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ABOUT "THE FAMILY"
(a.k.a. CHILDREN OF GOD, COG, FAMILY OF LOVE, THE FAMILY
INTERNATIONAL)
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This is a section of the ReligiousTolerance.org web site.
The official web site of The Family
can be viewed elsewhere.
Overview of the Church:
This group is formally named the: Fellowship of Independent Missionary
Communities, but is generally referred to as The Family. They are a high-demand faith group that requires great personal
commitment on the part of
its members. They emphasize Jesus' teachings against loyalties to one's family-of-origin. They stress Jesus' preaching in favor of poverty and a simple
life. The group merges traditional Evangelical Christian beliefs and practices with the belief in universal salvation, contacts
with spirits, communal living, and free love among adults within the group. They are a favorite target of the counter-cult movement
who attack its unorthodox theological beliefs. They are also attacked by the anti-cult movement who accuse it of mind control and
criminal sexual practices involving children. The latter accusations appear to be have had some basis in fact in the past. However, the group has taken
efforts to prevent such abuse from occurring in the present and future. They are a popular subject for study by academics who are interested in new
religious movements. All studies that we have found have given The Family a clean bill of health in recent years.
Essays contained in this section:
Additional books and articles on the Children of God.
Some of these
are highly biased against the group. We recommend that you read the book
reviews to get an assessment of each book:
 | William Sims Bainbridge, "The Endtime Family: Children of God," State University of New York Press, (2002).
Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com
online book store |
| James D. Chancellor, "Life in the Family: An Oral History of the Children of God," Syracuse University Press,
(2000) Read reviews or order this book |
| Deborah Davis (Linda Berg) & Bill Davis, "The Children of God: The Inside Story," Marshall Pickering, (1985).
Read reviews or order this book |
| W. Douglas Pritchett, "The Children of God/Family of Love: An
Annotated
Bibliography," Garland Publishing, (1984).
Read reviews or order this book |
| "The Family - What Are The Facts?" [Special Edition],
1992-OCT/NOV, TACL the periodical of Concerned Christians, Growth
Ministries, 50 Carcoola Street, Nollamara, Western Australia, 6061. |
| David E. Van Zandt, "Living in the Children of God," Princeton
University Press, (1991).
Read reviews or order this book |
|
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on Religious Tolerance
Updated: 2005-OCT-11
Author: B.A. Robinson
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