Music played an important role in the cult of my youth (known as the Children of God or The Family). It was very effectively used for recruitment, it was a mainstay of fundraising (since members weren't allowed to get regular jobs), and it was a source of shared culture. But on the inside, they banned… Continue reading Persecution Music of the Children of God: The Songs of the Gaslighters & the Counter-Resistance 🖕🏻
The story of how people born into the Children of God / Family International cult reclaimed a term used to literally demonize them.
I recently re-read the Bible's Leviticus chapter 11, with its variety of walking, crawling, slithering, swimming, and flapping abominations. There were some highlights I thought I'd share.
While driving cross-country recently, I made a stop at the Creation Museum (not far from Cincinnati), which I’ve always wanted to see for funsies. In the past, I’ve gone deep on both sides of the evolution vs creation debate. That's because learning about the science of evolution was one of the earlier steps for me… Continue reading A Day at the Creation Museum 🦖
Following is a list of every book about the Children of God cult, also known as the Family. Since I was raised in this cult, I've been compiling this list for years now. Here they all are, for anyone who's interested in finding their next great read or wants to dig into the whole lot.… Continue reading Every Book Ever Written About the Children of God Cult 📚
It was 2005, and cult leader Karen Zerby was in hiding, as she had been for decades. Zerby was the head of the Family International (also known as the Children of God), a Christan cult that was paranoid in general, but leaders took secrecy to another level. No one knew where Zerby lived, and her… Continue reading Karen Zerby Leak: Unmasking a Cult Leader Who’d Remained Faceless for Nearly 30 Years 🕵🏻♂️
I was introduced to the Falun Gong cult by attending their Shen Yun traditional Chinese dance show without any knowledge of what I was in for. It brought back echoes of my own cult upbringing.