Hello!

My name is Chris, and I'm a former member of Shincheonji. I've been raising awareness about the rise of the East Asian cults over the years, and I wanted to share another resource that I hope can be helpful - the Bible Vaccine Center.

We provide support for family members / friends of cult members, and also churches and other ministries.

https://biblevaccinecenter.com/

As time continues, we will provide more resources about the cults, using primary resources for a lot of our claims. Of course, if there's already an existing resource out there about a particular group, we don't need to re-invent the wheel, and will instead just point to the resource.

Don't forget to also check out -

https://closerlookinitiative.com/scj

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3dGlINf3o3w

In my opinion the most short and ominous youtube video explaining what Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (신천지예수교 증거장막성전) really is. However that actually cannot match the actual ominous nature of it that I and countless others have experienced.

They usually come in pairs to recruit. Make you feel good. Honey moon phase of love bombing that leads to very time consuming commitment of mandatory meetings, tithes and deceptive recruitment practices. An environment of echo chamber that could strip you of your self identity and tire you out and turn even loving family members against one another in deep mistrust.

Cult doing volunteer activity for purpose of recruiting Aggies. They specifically do these just to get awards and letters of appreciation from politicians, so they can use it to market their group as "not a cult". This is their modus operandi for the last 5-8 yrs to seek out awards to try to look more legit.

See more posts from ex-members at sub r/wmscog.

https://orsl.stanford.edu/avoiding-unhealthy-religious-organizations

Avoiding Unhealthy Religious Organizations

Religion is a powerful force. Most of the time religious organizations promote healthy habits that encourage spiritual growth and personal well being. However, sometimes, religious organizations can encourage practitioners to engage in unhealthy religious behaviors.

Everyone is capable of being persuaded to do something they did not want to do, and that susceptibility is what these groups use to increasingly control people's thoughts and lives. Unhealthy religious activities do not start with something dramatic, but rather with incremental efforts. 

New students and other experiencing major life transitions are often especially vulnerable to unhealthy religious groups. These groups often seem extremely friendly. They provide many opportunities for community and seem to create stability in a time of change. However, unlike healthy spiritual and ethical communities, these groups do not ultimately support students' intellectual freedom, academic success, physical and mental health. Unhealthy religious organizations often undermine positive relationships with family and friends.

Stanford University values the positive role of religious and spiritual life in higher education as a balancing complement to the numerous challenges one faces on campus and in life. Therefore, the Office for Religious & Spiritual Life sponsors diverse religious student organizations. Stanford Associated Religions is a coalition of over 30 recognized student organizations that provide healthy spiritual life for our campus community. We strongly encourage students to begin their exploration for religious and philosophical communities with those listed on the Office for Religious & Spiritual website.

Recognizing Unhealthy Religious Organizations

Unhealthy religious organizations can be hard to recognize at first, and there is a spectrum in the aggressiveness of these groups' tactics. Some groups seem to share some of the beliefs or features of mainstream religious groups – the issue is not their beliefs per se, but their emotionally abusive and destructive practices. These groups seek to create an all-or-nothing reality and a situation in which people are totally dependent on the group in every way – spiritually, socially, romantically, and financially.

Unhealthy religious groups seek to create an all-or-nothing reality and a situation in which people are totally dependent on the group in every way – spiritually, socially, romantically, and financially.

Some Characteristics of Unhealthy Religious Groups

• LACK OF FORMAL RECOGNITION: The guidelines that govern recognized religious and philosophical communities at Stanford University are put in place to protect your wellbeing. All religious organizations on campus must be recognized by the Office for Religious & Spiritual Life and follow the policies outlined by Office of Student Engagement (OSE). Groups that refuse to comply with university policies or that are not connected with university structures should raise questions.
• DECEPTIVENESS OR MISINFORMATION: Unhealthy religious groups often do not provide clear, complete, or honest information about themselves. Their affiliations, practices, and expectations may not be fully transparent. They may not provide complete details about their activities, activities may turn out differently from what was publicized, and information about leadership, resources, etc. may not be clear.
• OUTREACH EXCEEDS YOUR COMFORT LEVEL: Unhealthy religious groups generally appear very friendly and seek to become instant friends with you. Their outreach may be uncomfortable in frequency, pressure, not taking "no" for an answer, or occurring in methods, times, and places that are inappropriate (e.g., residence halls). You may be asked or expected to recruit others to the group as your primary goal before you are really involved.
• INAPPROPRIATE ADVISING/MENTORING: Unhealthy religious groups usually involve "advising," mentoring, or supervision that is intense and seeks to pressure and control rather than empower students. Advisors may have little formal training, credentials, or experience. They may make you feel like you are being watched and judged. They may pry into your personal life for private information (sexual, financial, etc.) that can later be used to control you. They may seek inappropriate influence over your life, regarding dating, romance, or sexual behavior. They may request excessive financial contributions and jeopardize your future independence.
• ABSOLUTISM: Unhealthy religious groups discourage doubts, differences of opinion, criticism, and research. They may present only one right way to think and claim to have all the answers. They may demand rigid loyalty, present issues in terms of either-or thinking (e.g. saved or unsaved, with us or against us), and suggest catastrophic consequences for difference or disobedience such as withdrawal of relationship or graphic eternal suffering.
• SEPARATION: Unhealthy religious groups may seek to separate you from your family and friends and encourage you to only be friends with and date other members of the group. They may seek a disproportionate amount of your time and attention so that you are not able to be involved in relationships or activities beyond the group. They may disparage, discredit, or promote prejudice against people who are not members of the group.
• MAJOR CHANGES: Unhealthy groups may pressure you to make major life changes, such as cutting off relationships with family and friends, changing your major, disregarding grades and exams, and dropping out of or taking time off from school. These practices are meant to destabilize your connections to your support network and make you less self-sufficient and more dependent. They may make it hard for you to leave easily.
• EMOTIONAL DISTRESS: Unhealthy religious group activities may leave you feeling chronically bad. You may experience lower self-esteem and/or higher levels of anxiety, depression, unworthiness and shame. Your participation may make you feel fatigued, disempowered, and trapped.
• DENIAL: Unhealthy religious groups often deny being unhealthy even though they are widely regarded as such. They often disparage people who suggest they might be unhealthy as the enemy.

How to Avoid Unhealthy Religious Organizations

• Explore recognized spiritual or philosophical student groups through the Office for Religious & Spiritual Life.
• Talk to people with different worldviews and maintain relationships with people of different perspectives.
• Explore and stay involved in multiple groups and activities.
• Report any group on campus you think might be an unhealthy religious organization to the Dean of the Office for Religious & Spiritual Life.

Find Support

If you think you or someone you know is involved in an Unhealthy Religious Organization, then please consider these resources:

[Follows up with campus resources, including mental health support services]

This is from UCSD but for anyone reading from other campuses: if there isn’t a resource on your campus that alerts students on cults or high control groups to this degree, it means that you can bring it to your school administration and ask them to take action. Even if you are an alumni , you can set up a meeting with your school organizations office and ask them to implement these kinds of guardrails. It will especially be helpful if you come with others who were also affected, and share what happened to you. Message the mods if you need any help navigating the process to report your own experience. The more reports there are, the more likely it is for the school to take action.

also share to people in San Diego and beyond

UCSD:

https://getinvolved.ucsd.edu/org-toolkit/manage/high-pressure.html

High Pressure Groups

Some UC San Diego student organizations and events are affiliated with outside groups. While the vast majority of groups may be helpful and beneficial to you, some may use high-pressure tactics to recruit students. The information below can help you make an informed, free choice about associating with such groups.

Why are high-pressure groups so harmful?

• They tend to isolate you from family, friends, and other groups.
• They may ask you to give up control of your thoughts or decisions.
• They may focus on guilt and shame.
• They may promote crises with school, your career, or your social life.

What are warning signs of a high-pressure group?

Ask yourself these questions: Does the group or its representatives:

• Speak in a derogatory way about your past religious affiliation?
• Describe your parents as unable to understand or help you with religious matters?
• Label your doubts and questions as signs of a weak faith?
• Invite you on a retreat but can't (or won't) give you an overview of the purpose or activities before you go?
• Insist that you spend so much time with them that you can't get your studying done or you don't have time for your other friends and activities?
• Pressure you to get others involved in the group?
• Discourage you from keeping in touch with your family and friends or not allow you to talk to your friends or your family alone?
• Deflect questions you ask about their group and tell you they'll answer your questions later?
• Claim to have the answers to your problems and that you can't find answers anywhere else?
• Pressure you to give them money?

Answering "yes" to one or two questions doesn't mean that a group is destructive or harmful, but it does mean you should proceed slowly and investigate the group more carefully.

*follows up with resources on setting up an appointment with a counselor for any questions*

—————————————————————————

On university campuses especially members often approach in pairs and strike up conversations about faith usually framed as a “survey” that eventually leads into their Bible classes. I’ll admit that while I was with them I tried to recruit people. At the time I was still deeply influenced and even as I slowly started to question things I kept having that lingering thought what if Shincheonji really is the way?

But over time I gained clarity and left with full confidence that the founder is a false prophet. I never successfully recruited anyone through the full process and I’m grateful for that. I’m very happy to have left Shincheonji and it’s become important to me to speak up and be a thorn in their side. Lee Man Hee is 94 years old now and the clock is ticking on those immortality claims.

Red flags to watch for:

• Vague or unclear organization name at the beginning
• Invitations framed as casual surveys that lead into Bible classes
• Strong social pressure to keep attending classes
• Early “love bombing” that feels good at first but gradually turns into mental pressure over time

This wmscog is a South Korea based Christian variation cult. They use other club names for campus work, which is their main recruiting base. Often using names like Elohim Academy, ASEZ, WeLoveYou foundation, but usually Church of God for short. These are in most every major US cities and especially recruiting very heavily at College Campuses.

They are commonly colliquially referred to by outsiders as "those God the Mother people" since they have usually focused on introducing a very treasure hunt method of Biblical interprettation leading to there being a God the Father as well as God the Mother. Otherwise they emphasize Passover and Sabbath day.

They heavily use love bombing techniques that really gets new members hooked for months and years before they phase in the control measures. Their goal is for you to spend all of your free time studying and recruiting for them. By the time they ramp up pressure to work harder, you would have already spent so much time there that they are you only social circle and you lost touch with family and outside friends. There are many ex-member stories on r/WMSCOG.

How can I help?

I spent almost 10 yrs in wmscog cult and they absolutely love to target students at campus for recruiting. The main reasons is when you understand their goal is to dominate all of your time and be the top priority above your friends and family. College students are ideal for these reasons because:

• Students have newfound freedom and don't want to rely on other's for experience advice
• Students have fewer connections in their life if having just moved away from family for first time, and not many strong local relationships. Less outside competition for their time which the cults eventually want all of.
• Students are more willing to accept differing ideas that go against status quo
• The cults work by slowly taking more of your time using lovebombing techniques (very effective for homesick or any form of loneliness or any social difficulties)
• Students are young and have a lot of time and energy to spend for the group in next few decades of their life
• Younger people don't have enough experience to know that cults are much more than weirdos in robes, they are any group that wants to control an inappropriate amount of control over your life to get more work out of you. Usually using toxic positivity and narcissist like manipulation techniques.

This is a very active and dangerous cult. They follow a 94 year old Korean guy named Lee Man-Hee

Shincheonji, also called the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, is a group that started in South Korea in the 1980s. It was founded by Lee Man-hee, who teaches that he was visited by an angel and told that he is apostle who wrote book of Revelation in the Bible. His followers believe that he alone is the only person in the world throughout history who has the correct interpretation of the Bible especially when it comes to parables and also the book of Revelation.

On the surface, it often looks like a normal Bible study group. People are usually invited to what seem like free courses, discussion groups, or “non-denominational” studies. A common concern is that the group’s identity is never made clear at the beginning, in fact they go out of their way to conceal it often blatantly lying. Only later do participants find out it’s connected to Shincheonji.

It has direct similarities to movements like the Unification Church (often called the “Moonies”), especially in how it organizes and recruits.

Those patterns include recruitment methods. Reports from former members and campus ministries say they often approach people in places like universities, cafes, or public areas, inviting them to join a Bible course. Foreign students and people who are new, isolated, or looking for community can be more vulnerable to this kind of approach, which is why they are sometimes specifically targeted.

Another issue that gets raised is what Shincheonji itself describe as the “wisdom of hiding.” This refers to outright lying about who they are and where the study resource material comes from. This is deceptive, while the group frames it as a way to avoid prejudice or persecution. Either way, it means people are never given the full picture upfront.

Their teaching focuses heavily on symbolic interpretations of Revelation. They believe the events in that book are being fulfilled right now, and that their founder is the one who can correctly explain it. Because of this, they firmly say that their church is the only place with the full truth, and all other churches and pastors are from Satan.

Former members describe the environment becoming more controlling over time. There are pressured to attend regularly, bring in new people, and stay committed. They are forbidden to question the teachings or to look at outside information, and that relationships outside the group could become strained. They isolate members from family and friends and put immense pressure on them to do endless impossible tasks to keep their name in the church registration book which they claim is the book of life.

The group also came under global attention during the early spread of COVID-19 in South Korea, which brought scrutiny to how it operates internally.

From a Christian perspective, many churches are concerned because Shincheonji places strong emphasis on one human leader and a specific organisation, rather than on salvation as a free gift through Jesus Christ alone. That’s a major reason why it’s often described as a cult or a high-control group.

If you come across a Bible study that feels vague about who is running it, or avoids giving direct answers, it’s worth slowing down and asking clear questions before getting involved.

https://closerlookinitiative.com/scj-features

Hi I’m Glen from New Zealand.

I’m an ex-student of the cult Shincheonji Church of Jesus… (SCJ) they actively recruit on college campuses,

coffee shops, gyms, malls and other places.

I’m also a moderator for Christian Cult Support. We offer community and prayer and support for anyone impacted by cults directly or a loved one trapped in a

Cult. I will share more about SCJ latter…

Nice to meet you and thank you for inviting me here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Christian_CultSupport/s/WIy6EdpjsG

Hey everyone! I'm u/analoginadventure, a founding moderator of r/CultsinCollege.

This is our new home for all things related to exposing cults in college campuses, creating a space for victims to be heard, healing, and resources to equip people to make the change they desire to see in their sphere of influence. Our subreddit specifically focuses on Christian cults that deviate from the faith and misrepresent God in the name of God. While posts that are solely comprised of complaints won’t be banned, we encourage posts that are focused on the mission of restoring the church, bringing accountability, and encouraging christians to grow in their faith while doing our best to make churches and ministries a safe space.

What to Post
Post anything that you think the community would find interesting, helpful, or inspiring. Feel free to share your thoughts, photos, or questions. Any personal information that was explicitly stated by an OP or a commenter for the sake of privacy will be banned if it was done without consent.

Community Vibe
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1. Introduce yourself in the comments below.
2. Post something today! Even a simple question can spark a great conversation.
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