The Children of God

But others fought it tooth and nail, as though it were the worst possible fate which could have befallen their offspring, the veritable last straw in a decadent world that was already tumbling around their ears! And a good many of them took up the cudgel to try to stamp out the COG as an evil even more dangerous than drugs or communism! This parental opposition became such a commonplace occurrence that soon all problems with relatives along this line were known as “10:36’ers,” in reference to the Bible verse Matthew 10:36: “And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”

The instances of emotional, screaming parents threatening harm and mayhem, the beatings inflicted by these parents, their kidnapping of their legal-aged children, or their committing of their children to insane asylums would fill a book! They were a recurring nightmare at L.A., especially. It was there that a new disciple’s mother came with her husband and other relatives to “rescue” her full-grown, legal-aged son. After pleadings and threats failed to budge him, she reached into her purse, pulled out a big open shaker full of salt, tossed it into the eyes of a nearby disciple, Justin, temporarily blinding him, kicked out two windows—and later tried to sue Fred, Josh, Faith, and Justin for $4,500 in damages! Thank God, though, in this instance with the boy’s own stance in fighting to stay, this kidnapping was prevented.

Another time, they heard a commotion outside and looked down to the street below to see a week-old disciple, Mike, getting dragged away and towing Ebed with him. Mike was a former college student and was coming along fine as a new disciple when two men came to visit him. Somehow they got him near the door, and all of a sudden eight husky men burst out of a parked van directly in front of the building. In the struggle Mike grabbed Ebed because he didn’t want to go alone. They threw them both in the van together, piled back into their van and an accompanying pickup truck, and made their escape. The COG sent a trail after the two vehicles, and Malachi and Amminadab were there to pick up Ebed when they dumped him off. But the kidnappers managed to get Mike.

It was also there that Zibia, a brand-new disciple and dropout from Cal-Polytech at Santa Barbara, California, who at 20 years of age should have been able to choose the life she wanted to live, was forced out of L.A.’s front door by her parents and brother, screaming that she was “insane to quit college”. Quite a dramatic scene took place then, as her mother reached into the back seat of her car for a shotgun. Screaming, “Where’s that guy I’m supposed to shoot?!”—meaning Benjamin, leader of several bus teams to Santa Barbara. Then she outrageously yelled to her daughter, “I’d rather shoot you than see you here!” Thank the Lord, her son obstructed her from doing it—but it was close! And they were successful in their kidnapping.

These were just a few of many such cases. Many of these grown offspring abducted by their parents later made it back to the COG; others left for parts unknown to get away from their parents!

That the COG was able to continue as a functioning work without being driven out of town at the instigation of these antagonistic parents and relatives of disciples was due, in large part, to Fred’s paternal protection. Even though some Christians considered Fred’s work to be part of the “underworld of religion,” it was at least officially recognized and gave some credence to these “radical fanatics” who lacked any kind of official sanction.