Why was I alarmed? Simply because COG/The Family is one of the most vile cult movements produced in the 20th century. Its founder, David Brandt Berg (1919–1994), promoted pedophilia, prostitution, polygamy, spiritism, and a range of other heresies and perversions (some too disgusting to mention here), all in the name of Jesus. (When Jude writes of “godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord,” one could easily present Berg as “Exhibit A.”)

Today, The Family represents itself as a “Fellowship of Independent Missionary Communities,” working in over 100 countries. Its followers operate under a variety of guises: Along with Family Care Foundation (active in at least 50 countries), there are fronts like Aurora Production (specializing in children’s videos) and Activated! (promoting watered-down versions of Berg’s teachings and a range of products).

No Christian should ever support a group of this nature, either directly or indirectly. We immediately contacted Christianity Today; happily, they assured us that they were unaware of the cult connection. What’s in print is in print, but we asked that they omit the reference to Family Care Foundation in the magazine’s online version.

One of CFAR’s most important roles is that of warning the Body of Christ. For example, last year we learned that Chick Publications was about to launch a new film called The Light of the World. We were greatly concerned because Jack Chick — though not a cultist — has a long history of promoting sensationalistic and unbiblical teachings through his books and evangelistic comics.

Sometimes, as citizens, we need to warn our communities. In September I learned that a local landmark popular with children had been sold to a group called the “Steiner Institute.” As it turns out, this organization promotes the teachings of Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925), an Austrian occultist and the mastermind behind Anthroposophy and the controversial Waldorf Schools movement. I wrote to the community newspaper, encouraging people to check out the facts on Steiner and directing them to informative web sites detailing problems with his bizarre teachings

You can do the same! Are the Jehovah’s Witness and Mormon missionaries active where you live? We can help you get balanced, biblical tracts you can use to warn the people in your neighborhood about the danger behind these groups. Never forget that every Christian can — and should — be a “watchman” to sound an alarm when danger presents itself.