“Quite an eye opening book, with well written facts of the many efforts to maintain a massive cult! The day to day workings to live by faith, filled with many big & little miracles. From what one main leader said, “an experiment that went terribly wrong.” This book highlights many positive aspects, however there was a downside. And each and every person being in, or involved with a cult will view from their angle. Enjoy the deep dive!” – Reader Review
50 YEARS IN A SECT:
My Life with a Radical ‘Sex Cult’!
50 Years in a Sect: My Life with a Sex Cult! tells the story of life within one of recent history’s most controversial religious sects: The Children of God! Later changing its name to the Family of Love, or simply ‘The Family’ — the fast-growing and highly unorthodox Christian movement gained notoriety as a ‘sex cult’ due to its practice of using sex to win converts! It also believed in sexual ‘sharing’ with other adults within one’s communal group.
Following a firebrand maverick preacher, members left their old lives behind and dropped out of society to begin new lives in idealistic communes, made up mostly of ex-hippies and society rejects who now lived together and shared everything. Members quickly learned that the end of the world was not far away, with Jesus expected to come back in 1993!
David Berg, nicknamed Moses David, the founder and self-styled prophet of this ‘spiritual revolution’, had warning dreams of God’s impending judgments falling on the wicked nations of the western world. In his messages, known as Mo letters, Berg strongly encouraged his followers to leave the West and go to poorer, undeveloped countries to be missionaries.
With no financial support whatsoever, members dutifully obeyed, travelling to far-flung parts of the globe. Thus it was that this author spent the next 50 years in India, Nepal, southern Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific islands! All through this incredible life journey, the Family’s numerous ‘revolutions’ brought tremendous social upheaval and 180 degree changes in direction, making life exciting and eventful, but also bringing some personal heartbreak as families sometimes found themselves separated due to being on different status levels. In the case of the author’s second family, the children were ‘kidnapped’ and taken away by the Social Services.
Although this book has some mild sexual content, it is not intended to be a scandal-filled, lurid account of sexual excesses. It is meant to be a real account of what life was really like within the groups’ closed communities — both good and bad. And how, 50 years later, after changing its form and reinventing itself several times, the group is still going strong…
I picked up this book after a very unexpected and memorable encounter. The author and his wife stayed with me as Couchsurfing guests, and after spending time talking with them I was intrigued enough to buy the book.
They were thoughtful, intelligent, and remarkably open about their past, which made me curious about the life story behind it all.
50 YEARS IN A SECT: My Life with a Radical “Sex Cult”! is exactly what the title suggests: a deeply personal account of someone who spent most of his life inside a highly unconventional and controversial religious movement. What makes the book compelling is not just the shocking or unusual aspects of the group, but the human story behind it — the loyalty, belief, doubts, and eventual reflection that come with spending decades inside a closed community.
The author writes candidly about how people become involved in such groups, how the internal culture works, and what it’s like to dedicate your entire life to something that most outsiders view with suspicion or disbelief. Rather than feeling sensationalized, the story reads as a sincere attempt to document and understand a very unusual life journey.
Having met the author and his wife in person, I can say they are genuinely kind and reflective people, which adds another layer to the reading experience. It’s fascinating to see how someone can live through such extraordinary circumstances and come out the other side with perspective and humility.
If you’re interested in memoirs about alternative communities, religious movements, or simply unusual life stories, this book offers a unique firsthand account that’s well worth the read. -Amazon Review
About the Author
Peter Kingston was born in Brighton, England. He found that he didn’t fit very well in boarding school, getting expelled at age 16, before joining a technical college to major in sciences.
His main interest was 70s rock and folk music, building up a huge record collection and going regularly to rock concerts! Hanging out with friends and using recreational drugs were also high up on the priority list…
Accepted by two UK universities to study physics/electronics, the author’s dream was to perhaps become a recording engineer or producer with one of the famous music bands of the time!
A chance meeting with members of the Children of God group, also called ‘The Family’, changed everything. Peter accepted the challenge to ‘drop out’ and leave everything. He sold all his possessions and moved into a revolutionary community that subsequently sent him to India and Nepal for the next 15 years.
Moving on to Africa and the Pacific, the author spent 20 years in full time Children of God communities, followed by 15 years working closely as an associate member. In 2010, communal living came to an end and the group became an online community. Peter and his French wife, Susan, currently live and travel around South East Asia. They still maintain strong relations with The Family in its new online form.
This was an extremely interesting book, containing a lot of well-presented and enjoyable stories. Once I started reading, I found that I couldn t stop! The book helped me view this sect in a different light. -Reader Review
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