Fred, Yeah, I remember the group very well. They were pretty big in Bombay at the time and I remember one of their slogans. They twisted the Bible saying: "God told us to love one another so let's make love". He encouraged women members of the group to engage in what he called "flirty fishing". This term was based on Jesus injunction "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men". Women members were urged to go to bars and befriend men, seducing them if neccesary in roder to encourage them toward religious conversion. Berg wrote: "What better way to show the love of God than to do your best to supply their desperately hungry needs for love, fellowship, companionship, mental and spiritual communication, and physical needs such as food, clothing, shelter, warmth, affection, a tender loving kiss, a soft warm embrace, the healing touch of your loving hands, the comforting feeling of your body next to theirs and yes, even sex if need be!"
We lost a few youth in our area to this cult which offered them the acceptance and love they were unfortunately missing at home. Their songs distributed under the title "Music With Meaning" were also popular with the youth in local parishes. An interesting story: The daughter of David Berg wrote a book after she left the cult exposing their practices and detailing the history of the movement. It was a very thought provoking book and gave outsiders a very intimate look into the inner workings of the cult and what keeps members in. The ship Logos had just docked in Bombay to sell Christian books at very discounted rates. This book was one of the best sellers. When the local COG heard about the book, they turned up and bought every single copy available. I'm not sure that their teachings today are as radical as in the early days of the movement, thanks to the spread of STD's. They now call themselves "The Family" Dan Soares Stony Brook, NY
