From Peter Amsterdam and Maria Fontaine

2011 has seen its share of disaster, calamity, and uncertainty. From the flooding throughout Southeast Asia to the tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, to the wave of uprisings throughout the Middle East known as the “Arab Spring,” to the threat of international economic meltdown due to the debt crisis affecting the dollar and euro, to the financial difficulties of millions of formerly middle class people due to the loss of income or livelihood. The poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer; many people are fed up with the status quo and economic and social inequality, as evidenced by the Occupy protests in over 80 nations. Tension is mounting throughout the world.

These are days of uncertainty for many, of fear and concern for the future. There is a need for peace—peace on earth, as well as peace of heart, mind, and spirit for the individual.

At this time of year, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the one known as the Prince of Peace. His life, His message, the example He set for humankind bring peace to the hearts of those who understand the importance of His life, who recognize that His death on the cross and His resurrection made it possible for every individual to have inner peace, both in this life and for eternity.

Faith in Jesus may not make the world any less tumultuous or unsettling, but it can bring peace and security to your spirit to empower you to meet the challenges of life. The assurance of His love and care, His promise of life eternal, can bring certainty in uncertain times. Our prayer is that you will make Jesus a part of your life, if you haven’t already done so. May you experience His love for you, and may your connection with Him grow ever deeper and stronger.

On behalf of the Family International we wish you a very blessed Christmas and a new year full of joy and peace.

Visit the new TFI Europe web site

Mottos for Success in Video from CEE TFI on Vimeo.

Dedicated to improving the quality of life and providing Christian and motivational publications to the people of Central and Eastern Europe, Family International members have worked in all of the countries of this region since the early 90s. Members currently serve in twelve Central and East European countries.The projects of our volunteers in the region have been as diverse as the nature and history of the region itself, from visiting refugee camps, military hospitals and children’s centers in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Kosovo during the war in the Yugoslavia republics, to conducting postwar trauma therapy in the form of musical and drama performances, and maintaining a Christian correspondence Bible-study course to nearly 72,000 people via mail. We have worked to supply food, clothing, school supplies, and medicine to the needy in the war-torn countries, and provided free English and computer literacy lessons to children in Bosnia, Romania, and Ukraine.

Generally Family volunteers work in collaboration with other organizations in order to maximize their humanitarian and charitable work efforts. At times teams or individuals might also choose the option of opening an independent charity or NGO in order to carry out their specific humanitarian objectives.

To illustrate the relation between the spiritual and humanitarian arms of our organization, a Bible verse that comes to mind is: “as the body, without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26).

View the volunteer initiatives of members of the Family International Central and Eastern Europe:

Contact:
Skype: tfi_cee_info
E-mail: info.ceea@thefamilyeurope.org

The Family International–Restructuring for the Future

June 3, 2010 – Press Release

The Family International has currently adopted a new organizational model in order to better achieve the missionary goals of the organization.

After a two-year process of evaluating its structure, doctrine, and methodology, much of which was rooted in its former longstanding cooperative-based model, the Family International has initiated a comprehensive restructuring program. This has resulted in a reinvention of the movement and its structure to allow for greater diversity, while retaining its missionary objectives.

To reflect the organization’s restructuring and its aims of empowering individuals to operate independently, the Family’s governing Charter has been modified and streamlined.

Administrative directors, Steve Kelly and Karen Zerby, summed up the intent and hope of the restructuring in an address to TFI members:

We don’t know what the future holds (as far as the practical details and specifics, and the exact outcome of every change), but we do know a few things: 1) We have a crucial mission: reaching the world with God’s Word, love and truth. 2) We’re following God, by faith. 3) We will encourage each of you to follow the Lord where He leads you. … Our collective efforts will build the Family of the future. (Change Journey Manifesto–May 2010)

The Family International (formerly known as the Children of God) is a non-traditional Christian movement founded by David Brandt Berg (1919-1994) in Southern California during the late 1960s. Active in over 90 countries, the movement engages in evangelistic and humanitarian endeavors.

Contact:
Claire Borowik,
Public Affairs Desk for the Family International,
(202) 298-0838,
or publicaffairs@thefamily.org
Website: http://www.thefamily.org

Translated excerpts from the article “Minoritati de practica sexuala?”,
By Prof. Gabriel Andreescu
published in “Noua Reveista de Drepturile Omului”, vol.6, 2010/3
pages 16
Publicatie trimestriala a Centrului de Studii Internationale.

Section V – Presentarea si autoidentificarea “Familiei”

Presenting the Family International in their own words

Here is how the organization presents itself on their own site:

“The Family International is a movement with two distinct and strongly developed aspects - Christian faith as one, and humanitarian and charitable activities as the other. Our Christian beliefs are the motivating force in the hearts of Family members to dedicate their lives to the betterment of the quality of life in the society around them at all levels of social strata.

“Aimed at improving the quality of life both spiritually and practically, the projects which members of the Family International have been involved in, range from providing spiritual counseling, and Bible-study courses, to holding seminars and organizing team-building programs for professionals, to distributing food and emergency supplies, and medical-care programs for underprivileged children. Family members also provide educational programs for children, adolescents, and young adults with the goal of developing character, morals, leadership, creativity, and social and cultural skills, and promoting volunteerism.

“The Family International is a Christian fellowship whose members are involved in active mission and humanitarian work in close to 100 countries around the world.²³

…
“Clearly articulated and strict rules to protect minors from inappropriate sexual behavior are and have been in place since 1986 – for a quarter of a century. In mid-1989 any such contact was made an excommunicable offense.”

In regards to the conditions of the minors in the Family International: “The Charter, adopted in 1995, upholds this stance of zero tolerance and has clearly defined rules ensuring the safely, protection and proper care of minors”.

In regards to marriage and sexuality: “Theologically the Family International affirms that sex, when practiced as God ordained, designed, and intended between consenting adult persons, is a pure, needful, and beautiful wonder of God’s creation, a gift from God.

“Sexuality is a very private and personal matter which Family members treat with discretion and privacy.”

The organization believes that “God created and ordained the marriage union of man and woman and that marriage is the ideal relationship for the forming of stable families”.

“It is our conviction that the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of children should be amply and competently met.”

^{23. (www.thefamilycee.org) march 2010}

^{24. (www.thefamily.org/dossier/charter/overview.htm)}

Translated excerpts from the article “Minoritati de practica sexuala?”,
By Prof. Gabriel Andreescu
published in “Noua Reveista de Drepturile Omului”, vol.6, 2010/3
pages 19,20
Publicatie trimestriala a Centrului de Studii Internationale.

section VII – “Identitate, minoritate, si criteriul puterii”

Identity, Minority and the Criteria of Power

In the discussion, stirred by the article “The Children of God” = prostitution and black mail”, posted on the 2^nd of February 2008 on an Orthodox site, featuring the imported well known allegations about “the Family”, a reader commented: “…these people deserve to have their skin torn apart with a pair of tweezers and then to be burned alive”. The words of this young woman simply illustrate the humongous social aggressiveness and, implicitly, the need to strengthen the most vulnerable groups’ means of protection, since these would be the first victims of any possible wrong channeling of social frustration.

After the article “The Children of God”, seven brides for seven sect members” was printed in Evenimentul Zilei (The Event of the Day), in June 2010 a group of young people which signed as “The Autonomous Nationalists” (Nationalisti Autonomisti) put up tens of posters around the city reading, “Stop the pedophilia and the incest. The pedophiles are not safe in our city”, and more than 30 copies of the article were also put in people’s mail boxes³⁸. As a result, the neighbors and the parents who were bringing their children to the nearby kindergarten were stirred up. The press stepped in again in order to aggravate the tension³⁹. A type of replay of the strategy used in the case of [another group] can be noticed here: similarities in the intervention of the authorities who took action in a partially subversive way, in the intervention of the press, transformed into an instrument in the hands of certain groups that seek personal gain from the situation, in the intervention of the “parents”, which are sort of a generic category yet with strong authority in the eyes of the public, and in the presence of certain public opinion whose conception of society is dominated by the ideology of exclusion. In addition to the similarities in what happened in the ‘90s and the early 2000s, we notice also the formation of some autonomous groups with extremist tendencies which jump into action immediately when they pick up any signals that trigger their need for militant action.

… Realizing the extreme vulnerability [of groups such as TFI and other similar ones] warrants that they be classified in terms of “minority”… The jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, … condemns the practice of the legal representatives of the State authorities to negatively refer to a person belonging to a minority: “the use of force against someone belonging to an ethnic minority or to any other kind of minority is extremely relevant in the case of illegal, hatred induced violence” (underlined by the author) ⁴¹.

In situations in which the discrimination and the harassment of some minority groups becomes very serious, the same CEDO jurisprudence opens the way to claiming article no. 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights concerning inhumane or degrading treatment. Although the previous European Committee on Human Rights initiated this perspective as an expression of the particular importance given to “racial discrimination”, since “a differential treatment towards a group of people because of race can lead to degrading treatment in situations where the differential treatment due to other criteria, such as language, would not pose such problems”⁴², this initiative can be extended to other high risk categories as well. …

^{37. (http://bisericasecreta.wordpress.com/2008/02/02/copiii-domnului%E2%80%9D-prostitutie-si-santaj/)}

^{38. Georgeta Petrovici, Acts of protest against “The Children of God” sect, Evenimentul Zilei, Thursday, 24th of June 2010.}

^{39. Ibidem}

^{40. “Strangely” refers to the fact that the public opinion seems to be attracted towards sordid sexual stories – note the newspaper audience placing “Cancan”, “Libertatea” (The Freedom) and “Click” at the top of the list.}

^{41. See Nachova and others vs. Bulgaria, ruled February 26th 2004, paragraph 162.}

^{42. The East-African Asians vs. Great Britain, decision no 4403/70 from February 14th 1973; case Moldovan and others vs. Romania, ruled July 2005.}

Translated excerpt from the article “Minoritati de practica sexuala?”,
By Prof. Gabriel Andreescu
published in “Noua Reveista de Drepturile Omului”, vol.6, 2010/3
pages 14,15,16
Publicatie trimestriala a Centrului de Studii Internationale.

section IV – “Familia”

The Family International

The Family is an international organization represented in Romania by a few small nuclei. The Family  is the present day name of the Christian faith movement “The Children of God”, which started out more than three decades ago.¹² Today there is a number of publications and other materials which claim to describe the experience inside the community¹³, as well as research studies about this community. There is also information about the Family from some court cases which developed as a result of some anti cult organizations’ campaign to create confrontation between this unconventional movement and the public authorities, inciting the latter to take action against them.

The Family  is a new age type community, the life of which is governed by a body of religious doctrines. A research that was carried out in the beginning of the 2000s concluded that 46.6% of the members of the community read the Bible several times a week, as compared to 10.7% average of the Global Social Survey (GSS)¹⁵. No less than 99.5% have tried to convince other people to believe in Jesus, as compared to the findings of the GSS which point to 46.5% average¹⁶, although according to the religious perspective of the community, “salvation” does not come from joining The Family. Therefore this sort of religious militarism is not connected to objectives of proselytism. Having had a “born again” experience was confirmed by 90.8% of the members of The Family, as compared to the 37.1% figure of the GSS¹⁷.

The community’s choice of life governed by faith in God is reflected by the response to the question about the relationship between church and state. 61.3% of The Family members (28.9% GSS results) consider that a politician who does not believe in God is not fit for politics, 74.1% (compared to the 37.0% GSS) affirm that it would be better for the country if more public positions were held by religious people, and only 15.4% (compared to the 51.5% GSS) accept that religious leaders shouldn’t influence government decisions¹⁸.

After its first period of maturation, The Family’s growth was stunted by several factors which, according to William Bainbridge, are: the disappearance of the human environment where its members used to be recruited, caused by historical changes; the socio-cultural tension with society at large; the isolation of prospective members as a result of social changes; a lifestyle that keeps the children of God away from missionary activities; the balance tipping in favor of the number of births within the community over the number of newly recruited members; and a belief system that is not centered around the expansion of The Family ¹⁹.

The community has been through important organizational evolution over the last decades. The period between 1992 and 2000 was declared a Time of Transition²⁰. The tendency towards change, presented as part of a culture of innovation and progress, continued during the last years²¹. One of the causes was the action initiated against some of the nuclei in Australia, France and Argentina at the beginning of the ‘90ies. Allegations of child abuse pushed by anti cult groups led to the temporary separation of the children from their parents, and the brutality of those actions was unusual. In each case, the courts of law ruled that within the community the children were not exposed to any harmful behavior whatsoever, and the judges severely criticized the means employed by the authorities²².

Despite very clear court decisions, the atmosphere induced by the court cases followed The Family around and issues regarding the children within their communities were continuously brought up by the local authorities of the towns and cities where members would live.

In March 2010 the Timis Social Assistance and Child Protection Department carried out an investigation at the seat of The Family nucleus established in Timisoara. The report was a positive one.

________________________

Footnotes and References:

12. The founder, David Brandt Berg (1919 – 1994), a Christian pastor, began to preach the ideas of the newly formed group, “The Children of God”, to the young fans of the hippy counterculture in Huntington Beach, California, USA in 1968.

13. See Deborah Davis (Linda Berg), Bill Davis, The Children of God: The Inside Story, Marshall Pickering, 1985; Heaven’s Harlots, My Fifteen Years As a Sacred Prostitute in the Children of God Cult, William Morrow & Company, 1998, reprinted in 1999 under a new title: My Fifteen Years in a Sex Cult, Quill. The veracity of some of these texts is contested by the organization, hence the importance of relating them to the research that has been done in the meantime.

14. W. Douglas Pritchett, The Children of God/Family of Love: An Annotated Bibliography, Garland Publishing, 1984; David E. Van Zandt, Living in the Children of God, Princeton University Press, 1991; James R. Lewis, J. Gordon Melton, Sex, Slander, and Salvation. Investigating The Family/Children, Center for Academic Publication, Standford, California, 1994; James D. Chancellor, Life in the Family: An Oral History of the Children of God, Syracuse University Press, 2000; William Sims Bainbridge, The Endtime Family. Children of the God, State University of New York Press, New York, 2002.

15. William Sims Bainbridge, already quoted, page 74.

16. Same, page 77

17. Ibidem.

18. Ibidem.

19. Same, page 172.

20. Lonnie Davis, Claire Borowik, The Family  1992 – 2000: a Time of

Translated excerpt from the article “Minoritati de practica sexuala?”,
by Prof. Gabriel Andreescu
published in “Noua Reveista de Drepturile Omului”, vol.6, 2010/3
pages 17,18,19
Publicatie trimestriala a Centrului de Studii Internationale.

section VI -”Familia” in Romania. Hartuirea prin atribuirea unei identitati de stigma.

The Family in Romania: Harassed through Stigma

“The Family International” identify themselves as a community characterized first of all by its Christian faith, and, secondly, by its humanitarian and charitable activities. In reality, due to their communal living and to their discretion, Family members interact with society mainly through their humanitarian endeavors.

The communities in Bucharest, Constanta and Timisoara have proven to be a formidable force for good through the development of several assistance projects, most of them geared to children, particularly those in great need. The list of their good works is too long to even try outlining here. Still, we would like to mention the material and educational assistance offered to hospitals and placement centers, the initiatives geared towards children in kindergartens (shows, meals), and the Campaigns for the International Diabetes Day, etc.

Despite these humanitarian achievements in a social environment that is full of needs, the activities of “The Family International” have been met with a dramatic hostility. It is worth pointing out the fact that the stigmatization of “The Family” stems from the denial of its two dimensions. On one hand, its religious identity is either silenced, or marginalized (“For them the Old Testament is nonexistent”²⁶), or twisted, through statements such as: “The Family” proposes a “religious revolution through sexual evangelism”²⁷. On the other hand, their humanitarian endeavors are either ridiculed²⁸, or demonized as a cover up for acts of corruption²⁹ or as some sort of infraction in itself.

The harassment of the organization has been systematic. The most recent materials designed to slander “the Family” singled out the community in Timisoara. In the article published in Evenimentul Zilei (The Event of the Day), titled “The Children of God, Seven Brides for Seven Sect Members”, the reader is bombarded with suspicion and hostility from the very first opening words: “One of the most controversial international sects “The Children of God” has made a “nest” in Romania. The biggest community, made out of 21 people, is in Timisoara”³¹. Through innuendos, the author weaves the idea that the activity of the organization should be perceived as “deceptive”³². The Contact–Counseling and Care Association, a name adopted by a team of “The Family” operating, in cooperation with The Family International, is portrayed as “subscribed to public funding”. Supposedly the association took advantage of the ignorance of the authorities, convincing the Timisoara Independent Transport Department to donate the use of a bus during the period of September to October 2009, which drove between “the summer camp in Cheveresu Mare and the Timisoara Regional Business Center”. We have confirmed that the transport actually assisted 40 young people, ages 17 to 18 years old, to do their volunteer activities. Although there is no evidence presented in the article to the misuse of public funds, yet the tone of the presentation and the interpretation of the information inflicts on the reader the idea of a mercantile organization – the last thing that could be said about communities of “The Family International”.

Next we are presented information that is supposed to reveal to us who the organization “really is”. “It is our belief that heterosexual relations, when practiced as God ordained and intended between consenting adults, are a pure and natural wonder of God’s creation, and permissible according to Scripture.” The journalist Andreea Strachina quotes the above passage from the organization’s site, only to add her own elaboration: “With time reality has overtaken fiction by far. In the “Children of God’s” house in Timisoara, the seven children are brought up in a sick environment: their parents have sexual relations with the rest of the members of the “family”. (…) We make love, not sex. We pool our emotions together. If we have a piece of bread, we offer it to the one in need. The same thing goes for sex: if I have a naked body and you have one, too, I give you mine to warm you up.”³³

The quotes given in the interview are taken out of context, labeled by the journalist with names such as “sick environment”, bordering on accusations of corruption, with the ultimate goal of creating an image of a dangerous and promiscuous organization. She makes a reference to a scandal dated 1982 involving Noah Thomas, a former member of the group and author of a documentary about “The Children of God”, and she adds some pictures which seem to have been taken from a book long destroyed – “there are still copies of the book around”, the author explains herself.

Journalists citing information which under normal circumstance would be hard to verify, or information which implies a long investigation process, is a trend that creates a link between the cases of MISA and “The Children of God”, leading us to the Romanian Intelligence Services’ policy towards the new spiritual, esoteric and exotic groups. In the beginning of the 2000s, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) announced publicly its program of interpreting the religious theme, dividing the religious actors between “the area of European spirituality” and those that are a threat to national security. The document that was published on the institution’s site (www.sri.ro), named “The Toxicity of Some Sects Infiltrated in the Romanian Territory During the Past Few Years”, placed the spiritualist, esoteric and exotic minority religious groups, generalized as “sects”,  under the same denominator together with terrorists, organized crime and Islamic fundamentalism.

The SRI document listed “The Children of God” among the particularly virulent sects, those that practice eclectic doctrines, and which disguise the efforts of some worldwide centers aiming to establish a “new world order”, not only in a cultic or social sense, but also in a politico-economical one. To support its accusations SRI simply used forgery, claiming that “The Children of God” group is supposedly illegal in most European countries.

Shortly after the publishing of the SRI document, a number of newspapers began to publish articles with sensational accusations towards various religious groups new to Romania. These newspapers downloaded information from the SRI site, or they added claims whose faulty and contradictory style could be traced back to the same source. References to details circulating in the foreign mass-media, which apparently the authors had gone to great lengths to gather, gave the impression that such texts are provided by the intelligence services. “After receiving some information we were able to discover a unit of “The Children of God” in Agigea” is how a journalist from the daily newspaper “Ziua de Constanta” (the Constanta Day) started his article, in the spirit of a detective type story, published around the year 2004, only to slap the conclusive subtitle written in bold: “one of the most immoral sects”. The investigations of the Romanian Helsinki Committee showed that the journalist’s accusations, which, if real, would have led to penal consequences – immediately initiated by the Prosecutor’s Office in such cases – were pure inventions.

Immediately after the publishing of the SRI’s document, the connection between the Romanian Services and the press articles was obvious. It is possible, given the style of the published materials, that the recent campaigns against “the Family” originated from initiatives inside the SRI. Though, at present it is more difficult to verify such a connection.

Even if the harassment of the Family was only initiated by the Romanian Intelligence Service, the issue of social protection remains particularly serious, since trapping a group “in the middle” of a society with weak democratic traditions and with authorities driven by police instincts may lead, as in the case of MISA, to exclusion and violence. Theoretically, the harassed groups can appeal to the court of law. At least one of these groups, Ananda Marga, complained against the newspaper that denigrated them and won. However, the legal fight is difficult, and in the case of a religious organization dedicated to the spirit of Jesus, there are also principle based obstacles.

–to be continued

_____________________

Footnotes and References

26. Andreea Strachina, “The Children of God”, Seven Brides for Seven Sect Members (www.evz.ro), Evenimentul Zilei, Thursday, June 24^th 2010.

27. Gerhard Ernst, The House with the Mistery Covered Sect (www.adevarul.ro), Timisoara, Tuesday, April 20^th 2010.

28. “The Children of God“… had even given certain donations. Several broken bicycles.” (Mihai Rotaru, Sex with Children, in the Name of the Lord, Ziua de Constanta, Saturday, February 14^th 2004).

29. Gerhard Ernst, previously quoted.

30. “We found out that “the Family’s” charitable activity didn’t stop here. They helped several placement centers from the Child Protection County Department, hospitals and schools”, Mihai Rotaru accusatorily informs. (Mihai Rotaru, previously quoted.

31. Andreea Strachina, previously quoted

32. Ibidem

33. Ibidem

34. The European spirituality cults would be recognizable through the unitary and esoteric characteristic of the doctrine: “For example, the Christian cults are spreading an accessible and explicit theological doctrine, which can be found in the same shape in both in their doctrinal books, geared to the general public, and in the theological materials, circulating in the highest levels of the respective ecclesiastical structure” (Gabriel Andreescu, The evolution of the human rights culture versus the evolution of the security culture, published in The Romanian Magazine for Human Rights no. 28/2004, p. 52).

35. Gabriel Andreescu, previously quoted, p. 46 – 60)

36. As a result of “The Family’s” complaint and of the protest of the Romanian Helsinki Committee, SRI took out of his document references to “The Children of God”, beginning 29^th of October 2004,