Jesus Freaks: A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge [9780061118067]

Overview

A true crime story of faith, sex, and revenge, Jesus Freaks takes readers inside the Children of God, one of America's most notorious religious cults, and follows the heir who came back to destroy it.

In January 2005, Ricky Rodriguez, raised from birth as the "Prophet Prince" of the Children of God, killed a woman who had helped raise him. Hours later, he took his own life. Don Lattin covered the "God beat" for the San Francisco Chronicle for more than 25 years. Drawing on interviews with former members, survivors, and family insiders, and on the prophet's secret "Mo Letters," he traces the road to that tragedy.

Readers will discover:

• How David "Moses" Berg, a failed evangelist, turned 1960s Jesus freaks and hippie runaways into a worldwide movement later known as The Family International
• The truth behind "flirty fishing," the group's free-love doctrine, and the sexual abuse of children inside its communes
• Ricky's upbringing as "Davidito," the boy groomed to lead the Endtime alongside his mother and Berg's successor, Karen Zerby
• The lost generation of more than 13,000 children born into The Family, and their fight to heal and rebuild their lives after leaving
• What fringe sects reveal about fundamentalism, religious extremism, and spiritual abuse in the modern world

Jesus Freaks is essential reading for true crime fans, cult survivors, and anyone fascinated by the dark side of American religion. Lattin shows that the Children of God was not an isolated sideshow. The group grew directly out of American evangelicalism, and it exposes how charismatic leaders exploit faith, and how abuse passes from one generation to the next. Part investigative journalism and part family tragedy, this gripping, meticulously researched narrative gives a voice to the children a movement tried to silence.

Readers of Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven and Not Without My Sister by Celeste Jones, Kristina Jones, and Juliana Buhring will find Jesus Freaks a riveting and unforgettable companion.