Paul Brandt Berg

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Paul Berg (Aaron) and Judy Helmstetler (Shulamite), 1971
Paul and Sarah Berg. From OG #36 — Icon pdf.gifOur Teenage Mobile Ministry!--Summer TSC--1967.

Paul Brandt Berg (US citizen, born 1947-06-21) was the eldest son of Children of God founder David Berg and Jane Miller. Known within the cult as "Aaron", Paul Berg wrote and performed many early Children of God songs, and is considered among the more influential contributors towards the music that made the revolution.

On November 26, 1967, Paul married Sarah Berg in Texas when she was 15 years old. Together they had two children. They eventually separated and were divorced in 1973. According to a statement by Sarah Berg and a September 1974 report by the New York Attorney General's Charity Frauds Bureau, Sarah Berg alleged that Paul would "beat the living daylights" out of her and that he once beat her across the stomach with a "two by four" two weeks prior to the birth of their second child as punishment for refusing to publicly have sex with him as part of a practical demonstration David Berg ordered on "how to have intercourse with pregnant girls."

While he was still married to Sarah Berg, Paul married Judy Arlene Helmstetler (aka Shulamite) and together they had one child, Merry Berg.

According to the Lefkowitz Report, he was also arrested in 1968 and 1969 and jumped bail:

Twenty-one (21) members of the "Teens for Christ" group were arrested for violation of California Penal Code 602.9 (interference with peaceful conduct or activities of a school) in December, 1968 and February, 1969. Twenty of the members including, Jonathan Berg and Paul Berg, sons of David Berg, jumped bail set at an aggregate of $34,500 and arrest warrants were issued, but have not been executed. [Huntingdon, California Police Dept. Report dated May 21, 1973]

While there were no witnesses present at the time of his death, it is widely believed that he committed suicide by jumping from a cliff in France, near Geneva, Switzerland in April 1973 at age 26. His wife Judy Helmstetler claims to have read his suicide note before she sent it to David Berg [1].

Family publications mentioning Paul "Aaron" Berg

In an August 2009 Mo Letter, titled "Offensive Briefing #9: Collaboration", Steven "Peter Amsterdam" Kelly had this to say about Paul Berg:

42. Another example is Aaron Berg and the "Live Right" foundation in Taiwan. Aaron and team explained that they initially struggled with whether it was okay for Aaron to be so up front as a personality. In the Family we have often avoided highlighting an individual and have generally presented ourselves as a team in order to avoid creating a "cult of the personality," as Dad called it. It's not our aim to start "personality cults," but, in some cases, as you step out to try new methods and approaches to getting out the message, the work may need a person who becomes the face of the project. In Aaron's case, it's his cancer survival story and promotion of healthy living that catches people's interest. While he is able to capitalize on it and witness about the Lord and the Family, people may initially be more interested in hearing about him and his personal experience than about the missionary group or work that he's a part of.

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