Flirty Fishing (also known as FFing) is a form of religious prostitution which originated in the religious cult Children of God (CoG), founded in 1968 by Christian evangelical preacher, David Berg. Under this premise, women were encouraged to engage in sexual acts with men, with the purpose of recruiting new members, or earning financial gain for the group. Berg officially introduced FFing to CoG in 1976, though him and other female disciples started testing it out as early as 1974 in the island of Tenerife.
CoG's reasoning for this is that through whatever sexual acts were performed, the women were expressing love to the recipient, making him more receptive to embracing the love of God and CoG in his life. These sexual acts were not considered "promiscuous", and the organization viewed this practice as altruistic; it was not to be done in order to gain pleasure or personal gratification, but as a sacrifice or service to others. CoG used the "Law of Love" as its foundation, which mirrors the Golden Rule.
In response to the growing AIDS epidemic, CoG abolished this practice in September of 1987.
Sources:
http://web.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/art_raine_2007.html
http://www.reachouttrust.org/articles/othergrp/familyff.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flirty_fishing
http://www.exfamily.org/index.htm
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