters, “Love vs. Law,” presented Berg’s nascent sexual tenets as the antithesis of Mosaic Law. In this way, Melton illustrates Berg’s intent that the group’s doctrines based on “The Law of Love” integrate sexual freedom with Berg’s interpretation of Christian scripture. Although Melton articulates that love rather than lust was the guiding force for the group’s sexual ethos (pp. 15–16), he acknowledges that lust became a factor. Melton raises the issue of rape, stating merely that Berg “condemned” it (p. 16). Contrary to this assertion are Berg’s own words in a Mo Letter simply titled “Rape!” In this publication, Berg warned female disciples that FFing might lead to rape or attempted rape. In addition to saying that forced sex garners women no respect from God (Berg, 1974:3825), Berg stated, “THE GIRL WHO DOES ALL THE REST AND THEN SUDDENLY DOESN’T WANT TO GO ALL THE WAY, IS REALLY GOING TO HAVE NOBODY BUT HERSELF TO BLAME” (Berg, 1974:3821). Actual incidences of rape while FFing are undocumented (as far as I am aware), but even the idea that women should accept it and take blame for it is abusive.
Melton proceeds to a brief overview of the proliferation and subsequent decline of FFing, [xiv] the increased need for organized childcare (p. 17), Berg’s views on child sexuality (p. 18), the group’s views on teen marriage (p. 19), and the implementation of the video ministry (including the controversial images of children engaged in sexually provocative veiled dance routines) (p. 20). Melton has been a prominent contributor to research on the group in the past, and academics that study COG/The Family are aware of his involvement in projects such as the volume that he co-edited with James R. Lewis, Sex, Slander, and Salvation: Investigating the Family/Children of God (1994). Much of his discussion of sexuality in this latest book (2004) is a reiteration of his contributing chapter, “Sexuality and the Maturation of The Family” (1994b) in the earlier one. In this most recent work, Melton reframes an earlier conclusion: “In a decade’s worth of writing on child and youth sexuality, Berg had assumed that sexual activity involving children or youth would be between individuals of compatible age” (p. 24. See also Melton, 1994b:91 for his earlier, comparable comment). Given Chancellor’s assertion that even COG/The Family members now admit that certain Mo Letters did advocate adult-child sexual relationships, it is puzzling that Melton continues to state otherwise (see Chancellor, 2000:138). [xv]
Melton then turns his attention to The Story of Davidito. He correctly claims of this book that “most of the content was innocuous”; however, he downplays the degree to which the text advocated sexual contact between adults and minors, citing that only 20 or so pages discuss child sexuality. [xvi] Moreover, he contends that Davidito (Ricky Rodriguez) “...appears to have sexual access to the women of the group” (p. 30). This is a disturbing statement indeed. The group produced the text and photographs that describe and depict Davidito in sexually explicit ways when he was between the ages of about two years to about three-and-one-half years. I suggest, rather, that the adult women of the group had sexual access to him. A three-year-old child does not possess the sexual or emotional maturity required to make decisions about sexual relationships. In other areas, too, Melton uses language to minimize the atmosphere of child sexualisation (for example, pp. 31–32).
The police raids on COG/The Family homes around the globe resulted in the physical and emotional maltreatment of many adults and children. Melton recounts the events that occurred in Spain, Argentina, and France, detailing some of the terrible abuses that transpired. These details include the separation of children from their parents (often for extremely prolonged periods), judicial misconduct, physical and emotional abuse, interrogations, and neglect. In one instance, “A fifteen-year-old girl was handcuffed for four hours clad only in her underwear” (p. 36). The raids on COG/The Family homes occurred at a time when the movement had already undergone many institutional changes and had purged much of its more controversial literature. In retrospect, the raids on homes not only occurred at the wrong time, but many of the authorities involved also conducted them in a wholly inappropriate and at times brutal manner.
Melton concludes with a look at how COG/The Family lives today. Then, following the main body of text and before the appendices, he includes a series of 18 photographs. These fascinating images are an appreciated inclusion to this concise account.