The Books, You can’t put God in a Box and A Letter to Rome also provides some useful links to Dave McKay’s involvement with the
Children of God.

McKay arrived in Australia to live on the 3 May 1967. After spending time at Peats Ridge he had moved on to Quenbeyan, before residing in
Broken Hill.

You can’t put God in a Box was copyrighted in 1973 and listed McKay’s residential address in Broken Hill from 1973. This was the same address the US Consulate was advised by the Immigration Department that he was residing at when he was naturalized in Broken Hill on the 18 April, 1975.

The house is still there located behind an RSPCA shelter.

A Letter to Rome was copyright in 1974, but doesn’t appear to have been released until 1975.

The book was announced in an article in Broken Hill Regional Advertiser, on Tuesday April 8, 1975:

“Journalist Dave McKay will be stirring again this week with the release of another book, this one titles “A Letter to Rome”, or “If you Think you know it All, You’ve Already Blown it All”.

This book contained a different residential address, also in Broken Hill (and still there), but it also listed PO Box 760 as Dave McKay’s Post Office Address.

People familiar with the Children of God will know why certain dates are so important, as they are linked to the teachings of Moses David.

The Children of God had already established its presence in Broken Hill in the media, when a member named, Paul wrote a Letter to the Editor that appeared in the Broken Hill Regional Advertiser on January 17, 1976.

From August 1976 a series of weekly full page advertisements appeared in the Broken Hill Regional Advertiser written by Moses Berg of the Children of God. The advertisements ran for a series of months and were clearly promoting the Children of God.

The PO Box listed in the Advertisements was Dave McKay’s, PO Box 760.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2008 09:08PM by private eyes.

One of Dave McKay’s favourite catchphrases is that he stopped writing the news and began making it.

However, does that saying really ring true?

We have already demonstrated that in 1962 McKay wrote the article promoting his joint win in a US Newspaper boy competition. He seemed quite upset that we brought that article to the public’s attention. Amusing seeing we were only republishing his own work. Possibly it was because Amazon and other venues have not disclosed it was a joint win.

But we have now also shown that whilst writing as a Journalist, McKay was often also making the news regarding his book writing.

When you add publicity he received for running, it’s hard to take his claim of stopping writing the news and beginning to make it seriously. It appears he has always been interested in gaining publicity for himself.

McKay has claimed to have worked for the Barrier Miner as a journalist. It certainly must have been a short stint, as he arrived in Broken Hill in May 1973 and was not amongst the last journalist present when the paper collapsed in November 1974. He later claimed to have been the Editor of the Broken Hill Regional Advertiser. This also must also have been a short stint and have occurred with little fanfare, as whilst he was contributing articles for the paper, John Perry formerly of the Barrier Miner was initially appointed Editor. The paper was published by Bob Bottom and his wife Judy and Bottom often wrote the Editorials.

If it he was appointed Editor, it may explain the criticism the paper started to come under, for its inaccurate reporting.

McKay had often written profiles on various people for the papert, including Les Byron and Trevor Meares the local Church of Christ Minister who he wrote a rather glowing article about. McKay was later to have a falling out with Meares as Meares was assisting Cherry over McKay’s involvement with the Children of God sex cult.

One article that McKay wrote on Alf Bates came under heavy criticism. It was perhaps when McKay first learnt that the subject of whipping may cause some controversy. Mc Kay had reported comments from Alf Bates suggesting he had seen Aboriginals whipped, without first checking the background of Bates.

On Station Owner in a Letter to the Editor wrote, “causing unjustified bitterness and hatred as Mr McKay’s article does will never bridge the gap between black and white understanding”

Local Alderman R Sayer was once quoted on November 6 1976 in the Barrier Daily Truth as saying the only thing the Regional Advertiser seemed to get correct is the TV news. “One thing that is correct in the paper is the TV news so people must be buying the paper for that”.

In any case, the paper didn’t make its hundred edition and like the Barrier Miner folded.

Dave McKay was forced to get his publicity elsewhere.

He took to carrying a sandwich board to create attention and then embarked on a serious of stunts that got progressively more bizarre and potentially dangerous.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2008 09:12PM by private eyes.

DIVINE AUTHORITY

“I am the Captain of this ship. I know where we are going, because I am getting my orders from God…If he has anointed me to lead this work, then he will expect others to work in submission to me…God has at this time and in this corner of the world, anointed me as his apostle. As long as I am doing my job right, he is not going to anoint someone else to rebel against me. If I get away from God, then I will lose my anointing and God will give authority to someone else to take my place. But beware! Just because you get a chance to start a rebellion, doesn't mean that you have authority nor that I have lost mine; and if I catch you rebelling, I will wield the rod of correction in obedience to God, since it is really God that you are rebelling against when you do that.”

Extract from Divine Authority - Teachings by Dave McKay. McKay’s form of
Mo Letters, Written after the split in 1998.


Some readers had wondered about this Divine Authority article, how it had come about, etc. I thought the following section of Dave’s paraphrase of Romans written in 1974 had some similarities and may have helped shape his beliefs:


LEADERS

13:1- 13:17 Respect those who are leading you, since no leader receives any power without God giving it to him. When you realise this you’ll see that resisting your leaders is the same as resisting God, and you can expect to be punished for that. Good people have nothing to fear from leaders who punish evil people. In fact, if you follow Christ’s example you will probably receive only praise from such leaders, who are, after all, only acting servants of God on your behalf. Of course, if you’ve done something wrong, then you’d better look out because God hasn’t given them their authority for nothing. As servants of God, they will take care of “evening up the odds” for him by punishing you.

Extract from A Letter to Rome or If you think you know it all, you’ve already blown it all! (A paraphrase of St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans)
By Dave McKay illustrated by Christine Olsen.
Printed in Australia by Couderey Offset Press Pty Ltd, Forestville SA.
Copyright 1974.

Dear Davi...(whoops, oh sorry... I mean) "Private Eyes",

Again I (and I presume a number of other "affected" people) are deeply grateful for the time that you have put into the quality of the research you provide...I can only describe your efforts as an utter Godsend....you have once more proven what a farce David is (and don't we just hope that he foolishly challenges you for the "proof"....!)

As you point out David "left" the Children of God (after a few weeks) to become their front man in Broken Hill for a number of years....As I have said previously on these pages, he continued to receive correspondence for them, even after Cherry (had the guts, thankfully for his children) to demand that he disassociate himself from them, and I certainly saw with my own eyes the leather bound collection of their literature and teaching (which he discreetly kept for himself) in Tallangatta....


3rd May of 1967....a dark day for Australia indeed! Under current immigration law it would be potentially possible to cancel his later Citizenship on the grounds of being of "bad character"... (Do you know of any misleading statements on his residency application which may have failed to supply the complete truth?)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2008 09:39PM by Malcolm Wesley WREST.

Dear Blacksheep,

I write in relation to the questions Zeusor has put to you, on the previous page. I (for one?) presume that your occasional references to your extensive qualifications are simply intended to remind the audience of how thoroughly UNQUALIFIED David McKay is by comparison (here, despite what he may have learned ad hoc from David Berg, down through the years!)....I appreciate these reminders, from you, about the pretence of "knowledge" that David alludes that he has.

Thank-you!

Quote
private eyes
From August 1976 a series of weekly full page advertisements appeared in the Broken Hill Regional Advertiser written by Moses Berg of the Children of God. The advertisements ran for a series of months and were clearly promoting the Children of God.

The PO Box listed in the Advertisements was Dave McKay’s, PO Box 760.

So David McKay claims to being in the COG for an insignificant period of around a few months?

Seems from what you have found, PE, Dave McKay's COG connection is far more than he has claimed on several occasions, as we would expect given that most of his teachings are lifted directly from David Berg............

Well done on your research, and maybe those who follow David McKay who really want to follow Jesus will see that the man is like the Wizard of Oz.......

He has claimed that he left the Children of God and came to Australia, and yet he seems to have placed COG advertisments in this paper.

If his post box was the contact for advertisments for the Children of God for a period of months, this must have taken some time to set up, and was not a legacy from his American life. It required him to create an Australian address and post box.

If he indeed left under the circumstances he claims, this would not be something you would find. You expose him as a liar regarding his involvement with the Children of God.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2008 10:07PM by Blackhat.

People familiar with the Children of God will know why certain dates are so important, as they are linked to the teachings of Moses David.

LIAR-LIAR-PANTS-ON-FIRE DAVID! WE GOTCHA!

I LOVE IT EYES!

DON'T YOU SEE? THIS IS REAL PROOF, HARD DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. GOOD STUFF.

[www.xfamily.org]

[www.youtube.com]

FF-ing BEGAN IN '74, and we can prove that DM was very involved in the COG in Oz as late as '76. Someting doesn't add up here...

Good work, Mother, and thank you for this new intel "Mother"-lode. I salute you and hope that McKay is a little less comfortable today. Yours truly,

Three Buttons



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2008 12:57PM by zeuszor.

Let's see how he tries to explain this one away:

[welikejesus.com]

The dates don't match. '67, '74, '76...lots of inconsistencies here.

I deleted them. But he knows.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2008 02:37PM by zeuszor.

Quote
Malcolm Wesley WREST
Dear Blacksheep,

I write in relation to the questions Zeusor has put to you, on the previous page. I (for one?) presume that your occasional references to your extensive qualifications are simply intended to remind the audience of how thoroughly UNQUALIFIED David McKay is by comparison (here, despite what he may have learned ad hoc from David Berg, down through the years!)....I appreciate these reminders, from you, about the pretence of "knowledge" that David alludes that he has.

Thank-you!

Like I said, I think that Chris is a nice guy and bear no ill will toward him. I commend him on the hard work he put in and determination he had to earn his degree and appreciate what he has to say here. All I am saying is that he does not have to tell us about it in almost every single post and that it makes him seem puffed up and ostentatious.

Now, on to my ASININE JC-RELATED QUOTE OF THE DAY (I found this one today)

[www.jesus-teachings.com]

We're not asking to be treated as gods; we're only channels through which God speaks. We are not the answer; but we have the answer. This is not presumption so much as it is a simple statement of reality. We are only the branches, but we can lead you to the Tree. And if you like our fruit, why not accept the Tree. (John 15:1-6)

Maybe I am beating a dead horse here, because I have made this observation before, but this time the irony of the quote especially strikes me. The above was written in 1986. "If you like our fruit, why not accept the Tree?" DM is saying that God speaks through the Jesus Christians (or whatever they were called in 1986)? Upon examination, his fruit 22 years later looks pretty rotten to me.

David asked me who the guy in my new avatar is. It's Gerry Rafferty, from the band Stealer's Wheel. You know that song? He sang it.

"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you..."



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2008 03:35PM by zeuszor.

Blackhat quote:

"...and yet he seems to have placed COG advertisments in this paper".

I don't believe it is correct to say Dave placed the advertisements in the newspaper. It is more correct to say that the Children of God placed the advertisements.

The link is simply the PO Box.

There is the possibility of course, that Dave was using the COG's PO Box from the start, rather than them using his own (perhaps he didn't have one?) and the COG simply decided in 1976 (out of the blue) to embark on an advertising campaign in a newspaper Dave was working for. But one wonders if this was the case, why McKay would publish a book in 1975 with their address details? In either case. If the book was listing the COG's residential and PO address, McKay has effectively linked himself to them in 1975.

How long did he operate as an independent colony after he left? That is, after all what he told several media outlets. That he exploited the rules to form his own group.

Were there effectively two different COG groups operating in Broken Hill in 1976? McKays and Moses Berg's?