Not without my sisters

By Kristina Jones, Celeste Jones, Juliana Buhring (http://www.notwithoutmysister.co.uk/)

In two days I've finished reading this book i picked up at Borders. It left me with a lot of emotions and thoughts.

Synopsis

The devastating account of three sisters, torn apart and forced to suffer abuse and exploitation at the hands of a community that robbed them of their childhood. They reveal three lives, separate but entwined, that have experienced unspeakable horror, unrelenting loyalty and unforgettable courage. From as early as 3 years old, Julianna, Celeste and Kristina were treated by their 'guardians' as sexual beings. They were made to watch and mimic orgies, received love letters and sexual advances from men old enough to be their grandfather, and were forced into abusive relationships that barely went unhidden. They were denied access to formal schooling, forced to wander the streets begging for money, and were mercilessly beaten for 'crimes' as unpredictable as reading an encyclopaedia. Finally, unable to live with the guilt of what had happened to her children, their mother escaped with Kristina, cutting herself off from her remaining children in a bid to save at least one child.Desperate to free her remaining sisters, Kristina eventually returned to the place of her torture to free Celeste and, after many years, Julianna, who was only able to break free with the knowledge that the child she was carrying would be subjected to the same fate if she could not find the courage to escape. Now the three sisters have finally come together to reveal in full and horrific detail their existence within a group that has destroyed the lives of so many. Their stories intertwine throughout the years, revealing a community spread throughout the world whose legacy of anorexia, depression, drug abuse, suicide and even murder are impossible to erase. Lives that follow parallel paths are ripped apart and painstakingly mended with a shared strength that finally enabled the sisters to free themselves from the shadows of their past.

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I first heard of the cult "The Children of God" (now known as "the family international) during a visit to the I S D. I'm sure some of my colleagues would remember the "bible" displayed in the shelves that was no different from pornographic materials. It left me with such an impression, that I did a little search on it. Chancing upon this book at Borders, I knew I had to read it for myself, the first hand accounts of people from within the group.

Children of God was set up by this guy named David Berg who is also known as Moses David or Grandpa. He calls himself the prophet of God and writes these letters known as Mo's Letters claimed to be direct revelations from God. His doctrines are so warped that I'm amazed that people actually follow it. One of these is known as "flirty fishing", which teaches that sexual seduction, or religious prostitution, is God's revolutionary way of evangelism. He even calls it "Hookers for Jesus", that permits adultery.

They have this doctrine called "the law of love", which states that love = sex, which is meant to be shared freely just as one ought to love others. This gives license to fornication, adultery, vulgarity, profanity, even group sex (formerly incest, prostitution, and child sex as well. This perverted man used his so-called teachings to sexually abuse his daughters as well as his grandchildren, and encourged sexual experiementation amongst children.

They also have this teaching called "loving Jesus" . "It is their understanding of the Bible that the followers of Christ are his bride, called to love and serve him with the fervor of a wife. They take bridal theology further than other Christians by encouraging members to imagine that Jesus is having sex with them during sexual intercourse and masturbation. Male members are told to visualize themselves as women, in order to avoid a homosexual relationship with Jesus. Additionally, TFI publications frequently liken prophecy from Jesus to receiving Jesus' semen, or "golden seeds," as a result of spiritual oral sex or vaginal intercourse (taken from wikipedia)

You can read more about this group simply by googling it.

It really made me sick to the core.

How easily it is for our minds to be controlled and manipulated, if we stop questioning and stop finding out more.

Here's a quote frm the book.

"During the months the followed, i did everything by the book, but my heart was no longer in it. I went through every fundamental Family belief and researched every letter written by Mo on the biggest doctrinal controversies, and went through the entire Bible on the very same subjects. I discovered some shocking truths. Anybody can twist the Scripture to their own ends. For every single verse the Family used to justify one of their doctrines, there were four that argued against them. "

its frightening.