Berg was born in 1919. He married mother Eve in 1943 when he was about 24 years old. He met Maria in January 1969 shortly before his 50th birthday. He has written that he had been faithful to his wife for 25 years "until that faithfulness began to stand in God's way and hinder the work. So then God had to raise up someone who could fit the bill in this great new ministry in our lives ... The answer was Maria." So began their menage a trois. This ran counter to the prevailing sexual mores of the group. It was primarily a group of hippies who by all accounts had had their fill of the promiscuous life which the permissive sexual age had opened up to them. The "Revolutionary Rules", which I have not seen, had been written in 1968 and outlined the basic requirements for membership. Those rules clearly stated, apparently, that no dating, kissing or sexual involvement whatever was allowed outside monogamous marriage. I am not sure how Berg managed to make himself the exception to the rule but he found some scriptural justification for it. The "All Things Revelation" that "All things are lawful unto me and that to the pure all things are pure", was set out in a letter "The All Things Tree" which has not been disclosed to me. Those texts were constructed literally in order to confer freedom to engage in sexual relationships outside marriage - even if at that time only the leadership enjoyed the privilege. By 1973 The Family was being exposed to more revolutionary sex teaching that
"the normal, healthful, natural God-created, God-given and God-permitted attitude to sex should be absolutely no different from our attitude toward any other normal physical activity such as eating, exercising or even sleeping. ... If it is in love it is lawful as far as God is concerned."
Berg informed his followers that he found little girls just as fascinated with his erections and quite as willing to feel them as he was to attempt to explore their bodies. He had his first intercourse at the early age of 7. An older boy taught him to masturbate at the age of 8. He wrote:-
"Children should be taught the same: that there is nothing wrong with their bodies, and nothing evil about sex and nothing catastrophic about masturbation, but that all are perfectly normal necessary natural and God given natural physical functions, but that Our bodies in no respect must ever be abused or misused or overused or used in such a way as to offend or hurt others or the uninitiated unenlightened unliberated or sexually uneducated or inexperienced. They should be encouraged in nude mix bathing and nude mix play where socially, legally and climatically permissible and acceptable and advisable. They should also not be prohibited from mutual sexual examination, experimentation or interplay when playing or sleeping together where legally possible and social and housing conditions permit. ... But it must be made very clear to your children that such sexual freedom must never be indulged in or practised openly in the presence of visitors, strangers or uninitiated relatives and friends who have not been properly re-educated in the revolutionary sexual freedoms of natural living. From personal experience I can tell you that I have accomplished much more and done greater things and achieved greater success in God's work since I have become more sexually liberated and enjoyed greater sexual activity than ever before."
The message of this letter is in its conclusion:-
"Hallelujah, I am free - Jesus gives us liberty - Amen? - Now try! - You'll like it! - and thank God for it! Amen? Its a revolution! - For Jesus! Power to the people! - Sex power! - God power! - Can be your power! Amen? - Be a sexual revolutionist for Jesus! Wow! There we go again! Hallelujah! Are you comin'?"
Later he wrote "Come on Ma Burn your Bra" in which he told the young:
"We have a sexy God and a sexy religion with a very sexy leader with an extremely sexy young following! So if you don't like sex, you better get out while you can."
He was paving the way for sharing and Flirty Fishing.
