Karen Zerby
Encyclopedia
Karen Elva Zerby is the current leader of the group formerly called the Children of God, a new religious movement
. The group is now called The Family International (TFI). Zerby legally changed her name to Katherine Rianna Smith in 1997, and uses the pseudonyms Maria David, Maria Berg, Maria Fontaine, Mama Maria, and Queen Maria.
Zerby joined the group, then called Teens for Christ, in 1969. After becoming a private secretary to David Berg
, the group's founder, a relationship started between the two. Eventually Berg left his first wife Jane Miller and Zerby became his common-law wife. Soon after leaving Miller, Berg told the group about a prophecy called "The Old Church and the New Church", which was viewed by some as his justification for leaving his first wife.
In 1975, while living in Tenerife
, Spain
, Zerby had a son Ricky Rodriguez
(known within TFI as "Davidito", which is Spanish
for "little David"). While not Berg's son, he was thought of as an adopted son. Rodriguez's childhood was recorded in a book called The Story of Davidito, which was meant to be an example to other members on how to raise their children. The book is controversial for its views some have labelled as encouragement of child sexual abuse
. In January 2005, Rodriquez murdered former group member Angela Smith, who had been involved in his upbringing and at one time served as Zerby's executive secretary. Hours later Rodriquez committed suicide.
With David Berg's health declining in the later years of his life, Zerby began to take a leadership role within the group. Upon his death in October 1994, she assumed the spiritual leadership of the group and soon after married her long-time partner, Steven Douglas Kelly (legally changed his name to Christopher Smith, and is known in the group as Peter Amsterdam or King Peter).
A consistent trait throughout the history of TFI has been their aversion to government oversight and extreme secrecy surrounding leadership and finances. Since the turn of the century, Steven Kelly has carried pictures of Karen Zerby with him on travels to show members, since most had never seen a picture of their spiritual leader prior to then. By now, the group's members have seen photographs or video footage of Karen Zerby and Steven Kelly. Their location was also a closely guarded secret, and video footage of Karen Zerby were not readily available even to fulltime members of TFI until March 2005, when several recent photographs were leaked online. This marked the first time that recent photographs of Karen Zerby were made available to the public in nearly 30 years. Since then, the policies of TFI have grown more mainstream, and Pictures, Video, and audio of Karen Zerby are available online. She and her husband Steven Kelly live in Mexico as of 2010 with a small group of TFI staff.
New religious movement
A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...
. The group is now called The Family International (TFI). Zerby legally changed her name to Katherine Rianna Smith in 1997, and uses the pseudonyms Maria David, Maria Berg, Maria Fontaine, Mama Maria, and Queen Maria.
Zerby joined the group, then called Teens for Christ, in 1969. After becoming a private secretary to David Berg
David Berg
David Brandt Berg , frequently known by the pseudonym Moses David, was the founder and leader of the New Religious Movement formerly called Children of God, now called "The Family International".-Early years :Berg was born to Hjalmer Emmanuel Berg and Rev...
, the group's founder, a relationship started between the two. Eventually Berg left his first wife Jane Miller and Zerby became his common-law wife. Soon after leaving Miller, Berg told the group about a prophecy called "The Old Church and the New Church", which was viewed by some as his justification for leaving his first wife.
In 1975, while living in Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Zerby had a son Ricky Rodriguez
Ricky Rodriguez
Ricky Rodriguez, aka Davidito was a former member of the Children of God , now known as The Family International , who committed a murder-suicide in 2005.-Childhood and sexual abuse:Rodriguez was born in Tenerife, one of the Canary...
(known within TFI as "Davidito", which is Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
for "little David"). While not Berg's son, he was thought of as an adopted son. Rodriguez's childhood was recorded in a book called The Story of Davidito, which was meant to be an example to other members on how to raise their children. The book is controversial for its views some have labelled as encouragement of child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
. In January 2005, Rodriquez murdered former group member Angela Smith, who had been involved in his upbringing and at one time served as Zerby's executive secretary. Hours later Rodriquez committed suicide.
With David Berg's health declining in the later years of his life, Zerby began to take a leadership role within the group. Upon his death in October 1994, she assumed the spiritual leadership of the group and soon after married her long-time partner, Steven Douglas Kelly (legally changed his name to Christopher Smith, and is known in the group as Peter Amsterdam or King Peter).
A consistent trait throughout the history of TFI has been their aversion to government oversight and extreme secrecy surrounding leadership and finances. Since the turn of the century, Steven Kelly has carried pictures of Karen Zerby with him on travels to show members, since most had never seen a picture of their spiritual leader prior to then. By now, the group's members have seen photographs or video footage of Karen Zerby and Steven Kelly. Their location was also a closely guarded secret, and video footage of Karen Zerby were not readily available even to fulltime members of TFI until March 2005, when several recent photographs were leaked online. This marked the first time that recent photographs of Karen Zerby were made available to the public in nearly 30 years. Since then, the policies of TFI have grown more mainstream, and Pictures, Video, and audio of Karen Zerby are available online. She and her husband Steven Kelly live in Mexico as of 2010 with a small group of TFI staff.
External links
- Karen Zerby
- The Family International (TFI)
- Karen Zerby and the Children of God - xFamily.org
- xFamily.org Publications Database — contains almost all of the writings by Karen Zerby and her partner Steven Kelly, as well as the entire contents of David Berg's "Mo Letters"