Why Do Born Again Christians Seems Brainwashed Reddit
Alex's Bible classes started taking over his life. And then he found out who was pulling the strings.
I'grand Alex* and I'm from Hong Kong.
For equally long as I tin can remember, I've wanted to report overseas, because I thought the experience would open my eyes to the world.
I'd travelled to Sydney a few years ago and loved the metropolis. And so, I decided to move hither and study law, to exercise my JD [postgraduate constabulary caste] at the Academy of Sydney. It was a scary, just heady decision.
I knew some people in Sydney, but edifice upwardly a social circle was something I definitely had to piece of work on.
A new housemate
Luke*:I'm Luke and I first met Alex in our first semester of law school at the University of Sydney.
We were both in the same starting cohort. We studied together a few times and became friends.
A twelvemonth on, I was looking for a new housemate in my share house. Alex saw the ad that I posted on Facebook and was bang-up to move in.
For the outset few months, we did normal housemate stuff, similar watching TV together and playing video games.
Alex was an easy-going, nice guy.
A chance meeting
Alex:I morning, I was exterior Cardinal Station on the fashion to the law firm I was interning at, when two men approached me.
They told me that they were looking for international students to do this interview, a questionnaire about our groundwork. It was all simple and easy.
At the end, they asked me if I was interested in catching up afterward, to take a coffee or something like that. I thought, why non?
So, we met up in the food court in the Fundamental Park mall, just about where I was working. There were the two guys who approached me at Central Station and also another girl.
It was just a random chat to get to know each other. We each introduced ourselves, talked well-nigh our backgrounds, where nosotros grew up, things like that. They all seemed nice.
So one of them started talking about some classes on offer and asked if I'd like to come along. I said aye.
Alex started to change
Luke:I started to notice a modify with Alex – I was seeing less of him.
It was odd. We'd be watching Boob tube and he'd go a call and say he'd have to go to his new classes or to make time for study.
But he'south an international student and didn't necessarily know a huge amount of people in Australia. So, I thought he was looking for a sense of customs with these new people.
I asked him almost it, and he just said, "oh, I've joined this Bible study group."
The classes
Alex:I was brought up Catholic. My mum'due south side of the family is very devout. Growing upwardly, we went to church every week and I actually served equally an altar boy.
Simply when I used to become to the mass, I felt similar they would randomly pick the Bible verses and read them to us. I didn't really understand the context or anything near them.
These new Bible report classes were different. They tried to give lots of caption and refer back to sure verses to support their doctrine and any they taught.
The whole thing seemed a lot more logical and a lot more organised. It made more sense to me. That'due south what drew me in.
It started with these modest group meetings for 3 to four months. They were ever in the Central Park food court, which was really user-friendly for me. Then an older guy told me about a larger Bible report course.
He said, "if you pass the aptitude examination, you tin go to this class, it will exist for nine months, and y'all have to commit to going 3 times a week."
In the aptitude test, I was asked questions nearly the obstacles that may stop me from going to the classes.
I had to come up with solutions to go around these obstacles, to brand certain I could go.
The new classes were held in Surry Hills, in a very big room, usually with effectually 100 students. They were held from six:30pm and could last all the way up to 9pm or 10pm.
And if you missed a class, the group would organise a catch-up class afterwards. Then it took upward a lot of my time.
'His life revolved around the classes'
Luke:Alex was spending more and more fourth dimension going to these classes. It clearly became his priority, almost like at that place was no elbowroom around them.
I remember ane dark we were grocery shopping together, and he got this call from the group out of the blue. Midway through shopping, he just said "deplorable, I take to get" and immediately left. It was definitely odd.
And when he couldn't attend a form, they would organise study sessions around his schedule. Then, he would sometimes be studying from midnight to 2am or 3am.
'Keep information technology a hugger-mugger'
Alex: At these bigger classes, in that location seemed to exist a lot of international students like me, many of whom were from Asia. Near of the instructors and teachers were Korean.
At 1 signal, an instructor very casually mentioned that, "this place is on a commercial charter, information technology's rented, and nosotros would capeesh if all the attendants tin contribute a little flake financially".
They asked for $thirty per fortnight. At the time I thought it was a fiddling pricey. But it was withal an affordable amount. I enjoyed going to their classes — the people were very friendly and information technology was a mode to see new people that shared the same religion.
So I felt it's the correct matter to contribute.
All forth, the group labelled itself as a non-denominational Bible studies group. But in that location were certain things that didn't feel correct to me.
And I also recollect they said, some people might retrieve that their teachings are cult-like. So nosotros were told, we should effort to keep it a secret from our family and friends.
They said, "your family unit and friends might non want you to spend fourth dimension with u.s., only that would be the Devil working backside them — trying to cease you lot learning the Bible."
The group became my social middle.
The realisation
Alex: Afterwards a few months of this, I started working and I had less and less time to nourish the classes.
I had to do a lot of grab-up classes during the weekend. I sometimes did two consecutive take hold of-upwardly classes, which lasted five hours. I was exhausted.
And then ane day, I decided to Google keywords to see if I could find the doctrine they just taught and catch upward like that. This Google search changed everything.
One of the search results was a Reddit thread where people were sharing their experiences of a Korean Christian church called Shincheonji. I recollect seeing various references to it being called a cult. I'd heard of the group earlier, because it was responsible for a lot of COVID-19 cases in South Korea final yr.
But every bit I started reading this thread, I noticed a lot of the Shincheonji teachings were exactly the same as what I was learning at my Bible report form. And then, I did some more Googling, I read some more articles. And that's when the penny dropped.
I realised, "Damn, I had joined Shincheonji". Luke was the commencement person I told.
'He was freaked out'
Luke: 1 evening, I got dwelling house from work, and Alex just said, "I recollect I've accidentally joined a cult." He explained it all to me and said he'd cut off contact with the group.
He wasn't emotionally distressed, he was more freaked out — freaked out that he accidently got and then involved with this group.
And I was pretty surprised too, considering Alex is quite a smart guy, he's definitely a critical thinker.
I'd heard of Shincheonji, just I didn't realise they were in Australia, let solitary recruiting at Central Station.
And I actually felt a fleck stupid myself, because I was aware that he was spending a lot of time going to these meetings and getting all these calls.
I should have asked him what he was going to, how did you encounter these people, have you looked up the group?
Betrayal and shame
Alex:I was totally shocked, because joining a cult e'er sounded like a joke, something very fanciful that would never happen to me.
It made me think — this could happen to anyone, no matter how smart you think y'all are, no matter how much critical thinking you have.
Over the coming weeks, I felt betrayed and aback. I'd wasted and then much time with this group. I could have spent that time with other people, enjoying my new urban center.
Looking back, they were clearly trying to separate me from many other aspects of my life, so that I'd devote all my time to them.
Information technology was similar they wanted me to end being myself and to become a servant of the group.
That's not how a religion should be. That's what I felt really made it a cult.
What is Shincheonji?
The Shincheonji Church building of Jesus was established in 1984 by South Korean Lee Man-hee, who claims to be the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ.
Followers believe that on sentence day, Mr Lee will assistance 144,000 believers receive eternal life, a effigy set out in the Book of Revelation.
The church building claims to take more than 200,000 members in South Korea and many more effectually the world, all in the hunt for eternal life.
Former members and other mainstream Korean Christian groups have labelled Shincheonji a doomsday cult, considering of what they merits are opaque practices, "brainwashing" and the function of 89-year-old Mr Lee.
The grouping has previously denied it is a cult and says its members face discrimination, specially in South Korea.
Professor Kyung Moon Hwang, a historian of Korea at the Australian National Academy, said the reality is far more complex than a binary of church or cult.
"It'due south a very subjective perspective to call something a cult or not a cult, there's a fuzzy boundary," he said.
"[Shincheonji] has strong levels of secrecy, and strong levels of intensive conversion through a communal process …
"Its founder proclaims he is the new prophet of Christianity, that he is the new messiah," he said.
"And in that location's also a feedback loop that has developed — more secrecy arises from the fact that information technology's been labelled a cult past other mainstream Korean Christian groups."
Professor Kyung stressed Korean modern history has many other examples of similar Christian groups, such equally the Unification Church, founded by some other cocky-declared messiah, Lord's day Myuung-moon, in 1954.
"But Shincheonji has created tremendously powerful and painful rifts within Korean families, especially between parents and children who may become part of this group and they terminate up leaving their family in some cases."
The sect made international headlines terminal twelvemonth subsequently it became the source of a major COVID-nineteen outbreak, when at one point 60 per cent of Republic of korea'due south cases had links to the group.
"They were in defiance of all sorts of government regulations that were in place to prevent mass gatherings," Professor Kyung said.
Mr Lee was after charged with breaking virus control laws simply was acquitted. Still, he was found guilty of the embezzlement of the equivalent of $half dozen.5 one thousand thousand, receiving a 3-year suspended sentence.
ABC contacted the Shincheonji Church of Jesus for comment just did not receive a reply.
Losing faith
Alex:The whole experience has fabricated me much more than sceptical, particularly about any sort of religious group that's trying to recruit people.
I stopped going to any church, because after going to those classes, I feel like I don't know what'southward truthful and what'south false about Christianity anymore. I can't tell.
Now, whenever I look at a Bible poetry or a Bible story, I can't assist simply go back to what they taught me, going back to their interpretation.
So, I've mostly stopped practising my organized religion.
Looking back, information technology seems to me that Shincheonji targeted international students in Sydney, and that could exist considering they may not have potent connections with the customs still.
They might sometimes feel lone because they're in a foreign land, their family is back in their hometown.
So I'd just say if yous're devoting time and resources to any group, which results in being very isolated from your family unit and friends who actually love you lot, this is a large warning sign.
Take find of these alarm signs.
*Names take been inverse to protect privacy
If this story has raised whatever issues for yous or someone you know, support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 xiv.
This story comes from ABC Radio National's podcast RN Presents: This Much is True. Find information technology on ABC Listen, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Credits:
- Reporters: Nick Baker and Siobhan Marin with producer Cheyne Anderson
- Illustrator and digital producer: Teresa Tan
- Digital editor: Annika Blau
- Executive producer:Julie Browning
Posted , updated
Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-08/accidentally-joining-south-korean-doomsday-group/100298774
Post a Comment for "Why Do Born Again Christians Seems Brainwashed Reddit"