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Kristina is not just a survivor but an overcomer! She was born and raised in the infamous sex cult Children of God (aka The Family International) and suffered all kinds of terrible abuse from those claiming to be missionaries for Jesus. Kristina, along with her sisters Celeste and Julianna, have written a best-selling book called Not Without My Sister about their experience in the Children of God cult.
Ephesians 5:11 says, “Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.”
The book Not Without My Sister reminded me of the Holocaust museum; as if to say, “Never Forget”. May we all learn from the past and never repeat these mistakes. I believe this book is important for humanity.
On Kindle Here:
A few episodes ago I interviewed Kristina’s sister Celeste. It was this interview that made me start taking my role here on Sozo Talk Radio more seriously. I realized how precious each of our lives and stories are. Each of us play a role in this “play” of life and are threads contributing to the tapestry of the story of humanity.
What kind of story are you telling with your life?
David Berg chose to tell the worst kind of story. He abused the innocent and sexually tortured little girls. Berg encouraged sexual relations between adults and children and even taught the adults to sexualize their children as toddlers. Countless families were torn apart by this cult. People were brainwashed, manipulated, and controlled through fear and harsh discipline.
Berg maintained and profited from one of the largest prostitution and human trafficking rings. He implemented a practice called flirty fishing which quickly turned into prostitution for the group.
Many in the cult, mostly the children, suffered greatly while he was living like a king. He believed himself to be the reincarnated David of Ezekiel 37 and his family was called the royal family. He took the title “Moses David” and wrote “Mo letters”. These Mo letters were sometimes pornographic, contained antisemitic hate speech (calling Hitler a hero), and were filled with fearful end times rhetoric. (I wrote more at Celeste’s interview here).
David Berg was truly an enemy of Christ and is an example what happens when we embrace and implement the sexual revolution of the late 60’s into Christianity. Sexual immorality is the real problem. Sex is only meant to be enjoyed between a husband and wife. We have seen over and over and over again the pain and problems that occur when this gift from God is taken out of the context of marriage and misused and abused.
What God Wants For You
God is a loving Father who wants the best for his children. It is always best to remain in the care of our Good Shepherd where we are so richly provided for. We cheat ourselves and harm others when we fail to trust our Good Shepherd and choose sin instead. Of course there is forgiveness and grace and healing so we can once again learn to live the way he designed.
We are here to learn love. We are meant to learn how to be fully present and alive – to enjoy the abundant life Jesus gives us!
I look at Kristina and Celeste and see that they are examples that anyone can learn to forgive and heal – as Kristina puts it, “to forgive is to absorb the pain and bring it to an end”.
My Hell on Earth (Story of Verity Carter)
In this interview we discuss and read a portion of the Sunday Times article of how Verity, a dear friend of Kristina, bravely came forward to expose the abuse she suffered while in the cult.
Click Here to read more of the story of Verity Carter who just won a court case against her father who had raised Verity in this sex cult, The Children of God.
Excerpt (Discretion is advised):
“A sex cult survivor has spoken for the first time about the abuse she suffered while growing up in the notorious Children of God sect.
Verity Carter was repeatedly raped and abused, forced on to the streets to trick people into donating money and taught how to conceal her torment from social workers and teachers.
Verity, now a 38-year-old Edinburgh mum, said: “My earliest memories are from the age of four, being abused by my own father.
“He would touch me and kiss me in a way that made me feel so uncomfortable. I would cry and beg him not to.
“If I complained, I was told that I must have a demon inside me because sex was love, and love was what God wanted us to show each other…”
(Read more here: https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/my-hell-on-earth/)
Kristina’s Faith Journey
What I find so remarkable is that even though she was abused in the name of Christ, Kristina has maintained her faith in Christ. She talked about how she actually believed the Word of God (as we all should) that she was forced to memorize and how it led her to bravely speak the truth no matter the cost. Christ has been her source of comfort and strength through it all.
Of course she says that her faith journey wasn’t without those seasons of confusion and setbacks that we all face. We are all on a journey and she speaks in this interview about respecting where other people are currently at in their journey and loving them as they are.
I was greatly inspired and encouraged that she kept her faith when I have heard stories of so many other second generation COG members losing their faith and hope and ended up committing suicide. I just want to say to any other xfamily members:
There is hope and healing through forgiveness and in relationship with the real Jesus. I know there are likely a load of lies that still keep you from enjoying life to the full. Sorting it out and coming through that darkness will take time and perseverance. Please know there are people who care and I am one of them. We must learn to forgive in order to heal from the past.
Jesus is our hope, strength, and comfort and will see us through whatever trauma or tragedy life has to offer. Lean on him!
Other questions I ask Kristina:
What was it like growing up in a cult The Children Of God?
One of my favorite quotes you share:
“Evil can only prevail when good people do nothing.”
“What you are fed in a cult is a lie sandwich. It takes some time to sort out truth from error.”
“The truth will set you free.”
“To forgive is to absorb the pain and bring it to an end”
What it was like growing up in a broken home?
Talk about what was it like being such a public figure in the fight to expose this sex cult?
How can we help people trapped in cults?
What would you tell someone who just came out of the TFI cult?
How do we find forgiveness?