From promoting incest to spreading apocalyptic prophesies, David Berg was one of history's most depraved cult leaders — with as many as 10,000 followers across the world.
Wikimedia CommonsAlong with child abuse, David Berg also encouraged incest and regularly preached about the apocalypse.
To his followers, David Berg appeared to be a charismatic man of steadfast faith dedicated to a life full of serving God. In reality, he was one of the most disturbed zealots of the 20th century, and his Children of God cult encouraged the sexual abuse of children and incest. One victim born into the cult later described her upbringing as “hell on Earth.”
The cult first emerged in California in the 1960s, amidst a growing mistrust of larger institutions. While it’s not as well known today, the Children of God cult (now called the Family International) once had thousands of members worldwide. These members included young Rose McGowan, Joaquin Phoenix, and Joaquin’s late brother River, before they became famous.
Exploiting the “free love” movement, Berg’s cult practiced horrific sexual abuses as part of its supposed liberation from social norms. Many members were simply poor or came from troubled backgrounds, and joined in search of a better life, only to be exploited instead. River Phoenix, who was sent out to busk as a child to raise money for food and evangelize for the group, was sexually abused by members when he was just four.
Public attention inevitably grew into legal scrutiny as authorities like the FBI and Interpol investigated the cult’s rampant abuses. But Berg would never face justice for his crimes, and he died while in hiding.
The Early Life Of David Berg
David Brandt Berg was born on Feb. 18, 1919, in Oakland, California, to an evangelist couple, Hjalmer and Virginia Brandt Berg. His parents were both affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, which they joined after they were expelled from the Christian Church for testifying about concepts that went against the official church doctrine.
Wikimedia CommonsDavid Berg’s mother, Virginia Brandt Berg.
Berg’s parents often courted controversy because of their zeal, but he was inspired by their strong devotion to their missions.
David Berg also endured notable crises as a child. Born amidst the Spanish Flu pandemic, he was sickly from the start and was said to have had a weak heart as an infant. As a young child, he reportedly suffered a severe foot injury and was nearly blinded in a separate accident. His parents naturally chalked up his resilience against illnesses and injuries to Biblical miracles.
This helped lead to the young Berg developing a strong sense of faith, which presumably softened the blows he suffered when he was bullied in school. A disciplined student, he graduated from Monterey High School — but reportedly abandoned higher education in the hopes of becoming a minister.
Berg also claimed that he briefly joined the U.S. Army during World War II as a conscientious objector, but his service was cut short by yet another severe illness. As he put it, his healing was what really cemented his faith in God.
The Rise Of David Berg’s Children Of God
Though David Berg started out as a pastor with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, he said that he fell out with the group due to the racism and greed present throughout the congregation. But other reports allege that he was actually expelled due to his inappropriate behavior while in the organization.
While bouncing from job to job, Berg also began testing his skills as an independent evangelist. It was in the 1960s, with the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the ongoing civil rights movement, and an increasing nationwide distrust in authority figures, that he truly came into his own.
Berg launched a group initially called “Teens for Christ” in 1968 in Huntington Beach, California and successfully recruited dejected youths, runaways, and hippies, eventually amassing about 50 members. At first, the group seemed to merely blend traditional Christian beliefs with communal living.
The press began calling the group the “Children of God,” a name that Berg liked so much he began to officially use it. Meanwhile, Berg also adopted the name “Moses David” for himself, though he sometimes simply went by “Mo.”
By 1969, the Children of God cult had left California following Berg’s prediction that a horrific earthquake would strike soon. From there, the group traveled around the country and beyond to spread their messages, as Berg communicated with his far-away followers via letters.
In scripture that spanned nearly 3,000 written revelations that he penned himself, Berg made it clear that he saw himself as a prophet. The so-called “Mo Letters” detailed his teachings, often warned of the impending apocalypse, placed his doctrine above all organized religions, criticized any authority but God’s, and outlined his plans for global congregations.
Berg espoused a deep distrust of the political, social, and cultural structures of the outside world, calling it the “System,” and preached a message of salvation from the inevitable end of the world — encouraging members to relish in a spiritual revolution and happiness on Earth.
The Children of God cult soon attracted international attention: David Berg established more than 130 religious communities around the world by 1972. By some estimates, he counted about 10,000 members total.
Wikimedia CommonsDavid Berg attracted the attention of the authorities as early as the 1970s.
Berg’s followers soon learned that they’d be required to do regular missionary work, and that they had to share any money they earned from begging, securing donations, or performing on the street. They also had to share their romantic companions, as Berg encouraged partner-swapping.
The women in the group were also encouraged to use sex as a way to recruit new followers. This infamous policy was known as “flirty fishing.” As many as 200,000 men may have been approached by women practicing flirty fishing, though not all were convinced to become members of Children of God.
Meanwhile, there was something far darker happening in David Berg’s Children of God cult. Former members and legal investigations later exposed rampant child sexual abuse in the group, as Berg normalized preying upon underage members for sex and participating in incest.
Horrifically, Berg encouraged his adult followers to have sex with children as young as 12 (reportedly the same age that Berg’s daughter was when he first began sexually abusing her). But for some children trapped in the cult, the abuse began when they were even younger.
Boris Spremo/Toronto Star/Getty ImagesChildren of God cult members in Toronto, Canada in 1972.
“It became hell on Earth for anyone born into it,” Verity Carter, a Children of God survivor who was abused from age four by numerous members — including her father — told the BBC. “It happened a step at a time and many of the adults did not see how extreme it had got until it was too late.”
Chillingly, some of the adults took full advantage of the practices that Berg promoted, including incest. After Berg expressed his beliefs that incest was acceptable because it was good to learn about sex from your own family, some men even ended up “marrying” their own daughters.
The Horrific Legacy Of Children Of God
Verity Carter told the BBC that she and her siblings received no formal education, but they were taught survival skills and how to keep secrets from “systemites” — or inquisitive outsiders like social workers. She said that they had “no contact with the outside world,” and that there were “heavy consequences” if they ever betrayed that trust.
X (Formerly Twitter)The legacy of Children of God is inextricably tied to David Berg.
“There were no bedtime stories,” another survivor, Christina Babin, told Marie Claire. “Instead, we heard gruesome tales of how the world was about to violently end, how as martyrs we’d either burn at the stake or be shot. We went to sleep in a state of fear.” Like Carter, Babin also endured sexual abuse in the cult: “I was violated in this way from the age of 12.”
As for the famous Phoenix family, they joined the Children of God when River Phoenix was only three — one year before he was sexually abused by members. The family traveled to Venezuela, Mexico, and Puerto Rico for missionary work to spread the cult’s mission until they decided to leave and move back to the U.S. River’s mother later quoted River as saying this about Children of God: “They’re disgusting. They’re ruining people’s lives.”
Though many stories about Children of God have come to light in recent years, David Berg was actually under investigation by the FBI and Interpol as early as the 1970s, and public scrutiny only increased in the 1980s and 1990s. However, he evaded capture, often going on the run and into hiding and continuing to communicate with his followers via letters, laying out in detail exactly how they should live their lives and follow his teachings.
Berg ultimately died in Portugal on Oct. 1, 1994 at the age of 75, never having faced justice for his crimes. His widow, Karen Zerby, took on leadership of the group, which still operates today in much smaller numbers and goes by the name the Family International. Flirty fishing was purportedly discontinued in the group by 1987, possibly due to the ongoing AIDS crisis. Child protection rules have also reportedly been instituted in the group.
Meanwhile, deep scars still remain among Children of God survivors, especially when learning about some former members’ terrible fates. Zerby’s son Ricky Rodriguez (who was fathered by a man that Zerby flirty-fished), was so traumatized by his childhood that he murdered his former nanny and then died by suicide in 2005. Rodriguez reportedly hoped to murder Zerby, but when he couldn’t track down his mother, he killed the nanny instead.
Though tragic and horrific stories about Children of God are still emerging today, membership in the renamed cult has fortunately plummeted as more and more of David Berg’s victims have spoken out. These days, those who suffered under his authoritarian, falsely prophetic teachings often find solace in support groups, such as the “Free the Children of God” organization.
After learning about David Berg, read about some other infamous cult leaders. Then, go inside the stories of celebrities who endured tragic childhoods before they became famous.
