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Heaven's
Harlots : My Fifteen Years As a Sacred Prostitute in the
Children of God Cult
by Miriam Williams
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"What comes across most clearly in this arresting,
regret-filled expos from a former ritual prostitute is
Williamss own identity strugglea struggle that, she
notes, leads many young people into cults. As a young
woman, Williams so desperately craved acceptance and
self-esteem that she sought it in all of the likely
places in the late 1960s (sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll)
as well as in the more esoteric ones (a free-love
commune that in these more puritanical times we now call
a sex cult). What is most valuable about this account is
Williamss long tenure with the Children of God. She was
nearly a charter member, and 15 years gave her the
insight to track the movements development from an
offshoot of the Jesus People to a hierarchical
personality cult to a sacred prostitution ring. By her
third year in the movement, female members were
encouraged to fish for potential male recruits by
sharing the message of Gods love through sexual
intercourse. Based in Europe, particularly in France and
Monaco, Williams claims to have had liaisons with many
high-ranking men, including the scion of one of the
wealthiest families in Greece. But hers was an unhappy
life. She faced prejudice by some who thought her
motives were less than pure (including ex-Beatle Ringo
Starr). She endured a painful separation from her
firstborn son, Thor, whose father, a former COG member,
had kidnaped Thor to save him from the cults influence.
In 1986, Williams discovered that little girls in the
COG were being shown sexually explicit material to train
them to please men. Fearing for her three daughters,
Williams left the cult and eventually brought the whole
family to America, where she obtained a college
education and established a network of ex-members. An
absorbing memoir of life in a controversial religious
movement."
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