A religious cult that was founded by Jim(mie) T. Roberts, the son of a former pentecostal minister, who created the movement around 1971. Roberts had become convinced that the mainstream churches were too worldly and he wished to create a wandering discipleship patterned on the New Testament apostles. Mr. Roberts passed away in December of 2015 in Denver, Colorado. This cult is also known as "The Brethren", "The Body of Christ ", "The Roberts Group", "The Brothers & Sisters" and the derogatory term "The Garbage Eaters Cult".
Basically, the movement's members shun material things (though a lot of them own bikes--it's their mode of transportation, I guess), in general living essentially as vagrants and doing odd jobs to pay for their expenses. They have also been known to "Cut off contact with their families". Some members outright refuse medical treatment, while others seek it when needed. The men usually have short hair and beards along with plain clothing (nothing fancy), while the women dress modestly in long dresses and usually wear long hair (but not all women). The term "Garbage Eaters" came about when members were seen collecting discarded food items from garbage dumpsters. Some members of the group still do that and it's also said that they will collect food from grocery stores and other places before it is thrown out.
A highly publicized deprogramming case in Arkansas (1975) brought unwelcome attention to the movement, and it's been said that by 1980 the group had dropped out of sight, so to speak. As far as I know, the group is still around but in small numbers (rumoured to be a few hundred ? ) and they travel in pairs or groups, not staying for too long in one place before moving on. Former members of the group tell their story in books like From Dean's List to Dumpsters: Why I Left Harvard to Join a Cult by Jim Guerra, and I believe there are a few others also. I remember years ago a friend of mine was telling me about a trip he took to Chicago, Illinois, where he saw a group of people who were riding bikes and all the woman had long hair and long plain dresses. The men had beards and looked to be wearing tunics over plain pants. They just seemed 'odd'--like they were 'out of place'. I wonder if he came across members of the cult?
It's also been said about this group that no one is in it for the money. Their founder, as far as I know, was sincere in his beliefs and didn't die with millions of dollars in a bank account somewhere. There is a website for parents of cult members looking for their children: NFISHEL.TRIPOD.COM, TRGPN (The Roberts Group Parents Network ) HOME PAGE.
Basically, the movement's members shun material things (though a lot of them own bikes--it's their mode of transportation, I guess), in general living essentially as vagrants and doing odd jobs to pay for their expenses. They have also been known to "Cut off contact with their families". Some members outright refuse medical treatment, while others seek it when needed. The men usually have short hair and beards along with plain clothing (nothing fancy), while the women dress modestly in long dresses and usually wear long hair (but not all women). The term "Garbage Eaters" came about when members were seen collecting discarded food items from garbage dumpsters. Some members of the group still do that and it's also said that they will collect food from grocery stores and other places before it is thrown out.
A highly publicized deprogramming case in Arkansas (1975) brought unwelcome attention to the movement, and it's been said that by 1980 the group had dropped out of sight, so to speak. As far as I know, the group is still around but in small numbers (rumoured to be a few hundred ? ) and they travel in pairs or groups, not staying for too long in one place before moving on. Former members of the group tell their story in books like From Dean's List to Dumpsters: Why I Left Harvard to Join a Cult by Jim Guerra, and I believe there are a few others also. I remember years ago a friend of mine was telling me about a trip he took to Chicago, Illinois, where he saw a group of people who were riding bikes and all the woman had long hair and long plain dresses. The men had beards and looked to be wearing tunics over plain pants. They just seemed 'odd'--like they were 'out of place'. I wonder if he came across members of the cult?
It's also been said about this group that no one is in it for the money. Their founder, as far as I know, was sincere in his beliefs and didn't die with millions of dollars in a bank account somewhere. There is a website for parents of cult members looking for their children: NFISHEL.TRIPOD.COM, TRGPN (The Roberts Group Parents Network ) HOME PAGE.
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