Children of God in Bergen

Authors

• Karin Kvideland

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30674/scripta.67089

Keywords:

Young adults, Children of God, Revivals -- United States, Christianity, Norway, Revivalism, Bible, Fundamentalism -- Christianity

Abstract

The founder of the movement Children of God, David Berg, was born in Melrose, Oakland, Calif. on the 18th of February 1919. In 1969 the first congress takes place in Laurentide near Montreal. Here the followers of Berg establish themselves as a religious group. Bishops and elders were elected, Berg is called Moses, under which name he was referred to in the revelations of some of his young followers. The group is called Children of God, a name first used by a journalist and then adopted by them. The missionary efforts of the group are mainly directed towards the younger generation. Usually the members are in their late teens and early twenties. When joining the movement, they forsake everything. That means they leave school or universities, they give up other forms of training, they don't continue with their jobs and they leave their homes. They live together in communes, or as they prefer to call it "Christian house”. In 1972 the movement reached Europe. A colony was founded in London, and from there they proceeded to Oslo.