Jesus Freaks: A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge
By Don Lattin
3.5/5
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About this ebook
In the tradition of Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven, Don Lattin's Jesus Freaks is the story of a shocking pilgrimage of revenge that left two people dead and shed new light on The Family International, one of the most controversial religious movements to emerge from the spiritual turmoil of the sixties and seventies.
Some say The Family International—previously known as the Children of God—began with the best intentions. But their sexual and spiritual excesses soon forced them to go underground and follow a dark and dangerous path. Their charismatic leader, David "Moses" Berg, preached a radical critique of the piety and hypocrisy of mainstream Christianity. But Berg's message quickly devolved into its own web of lies. He lusted for power and unlimited access to female members of his flock—including young girls and teenagers—and became a drunken tyrant, setting up re-indoctrination camps around the world for rebellious teenagers under his control.
Thousands of children raised in The Family would defect and try to live normal lives, but the prophet's heir apparent, Ricky "Davidito" Rodriguez, was unable to either bear the excesses of the cult or fit into normal society. Sexually and emotionally abused as a child, Ricky left the fold and began a crusade to destroy the only family he ever knew, including a plot to kill his own mother.
Veteran journalist Don Lattin has written a powerful, engrossing book about this uniquely American tragedy. Jesus Freaks is a cautionary tale for those who fail to question the prophesies and proclamations of anyone who claims to speak for God.
Don Lattin
Don Lattin is one of the nation's leading journalists covering alternative and mainstream religious movements and figures in America. His work has appeared in dozens of U.S. magazines and newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle, where he covered the religion beat for nearly two decades. Lattin has also worked as a consultant and commentator for Dateline, Primetime, Good Morning America, Nightline, Anderson Cooper 360, and PBS's Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. He is the author of Jesus Freaks: A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge, and Following Our Bliss: How the Spiritual Ideals of the Sixties Shape Our Lives Today, and is the coauthor of Shopping for Faith: American Religion in the New Millennium.
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Reviews for Jesus Freaks
49 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is not the easiest book to form an opinion on. The topic is probably one of the most heinous things to be written about - the systematic sexual, emotional and physical abuse of children under their brand of Christianity.The writing itself is average, but the topic overcomes the sub-par writing being such a... shocking time line of events which numerous people thought were acceptable under the guise of their religion: incest, paedophilia, child pornography, adultery and corporal punishment are all prevalent.There are strange gaps in the book's storyline that are puzzling, and distract from the on going disaster of the children's lives and the at times seemingly escalating depravity of the adult members of the group. If not for such gaps I would rate it higher.Possibly the most distasteful and deplorable part of the entire book is that despite all the actions which have taken place, all the abuse, sexual and physical, the entire leadership has legally walked away clean as they covered their tracks, continually changed their names and moved from country to country.These people are, basically, evil.They used religion as a means to exercise control over others to abuse them.This is a book about that.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The trouble with this book is that Lattin can't decide if he wants to write a true crime book or an expose of a cult. There are ways to balance these beautifully -- Jon Krakauer did it in Under the Banner of Heaven. But Jesus Freaks really falls short. I felt like I never got enough information about the murder/suicide or enough analysis of the cult. It was more like a stew of facts set on my plate without much connection to each other, and there was no analysis of how these things happen to make the book feel whole. Fascinating subject matter, and a terrifying story, but I wish it had been more cohesive.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very much a troubling story of a cult called The Family. I had thought it would be a simple story of murder with some twisted version on Scripture, but this was one heck of a cult that believed in pretty much nothing but using sex to control its members. It got to be difficult reading through this at times, especially on how open they were with having sex with children, even publishing a story on it complete with pictures! The guy who ended up defecting, who was raised like this, is the one who was unable to handle his years inside of this cult, and went after one of the women who molested him. In all honesty, I can't blame the guy for what he did, while I don't approve of it. This is not a book for the faint of heart, and it definitely cast a bad light on the rest of us Christians when folks commit such awful things in the name of God.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Interesting subject. Unremarkable writing, with some odd gaps. I don't know enough about the story to know how accurate this is.