The Children of God

Moving some 500 disciples off these three properties on very short notice was no small task, but the Lord had begun opening up other properties for their use shortly before Fred’s eviction order.

In upstate New York, Benjamin and his helpers had taken over a huge unoccupied Jewish Day Camp, and in Colorado, others had been given use of a ranch in the mountains, practically in the shadow of Pike’s Peak. But most of these evictees were transported to the Northwest, at the invitation of some receptive and hospitable Jesus People leaders who wanted the COG to come up to help their work, and many of the Jesus People joined forces with the COG.

But some of these Jesus People didn’t join, and began to spread false reports about the COG throughout the media. Also at this time, opposition arose from other quarters, specifically from FREECOG.

Star Telegram (Ft. Worth, Tx.) 15/10/71

Dallas —A group of parents, charging that the Children of God is a “subversive organization” have come here to expose the group and “cut its lifeline”.

...The parents plan to picket the Federal Building here at 11 a.m. Friday, hoping to get federal law enforcement agencies involved...

The parents (were)... William B. of San Diego, Calif., chairman of the Parents Committee to Free Our Sons and Daughters from the Children of God (FREECOG) ... with Ted Patrick, community relations specialist on the staff of California Governor Ronald Reagan.

Patrick charged that the Children of God were “one of the biggest threats in the nation’s history”... and out to “overthrow the government and organized religion”.

They also charged that the group used spot hypnosis to “kidnap” the youths and “put drugs in the food and drink to keep them captive.”

“We can prove it,” they said.

These untrue charges were later proven false by their own inability to produce any evidence against the COG to warrant criminal prosecution. But just as with Jesus and His disciples, so it was with His followers of today: “There was a division among the people because of Him” (John 7:43). FreeCOG’s attacks and adverse publicity helped to serve as a catalyst, dividing the COG’s opposition from its friends, causing thankful parents of Children of God members to rally to their support:

Pro-Children of God Groups Formed to Improve Publicity

Dallas—Mrs. Emery Good, mother of a 21-year-old member of the Children of God, told about 100 persons Sunday that she has co-founded the Thankful Parents and Friends of the Children of God (ThankCOG) to offset “the awful publicity the Children have received.” Mrs. Good, co-chairwoman of ThankCOG, said the aims of her “informal organization” are:

— To express gratitude to the Children of God for the “good they have done for our children…”

— To inform the public that the Children of God are indeed spreading the Gospel and that (FreeCOG) charges to the contrary are false.

In fact, as the Pharisees condemned Jesus of the very crimes of which they themselves were guilty, so these frustrated parents were guilty of the very criminal actions of which they accused the COG! When William’s daughter Comfort, a registered nurse, joined the COG, he tried to kidnap her, later took her unawares to a hypnotist, and even tried to commit her to a mental institution. The doctor there, after listening to his wild tales, suggested that he was the one who was not quite normal, and that he should be the one in for observation, not Comfort, whom the doctor released!

One early pillar of FreeCOG was Ted Patrick. His speech is peppered with accusations like, “They use a form of voodooism,” and bragging that “I’ve been around witchcraft and voodoo all my life” (San Francisco “Examiner and Chronicle,” March 11, 1973) On February 18, 1972 (Dad’s birthday!), in San Diego, Patrick helped to organize the first national convention of FreeCOG, as it had come to be known. With nearly 100 parents in attendance, they formed a charter, elected officers, established dues, and heard Patrick tell them that since they couldn’t stop the Children legally, the answer was to bring the “children” home bodily. “We may be forced to go beyond the law,” he warned. (“Newsweek,” March 12, 1973)

Patrick offered his services, saying he knew what to do once they captured the victim. He called it “deprogramming”. He would usually get the parents to ask their children out to dinner or to go for a ride with them. Once away from the colony, they would drive to a prearranged site where Patrick and one or two of his burly henchmen would be waiting. The young disciple would then be forced to go, against his will, to an isolated motel or home, sometimes hundreds of miles away, where Patrick would have arranged to conduct his de-programming session.

Awaiting the victims were interrogators like Richard M., a hypnotherapist from Miami, who openly told newsmen that the deprogrammer “must be an individual who has experience or training in hypnosis, hypnopsychology, and in espionage, counterintelligence, and criminology.” (“The New York Times,” March 5, 1973)

These strongmen submit the young disciples to the precise type of violent mind control of which they accuse the COG! Their victim is forced to go without sleep for days on end, is not allowed to go to the toilet without a guard, and is subjected to interrogation sessions lasting up to 14 hours, during which Patrick and his cohorts spew forth a stream of accusations, and threats of bodily harm and commitment to mental institutions—all in an effort to break their spirit and make them deny their faith!

Thank God that in spite of the hundreds of confessed attempts of these so-called deprogramming efforts by these ruthless people to force young people to deny their faith, less than one-sixth have been anywhere near successful, according to their own reports of their despicable deeds.