#wmscog

Pocono Dome church, WMSCOG, has cult markers

The World Mission Society Church of God (Korean: 하나님의교회 세계복음선교협회) was founded by Ahn Sahng-hong (안상홍) in 1964. The church believes that he was the second coming of Christ. Ahn Sahng-Hong was baptized in 1948 and died in 1985. The current leader of the church is Ahn’s spiritual wife, Chang Gil-jah (장길자, sometimes spelt Xhang Gil Cha or Zang Gil-jah). In the church she is known as “the Heavenly Mother”.

Pocono Record      March 29, 2017 

by Howard Frank

A leading expert in cult organizations called the group hoping to take over the Pocono Dome specialists in brainwashing, ruining families and separating its members from their money.

The World Mission Society Church of God hopes to purchase the Pocono Dome in Sciota and convert it to a retreat. On April 4, a Hamilton Township hearing will consider the church’s application for a special exemption to use the facility for its activities.

Rick Ross, an author and the director of the Trenton, N.J. based Cult Education Institute said the World Mission Society Church of God believes that their female leader is God. They call her Mother God and believe that God is embodied in her.

“They are responsible for bankruptcies because of excessive donations, and people have lost jobs because of the excessive demands of the group and because of excessive sleep deprivation,” he said.

The members are often put up in group housing and shared apartments. They become estranged from family and friends, Ross said.

“There are families that haven’t spoken to their adult children for years because of their involvement in the group. It’s ended marriages. This is a very intense group and similar to the Unification Church founded by Sun Myung Moon, whose followers were called Moonies. Their techniques of indoctrination have often been compared with the Unification Church,” he said.

Ross claims the group entered the U.S. and very soon thereafter established a hub in Ridgewood N.J., spreading its organizations throughout the northeast.

“Recently, they had a conference that thousands of people attended. The group has been spreading into Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, an aggressive group growing rapidly throughout the U.S.”

He said the church recruits members in malls, on university campuses and have even attracted followers in Costco.

Ross said the group is lacking meaningful accountability of its leadership.

“It is run by a dictatorship from Korea,” Ross said. “This organization takes in millions of dollars a year, which has been disclosed in court records. There is no financial transparency like a budget that discloses disbursements from funds collected annually.”

Ross lists The World Mission Society Church of God alongside organizations like the Waco Davidians, Neo Nazis and the Manson Family in a database of cult groups (https://www.culteducation.com/group.html).

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Another ‘Only Begotten Daughter’

Another Korean messiah – Ahn Sahng-hong & Chang Gil-jah of the World Mission Society Church of God

Video: Come to Heavenly MOTHER

My experience with a cult and its impact on my religious views

Former Members Allege South Korea-Based World Mission Society Church of God, is Actually a ‘Cult’

About a year or more ago (actually when I started this blog) I was going through a religious “journey” for lack of a better word, during this time I was attending church regularly, remaining open minded about other denominations, and just trying to find irrefutable evidence that the God I was raised to fear was in fact out there, watching me, hearing me. Around this time I was invited to, what I know now to be, a cult. I was told it was just a Christian church and that it was just a little “new age”. This took place right after the passing of my grandfather, a man I adored – he was a totally devoted Christian.

I arrived in the church, which was actually a home in a cul-de-sac, and was immediately ushered into a room with a woman, a table, a white board, and the girl I came with. I was told to sit and the the lady started going with what seemed to be a script about the tree of life, father and mother God, Passover, and the kicker – the second coming of Christ. When she started it was all so convincing, she had an answer for every skeptical question I had. At this point it was all just Christianity interpreted in a certain way. When it appeared she had me hooked, she broke out the real insanity.

– mother God is real and lives in Korea and then showed me a picture of my friend and about 500 others standing next to her – the second coming has happened in the form of Korean man Ahnsanghong who has come, been Jesus, and died – if you don’t take Passover at the right time you don’t go to heaven.

Surprisingly, the third point is what just pissed me off. My grandfather, the most loving, devoted, true to heart man, who devoted his life to sharing the word of God, and read the bible cover to cover 21 times in his life, did not go to heaven because he didn’t practice Passover at the time this church suggests is necessary for entrance to Heaven. And this was the pivotal moment, the turning point in my life where I had found the irrefutable evidence I needed. God, in the capacities that I had seen, did not exist.

Since then I have done much research on the cult, the World Mission Society, Church of God, and I have uncovered extremely ugly truths of the brainwashing that takes place here. And my heart breaks for my sweet and loving friend who was recently tricked into a marriage so that she could give a man citizenship. I implore you to research it yourself. 

That being said, I now live my life very happily as an agnostic, I’m at peace with my resolution and feel secure in my beliefs, or lack thereof. However, it would break my family’s hearts if they knew my real beliefs so I keep them between me and like minded friends. I have absolutely no problem with Christianity and no urge to persuade anyone to believe as I do, I respect those who live life devoted to God in a way that does not promote hate towards any other people who may have different life styles, in fact I am engaged to a Christian. What troubles me is the loss of tradition. I was raised Christian and that came with a lot of things I did love, singing in the choir, performing, prayer as a group with my family, community, holiday traditions, also I have no model as how to raise my kids (that don’t exist yet!) based on my beliefs. Additionally, I have no one to thank for my blessings in life, and on the other side no one to turn my troubles to, and know he’s in a better place when people close to me die. But with these bad things that accompany my lack of belief there are so many more positive things, no more guilt, no more fear of death, I am totally free to live and think as I want, but it has in no way affected my moral compass. This is my story, stepping away from religion had made me more accepting, loving and alive than I ever have been and I’m so happy to get to be whoever I want to be.

This is from a tumblr blog. Address and author unknown.

The World Mission Society Church of God (Korean: 하나님의교회 세계복음선교협회) was founded by Ahn Sahng-hong (안상홍) in 1964. The church believes that he was the second coming of Christ. Ahn Sahng-Hong was baptized in 1948 and died in 1985. The current leader of the church is Ahn’s spiritual wife, Chang Gil-jah (장길자, sometimes spelt Xhang Gil Cha or Zang Gil-jah). In the church she is known as “the Heavenly Mother”.

… the World Mission Society purposely leaves out information to attract members. For example, former members have said, the church doesn’t immediately tell new members who Anh Sahng-hong is and that their Messiah has been dead for nearly 30 years. Some members said the church tells people that family members are “Satan” if they tell them to leave the church, and that those who do leave have fallen into evil.

Former Members Allege South Korea-Based World Mission Society Church of God, is Actually a ‘Cult’

Video: Come to Heavenly MOTHER

Another Korean messiah – Ahn Sahng-hong & Chang Gil-jah of the World Mission Society Church of God

Heavenly Mother