Here, he made claims that God had once again ordered him to father a child with the cult founder’s 65-year-old wife. He then joined a growing Branch Davidian cult in Texas. It all started when the church he grew up in kicked him out after he insisted that God’s orders were that he marry the pastor’s daughter. 7 Branch Davidiansĭavid Koresh was quite a troubled young man. Members maintain that they have since deviated from the violent ideology of their founder. The cult is still in existence today and has a massive following. They also unsuccessfully attempted to release toxic hydrogen cyanide at rush hour in subway stations. The cult was responsible for a Tokyo subway gas attack that killed 13 people and injured many more. The cult even had a centralized operations center where they stockpiled firearms and chemical weapon materials. Therefore, members of Aum Shinrikyo took the obligation of killing people as a way of ‘saving’ them. The non-believers, that is, people who were not members of the cult, could only receive salvation if they died. They, however, had some strange and horrific practices. The cult masked itself as a yoga-based community. His teachings were something of a mixture of apocalyptic, Hindu, and Buddhist beliefs. Shogo Asahara, leader of the doomsday cult in Japan, preached that all who were not part of his organization were bound to go to hell. After drinking vodka and eating applesauce, they suffocated themselves with plastic bags over their heads. They gathered to commit suicide as a way to enter a higher spiritual state. Thirty-nine followers of Applewhite and Nettle donned purple outfits and white Nike shoes. In March 1997, the group made national news when they conducted one of the largest mass suicides in history. Eighteen male members went as far as volunteering to be castrated surgically. The group gained a lot of followers, and the church’s founders demanded that all followers of the cult rid themselves of sexual thoughts through a master cleanse diet. Applewhite sold their congregation the idea that he was the second coming of Jesus. The two traveled across Oregon and California, preaching apocalyptic beliefs. Both Nettle and Applewhite believed that they were the two witnesses that the Bible referenced in the book of Revelations 11. In the early 1970s, Bonnie Nettles and Marshal Applewhite founded a group of devout followers called The Crew. The following year, Berg died, but the group continued as The Family International until 2010. The CIA and Interpol began investigating sexual abuse allegations made by members against Berg. They also taught that kids should only involve themselves in eschewing the world to yearn for the kingdom of God.

It discouraged children from attending any form of formal schooling since they believed the apocalypse was imminent. The Children of God grew to over 130 communities across the globe and had over 10,000 dedicated members in the 1970s. This resulted in many female members working as prostitutes. In the 1970s, the group even adopted an evangelic approach dubbed “flirty fishing.” Leaders encouraged young females in the cult to have sex with potential converts to win them over.

What made the cult’s beliefs deviate from mainstream religion was its fine blend of promiscuous sex and worship of Jesus Christ. David Berg formed one of history’s most infamous cults, The Children of God, in the 1960s.

Some famous culrs