What it is

The movement to expose FCF as a Family funding source is about making anyone associated with TF face the fact that victims exist and that their pain is real and will not go away without proper redress.

The argument is frequently made that innocent Family members who do good work in the field will be hurt by anything that hurts FCF, their funding agent. The logic, as I hear it, goes like this: So-and-so does such good work for the Lord that s/he shouldn't be held responsible for maintaining a financial association with individuals who are guilty of crimes against humanity.

This rationalization is another version of the social pathology in Family leadership and Family relationships. Any “mistakes” that Family members and leadership might have made in the past are old business that have nothing to do with the present. Leadership acknowledges that mistakes were made. (Notice the passive voice: Who is actually responsible for those “mistakes”? Beats me.)

I have yet to read anything published by TF where leadership admits they are in any way responsible for the terrible pain caused by some “mistakes” that “misguided” disciples made along the way in the distant past. When the victims’ pain is even acknowledged at all, it is minimized, dismissed, rationalized, and shifted back onto the victim.

Offenders who wish to reconcile with their victims should be expected to face the shame associated with their victimization of another human being. Anything less is based on the narcissistic belief that the offender is “special.” This is a core pathology in Berg’s teachings: Anyone who serves God in TF is "special" and "elect." The fundamental rules of reconciliation don't apply to God’s elect because of the "higher law" to which God's servants adhere.

This rationalization also is based on the premise that, overall, the good deeds of a particular individual outweigh the bad s/he does. That may indeed be true, but the overall good a person does will not change the fact that some people may have been seriously hurt as a consequence of that good person’s deliberate actions and self-serving behavior.

The premise that the good outweighs and therefore excuses the bad has done overlooks the possibility that a good person's behavior can be quite despicable, even criminal, in certain circumstances. A thousand good deeds will not change the reality of a victim’s pain.

I believe that when people get hurt by our actions, and our behavior can be easily interpreted as venal and base, a responsible person will acknowledge that fact without defending and making excuses. In my book, this is one of the basic rules of reconciliation. It applies to everyone. There are no exemptions for the elect.

I support the movement to expose FCF as a funding source for Family missionaries because I am committed to keeping the focus on what the Family’s victims say they want and need.