At the peak of his power during the 1980s, the fisher of men who called himself Moses David, but was christened David Berg, headed up an organization which numbered over 50,000 members. They called themselves the "Children of God" and they practiced Berg's philosophy of "flirty fishing," whereby female members would sleep with potential converts in order to bring them to God. Abbey Jack Neidik's The Love Prophet is as compelling as it is occasionally frustrating in tracing the life of David Berg, who rode the Southern gospel circuit with his parents as a kid, yet never really came into his own until he turned 50, organized his children into a gospel singing group and went to California, where he found a ready audience in the '60s flower children. After hitting the road with his converts and setting up a missionary boot camp in Texas, Berg had a revelation from God and he began his peculiar form of free love, eventually attracting the authorities and fleeing the country. Incredibly, the Children of God not only continued, but Berg ruled from afar in Tenerife where his "flirty fishing" practice apparently evolved into a full-fledged prostitution ring. I say "apparently" because for all its riveting weirdness, The Love Prophet is more than a little fuzzy on the facts. It's unclear to what degree, for instance, money is involved in the "flirty fishing" missionary work. In addition, when the cult finds itself in court over sexual abuse charges and the case is ultimately dismissed, we're not offered a clue as to why. Finally, and rather oddly given Berg's increasingly erratic behavior before his death in 1994 (in his later years he was ordering his female members to videotape themselves dancing naked and masturbating--scenes of which are included in the film), there are no really negative interviewees. Still, even with its unanswered questions, The Love Prophet does offer a bizarrely compelling story of a controversial religious movement (which still exists today under the new name of "The Family") and its deeply disturbed late leader. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)
The Love Prophet and the Children of God
(1998) 57 min. $30 ($90 w/PPR). DLI Productions. Color cover. Vol. 14, Issue 3
The Love Prophet and the Children of God
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