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Doomsday Cult Leader Breaks Silence on Most Evil Religion in History | Ray Connolly

2025-12-05 Entertainment
87.0k
1.6k
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Danny Jones
Danny Jones
1.2m subscribers

Inside the Children of God Cult: Indoctrination, Escaping Abuse, and De-programming

Discover the step-by-step process of recruitment, radicalization, and eventual escape from the notorious Children of God cult, told by a 20-year veteran member. Understand how seemingly good intentions devolved into dangerous abuse via systematic psychological conditioning.

Short Summary

  • [00:06:02] Initial recruitment leveraged deep Biblical knowledge and intense commitment contrasted with lukewarm mainstream Christianity.
  • [00:43:44] The group introduced "Flirty Fishing," using sexual energy to recruit new members globally.
  • [00:47:47] Founder David Berg promoted sexual freedom that devolved into official encouragement of sex with minors.
  • [01:09:06] The final catalyst for escape was realizing the organization manufactured an abusive nightmare for his children.
  • [02:11:08] De-programming required understanding psychological conditioning, similar to processes seen in military programming.

Ray Connolly details his 21 years inside the Children of God (COG), from joining as a searching hippie in 1970 until his escape from escalating abuse in the early 1990s. This discussion outlines the cult's initial spiritual intensity, the doctrinal shift allowing sexual transgression, and the long, painful process required to deconstruct the profound psychological conditioning incurred over two decades.

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Description

Watch every episode ad-free & uncensored on Patreon: https://patreon.com/dannyjones Ray Connolly is a former leading member of "The Children of God", one of the most radical group of Jesus Freaks spawned during the sixties. They later morphed into a headline grabbing cult known as "The Family" known for strange mixture of evangelism, doomsday prophecies and unusual sexual practices taught by their founder, David Berg. SPONSORS https://trueclassic.com/danny - Upgrade your wardrobe and save on True Classic today. https://brooklynbedding.com - Use code DANNY to get 30% off SITEWIDE. https://masterclass.com/dannyjones - Get up to 50% off today! https://whiterabbitenergy.com/?ref=DJP - Use code DJP for 20% off EPISODE LINKS Ray's book - https://a.co/d/j4608ol FOLLOW DANNY JONES https://www.instagram.com/dannyjones https://twitter.com/jonesdanny LISTEN ON Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4VTLG0HiIZaCjH9gE6NFPq Apple - https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1441238966 OUTLINE 00:00 - Joining the Children of God cult 11:32 - How 'Children of God' brainwashes new members 22:47 - What David Berg did before founding his cult 35:01 - CIA infiltrating cults 36:47 - Rules married couples had to follow in Children of God 43:44 - Recruiting new members with sex: "flirty fishing" 54:44 - Children's role in the Children of God cult 01:09:06 - Deciding to escape the cult 01:23:39 - The tragedy of Ricky Rodriguez 01:35:06 - How 'Children of God' escaped the FBI 01:42:08 - Embracing Christianity after leaving the cult 01:46:43 - Psychedelics + the Jesus movement 01:55:05 - Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane 02:00:08 - Myths in the Bible 02:11:08 - How do undo cult brainwashing 02:19:57 - How the military uses cult psychological programming 02:28:04 - The merge of Christianity & politics 02:39:00 - Bringing psychedelics into the Church

Top Comments (10)

@eky 2025-12-05

9 missed calls from Rick Rubin

488 61 replies
@chloesaage 2025-12-05

this is my grandpa ray and i can promise that he is the sweetest man you could ever meet. being apart of this cult isn’t something he or my grandma are proud of getting into but he was never ever EVER apart of any child molestation going on in the cult and has owned (and continues to own) all of his faults throughout their time in there. he is not the same individual he was 30+ years ago in there (nobody would be the same after 30+ years of life). my mom and all my aunts and uncles speak highly of my grandparents and although their time in this cult was very traumatic, my grandpa was the primary reason they got out when they did. take in consideration that you’re watching a 3 hour conversation about years and years of experience and not every piece of his story can be shared in this amount of time. thank you ❤

487 79 replies
@Paffilosophy 2025-12-05

Bro commercials every 15 mins is the bullshit

314 74 replies
@ArpitaDc 2025-12-09

I was legit at my lowest when I found Manifest the Divine by Elena River. Couldn’t focus, kept doubting myself, everything felt stuck. This book gave me direction again. Not in a magical way, but in a grounded, real way. It changed my energy completely.

157 1 replies
@elainebraindrain3174 2025-12-05

Im ex jehovah witness, also as teenager recruited , left at age 63, recovering from mind control.😮

150 34 replies
@ChefBardo 2025-12-06

My mom got kidnapped by this group when she was 17 in Colorado. She escaped after 8 months when they pulled over for gas after she led them to believe that she had bought into the whole situation. She bolted out the back of the gas station through the bathroom window and jumped into the back of someone’s truck right as they were pulling out of the parking lot. Crazy

131 18 replies
@dubbstompp 2025-12-05

That new set brings a whole new meaning to Koncrete

58 3 replies
@jacko974hodmt 2025-12-05

"Flirty fishing" was also done by Manson and his girls.

32 1 replies
@JamesLandon-yk1no 2025-12-06

Anyone who see pictures of a adult having sex with a little child must know that is horrible. I knew a few hippies and they would find that disgusting. And now these formally sexually abused kids are just having a great life now as adults? No, those painful events never leave. They more often than not carry that awful burden to their grave.

30 10 replies
@dannyjones 2025-12-05

Huge shout out to our Patreon members! Get every episode early & ad-free: https://patreon.com/dannyjones Thank you to our sponsors who help make this show happen: https://trueclassic.com/danny - Upgrade your wardrobe and save on True Classic today. https://brooklynbedding.com - Use code DANNY to get 30% off SITEWIDE. https://masterclass.com/dannyjones - Get up to 50% off today! https://whiterabbitenergy.com/?ref=DJP - Use code DJP for 20% off.

22 5 replies

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