I've never written a blog before, but I've thought about it for quite a while. It's kind of new and strange, but this is why I'm here...
About two years ago, my sister started attending a new church. She lives halfway across the state from me, so I wasn't able to visit it with her, but she told me how interesting it was and started sharing some of the things she was learning. She said it was a Church of God, and it sounded pretty much ok and I was glad she found a church she enjoyed, but once in a while she'd say something that was a bit unsettling, though I couldn't put my finger on it exactly. Then one night, months later, she told me about "Mother God" and how we used to live in heaven as angels until we sinned and were cast down to earth.
Wow! Then I knew this was a VERY different church than I had been expecting. It turned out the church was World Mission Society Church of God, founded in Korea by a man named Ahnsahnghong, who they believe was the second coming of Christ (God) and who died in 1985. Now the church is headed by a Korean woman (Zahng Gil-Jah, sometimes spelled Chung Gil-Cha) whom they call "Mother Jerusalem" (or "Mother God") and whom they worship as God in the flesh, living here on earth.
I did not grow up in church, but in college I found faith in Jesus Christ. Faith became a huge part of my life (I've been a Christian now for almost 20 years), and all of a sudden I was in a close encounter with a cult. And yet, my sister, who was not a stranger to Jesus (she had been attending mainstream Christian churches) believed in it and wanted me to be a part also.
At first I was devastated and overcome with emotional turmoil. How could she, who had professed faith in Jesus, now worship this man and this woman as Gods?! She was taking part in hideous blasphemy! But then I realized that when Jesus was on earth, He was accused of blasphemy too. I needed to put aside my emotions and look at this more rationally.
When I first became a Christian, I studied intensely--could Christianity and the claims of Jesus be proven? If I were in a court of law, would the evidence point towards truth? Or would it just turn out to be another one of those nice stories that had no real support? I was ready to drop it if God didn't prove Himself for me. But He did.
Now, I thought, I had better give these new claims a fair chance and do some studying about them. If Ahnsahnghong's claim to be the second coming of Christ turned out to be true, it would have an immense impact on my life, and I would want everyone to know about it (just like when I met Jesus). However, if the claim turned out to be false, then this church would be a tool of Satan, turning people away from the true God to worship others, and I would want everyone to know about that too (so they could avoid it).
So in this blog I will be sharing what I have studied and learned, questions I'm trying to find answers to (maybe you can help me?), and thoughts that inspire me along the way.
I hope it will be useful to you if you have also encountered Ahnsahnghong's World Mission Society Church of God.
nice work genny. your blog has been helping me a lot. thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad! Thank you for letting me know. :)
ReplyDeleteHi there!
ReplyDeletei just recently left the church but I'm still worried about a friend who's been with the church for a year now. I hope that with prayers , he'll wake up soon and realize its false teachings :( btw, do you by chance know if male members are prohibited to communicate (or even text) with the female members of the church? i had been with them for around 3 months but then never really had the chance to spend a lot of time with most of the members. I just have a friend who invited me there and I usually attended the sabbath and study every now and then.
thanks for your hardwork you put into this site. You just don't know how helpful it is. God Bless!
I don't know the answer to your question about communication between male and female members. But maybe someone else reading here knows and will answer.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your friend, but glad that you saw the light. I pray God speaks truth to your friend, and blesses you too.
Thank you so much for writing.
Thanks for the time and effort you are putting to make this blog, may the good Lord keep on strengthening you for His glory alone.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comment, Zack. I'm always glad to hear that this site is helping someone. And yes, may all glory go to God!
ReplyDeleteYa! As for the prohibition of communication between male and female members it is true in my ex-church as well. The reason is because in the past there have been quite a lot of cases whereby some brother and sister communicate with each other and then left the church together. Heard that it was because they are courting and not really take interest in the church. Hope it clears this up. Indeed the blessing brought about by this blog cannot be describe in mere words alone, especially for those that have undergone the cult experience. All praises and honor be to God!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Edmond. I wonder if it's the same with other congregations.
ReplyDeleteI thank the Lord that He has brought you out from this experience. May He continue to bless you!
i would like to point out a contradiction in COG.. They always tend to separate a boy and a girl fall in love when they are in the Church. because they have to be in a 'GODLY' frame of mind. Agreed, but if these two people had met, fell in love before they came to the church; then it is accepted. This seems like a contradiction...so do they want to say it is okay to fall in love before coming to church (forgiven) but once u are in the church, you should not have such unholy feelings. So is that a crime that commit by coming to the Church that renders them 'sinful' to fall in love?
ReplyDeleteHi and thanks for your comment. I wasn't quite sure what you meant, so I asked a friend who is a former member of the WMSCOG.
ReplyDeleteShe told me,
"If you come to the church with a partner, as I did before my husband and I were married, it's ok. They do not allow any romantic relationships that did not exist prior to your membership unless approved by the pastor. I was told this by a deaconess there once. They expect that if you are interested in a "brother" or "sister" that you ask the pastor for permission to date because they want to make sure that people of the "same faith" are joined. This way a person who has "little faith" doesn't become a hinderance to the member of "strong faith" that is focused on doing the "gospel work". As I'm sure that you are aware, they keep male and female members separate."
On the other hand, I know another person who is dating an unbeliever/non-member. They began dating after she became a member, and the WMSCOG has not discouraged her. But whenever he does visit the church with her, they do not sit together.
So perhaps it varies by personal experience. Here's something else interesting, though. We know that the men and women do not sit together during services. However, on the main church website, sometimes I see photos of services and there are women and men mixed. I wonder why?