Jesus Freaks: A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge

Don Lattin

Oct 2009 · Harper Collins

About this ebook

In the tradition of Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven, Don Lattin's Jesus Freaks is the story of a shocking pilgrimage of revenge that left two people dead and shed new light on The Family International, one of the most controversial religious movements to emerge from the spiritual turmoil of the sixties and seventies.

Some say The Family International—previously known as the Children of God—began with the best intentions. But their sexual and spiritual excesses soon forced them to go underground and follow a dark and dangerous path. Their charismatic leader, David "Moses" Berg, preached a radical critique of the piety and hypocrisy of mainstream Christianity. But Berg's message quickly devolved into its own web of lies. He lusted for power and unlimited access to female members of his flock—including young girls and teenagers—and became a drunken tyrant, setting up re-indoctrination camps around the world for rebellious teenagers under his control.

Thousands of children raised in The Family would defect and try to live normal lives, but the prophet's heir apparent, Ricky "Davidito" Rodriguez, was unable to either bear the excesses of the cult or fit into normal society. Sexually and emotionally abused as a child, Ricky left the fold and began a crusade to destroy the only family he ever knew, including a plot to kill his own mother.

Veteran journalist Don Lattin has written a powerful, engrossing book about this uniquely American tragedy. Jesus Freaks is a cautionary tale for those who fail to question the prophesies and proclamations of anyone who claims to speak for God.

Ratings and reviews

This is also not really a religious book, or about Jesus, per se, but it involves what is considered a "cult" group, "Children of God," or "The Family." The author comes at it from a journalistic perspective and as the subtitle indicates, it could as easily be classified as true crime. It's a sad story. The beginning of "The Family" was in the 1960s, when a certain David Berg started recruiting people for his supposedly Christian ministry. He succeeded in recruiting hundreds of people, including his second wife (he already had one, whom he apparently never divorced). The second wife, Karen, or Maria later became the head of "The Family" after Berg died. Through so-called "flirty fishing," Karen was impregnated by a Spanish waiter and gave birth to Ricky, who is the villain, or tragic hero, of this book. Ricky was supposed to have been a prophet or a prince or both, to help Berg and Maria bring in the apocalypse. Instead, as he got into adulthood, he could not give up the idea that, because of sexual abuse when he was young, he had been irrevocably damaged and had to get revenge, preferably by murdering his mother. Instead, he murders one of her close assistants, Sue, and then kills himself with a gunshot to the head. I felt angry throughout the reading. I felt angry at Karen Zerby, Berg, and all of their cohorts. They did damage many of the second generation "Family" members, apparently. Of course, they are free to worship as they please, and, as the author duly notes, no formal charges have ever been brought against Zerby or any other high-ranking member of this cult. I think it's pretty clear that Berg was using his proselytizing as a cover for his sexual appetites, which were unusual, to say the least. After he died, there were some changes made, and the Family continues as a church. I don't think they should be allowed to continue, but obviously, nothing can be done. I think Zerby and the others do feel guilt about Ricky's murder and suicide, and the suicides of many other ex-Family members, but they cannot admit it to themselves, or to the public, without giving up their own lives, as they now have them. Thus, the cognitive dissonance prevents them from admitting any fault. Lattin does a good job and at the end of the book presents many statements supposedly by current Family members, which seem to support the church and its leaders.

Powerful

About the author

Don Lattin is one of the nation's leading journalists covering alternative and mainstream religious movements and figures in America. His work has appeared in dozens of U.S. magazines and newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle, where he covered the religion beat for nearly two decades. Lattin has also worked as a consultant and commentator for Dateline, Primetime, Good Morning America, Nightline, Anderson Cooper 360, and PBS's Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. He is the author of Jesus Freaks: A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge, and Following Our Bliss: How the Spiritual Ideals of the Sixties Shape Our Lives Today, and is the coauthor of Shopping for Faith: American Religion in the New Millennium.