Shincheonji Church of Jesus
Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, commonly known as Shincheonji Church of Jesus or simply Shincheonji, is a Abrahamic monotheistic new religious movement established in South Korea by Lee Man-hee. It has been described as a pseudoreligion or cult by mainstream churches, however, its defenders say there is no proof for this claim.
Shincheonji's teaching claims that their chairman, Lee Man Hee, is the pastor promised in the New Testament, and that the Book of Revelation is written in secret parables, and that God has revealed the meaning of these parables to Chairman Lee. Before establishing this religious movement, Lee was a member of a controversial group called the Olive Tree, a new religious movement which spawned the first anti-cult movement in postwar Korea, although this connection is not present in Shincheonji's biography of Lee.
Shincheonji teaches it is the one true religion, with its members receiving salvation at the Last Judgment. Everyone not in the group will be denied forgiveness and destroyed.
In 2020, the group became the center of intense scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. The outbreak of COVID-19 was initially centered in Daegu after a 61-year-old Shincheonji member known as "Patient 31" infected other church members, causing the pandemic to surge in the city. As the disease spread among Shincheonji members and thousands of others, there was a national outcry against the group and by February 22, 2020, over 1.3 million South Korean citizens signed an online petition to the Blue House requesting the government to disband Shincheonji entirely. On August 12, 2022, the Supreme Court of Korea upheld the acquittal of Lee Man Hee on charges that he obstructed the government's response to COVID-19 outbreaks in 2020.
Doctrine
The group is apocalyptic and messianic in character, and has been described as a doomsday cult.The group's founder and leader is variously referred to by church followers as "Chairman Lee "; "the Chairman "; "the Promised Pastor "; "the One who Overcomes "; or "the Advocate." Adherents believe Lee is the messenger sent by Jesus Christ, and as having the unique ability to interpret the Book of Revelation. The group also believes in the times of fulfillment of New Testament prophecies, 144,000 adherents and an innumerable great multitude in white, which, comes out of the Great Tribulation, will enjoy salvation and eternal life as promised in Revelation 7. However, as senior leaders and executives within the denomination continue dying, doubts are growing regarding the doctrine of physical immortality.
The group is known for its aggressive, and deceptive proselytizing practices. Due to its poor image in mainstream South Korean society, Shincheonji leaders have at times instructed their followers to lie about their membership, something the group has stated to not be official policy. In 2022, the court ruled the practise as illegal, labelled "Shincheonji Deceptive Evangelism", and defined as members of Shincheonji secretly teaching their doctrines while hiding their affiliation. The group is regarded as heretical by mainstream Christian denominations.
History
Lee Man-hee was born in 1931. In 1967, Lee became a member of the Tabernacle Temple Church which, under pressure from the "religious purification policy" of Chun Doo-hwan, became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. Lee left the Tabernacle Temple in 1971.Some have connected Lee to a countercult movement called Olive Tree, but this connection is not present in Shincheonji's biography of Lee.
On March 14, 1984, Lee founded Shincheonji and opened its first temple that June in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province. Membership grew and in June 1990, the Zion Christian Mission Center was established in Seoul. In 1995, the membership within South Korea was divided into 12 "tribes," according to geographic territories. In 1999, the headquarters were moved to Gwacheon, which has a prophetic meaning within Shincheonji theology. Mainline Christian churches became alarmed at the loss of members, and the first cases of deprogramming Shincheonji members began in 2002. The clash between the Chonnam National University Christian Student Union and Shincheonji at that time marked the starting point for the organized response against Shincheonji.
Organization and structure
The church says its organization replicates the heavenly spiritual organization in Revelation 4. Shincheonji consists of 24 administrative departments, centered around the chairman, who is considered the Promised Pastor in the New Testament. There are also seven educational directors responsible for education, and twelve tribe leaders, named after the twelve disciples of Jesus, who lead "tribes" consisting of smaller churches.The Twelve Tribes
The names of the twelve tribes are taken from the names of Twelve Apostles.- Seoul James: northern Seoul, northeastern Gyeonggi Province
- John: southern Seoul, southern Gyeonggi Province
- Bartholomew: western Seoul, western Gyeonggi Province
- Matthew: Incheon Metropolitan City
- Simon: northern Seoul, northwestern Gyeonggi Province
- Philip: Gangwon Province, parts of North Chungcheong Province
- Matthias: the rest of North Chungcheong Province, South Chungcheong Province, Daejeon Metropolitan City, Sejong Special Autonomous City
- Thaddaeus: North Gyeongsang Province, Daegu Metropolitan City
- Andrew: South Gyeongsang Province, Busan Metropolitan City, Ulsan Metropolitan City, Jeju Island
- Busan James: Gangseo District in Busan Metropolitan City, the rest of South Gyeongsang Province
- Thomas: North Jeolla Province
- Peter: South Jeolla Province, Gwangju Metropolitan City
Seasons and festivals
Founding Anniversary (March 14)
This day commemorates the date when Lee Man-hee, titled chairman, founded Shincheonji.Passover (January 14)
is observed on January 14. The origin of Passover for Christians and Jews generally lies in events reported in Exodus 12:1-14, Leviticus 23:5, when God judged Egypt with Ten Plagues through Moses and delivered the Israelites, from slavery in Egypt. The Passover observed by Shincheonji is more focused on the promise made by Jesus reported in Luke 22:14-20 and Matthew 26:17-29. It is a festival of thanksgiving to God for guiding them through the revealed Word and for leading them out of spiritual Babylon to spiritual Zion, which is the path to life.Feast of Tabernacles (July 15)
The origin of the Feast of Tabernacles is found in what Leviticus 23:33-44 reports as God's command to Moses that Israelites should dwell in booths to remember their journey out of Egypt. Rather than physical booths made of grass, in modern celebrations people are metaphorically referred to as grass. The Feast of Tabernacles is observed as a journey by the members of Shincheonji from a world without the group's teachings into a world with them. These members are said to become spiritual booths where the Holy Spirit dwells, and they offer thanksgiving to God.Feast of Ingathering (September 24)
The origin of the Feast of Ingathering is the practice reported in Exodus 23:14-17 where Israelites would offer thanks to God as they harvested their crops and stored them in barns. Today, the Feast of Ingathering is observed as a spiritual harvest, a festival of thanksgiving for being harvested and gathered into God's kingdom, the barn. The date was chosen as the anniversary of when the foundation of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was laid, as extrapolated from Haggai 2.Membership
In 2014, it was estimated to have over 120,000 members, while a 2020 estimate put membership at around 200,000. It was once the fastest-growing religious church in South Korea.In March 2020, health authorities of the Government of South Korea investigating the COVID-19 pandemic officially declared to the press that they obtained an exact list of 317,320 registered Shincheonji members.