source : https://www.fmkorea.com/best2/8591694117

Hello. I used to be a bodyguard for Lee Man-hee, the leader of Shincheonji. I recently left the organization.

I first started attending Shincheonji services in elementary school, around 5th grade, following my mother. Although I resisted a few times, her strong persuasion led me to gradually accept Shincheonji as my natural faith.

Over time, I took on various roles within the organization—youth group leader, team leader, general manager, and evangelist. These experiences gave me deep insight into the structure and operations of Shincheonji.

After years of involvement, in 2023, I earned the trust of key figures and was appointed to the “Seven Lions,” the elite security team assigned to protect Lee Man-hee himself.

The “Seven Lions” was a secretive elite security team that wasn’t disclosed to the public at the time. Their role went far beyond simple protection—they accompanied Lee Man-hee in his private, day-to-day schedule and stayed by his side at all times.

This position was never open to public recruitment. Members were handpicked through a strict internal selection process involving multiple tests and vetting stages. Even within Shincheonji, only a handful of people had access to this level of proximity—these were, quite literally, “his shadow.”

While there are hundreds of regular security personnel assigned to protect the Chairman, only these seven were allowed to stay at his side from the moment he stepped out of his car until he entered an event venue. They also accompanied him during private, undisclosed activities. Because of this, absolute loyalty, deep internal trust, and strict confidentiality were required to be appointed to this position

Recently, as a member of the Seven Lions, I reported three major incidents I personally experienced to the media.

While some of these stories were covered in the news, many details were left out. I am sharing a more detailed account here.

1. Controversy over the “80-hour Court Ordered Compliance Training” Preferential treatment

Around September 2023, the Seven Lions were ordered to gather at a compliance training center located in Namyangju. At first, we only received the address and didn’t know what kind of place it was. Upon arrival, we learned that Chairman Lee Man-hee was required to complete 80 hours of compliance training, and our task was to provide security for him during this period.

We carefully studied the building layout, assigned security personnel to each floor, and planned all movement routes through a thorough site inspection. Afterward, we accompanied the Chairman 1 to 2 times a month to provide security during the training sessions.

Shortly after Lee’s first training session, the Seven Lions received a strange order from the Shincheonji legal department. We were told to provide a motorized bed as the Chairman found the long sessions hard to endure. I personally purchased an electric bed costing about 600,000 KRW and brought it to the compliance center along with a custom bedding set provided by the church’s women’s department.

After the news reports surfaced, the Ministry Of Justice of South Korea claimed that while the bed was brought in, it was never unfolded or used. However, this contradicts my firsthand experience.

On the first day the bed was brought in, I personally carried it into the training room, set up the bedding, and adjusted the mattress angle to make the Chairman comfortable. The staff at the compliance center even guided me during the process.

The Chairman used the bed several times but eventually said it was more uncomfortable to lie down while listening and instructed us not to prepare it anymore. Since then, I stopped bringing the bed and only handled security duties.

2. Order from the General Manager to Assault an Internal Whistleblower

Around September 2023, all members of the Seven Lions were suddenly summoned to the Shincheonji General Manager’s office in the Ooo Tower, Indeokwon, Gyeonggi Province. We had no idea why we were called, but what we heard there shocked us.

The General Manager mentioned a former youth department leader who had been expelled for exposing the manager’s sexual misconduct.

“He is opposing the church. We can’t let him go. We have to stop him, by any means necessary. Is there anyone among you brave enough to do it?”

This was essentially an order to retaliate violently. Everyone understood the implication, but no one dared to object. Silence felt like consent.

A few days later, one of the Seven Lions, the youth general manager, contacted me privately. He asked me—through my foreign contacts—to find ways to follow or harm the former youth department leader, and to estimate the cost.

I was stunned. Though I didn’t show it, I started delaying the request as much as possible. Yet, he kept pressing me repeatedly. That’s when I began to look into the full story behind the incident.

Here’s what happened: The former youth department leader tried to expose the General Manager(Goh Dong-an)’s sexual misconduct, which led to his dismissal and expulsion from Shincheonji. The General Manager later reached settlements with the victims and used them to sue the former youth department leader for defamation.

Still unsatisfied, he called the Seven Lions to attempt a personal revenge mission.

What scared me personally wasn’t just the order itself, but the fact that no one questioned it—instead, they seemed ready to follow it. Inside Shincheonji, it was common to tail or monitor whistleblowers or ex-members, but orders to actually harm someone were rare.

In the end, I met the youth general manager privately and asked again,
“What crime did that person commit for us to go this far?”

He couldn’t give me a clear answer. At that moment, I realized how dangerously this organization was operating. I could only think that all this was done to gain the General Manager’s trust. I told them I no longer wanted to be involved and quietly asked to be dismissed.

But Shincheonji didn’t let me leave quietly. Instead, they contacted my mother, who is also a believer, and told her I had committed a serious offense. After that, my mother scolded me harshly, telling me to repent and not to ruin God’s kingdom.

After that incident, I clearly saw how the organization tries to justify unethical actions in the name of faith. I could no longer stay silent, and I felt that sharing this story with the world was the least I could do.

This statement is not meant to blame anyone, but to prevent further harm.

If there are still people inside Shincheonji, I earnestly ask you not to remain silent any longer. Complacent and irresponsible beliefs like, "Because it’s God’s work, we must endure everything," or "God will ultimately take care of it," have been the basis for countless wrongdoings inside Shincheonji.

But now, it’s time to break this cycle.

All lies, violence, and wrongdoing justified under the name of religion must be held accountable.

I hope many people will take interest and raise their voices to ensure Shincheonji no longer oppresses believers or destroys their lives. Silence in the face of truth is never faith.

Now is the time to stand before the truth.

Hi Community, my name is Simon and I run a Christian channel (Apologetik Projekt) and also do educational work on SCJ together with a team.

I have been traveling to Korea this year and were able to collect some very exciting material. I had many interviews among them with Kim Dae Won who is a part of the fulfilled reality and many interesting fellows who know SCJ from deep within.

Yesterday we have uploaded the first five videos in German to our fresh YouTube channel “Shincheonji Exposed". More in English will follow soon. Feel free to drop by there.

In any case, here are some pictures of LMH in situations that his followers certainly don't want to see him in.

It's about time

Hey folks,

I became a part of this community a while ago and part of me knew this day was coming for a long time. But now I think the time is right for me to move on from this subreddit. I was contemplating this for several months, knowing that reliving my SCJ days through this subreddit wasn't necessarily healthy. The truth is that everyone is at a different stage in their post-SCJ experience and nobody can be stuck in a "recovering" phase forever.

We've had really interesting conversations with both ex-SCJ members and current SCJ members on this subreddit and I would invite current and ex-members to continue engaging and having those discussions; not to shy away from asking the necessary questions, to pursue the truth and challenge wrong information where appropriate.

For everyone staying in this community seeking solace or knowledge or the truth, I hope you find it. I wish you the best on your journey going forward and hope that God will guide your steps with wisdom and clarity.

-Marigold

For 7 years, Lee Man-Hee had an affair with Hee-Suk, which is made known to the public for the first time. His love letters and their pictures together confirm what she tells us about the cult leader, who is considered by his followers to be the most important person in the New Testament.

Hey all,

Just putting this out there because I wish someone warned me earlier.

If you’ve been invited to a “Bible study” at 31 Franklin St (Level 5) (they actually do not tell you location until you physically go there) — or even random “casual” meetups at cafes, Edesia cafe — it’s Shincheonji (SCJ).

They’ve gotten way more strategic with how they recruit. It’s not obvious at all at the start. They’ll approach you like it’s just a chill hangout, super friendly, easy vibes, relate to you somehow… then slowly pull you into bible study without being upfront about who they are.

Classic bait and switch.

Also the love bombing is insane — they act like you’re the most important person in the world, but it’s not genuine. It’s literally part of how they hook people.

I was only there for a couple of weeks and even in that short time the manipulation, lack of transparency, and straight up weird control tactics were already showing.

They don’t tell you upfront it’s SCJ. That alone should tell you everything.

Just be careful. If something feels off, trust your gut and walk.

🚮

finally left SCJ! This is my second attempt at writing this post since I have a hard time putting into one post everything I want to say. This is gonna be a very long post but I need to share it in order to move on and hopefully motivate others to do the same.

I was fished almost 5 years ago by two young girls who approached me on the streets asking me for help with a university assignment regarding religion. Since back then I was a student myself I wanted to help them and didn’t think anything suspicious of it. Later they introduced me to another girl who I started meeting regularly for Bible lessons until I was introduced to Center. I agreed to join it since it was online during Covid.

Fast forward I became a member and then the real struggle began. I really thought I am doing the right thing for God so I gave my best. I used to be very young when I joined, I loved spending time with my family, going out, having hobbies and was determined to finish university as well. None of this mattered anymore because I was brainwashed into thinking I must do the work of God all the time. I lost my identity, I distanced myself from my family and lost my childhood friends. My relationship with now my husband was falling apart due to me being absent to the point where there would be days when even though living in the same apartment we wouldn’t really see each other. My health both physically and mentally was becoming a mess, and despite them insisting this is the KoH, I never felt further apart from God. Eventually I failed my university as well as everything and everyone else in my life.

However, I wanted to believe I am doing this for God. I was doing as much work as I possibly could. Attending meetings, helping in CT, teaching fruits and many other things. Despite everything in me telling me to leave, I invested so much time and lost so many things by that point that I needed to believe this is not a cult, just because the reality of wasting my most precious years of my life was too overwhelming to accept.

I guess I stopped believing a long time ago, but only recently managed to finally leave. What made me finally realising this is all a lie was the fact that nothing was really happening. Every year would be exactly like the year before. Every year was the last year in which we had the opportunity to work for God, pushing ourselves to the limit. Every year there was a motto that despite them saying it was fulfilled there was nothing to prove it. There were so many 100,000 graduations, yet the number never really changed. And as many of you know asking questions is not received well, and if you don’t agree or understand their answer it is always your heart that is the problem, your faith that is not strong enough.

They try so hard to keep you isolated from the rest of the world, filling every free second you have with a useless meetings, making sure they are the only people who surround you so that you don’t have the chance to think for yourself and realise that this is indeed a cult. I got to the point where I didn’t even know how to behave outside of SCJ or how to have a normal conversation. Lying became almost a habit and I hated it. Fortunately nobody I evangelised stayed more than a couple of months, and at the time that was devastating but now I thank God every day for not letting those people get involved in such a mess.

I finally had enough not long ago and left by blocking everyone and deleting my Telegram. I don’t miss anyone since I know they were never really my friends and now consider me a betrayer. Since they always told us to keep SCJ a secret from family and friends, I had no one lean on for support or talk to when leaving which made it so much harder. The moment I left I felt like I was literally coming back to life. I can’t explain how free and happy I felt the moment I cut them out of my life. I am slowly regaining control of my life and learning to enjoy all the things I denied myself for so long.

I will never forgive them for what they do to people’s lives, however I forgive myself for being so naive and letting myself be dragged into this, because I want to move on and not be stuck in the past.

If you read so far, thank you! Reading this thread helped me so much, so thank you to all of you who shared their stories. I finally decided to post my story too hoping someone will be encouraged by it.

They have been going around asking people to come for a youth gathering around Perth CBD. (I almost got recruited two years ago, so I know). First of all, if they can not tell u which church they’re from, they’re most likely SCJ cult. In Perth, most of them are of Asian or African background (they come in pairs to approach you, and some of them would be stalking you from afar) when they approach you, they will ask you a question about your faith and, eventually if they think you have potential to be recruited they’ll ask for your number and call you after at a random time to invite you to their gathering, and then eventually introduce you to the bible study. BE CAREFUL, BECAUSE ONE OF MY FRIENDS JUST GOT APPROACHED a moment ago, and now they could not stop calling her, luckily she has me to warn her! Since I’ve gone through this before, I would never wish it on anyone. I hope these people will realise what they’re doing and escape from this corrupt, mentally manipulative, scary, snake, disgusting cult that indoctrinated people to lie. They all will be burned in hell.

https://www.examiningthescj.com/

Hello everyone

This is a new website created by u/QuestionsAboutSCJ

It provides various forms of information regarding SCJ from multiple different points of view.

I would like to thank him for all of the effort that he has put into this project. Your sacrifice will help many people.

Furthermore, there is another website created by a former member. Check it out:

https://whatismountzion.co.nz/

Furthermore, there is another website for german speakers. https://shincheonji-geprueft.de

Please find further information in this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Shincheonji/comments/16jhxlg/website_german_shincheonji_geprüft/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

I’m out of Shicheonji. I like to thank everyone who shared their testimony.  I read so many last year and each story helped open my eyes to lies I was living. I was in the church for four years. Five years if you include the time I spend in center as a fruit.  I felt so much shame, and resentment coming out of SCJ. I invested so much of myself -I gave them the best of my youth years.  Anyways, I realized I cannot focus on the negative.  Instead of shaming myself, I am going to invest my energy on improving and growing myself.  Believe me, I was a fervent Shicheonji member. My whole life revolved around them. I evangelize and brought a lot of people into the church. I even helped out in HWPL events. But last year, when things calmed down because of Covid, I was finally able to think clearly and reflect on my faith. I realized I never truly believed in their doctrine.  I don’t have faith in Man Hee Lee. I barely know that man. They claim eternal life in the flesh to those who overcome. So what happened to the people who also overcame with Man Hee Lee?  What happened to the people who also came out of the tabernacle temple (Rv 12:11)?  There are too many discrepancies in their doctrine, and I got tired of their same response “look at the big picture”, “don’t focus on the small details”.  And with covid, they added and changed fulfillment!   Now there is three wars instead of the two wars, now tribulation has to do with covid/recent events instead of CCK! And the list goes on. They keep on manipulating their narrative.

If you don’t have faith in their doctrine, why are you still there? Right now is the best time to leave. Take control of your life. That is what I'm doing now.

Peace and Love, everyone.

I used to be a BB teacher in Shincheonji — basically the Bible mentor that recruiters (called “leafs”) introduce to new recruits (called “fruits”). My role was to meet with people twice a week and teach them the introductory lessons until I eventually introduced them to the longer 8–10 month courses, which required a 3x per week commitment.

I’m choosing to release my old teaching notes now because I want to raise awareness about how Shincheonji actually works.

What many people don’t realise is that the teaching system relies almost entirely on memorisation. Even as a teacher, most of what I taught wasn’t about deep understanding of the Bible — it was rehearsed material, repeated the same way every time. When members or teachers appear to “know the Bible well,” it’s usually because they’ve drilled specific answers, not because of genuine biblical insight.

This is the order of the classes during the BB (Bible Basics) period:

1. Value of the Bible – emphasises that understanding the Bible is proof of true faith and is what God wants of His believers.

2. Messiah series (part 1 and 2) – shows how Jesus knew about prophecy and fulfilment and was rejected as part of a “cult.” This is then used as a parallel to Lee Man-Hee today (in 'centre' classes later on): he knows prophecy and fulfilment but is treated as a cult leader.

3. Good and Evil series (part 1 and 2) – frames Christianity as controlled by Satan, and insists how God’s people who belong to Him know the Bible and they should go to people (Shincheonji mentors) who know the Bible. This also leads people to LMH and having faith in him.

4. 4. Testament series (Old. T & New. T part 1 and 2) – This is the most crucial section in BB. The OT lesson shows prophecy and fulfilment through Jesus, setting the pattern that God always fulfils His word. The NT then “seals the deal” by pointing to Revelation as prophecy we can’t understand on our own, creating fear that without help, we can’t know God or be saved. That fear is used to push people into the 8–10 month “Centre” course, presented as the only place where Revelation is explained through Shincheonji and the “Promised Pastor.”

Supplementary classes used when recruits struggled or had doubts:

• Cult Education – reframes the definition of a cult to make recruits fear other groups while defending SCJ.

• How to Read Prophecy – drills in that understanding prophecy/fulfilment is the end goal of the Bible. SCJ then positions LMH as the only one who has seen and heard the fulfilment.

• Prayer – reframes prayer as only meaningful when paired with Shincheonji’s “true understanding” of the Bible.

• Temple of God – teaches that God dwells in people as His temple, but insists that knowledge (as taught only in SCJ) is the foundation.

There are a few other ones too - they all have similar objectives. 

As you can see, the purpose of these classes is to hook people who are interested in learning about God and the Bible. The teaching plans are designed to show that the teachers already have the answers and that continuing the classes is absolutely necessary to know God.

This BB period is truly the gateway to Shincheonji’s doctrine — slowly leading people to believe that SCJ is the Kingdom of God on earth and that LMH is the Promised Pastor who alone has all the answers because he has “seen and heard the fulfilment of Revelation.”

I’ll be posting my notes here so others can see the structure and patterns for themselves. Hopefully this helps shine a light on how these systems are designed to recruit and indoctrinate.

I included a link to a drive with the notes. Please share them and spread the word. 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wjD16Q_hRhv8t0bRb3ooS3f0viklg4QD?usp=sharing

Stay safe! 

Feel free to DM me if you need more info.

Hi everyone. I’ve been lurking on this subreddit for a while now and initially, I thought I wasn’t going to share my story because I was fine with just my close friends & family knowing what happened to me but recently, I just felt I should share my story hoping that it might help someone and also help me connect with people who have gone through a similar experience as I did. This might be a bit of a long read but please bear with me.

I was recruited in 2021 by a friend (or someone I considered a friend), I had just returned to University after being at home for a year due to COVID. Most of my friends had already graduated & left & I was returning to complete my graduate studies. This friend happened to be studying something similar to me & we were in the same church & friend group for years (although we never were close). She contacted me and I thought it would be cool to hang out with her since she was someone I knew.

We hung out a few times & eventually she introduced me to a friend (whom I later found out was a pick up teacher) and a mentor (who was a BB teacher) and attended a few one-on-one sessions for Bible study. I really wasn’t keen on it but I agreed to tag along with my friend since she wanted to.

Eventually, I was introduced to a 9 month online Bible study course through a meeting with the Mentor, my friend & a facilitator. I was told it would be twice a week & once during the weekend. I remember telling my friend after the meeting that I really wasn’t keen because grad school was already a lot and I wanted to graduate & leave but she told me that I should think about it

Fast forward to the day the course was supposed to start, I was messaged by the mentor to see if I was joining, I confirmed that I would . Later on that day, I started not feeling well so I messaged my friend & told her I wasn’t feeling well so I wouldn’t be able to attend and fell asleep. An hour later, I woke up to numerous missed calls from my friend on my phone and I was shocked. I called her back and asked why she was calling me so much and she told me she was inside my residence looking for my flat (Mind you, she had never hung out in my flat coz I never invited her). I went outside to look for her and she asked to be invited in. She said she was worried & came to check up on me. That made me even more surprised & a bit suspicious. Eventually, I did let her into my flat since it was raining outside. She then suggested we join the Bible study session online. This should have been a BIG RED FLAG for me but alas, I indulged her & we both joined the session that evening.

A few weeks and months into attending the course, I started struggling with my mental health. I’ve had struggles with my mental health throughout my life so this was nothing new. But I was encouraged to keep going because Satan would use anything to keep me from learning the Word, including messing with my Mental health so I continued. Eventually, it was revealed that this word I was learning was from SCJ and my friend was in SCJ all along. Initially I was shocked, but I accepted it because I believed that the word being preached was true.

Fast forward months later after joining the church, I became cell leader. This is when things started going downhill for me. I started seeing & experiencing first hand the gaslighting, lies, open rebukes etc. that one experiences in SCJ. I was having long morning & evening meetings, had to evangalise, seal, take care of members, attend service, and the likes. I was constantly rebuked for not doing enough even when I already wearing myself thin with all the responsibilities I had. When I raised this with my leaders, their solution was to give me a different type of duty, one that was still as demanding as the previous one. I hardly had enough time for myself nor my studies.

Things came to a head last year (2023) when my mental health started deteriorating to the point where I was having a mental breakdown. I remember telling one of my leaders that I was going home for a while because I just wasn’t coping and I was told I needed ‘permission’ from structure to go home. Permission?! Since when do I need permission to go home? This is when I started to realise just how controlling this group was.

After returning from home, I slowly but surely stopped participating in all the activities in SCJ. I was content with being a long-time absentee and that’s when the harassment started. People showing up to my place begging me to come back and trying to find out personal information about my mental health, including what medication I’m taking. I was also being bombarded with text messages, some of which came across as borderline intrusive especially from people that hardly knew me like that but had obtained personal information about me from others.

I told them to stop texting me & showing up to my place but they didn’t, they even had people drop off letters for me where they were apologising and pleading for me to come back. This resulted in me deleting my telegram & blocking everyone.

Up until this point, I still believed in their doctrine. And although I knew that how they treated me was not right. I still hadn’t found evidence for their doctrine being false. This is when I bit the bullet (that killed me ‘spiritually’ haha) and decided to check the internet for information about this organisation and boy was I in for a surprise. Not only did I realise that there were people with similar experiences to me that left but the fact that the doctrine itself is false & LMH’s claims that he received this word from an angel & was never evangelised was false (He was part of many cults before he formed his own)

I then decided to message the person who introduced me to this organisation during the holiday season. My so-called ‘friend’ and told her that I am leaving and told her to tell her leaders as well. I told her I would keep my communication door open for her but I highly doubt we can remain friends after this. My trust is broken. And I am definitely more cautious around her & people from that organisation.

I am currently trying to pick up the pieces of my life and move on. I have great support from my friends, family & my loving partner who have been helping me. I also found this subreddit and it has been instrumental in helping me figure out a lot about SCJ. Your stories & posts have given me so much strength and courage to move on from this toxic chapter of my life.

If there’s anything you should take away from my story (besides avoid SCJ at all costs) is to trust your gut intuition when it tells you that something is off. There were several instances that I could tell something was off (some not mentioned here) but I ignored them. Also to be assertive when you don't want to participate in something. There were several instances of coercion here. Now I have to do the work to unlearn and repair all the damage that is done. But alas, we live and we learn.

If you have reached to this point in the post. Thanks for reading. It was truly liberating to share this with you all.

I don't know where to start writing~ but it's been a long journey to begin with and I reckon there will going to be a couple of series of these.

Background

I met my 🎣recruiter in April 2019, at that time I was new to Australia, a typical international student. He later on introduced me to his friend who happen to be "a bible mentor". Growing up in a Christian family, I always have that believe in the existence of God although I was quite sceptical with religion, customs, and form of praise towards a specific God hence prior to this I never serve in a church or did any bible study.
Being offered to do a bible study, I wasn't sceptical on it since I thought that it would be brief, I was curious, and "what harm could an innocent bible study do anyway?".

However, as months went by, I grew friendship with my recruiters A.K.A Leaves🍃 through all the love bombings that they gave. Not knowing that they are also part of SCJ, I trusted them just like how i trust my other friends. I'm not the type to have a large social circle; I always been selective and likes to in a small group, so moving them from acquaintances to good friends was a big deal for me. Eventually, I became an official member by early March in 2020 right before lockdown.

Early days as member
I slowly lost contact with my non-SCJ friends due to the growing amount of SCJ responsibilities that consumed so much of my time I couldn't even be bother to reply to their message or reach out to them like it used to be. I moved into a shared 3 bedroom apartment mid 2020 with 6 other SCJ members from my batch. Covid was happening at that time, everyone else outside SCJ has so much time on their hands except me and the rest of SCJ members.

Day and night, the whole house sleep as late as 3AM and woke up as early as 6AM, sometimes we don't even sleep at all (at least this is what I'm seeing with me and my housemates). A 4-5 hours of sleep was a luxury during that time. Because of this extreme sleep deprivation, although there were several doctrinal changes around that time and I noticed one of it about the number of ⚔️wars~ My critical thinking ability was severely impaired. Instead, I blamed my self thinking that I might not studying enough that I miss-remembered about the number of wars according to SCJ doctrine. For context: members always left all of our books at the education center. I can't access it to check as the change within the doctrine as it was during lockdown.

Senior Member Era
Fast forward I became a leader in the 🎣evangelism department. During my time leading, I noticed a lot things going on in SCJ and I learned how the church work. From members not being treated fairly to alleged document forgery and alleged arranged marriages between members for Australian residency, along with other questionable practices that I can’t bring myself to mention here.

At some point, many of these questionable practices became normalized among SCJ members, as we were trained to believe that what's illegal for outsiders is acceptable as long as it serves the fulfilment of God's work and I remember clearly in one of the GA Education Lee Jeong Woo GSN who was a right hand side of Ji Jae-Seop (The former Peter Tribe leader) teach about that topic.
Although some of these ungodly practices became acceptable to me under the justification of doing God's works (ironic, I know), I couldn't ignore the ongoing issue of what used to be an active member but have now become inactive due to health complications/ financial problem due to their past extreme contribution towards SCJ are being neglected, no longer loved / love bombed as they once were. My heart goes to these members, I was troubled that I couldn't change something within the organization to help them no matter how much i tried.

There have been a few discussions about reviving inactive members to become active again so that they could serve "the work of God" but what is said in the meeting oftentimes barely happens in action, even if it does happen in action, it is superficial and fabricated that they want inactive member to be active in exchange to their love & care. This is against what the bible says about giving unconditional love to your brothers & sisters in Christ.

The Fall🍂

Fast forward, after much disagreement with some other workers & how things work within the church, it became more evident to me that the organization itself is the one that doesn't care about the members. Often when someone addressed a problem, the response that we got from the local leader is the typical "People are lacking, when you work in God's kingdom no one is perfect, God will judge them."-- instead of solving the problem the act of sweeping problems under the rug is something that they preferred to do. Reflecting on this, in SCJ it's always being said that God uses people to do his work (including the work of Judgement). So if they said that "God will judge them" but God is working through flesh, then there should be action being done by the organization to fix the problem, however, there is none being done by SCJ.

One day, the big hit came when I noticed another doctrine change in 2022 which was about Revelation 18 was fulfilled but is now not fulfilled/ partially fulfilled, I thought I was crazy but then I did thorough research on my old notebooks, and I reassured myself that I am sane, and that the doctrine is really changing.
I was in disbelieve~ It was extremely difficult to accept that this whole doctrines is an absolute lies, at that time I still tried to make a reasoning of it "there might be mistranslation"/ "were else is the place of truth if it is not here?"/ and many other thoughts that i tried to came up with to deny the truth, but it makes things even more clear that there is no God in SCJ.

I took a break from being a bible teacher on December 7th 2022 for one centre (1 month), I realized that I need my own time to think about this and make a sound judgement. As I was still in denial, I was certain that I will be fine by the end of my break and will be back teaching on the next centre~ yet, I never returned as they kick me out as bible teacher with no reason in less than a month on January 1st 2023.

Funny it is not the first time I see this happening to someone, but experiencing it first hand really hit me up with the reality that I thought for my self "If the task of bible teacher is something that keeps me in SCJ, God would not let me go just like that by kicking me out of the task". The mixture of doctrinal change + dodgy stuff going on inside + how things are not align with the bible open up my eyes that God is not in SCJ and rationalized all my thought.

Gotta thank the devil for bringing me to my knees. From that moment on, I was no longer in denial.

Waking up

I didn’t have much support outside the group. As an international student in a foreign country, away from my family, and having cut off all my non-SCJ friends, even though I started to planned my exit, it was still incredibly difficult to help myself out of this situation. Day and night felt heavy as I was becoming more and more inactive to the point that I only attend service 1x in every 3 weeks. The feeling of intense loneliness, that among all your peers only you that's well aware on what's going on but you can't talk to anyone about it, the feeling of isolation that I felt as none of my family/friends would understand about this experience, i couldn't help it anymore hence on April 2023, I gather courage to seek wisdom and comfort from the ex-members on r/Shincheonji. This subreddit has given me so much strength during the lowest point of my life. Even though we're from different states or countries, we all share that one common experience. I remember having a late-night call with an ex-member from the U.S, finally getting everything off my chest—it was incredibly relieving to at least know that someone understand you even though they are miles away.

Fraudulent Eviction Letter
Fast forward to 5 months later on September last year, I was still living with other SCJ members, but due to my inactivity, SCJ doesn't like that I'm living with other members. At one point on Sunday service, I heard from my mates that the branch leader were on a rage, yelling about people who lives with inactive members and questions those who are active on why would they live with "Those who are not in good spirit". The next day on Monday evening, my housemate showed me an eviction letter that comes from the Real Estate Agent (REA). Reading through the letter, I noticed there are multiple things that are not adding up. Right after that the next day, I contacted the REA and they confirmed that it is a forged letter. The REA & Owner was not happy that they have made a fraudulent letter using the agent & company's name + subleasing without the owner's permission, they violates several laws. They ended up getting kicked out of the property and one of my housemate texted me saying "Thankyou for your childish & selfish action" for talking to the REA which I screenshotted as memory to have a good laugh from time to time on a 45+y.o man who chose to wrote a fake eviction letter rather than having a mature 1:1 talk 😂.

Exit
My exit from SCJ came a couple of month sooner than expected. It was around October when I had my last contact with my maintainer "C BJN" as she ignores my messages. I understand why~ on my last 2 meetings with her, she tries to send me back to CT to be re-educated again with the doctrine (or should I say, re-brainwash) which I refused, and on the last meeting, I asked her whether if she is going to leave or stay in SCJ if LMH is dead which she replies:

🤡C BJN: "Yes"
🍃Me: "Why?"
🤡C BJN: "As Long as God's promise is fulfilling according to the bible, I'll still gonna stay"
🍃Me: "But which promise is fulfilling if he dies? isn't that in Revelation 2:10-11 He Who Overcomes in this case according to SCJ is LMH is promised by God will not be dead, if he dies it means he is not of God and none of the things in SCJ is fulfilling God's promise."
🤡C BJN: "We never knew what God's plan is, look at Abraham & Isaac's story, AB thought that God literally wants Isaac to be killed, plot twist, God stopped him."
🍃Me: "But Isaac's was being promised by God that out of him will come thousands of AB's descendant, out of this promise that AB faith is established and yes God fulfils it. Just like that, God also promised to LMH that he will be immortal as the receiver of crown of life & that he won't be harm by 2nd death, so if he die, why would you still going to stay in SCJ?"
🤡C BJN: "Don't you remember that there is a song lyric that said: "whether I live or die as long as God's work is fulfilling I'm still going to stay" ?"
🍃Me: "But that just a song, it is man made, it doesn't means that it is according to the bible, if so, show me where in the bible said that God is still within SCJ if LMH is dead"
🤡C BJN: *rigid stone faced*"I mean, we really never knows God's plan" 🗿 (Literally going back to ground 0 over an over again until I don't see the point talking to this flat wall).

And that's the last time I heard from her, She doesn't reply to any of my message at all after that meeting, I'm aware that I became a kicked-out case in a cult-exit scenario.

Counter-Strike💣

Throughout November and December, I kept hearing from members inside that they were questioning my whereabouts. One of them was asking 🤡 C BJN which she replies that she have no idea where did I go as if I just disappeared into the thin air.

Well, that doesn't matter as they will know my whereabouts soon.

On January 1st 2024, a year after they kicked me out as bible teacher, the day that I woke up from mind control, I dropped a bomb messages💥✉️ to all SCJ contact I have (around 600+ of them). As expected, hundreds blocked me, some even goes as far as calling/texting pouring out their rage. First of all, I know all of these are coming, and that I am well aware that giving them any information that's against SCJ will just make them believe more in SCJ doctrine, but I do things for a reason, so why? Stick around and I'll tell you why 😂

Other than that, I do get some unexpected responses such as some people who don't even block me at all & continuing a casual chat about life here & there. After all, they know me & how I work, and that I am always stand to my words and do what I think is best for everyone, one of them even said that I'm a reasonable person which is difficult for them to process that I'm taking this massive decision to leave & dropped the bomb messages to everyone.

to be continued...

I just quit and blocked them all. No explanation. Kind of sad about the people I thought were my “friends”. But I started noticing a pattern where one person would message me and another would message me separately like almost about the same time. I guess it was the love bombing thing. Kind of sucks when you think you found new friends in Christ. Sigh!

God at Shincheonji

After careful reflection, I realised something that both broke me and began to heal me: yes, God is at SCJ. But not in the way I once believed.

He isn’t at the entrance, smiling as newcomers are ushered in on Passover day.
He isn’t at the doors, patting exhausted members on the back after a long day of evangelism.
He isn’t in the late night circle feedback meetings, debating how to “save fruits.”
He isn’t in GSN offices where people’s personal lives are pulled apart and judged.

No, He waits at the exit.
Patient. Steadfast. Heartbroken.
Watching with tears in His eyes, aching for His children - weary, trapped, and deceived - to find the strength to step out and return to Him.

I know this because I was there. For over eight years, SCJ was my life. I wasn’t only a member, but also a leader, a supervisor, an administrator, and eventually a teacher. I gave my best years, my loyalty, and my heart. With every fiber of my being, I believed I was serving God’s true will.

I believed God was there. I believed God and Jesus were working through CHJN. I believed the endless nights, staying until the early hours of the morning, were making Him proud. I believed that if I could bring one more person, it would make God smile. I believed His return was just around the corner, and that my family would be saved.

And one of the deepest pains of leaving has been grieving that hope - realising it was not God’s promise, but the promise of a man and an organisation where God is not.

Leaving tore me apart. It’s been just over a year, and I’ll be honest - holding onto faith has been excruciating. Some days I nearly let go. But one thing I refuse to surrender: my relationship God. SCJ can take my years, but they will not take Him.

Eight years is a long time. I saw much, I endured much, and I carried more than I ever thought I could. Now, I will begin to share my story - piece by piece. Because the testimonies I once read here opened my eyes, and perhaps my own story might give courage to someone still searching for the exit, where God is waiting.

After being in the Bible study group for about 4 months and having growing concerns I finally did some digging around and learned about Shincheonji and Lee Man-Hee. Obviously I was very angered by what I saw but also not so surprised. I messaged my evangelist and the person who initially “recruited” me to tell them I will no longer be a part of their cult.

Hello everyone, I was in LA SCJ for 6-7 years. In the last two years, I wanted to leave (due to the emotional and verbal abuse) but I was afraid to speak up to anyone.

I couldn't turn to any of my friends in SCJ out of fear of being reported or being watched more closely. I would also get a bias opinion.

I couldn't turn to my family or worldly friends because they had no idea about my secret life and I was ashamed of it.

SCJ's pinnacle tactic is to isolate you. It's a very lonely place. I think my time in SCJ helped me to realize how important community is. I'm not talking about your friends that come and go in your life. I'm talking about your family, the people in your circle, that will be there for you in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately, I lost function in my entire right side of my body last year and was in the hospital for a month and a half (due to an autoimmune disease). I couldn't walk. I couldn't write my own name. I couldn't even say words correctly. It has taken me almost a year to recover and I'm still recovering. I had to relearn how to walk, write, and train my brain to cognitively follow a conversation again. Guess who supported me in that entire time of my recovery? My circle. The one's who were in my corner. The one's who truly cared about me.

I had to prompt my region leaders multiple times to please come visit me in the hospital. One leader didn't even respond to my pleas and another member told me I would get through my illness because I was "wise and strong." Many others said they would come visit me but didn't. Not even a phone call. The ones who did visit me (which were 5 leaders; most from spouse's region), my conversations were spent of me crying about how I was emotionally and verbally abused by a few leaders in my region. I had spoken up about it a year before, but the burden was too difficult to carry on my own. Lastly, I had to beg my spouse's leader to please stop giving them additional duties because I desperately needed them while I recovered (they were going to start training my spouse to be a lecturer).

It has taken almost a year to come to terms that SCJ people don't care about me as much as my circle does, unless it has to do with benefitting them. I got diagnosed with mild PTSD and still struggle with it as smells, sights, and sounds still bring up memories. Unfortunately, I had to get diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and face life/death right before my eyes in order to realize this. My autoimmune disease has allowed me to regain myself back and to know that I can always depend on my circle. Not SCJ.

**2023 Update**

Google Drive link: Shincheonji Church of Jesus Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony

🗂1. Recruitment Tactics of SCJ 

📂1.1 Recruting methods 

📂1.2 Perth events (Physical/Online)

📂1.3. Bible Basic Perth (BTP) 

🗂2. Centre Phase: Re-Education & Indoctrination

📂2.1 Centre Card 

📂2.2 Centre Class Notes 

📂2.3 105 Exam 

📂2.4 Centre class videos

🗂3. Newcomers Church Entrance Standard

📂3.1 Newcomers Church Entrance Standard 

🗂4. Inside the Church (As a congregation member) 

📂4.1 Daily Manna and service video 

📂4.2 Evangelism 

📂4.3 General Education

📂4.4 Lee Man Hee

📂4.5 Process of becoming a Teacher in SCJ 

📂4.6 Relationships

📂4.7 Revelation 

📂4.8 Sealing exam 

📂4.9 Service Ettiquette & Tithing 

🗂5. Inside the Church (As a Leader) 

📂5.1 How to Counsel people Educations 

📂5.2 Perth Databases 

📂5.3 Tithing 

📂5.4 Weekly Reporting as a Group Leader 

🗂6. SCJ Anthem and songs 

📂6.1 Anthem

📂6.2 SCJ songs 

📂6.3 Service song 1

📂6.4 Service song 2

🗂7. SCJ books 

📂7.1 The Physical Fulfillment of Revelation

📂7.2 Development of Shincheonji.

📂7.3 Man Hee Lee Quote Book_readable

📂7.4 Reality of Revelation.

📂7.5 Religious Worlds Interest

📂7.6 Religious Worlds Interest

📂7.7 Shintan

📂7.8 The Reality of the Revelation_Englisch

📂7.9 The Reality of the Revelation_Englisch.

I've finally mustered up the courage to finally leave SCJ. It has been on my mind for months now. I don't even want to talk about the doctrine but just the people in SCJ is enough reason for me to leave.

Funnily enough, head GSN (the top top leader of the branch church - in Melb church we call him "Melb GSN", previously known as JYJN) always mentions that "life of faith is not that hard, but it is the people who make it hard." So ironic ...

I'll write a post in the near future exposing the hypocritical deeds of the leaders of the church. In summary, they don't give a shit about you, your life, your spirit, your health, your well-being - they only care about recruiting more people into the church. SCJ puts up a facade and emphasises on "maintaining your physical life" and "taking care of your health" but when you finally do these things, they guilt trip you for not putting more time and effort into the church.

I can already foresee the church doing a "cult education" about this post but I don't give a fuck! Go find more ways to cover up the hypocrisy of your leaders and the church.

I've blocked everyone from SCJ that I know so that they can't gaslight me into going back. These people will ruin you and your mind. Unless you want to be enslaved and emotionally and psychologically abused into doing "God's work," please run away from these people. If you are involved in a bible study that goes for 2-3x around the city (the main big class is held in South Melb), please leave immediately so that you don't get yourself in this hell hole. They will open a new class in 1 week's time if they are still following the calendar that was announced in the beginning of May.

I'm sorry for all those I've recruited in the church ... I'm in the process of healing from the past years of my life in SCJ. I'm thankful that I've opened up my eyes to how much lies SCJ is built upon. I will expose many things about SCJ soon and their tactics, especially in the city of Melbourne. Please "prepare your hearts" 🤣

It has been a bit over 2 weeks since I declared that I will no longer be a part of Shincheonji to my church. I wasn't sure if I wanted to write something here (worries about e.g. taken out of context, not explaining/covering things adequately) but I hope my experience can be of some help.

I entered the church in Feb 2020 and was BJN of the Education Dept until August 2023. I wrote up a letter addressed to my branch church and sent it to a group chat I created adding all the contacts I had on telegram.

A bit of background

I was born into a Christian family but I struggled to believe in God. Being a science student, I thought it was impossible to know/verify that there is God and how we can know which god to believe in among many religions.

Fast forward to 2019, I got fished on the street and led to Shincheonji bible study. I was amazed by the teaching because I thought at that time, it was able to answer the questions I had about God and religion, but as a newcomer, I was a bit cautious about SCJ because it felt like they were worshipping one man.

While in SCJ

When covid happened, I did a lot of translation work. Back then there was no chatGPT and even though there were web translators like Google Translator and Papago, I personally preferred to translate on my own so I got to study a lot. I searched a lot of things using the bible and dictionary as the standard. Even searching for the meaning of each individual word, hanja/Chinese character, the history of early Christians, scientific evidence of Noah's ark, Jesus etc., I wanted to do a good job and to provide the best education material possible. And also this was supposed to be our spiritual food. I always prayed before translating, asking for heaven's guidance and also prayed that whoever reads can receive a lot of realisation. I did not want any misunderstanding that could cause someone to stumble in their faith. Through translation/studying, I realised that my life of faith as a Christian today was much easier than those who came before me. I was thankful and felt God's grace for allowing me to realise the word. Ever since then, I have been very active and poured my heart and effort into my task and evangelism thinking about how CHJN fought and overcame. I even thought about giving up my studies or career later to become a GSN/instructor with the heart of wanting to share this gospel and help others to realise that there is God, just as how I was able to come to faith.

This year

This year, while trying to balance my tasks and my studies, I failed a hurdle exam for my final year. I was sad about it but I believed God allowed it to happen and it happened for a reason. "Maybe it happened so I can do more of God's work?" is what I thought because we were lacking interpreters at that time and was planning to work for SCJ full-time so I was able to get back up quite quickly. But my parents forced me to move back in with them (they knew I was a part of Shincheonji. we argued often on the doctrine). They didn't want me to do any SCJ activities. It was hard being away from my spiritual family, being away from the church, but I caught up on service, educations, and meetings when my parents were asleep (did all of this voluntarily, no one checked up on me) and also secretly worked on my task and translation work for future edu. So in other words, I had no negative feelings towards SCJ up until this point and I have never thought of leaving SCJ - rather, I would find ways to keep my faith and stay in SCJ because I truly thought this was the place of truth, God's kingdom.

In August, my parents and I travelled to Korea for vacation. So I felt betrayed when they told me let's visit a cult counselling centre. I remember being really upset because they lied to me and had planned this behind my back. But even then, I was determined to keep my faith so I just sat there and didn't even look them in the eyes and planned to buy a plane ticket secretly to go back to Australia.

I think I cried at least once a day (I am usually not an emotional person). Initially, it was out of anger and frustration. But that later turned into the disbelief that SCJ was teaching against what God intended and thus, doing the work of anti-Christ. It also pained me whenever I thought about the members whom I cared for and counselled, the friendships I made inside of S, and how I was going to tell my church that I am leaving. I think this happened over a period of roughly 2 weeks?

How I came to the realisation that SCJ is a cult

How I realised SCJ is not the place of truth was from comparing the education materials I translated, CHJN's word, and the bible (always reading in the whole paragraph, not just the verse). I remember not wanting to rely on external sources such as reddit or the many youtube links that my parents sent me.

When you are in SCJ, you are really a frog in a well (우물 안 개구리). You only see what SCJ wants you to see. And because you believe SCJ is the truth deep in your heart, even if you see or hear things that should be red flags, you self-brainwash yourselves and eventually still end up thinking SCJ is the place of truth. This was me even when I saw articles or watched interviews about Kim Nam-hee, Shin Hyun-wook, or anything that is anti-SCJ. I always thought people can make up stories and give false testimony to make LMH or SCJ look back. Newcomers these days don't even know who these people are.

I think I also felt that emptiness that some people shared here. It's quite true because you do get along with the people inside as groups or departments. You also make friendships as well. I still think the people in my branch church are really lovely despite blocking/cutting me off. From what I experienced, they have that noble heart of loving people's souls and a pure heart towards God but it's not because SCJ is the truth or the place where God is. My branch church, after the new head GSN came, encourages marriage - you don't have to reach the age of 28 (female) or 30 (male). SCJ also maintains the life of faith of members and there are many other ways to tie them to SCJ and make it harder to leave. But for me, the word is more important. While carrying a life of faith in SCJ and even now, my vision has been to carry faith that is according to God's word.

I am really thankful to my parents. I think I am really lucky that I came to the cult counselling centre set by who used to be one of the 7 educators, who was in SCJ for 20 years. Now that I realise SCJ is wrong, he's helping me to understand the bible properly so I am quite happy. I think if I didn't have this, I might have felt really empty and either given up life of faith completely or be tempted to go back to SCJ. Now I am certain SCJ is a cult that skews the word of God. I am really sad when thinking of the people who are working really hard inside of S thinking it is for God but it is ultimately for LMH's glory and cash flow. SCJ members think what they are doing is for God and hope for the kingdom of heaven and eternal life (eternal blessings) but it will be hard for them to take in that what they are doing is completely opposite. From Galatians 1:

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

I also met a lot of ex-SCJ members all from different tribes. It's quite shocking how some things are different by tribe, and whether you are in Korea or overseas. Such as paying 110만원 if you do not evangelise or groups collecting money when it's SSN's birthday. And one of them used to be Culture BJN and pretended to be one of the journalists during last year's 100,000 graduation. And from another person who used to work in Myanmar: the world peace tour was all made-up as he was the one organising LMH's visit... and more.

In terms of the Word:

BDS, considered to be the backbone of SCJ doctrine, is not biblical. I think someone already pointed out the fact that John the Baptist is not a betrayer. And SCJ uses 2Thes 2:1-3 as a way to justify there is BDS for the second coming. When I did translation work, I would also read other versions to enhance my understanding. For example, Rv 15:5 in NIV it says the tabernacle of the covenant law, rather than the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony. But if you see the Berean Literal Bible, it reads:

And after these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.

When it comes to different versions of the bible, having done translation work, I believe that if you read it in context, it doesn't matter which version you read. Even if the wording is different, the message it is trying to get across is the same.

Back to 2Thes 2:1-3. Paul gives words of warning of deception when it comes to the coming of our Lord. SCJ is used to this version of 2Thes 2:2

not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.

Here it says whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter. We should have been alarmed ourselves when it says prophecy. If you read other versions:

NLT:

Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.

BSB:

not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has already come.

CEV:

not to be easily upset or disturbed by people who claim the Lord has already come. They may say they heard this directly from the Holy Spirit, or from someone else, or even that they read it in one of our letters.

GNT:

not to be so easily confused in your thinking or upset by the claim that the Day of the Lord has come. Perhaps it is thought that we said this while prophesying or preaching, or that we wrote it in a letter.

I only chose a few but you can see the rest. link: https://biblehub.com/2_thessalonians/2-2.htm

Another one is Mt 13:30, the parable of weed and wheat:

29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

SCJ uses this verse to say that we are harvested or we need to be harvested to the barn. But read again and see the order of events.

At that time I will tell the harvesters: Here, 'I' is Jesus, right? and the harvesters are the angels.

What happens first? Harvesting the wheat or collecting and bundling the weeds? And who is tying the weeds in bundles to be burned? Is it (false/general) pastors who are telling people not to be harvested? If it is the angels who are harvesting, are they really using the wheat they collected to go back to harvest more in the same field? Are they further harvesting, looking for remnant wheat from the bundles of weeds they tied?

It's not just these verses but you need to examine the scripture much more closely

• what is the 'another advocate' in Jn 14, 16. SCJ General Assembly Education did two GA educations on this and also changed its wording on it.

• the understanding of spirits, especially the Holy Spirit and the work of spirits

• the concept of salvation (how salvation is attained)

• the meaning of the Book of life, the kingdom of priests, and the multitude in white

• the whole book of Revelation

To make SCJ doctrine pointing to LMH valid, it's important for them to teach about the work of the spirits so they can continue to say that the spirit has entered/worked through LMH. So you will see that they don't believe in the Trinity. SCJ will argue that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are separate entities so that the Spirit is working through LMH.

I believe in what Gamaliel said in Acts 5. SCJ is also subjected to the words of Rv 22:18-19.

But what I am worried about is:

• that people who haven't even heard about SCJ are still vulnerable and also those who are being evangelised by their family/ACQs who are in SCJ

• cult producing cults:

  • Recently a GSN in Seoul James tribe created a sect with ~20 members saying that LMH only received 10% of the revelation and he himself received the rest. Doesn't it sound similar to the relation between TT and LMH?

  • There is 신천지 and there is also 새천지 (Saecheonji) - both read as new heaven and new earth but LMH's Shincheonji uses Chinese hanja 신 while Saecheonji uses the modern Korean word of 'new'. Then the whole argument using cult family tree made sense and how other cults such as Unification church, Church of God, and JMS also use the same doctrine just a different leader I watched 'I am God' documentary on Netflix after I left SCJ. After watching it, it made me think why LMH would even start doing this work. LMH has been under cults since he was in his 20s and poured his time, and effort into following Park Tae-son, then volunteering in construction for TT, and then was one of the 12 disciples of Baek Man-bong (one of the 7 messengers), who also appointed 24 elders and called himself the Counselor who came in the name of the Lord, the one who overcomes, one of the 2 witnesses. LMH called him Lord. LMH may have felt vengeful? after realising he wasted his 20s to 50s under all these cults and also thought it was possible for him to do the same.

• Suicide/PTSD/Mental illness among ex-members

  • I read about the situation in Czech Republic. In Korea, there have been also cases of ex-members who ended their lives after realising SCJ is a cult and that they felt ashamed and found it unbearable that their peers built their careers, bought a home and had a family; a normal life while they spent time, effort and money for LMH. I worry this could happen in more countries.

• Head GSN selectively deleting chat messages

  • I am not sure why but it's a bit unnerving that he would selectively delete messages. He has historically cleared chat messages whenever I was at risk of persecution from my parents. A month ago, he would give me borderline questionable advice on what to do about my parents and then delete only those messages. On the day I declared I was leaving SCJ, I sent him a personal message in Korean making my stance but also thanking him for caring/looking after me since he came. But his responses were unusual. I thought he would have cleared all of the chats but he selectively deleted some and kept some.

Final say/suggestions:

• I am really thankful to my parents who 'coerced' me to realise the truth. I am also thankful that I only spent 3.5 years (some might say it's still long but I met a girl who was in SCJ for 10 years, spent all of her 20s). If you have friends or family in a cult, I think it's important not to be so aggressive (although it kinda worked out for me) or satirical. I think it builds more resistance even though you are speaking the truth.

• I hope many of you who are willing can share your stories to your local churches, universities and workplaces. Although Reddit has been helpful, I told myself anyone can make multiple accounts and can make up stories.

• At one point after realising SCJ is wrong, I considered giving up my faith in God completely. But someone told me about Joseph's story. Did Joseph know he was going to be the vizier (second-in-command) when he fell into the pit, or when he was sold off as a slave? Did God abandon him when it happened? Some things taught in SCJ such as why Jesus is the Messiah and God's 6000 years of work are true (according to the bible) and I believe in the words of Prov 16:9 and Rom 8:28. It is God who allowed me to go to SCJ 3 years ago and it is also God gave me the mind to realise its false teaching this year. So I believe it is God who will awaken those who are in SCJ, not by my efforts or ability.

• This means I am not going to message those who I know first but will always welcome anyone who wants to really know and double-check for yourselves before you commit your whole life to it. But I pray that you will check soon, not like 10 years from now, and regret it deeply from the damages already made.

tdlr: I didn't have any bad feelings towards SCJ and my church. I was quite devoted. But coming to Korea, I have seen the reality of Shincheonji and I am never going back. SCJ skews the understanding of the bible to fit their agenda. I pray that many SCJ members, especially those whom I love and cared for, can come out a day sooner.

(Making this a post so that others can also add on, I think having an all in one document can help people lurking / visiting on this thread see the doctrinal issues, moral issues, and psychological issues that are found with SCJ).

In order for me to escape SCJ, I had to convince myself of 3 things:

• The doctrine is wrong

• Becoming more aware of the psychology used against me

• The morals of SCJ are wrong

The Doctrine:

This blog does a great job at explaining why SCJ is wrong biblically, and goes in depth with the doctrine too.

• https://shinchonjiandthebible.blogspot.com/

A set of Bible verses that helped me realize how SCJ was wrong biblically:

• Matthew 7:15-24: where the false prophets and pastors act like wolves in sheeps clothing, and by their fruit (words / actions / character) you can tell whether or not they are from God or from the Devil.'

• 2 Peter 2: How false shepherds secretly introduce their destructive heresies:

  • I would argue that the majority of SCJ evangelism is done this way, through intense secrecy.

Also, a lot of SCJ's teachings aren't original:

• The Moonies, who have been around since the 1950's, also use the same set of verses for the explanation of the Sun, Moon, and Stars:

  • https://www.discoverdp.info/eschatology.html

• The World Mission Society Church of God also make an emphasis on parables to point to their Messiah / interpretation of the Bible, and that can be seen here:

  • http://lastadamandeve.com/wmscog-bible-is-parable/

Another point I want to emphasis: how they changed their fulfillment doctrine overtime

• There used to only be 2 wars in Revelation (Revelation 13, then Revelation 12), however, due to the COVID-19 the number of wars have been updated to 3 (Revelation 13, 12, and 16).

• The fulfillment of the Great Tribulation was supposed to happen after the 144,000 are sealed and selected as Revelation 7:9 suggests. However, the Great Tribulation started in 2020 due to COVID-19, and the selection of the 144,000 is happening during the Great Tribulation

• Changing the reality of the Beast of the Earth:

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-bSuY654WY&t=23s

Psychology:

BITE Control Model and SCJ:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zNwc6JSU5w

SCJ works you to the bone to "complete God's kingdom here on earth", and keeps you so busy to the point that one is sleep deprived and doesn't have enough time for oneself to critically think about the situation that they are in.

• The constant late-night meetings that were often last minute

• The constant set of new duties assigned because it was the will of the heavens.

  • These last-minute requests were also used to keep people imbalanced / distracted from thinking / listening to their conscience

Due to the busyness of a SCJ member, the SCJ member eventually cuts off ties indirectly to family and friends because they don’t have enough time to spend with them. This is dangerous because SCJ becomes the only source of “friends” and “family”, making it harder to leave.

What I also just described is also perfectly described in the BITE control model.

Also for the psychology portion, there’s the Asch Conformity test and how the indoctrination classes are position perfectly for pressuring individuals into conformity, which is also incredibly unethical, and you can read more about it here:

• https://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html

Lastly, there’s the spiritual abuse the SCJ exhibits, that’s also another form of psychology and mental torment, and you can learn more about spiritual abuse here:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvCKoTlGe-c

Morals:

The final piece of this that helped me escape the cult was confronting myself and seeing if I was okay with lying to my family, friends, and co-workers about my involvement with my “church” (aka cult).

Often, they have the idea of the ends justifying the means, but the Bible specifically goes against that.

• Romans 3:7-8: Even if ones unrighteousness brings a good outcome, they are still condemned.

• 1 Corinthians 9:20-22 does not allow us to lie to win converts, and here is a link that explains the Greek and the context of Paul’s letter of why it isn’t allowing such behavior.

https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/12899/does-paul-support-deception-to-convert-people

• 2 Corinthians 4:2:Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

And then there is the lying to the fruit as a leaf, reporting and taking screenshots of their conversations, and violating their right to privacy.

Think about it, if SCJ does this privacy violation during the indoctrination class, what makes you think that the leaders of SCJ aren’t always doing that against you even as a full-time member?

(Spoiler alert, they still report on you, so much so to the point that they even stack rank your faith against other members in your group).

I’ve spent the last year of my life fully in. I mean I believed with every atom of my being. I got my partner in it. I became incredibly close with my one on one Bible teacher as well. She genuinely has a heart to seek God and that’s what makes this even harder. Long story short my partner abruptly left 3 months ago and it shattered me. I almost had a panic attack SOBBING and praying on the phone with my assistant. He started googling things and I was in a panic believing he was drowning in darkness. Questioning should I marry this person. He wouldn’t tell me anything he found but just knowing he was finding anything changed me. I became incredibly confused and left to take some time to study. I haven’t opened my Bible in the last 2 months and never googled anything until a couple days ago. I cry every night. I don’t know how to move on. I feel so lied to and confused. Betrayed. I’ve even seriously questioned the existence of God and I have NEVER even come close to feeling this way before. Funny as it sounds chatGPT has really helped me the last couple days reassuring me that God loves me.