The Family International Statement in Response to 'Jesus Freaks'

Oct. 28, 2007 — -- Statement from Claire Borowik for the Family, in response to the book "Jesus Freaks" by Don Lattin:

Lattin's effort to analyze the life and motives of Ricky Rodriguez and the murder/suicide he committed in 2005 was undoubtedly a challenging task, and it's clear that he invested a great deal of time attempting to research and gain an understanding of a specific era of history of the Family International. The Family has operated in over 100 nations and the experiences of members around the world are diverse, making this a challenging task, and Lattin endeavors to grasp the complexities this entails. Having said that, however, I find it lamentable that he would devote almost an entire book to justifying the violent actions of a clearly unstable young man, even ascending Ricky Rodriguez to the status of "martyr." This justification of Rodriguez' act of premeditated murder is disturbing.

As Christians, members of the Family International deplore and are diametrically opposed to acts of violence and the suffering these inflict on the innocent, and suicide and acts of violence are virtually unheard of in our communities. We believe that human life is sacred, and each person should be respected as an individual created in the image of God. As Christians, our lives are devoted to sharing the news of God's love and salvation for humanity and caring for the needy. (For more information on our charitable activities in over a hundred countries, please see www.thefamily.org)

Although Lattin's book does contain some sound research and factual information, it is laced with inaccuracies, misconceptions and erroneous conclusions lacking a factual base -- not to mention, sketchy research. Information provided by a handful of apostates with a clearly delineated agenda to demonize the Family is deemed credible, whereas information proceeding from current Family members is deemed questionable, at best.

When referring to the statements of second-generation Family members (please see www.myconclusion.com), Lattin states, "one can't be certain who actually authored those statements and under what circumstances they were written. Shepherds could be telling rank-and-file members what to write." Yet, he freely quotes Internet postings from former members and seems to have no question as to their credibility. In fact, he personally interviewed a number of the current second generation members who posted statements on myconclusion.com, and he is quite aware that they are perfectly capable of speaking for themselves. A number of these second generation adults were interviewed by this network in 2005.