Editing David Berg (section)

==Life==
=== Family heritage ===
Berg's maternal grandfather was John Lincoln Brandt (1860–1946), a [[Disciples of Christ]] minister, author, and lecturer of [[Muskogee, Oklahoma]].<ref>[[William Sims Bainbridge]], ''The Endtime Family: Children of God'' (New York: [[State University of New York Press]], 2002), 63–4.</ref> Brandt had a dramatic conversion in his mid-twenties and immediately entered full-time Christian service. For years he was a Methodist circuit rider. He later became a leader of the [[Alexander Campbell (minister)|Alexander Campbell]] movement of the [[Disciples of Christ (Campbell Movement)|Disciples of Christ]], a [[restoration movement]] that developed into the current Protestant denomination [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Lincoln Brandt - XFamily - Children of God |url=https://www.xfamily.org/index.php/John_Lincoln_Brandt |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=www.xfamily.org}}</ref>

===Early years (1919–1969)===
Berg was born on February 18, 1919, in [[Oakland, California]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Zandt|first=David E. Van|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ySsABAAAQBAJ|title=Living in the Children of God|date=July 14, 2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-6215-3|pages=19, 31|language=en}}</ref> During his early years, he usually lived in or around Florida.<ref name=":4">[[Douglas E. Cowan]] and [[David G. Bromley]], ''Cults and New Religions: A Brief History'', [[Wiley-Blackwell|Wiley Blackwell]] Brief Histories of Religion Series, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2015), 101.</ref>

He was the youngest of three children born to Hjalmar Emmanuel Berg and Virginia Lee Brandt, both Christian [[Evangelism|evangelist]]s.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Eskridge|first=Larry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yJAwiGIeQvgC|title=God's Forever Family: The Jesus People Movement in America|date=May 31, 2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-931523-9|pages=79|language=en}}</ref> His father was [[Swedish Americans|Swedish]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FUDUmJZMIv8C&q=Hjalmar+Berg&pg=PA13|title=Jesus Freaks: A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge|first=Don|last=Lattin|date=October 13, 2009|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=9780061745911|access-date=February 1, 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref>

Virginia and Hjalmar were expelled from the Disciples of Christ after publicly testifying of her [[divine healing]], which was contrary to church doctrine. They subsequently joined a new denomination, the [[Christian and Missionary Alliance]], shortly before David's birth. In later years, their missionary zeal and disdain for denominational politicking often set them at variance with the conservative faction of that church's hierarchy, causing them to work largely as independent pastors and evangelists.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Her Story ★ Virginia Brandt Berg (1886-1968) |url=https://virginiabrandtberg.com/story.html |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=virginiabrandtberg.com}}</ref>

Berg spent his early years traveling with his parents, who pursued their evangelical mission. In 1924, they settled in [[Miami, Florida]], after Virginia successfully led a series of large revivals at the Miami Gospel Tabernacle. This became Berg's home for the next 14 years, while his mother and father were pastors at a number of Miami churches.<ref name=":5" /> The Berg family depended entirely on the generosity of their parishioners for their support, and often had difficulty making ends meet. This instilled in Berg a lifelong habit of frugality, which he encouraged his followers to adopt.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.worldlegacyfoundation.org/index.php/more/masters-of-terrors/680-david-brandt-berg | title=David Brandt Berg }}</ref>

Berg graduated from [[Monterey High School (Monterey, California)|Monterey High School]] in 1935 and later attended Elliott School of Business Administration.<ref name=":1" /> Like his father, Berg became a minister in the Christian and Missionary Alliance in the late 1940s, and was placed at [[Valley Farms, Arizona]].<ref name=":4" /> Berg was eventually expelled from the organization for differences in teachings and for alleged [[sexual misconduct]] with a church employee.<ref name=":1" /> In Berg's writings he claimed the expulsion was due to his support for greater [[racial diversity]] among his congregation.<ref name=":1" />

Fred Jordan, Berg's friend and boss, allowed Berg and his personal family to open and run a branch of his Soul Clinic in Miami, Florida, as a missionary training school. After running into trouble with local authorities over his aggressive disapproval of [[Evolution in public education|evolution being taught as fact]] in public schools, Berg moved his family to Fred Jordan's Texas Soul Clinic, in Western Texas.<ref>Cowan and Bromley, ''Cults and New Religions'', 101–2.</ref>

===The Children of God/The Family (1968–1994)===
Berg and his family founded the organization Teens for Christ, operating out of the Light Club coffeehouse in [[Huntington Beach, California]], in 1968.<ref>Cowan and Bromley, ''Cults and New Religions'', 102.</ref> While in California, after encountering strong resistance from local churches due to his followers picketing them, he took the whole group of 40–100 people on the road. It was while they were camped in Lewis and Clark Park that a news reporter first called them "The Children of God".<ref>{{Cite web |title=History - TFI |url=https://www.thefamilyinternational.org/en/about/our-history/ |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=www.thefamilyinternational.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Children of God \\ History \ Birth of the Children of God |url=https://childrenofgod.com/en/history/articles/birth-of-children-of-god/ |access-date=2022-06-24 |website=childrenofgod.com}}</ref><ref>Cowan and Bromley, ''Cults and New Religions'', 103.</ref>

Around the end of 1969, about 200 members of the COG group established a 425-acre "colony" several miles from Thurber, Texas - a ghost town. This acreage was owned by the American Soul Clinic.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Association |first=Texas State Historical |title=The History of the Children of God Movement |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/children-of-god |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240620183701/https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/children-of-god |archive-date=June 20, 2024 |access-date=2026-01-11 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}</ref>

In the mid-1970s, Berg began preparing his followers for a "revelation" he had about [[Flirty Fishing]], or winning important, influential men through prostitution.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://catherineauman.com/flirty-fishing/|title=Flirty Fishing|first=Catherine|last=Auman|date=April 24, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Gardner 2016">{{cite news |last=Gardner |first=Simon |title=Children of God sex cult survivors come out of the shadows |website=CBC |date=March 11, 2016 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/children-of-god-survivors-1.3481788 |access-date=January 28, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeYQvFU9VSo|title=Flirty fishing|date=May 26, 2010 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref>

By 1971, the COG claimed that it had 4,000 members, mostly consisting of teenagers and people in early 20s. In November of 1971, COG's colony was evicted after a serious disagreement with American Soul Clinic's head Fred Jordan and other associates.<ref name=":6" />

In 1978, in an attempt to deflect public concern over some of his more controversial policies, Berg changed the name to the "Family of Love".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.xfamily.org/text.php?t=650|title=The Re-Organisation Nationalisation Revolution, para. 28|first=David|last=Berg|date=January 1978}}</ref> In 1991, this was changed to "The Family", and in 2004 it was changed again to "The Family International".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://media.xfamily.org/docs/fam/gv/gv_176.pdf#page=2|title=The Grapevine Issue 176, pg. 2|first=Steven|last=Kelly|date=November 1, 2004}}</ref>

Berg lived in seclusion, communicating with his followers and the public via nearly 3,000 "Mo Letters"<ref name="moletters">[http://pubs.xfamily.org xFamily.org Publications Database] &mdash; contains many of the "Mo Letters" written by David Berg</ref> ("Mo" from his pseudonym "Moses David") that he wrote on a wide variety of subjects. These typically covered spiritual or practical subjects and were used as a way of disseminating and introducing policy and religious doctrine to his followers. Berg's letters admonished the reader to "love the sinner but hate the sin". His writings were often extreme and uncompromising in their denunciation of what he believed to be evil, such as mainstream churches, pedophilia laws, capitalism, and Jews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xfamily.org/index.php/Main_Page|title=XFamily - Children of God|website=www.xfamily.org|access-date=February 1, 2018}}</ref>

===Death and legacy===
Berg, who had been in hiding since 1971, died in November 1994 in Portugal. He was buried in [[Costa de Caparica]], and his remains were cremated.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=November 25, 1994 |title=David Berg; Leader of Controversial Sect |url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/175665260/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=November 26, 2020 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Hartford Courant, Associated Press |page=32 |language=en}}</ref>

After his death in 1994, his wife led The Family, and there were 6,000 adults and 3,000 children as members of The Family worldwide, in 50 countries.<ref name=":2" /> There were investigations of The Family for child abuse and prostitution in Argentina, France, Spain, Australia, Venezuela, and Peru.<ref name=":2" />