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| In response to "I Almost Didn't Make It" by "Sam Ajemian" date: Mar 7, 2003 name: jesse owen lee city: whitney point state: ny country: usa comments: praise the lord,sam! in preparing a sermon, I wanted to reference cults and looked up the cog. i found your name and was so pleased that you're still hot for Jesus. i'd like to hear from you and catch up. would you? love in Christ, jesse In response to "My experience with the Children of God / The Family" by "anonymous" date: Mar 6, 2003 name: Angela Curl city: Cleveland state: OH country: USA comments: I read your whole story in one sitting, and found it troubling. I am sorry for all the pain and difficulties that you experienced. I was wondering when you will post the remaining segments of your story? In response to "Maria Refuses" by "Anonymous: Letters to Maria" date: Mar 1, 2003 name: I love you country: World comments: I do`nt know Maria and other like Her, how I see you still want to know the answer. For God sake we have still the Gospel, and Jesus reaction to the question of the schribe and farise, and you can read that till His dead, did`nt gave them any answer. Please for God sake go back to the simplicity of the Fondation, to Jesus who Loves you. From somebody in the world that loves you, because I love Jesus. In response to "Zerby on Education" by "WC" date: Feb 26, 2003 name: MG (reposted) comments: When I was still in TF, my daughter got herself into university on student loans. She had to do tons of extra studying to barely get up to a minimum level in math. It was not her fault or ours, as Maria claims in her video. (see Mark's post below) She had no help from anyone until we finally left TF and have since been able to help her somewhat with some of the many expenses. And thank God for her grandmother who started helping too. The good new is: (Trumpets, drum roll) only 3 years since she started university, she's soon to graduate, but not only that, she has just been offered a graduate student fellowship in one of the nation's top schools of public affairs!!! We're so happy for her and proud of her. But it's only due to her own perseverence and hard work inspite of the extreme frustrations she's had to overcome because of the failings in her education that being brought up in TF resulted in. When she turned 13, the shepherds in our home said now she can move to the Teen Home, like all the 13 years did, so what did we her parents have to do with her education after that? She was on her way to the teen Combo as prescribed and ordained by Berg, Maria and Co. No one was about to object to that, in fact that was where it was at. But from that time on she was considered herself to be a teacher, and her own schooling was pretty much over. Maria is really coming up with lame sick stuff to say that it was the parents and the teens fault if they lack something in their education. The fact that I didn't leave TF was my fault, to get her into a place where she could have a chance to really learn what she wanted and needed to learn. She says the only positive thing from her Family educational experience is that she's had to take studying a lot more seriously than many of her fellow students. In response to "Jesus Christians - Offshoot of the COG?" by "WC" date: Jan 31, 2003 name: Dave McKay url:jesuschristians.com city: Sydney state: NSW country: Australia comments: There really is a lot of false information in these reports. If you want reliable information from someone who does not agree with us (i.e. does not agree with the Jesus Christians), we recommend you go to http://www.spotlightministries.org.uk It beats us what a lot of information about the International Church of Christ and the Children of God has to do with a supposed expose on the Jesus Christians, but what can you expect from someone who has never met us? To set the record straight, none of us has ever been connected with the Church of Christ, and only one of our members has ever been a member of the Children of God, so we can hardly be called a "breakaway" group from either of those organisations. The founders of the Jesus Christians (Cherry and I) have been active members of the Quakers for the past four years. Cherry and I were teenage sweethearts, and have been married for 38 years now (39 in July). Neither of us has ever been unfaithful during that time. We have consistently opposed the sexual teachings of the Children of God. Those are just a few of the facts that have been overlooked or contradicted in your article. Like I said, check out the spotlight website for some real information. In response to "My Life Growing UP in the Family" by "John Paul" date: Dec 23, 2002 name: carol comments: "Resilience" is a concept that is used to describe kids who overcome abuse and other forms of disadvantage (e.g., poverty, physical disabilities, etc.). John Paul's story is a good example of a resilience--one of the key factors being the child's ability to identify and connect with at least one nurturing adult in the midst of adverse developmental conditions. In response to "There is Life After the Family" by "Kathy Johnson (Formerly Lily of the Valley)" date: Dec 17, 2002 name: Zeke comments: Thank you so much for taking the time to write such an inspiring article. You make a lot of spiritual sense, after the barren landscape the COG left us with. In response to "Jesus Freaks? No . . . Children of God" by "" date: Dec 10, 2002 name: Bryon McMillan city: Pembroke state: Ont. country: Canada comments: Website address for Light of Life Ministries is http://crossspot.net/ldprophet/ In response to "Jesus Freaks? No . . . Children of God" by "" date: Dec 9, 2002 name: Bryon McMillan url:http://crossspot.net/ldprophet/ city: Pembroke state: Ont country: CANADA comments: Greetings in Jesus Name. As an ex-COG conducting research I came across this newspaper article and realized that I had just joined the COG group in Ottawa at approximately that time. I was in the COG for about a year and left when things started getting spooky. I was known as Cephas and spent time in Ottawa, Montreal, Laurentide and Newfoundland)(Was at the mansion when Mo visited.)I am investigating ties between the Freemasonic movement and the COG leadership. (IE. Was David Berg the target of a mind control program (shades of MK-ULTRA) or did he have connections to an occult secret society. Check out my website and leave a note. Light of Life Ministries In response to "Zerby on Education" by "WC" date: Dec 4, 2002 name: Tomorrow's Shaker city: Vista state: CA country: USA comments: It appears that there are more reasons to not sending family members to college than to keep them as full-time missionaries. College is the key to any serious skill, there are of course the few talented who get by, like spielberg. But even he has just recently returned to college to be an example to his grandchildren of what's righ to be done. Life is short and one can learn more in 4 years through the accumulated experience of millions through the college experience than the average family member can learn in a lifetime. It's just a cheap shot at behavioural control and shunning free thinking. Keep those teens fearful of the unknown and dependant on communal lifestyles and ties and maybe someday you'll all be illiterate and hang yourself with your own string! I'm not wasting my precious time with your games. In response to "My experience with the Children of God / The Family" by "anonymous" date: Nov 13, 2002 name: mixza comments: hi, i grew up in the family and i found your story facinating...i am 20 yrs old and my parents left the family when i was 15. i never had any really traumatic experences but i suppose my parents did i good job of looking after me....however i have recently begun to research the group within which i spent my childhood and i must say that i am appaled by what i am finding.....have you visited the site `movingon` my email is if you ever feel like talking. In response to "Not For A Million Dollars - Book Review" by "Acheick" date: Nov 9, 2002 name: Liz comments: I think that being a 15 year old this girl should have enough sense (after all, it was her mother that raised her, and should be the one to blame for not educating her daugher well enough, so that she would have enough sense in her brain to decide what's ethically correct in the sight of God or not?!! No??!!So, I'd said, "silly mother", she was the one that should pay the bill. Maybe this girls mother should sue her instead?!!!! In response to "It's My Life - Mercy's Story" by "Mercy" date: Nov 8, 2002 name: Joanna Steiner city: London country: England comments: I must know you Rose, my parents were Asaph and Charity. They were in Thailand for quite awhile. I think one of my brothers is even in yr pics. I'm shocked at the stuff you had to go thru. I'm no longer in the Family and neither are my 2 eldest brothers. My parents and the rest of my family are still in the Fam. and I'm thoroughly distressed for them after reading a couple articles on this site. I'd love to hear back from you. In response to "Life with Grandpa - the Mene Story" by "" date: Oct 21, 2002 name: Angie city: Spokane state: WA country: USA comments: Hi, you dont know me, but we all know you, at least we did know you (in reading that is). My name is Angie, I live in Washington State and was just wondering if you still live in the state. In your article, you said that you were looking at Mt. Rainier. I'm just curious. I've been out of the family for 12 years now, but still have lots of questions that I dont have answers for. I have never been able to talk to ex-members and still wonder daily if I am normal for having so much hate. If you would like to talk to me, email me back, maybe we could chat or something - Angie In response to "The Children of God - facts!" by "David Millikan" date: Sep 26, 2002 name: U. D. city: Karlsruhe country: Germany comments: As trying to start a missionary home with good support at the time the 'loving Jesus rev' came out, I was so shocked at the subject matter! All I ever wanted to do was witness and help others but this had nothing to do with my life on the difficult mission field of India, where we struggled to pay our bills on top of trying to help others! It was the 'beginning of the end' for me. Who wants to read about Steve Kelly's and Karen Zerby's love life when you are a struggling missionary and your tithe gets used to print stuff like that? Way off, baby, as a new home after the Charter we needed practical advice. We then left the field in 1998 and later the Family all together. It just made no sense to me! Anyway, I am grateful for all the websites I find to help confirm our decision. I met David M. in India on his 'PR-Trip' briefly and lots was done there to 'cover up' to give him a good impression of the group. I am glad that he did not fall for it in the end. I love the Family members that I worked with for years and I pray that they too will find their way out! Love, Ulrike In response to "Why I didn't join the COG" by "No Longer Children (Apr '92)" date: Jun 27, 2002 name: Cathy comments: We were the members of the COG that were jailed and deported there in Egypt along with this group.A sad, harrowing experience but we certainly brought it upon ourselves. I think at that time we were more than 100 strong and struggling to follow the latest 'quotas' and 'directives' as unapplicable as they were for this country. Really a crying shame. I have one funny testimony though. While my husband was in jail along with several other COG members and 6 men from this other group, it was prayer and humor that kept them (the circumstances and conditions were incredibly and extremely poor) At one point, in the cell, I believe the men from the other group just realised that the other folks were COG. There were bemoaning about the terrible physical conditions (understandably) and mumbled out a comment to the effect of "Oh Lord, rats, cocroaches, mosquitoes, maggots and Children of God-what next) We still laugh about that. Thank God for a sense of humor and his gracious deliverence from our own ignorance. If any member of that other group is reading this, please accept my sincere apologies for our unwise methods and stupidity in those days. If it helps you to know, we did and still do have a heart for the peoples of the ME (I being of ME descendent) and our intentions were to be fruitful to His calling. We just got caught up in a cult and, unfortunately at that time, didn't realise it. We do now, and I hope you can accept this apology. God bless you. In response to "My Life Growing UP in the Family" by "John Paul" date: Apr 27, 2002 name: Porceleindoll comments: If you have the time to read John Paul's story in the articles section of this board, you will see how the Family for the most part created their own victors. I mean, my kids now are pretty good, way below perfect, but better than average, and I'm sure they would have started an early victor program for their childish naughtiness. The thought scares me. |
