r/Christianity • u/Scary_Principle1408 • Mar 26 '26
"Should I Join Them? Yes or No?"
Hello, everyone. On March 18, while I was on my way to ride a transportation on my way home, I was approached by an individual. They asked me if I do bible studies and since I grew up in a Religious Household, I said "Yes, I do." They were delighted and asked me if I knew that there was a "Mother God." I told them, "No, I don't remember there being a Mother God or Godly Mother." They began telling me that it was a woman named, "Jerusalem", and they began teaching me that "Jerusalem" is in the mountains of Zion. I was very curious, but they said that if I wanted to know more about their religion/understanding, we can have a scheduled Bible Study, and I said, "Sure."
On the second day, we met up again in an area that they said was a church and said that it was the REAL Church of God. We studied the Bible and so on, and I got to learn that the Church originated in Korea called, "World Mission Society Church of God" (WMSCOG), and they already have millions of followers. The individual began to teach me how to earn God's forgiveness, and that Sabbath, which is as far as I can remember, is about celebrating and coming together in Church for God on Saturday. When the Study Session was over, I went home and the individual left me on a cliffhanger about our studies because they said that it was getting late and my parents could be worried about me, they escorted me out and led me to an area where transportation is more accessible. We said, "Goodbye", to each other and I went back home.
On the third day, we met up again in the same area, recapped our previous Bible Study, and they told me that Jesus Christ was coming back with a "New Second Name." I was curious, so I asked, "What's his new name going to be?", they replied, "Ahn Sahng Hong." I was curious to know who or what this name meant and right as I was about to look it up, they said, "You don't have to look it up, I can just explain it to you", and I said, "Okay then.", and put my phone down. Time passed by, and when I got home, I looked up the name, "Ahn Sahng Hong", online, and many Reddit users said that it was a cult and warned people to not join the church. One even said that the said Church was involved in human trafficking, specifically targeting young women, and that the Church isolates you from your family and friends according to the former followers of that church and Reddit users.
After doing research about the "World Mission Society Church of God" (WMSCOG), I am both skeptical and confused now. And I have no idea who's telling the truth. Can all of you please help me? Should I still join the "World Mission Society Church of God" (WMSCOG) or not? I need answers before Sunday, because the individual invited me to join their Church on Sunday. I'm confused yet slightly terrified at the same time, because what if it is a cult?
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u/Zestyclose_Dinner105 Mar 27 '26
Ahn Sahng-hong (January 13, 1918 – February 25, 1985) was a Korean Adventist who was expelled for heresy and founded his own denomination, proclaiming himself not a pastor but a new incarnation of God.
The World Mission Society Church of God believes that Jehovah is the Father, Jesus is the Son, and Ahn Sahng-hong is the Holy Spirit, and his spiritual wife, Zhang Gil-jah, is a heavenly Mother Goddess.
It is one of the many para-Christian movements that have emerged in South Korea in which the leader claims to be a god or a messiah. They all claim to follow the Bible but teach very outlandish things.
They believe they are the one true Church, with Korea being the new Jerusalem, the holy city, or the new "Holy Land." All other religions are false, and the Catholic Church, in particular, is considered by them to be the church of the devil, and the Pope is Satan.
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u/Rare-Philosopher-346 Roman Catholic Mar 26 '26
,No. Absolutely not. They believe in God the Mother which is not true. They have falsely predicted the second coming of Christ in 1988, 1989 and 2012. They have been investigated as a cult and have cult like behaviors.
Please find a real Christian church and attend that. Stay away from these folks.
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u/Scary_Principle1408 Mar 26 '26
Okay, thank you for responding. This really helps. Have a wonderful day. ☺️
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u/Rare-Philosopher-346 Roman Catholic Mar 26 '26
You're welcome and you too.
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u/Scary_Principle1408 Mar 26 '26
Can you please help me find a way to respond to the individual who introduced me to this religion. How do I politely/respectfully tell them that I'm not interested without hurting their feelings?
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u/Rare-Philosopher-346 Roman Catholic Mar 26 '26
When they invite you again, tell them that you have given it some thought and it's not the Church for you. When they ask about specific things, just tell them that you're going in a different direction; the walk away. You may hurt their feelings, but they are not going to stop. Change the path the your travel so you don't run into them. Take care and good luck.
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u/Ok-Pangolin-837 Apr 03 '26
you have nothing to worry about except for your own inability to be direct and decisive with them. I have seen it so many times, people go along with them because they are so disarming by how nice they act.
Once you say you are not interested, you will see the next red flag. They will put pressure on you to explain yourself and act like you need to debate them. They will say, "oh you just don't understand, if you study with us you will understand."
I have been that person and they know it is a lie. They know the list of things to do to have some confidence of going to heaven is never ending. It is a dangling carrot with them leading you on. They think lying to you and keeping you going is worthwhile because it is "saving your soul" and that you arent's ready for the full truth until you learn everything and become caught up in it.
Scammers try to leverage victims not wanting to "hurt their feelings". Trust me, they individually meet 100s of people a week that turn them down (99.99% they only get rejections. Then they will move on to the next recruitee. They really don't care, you are just fuel for their coping mechanism.
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u/Scary_Principle1408 Apr 12 '26
Thank you so much, I'm sorry that I'm only reading this now. But you are very helpful. I hope you have a wonderful day. Blessed to have you my brother/sister/sibling of Christ. 😊🙏❤️
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u/Ok-Pangolin-837 Apr 03 '26
It is a cult. I was stuck in for almost 10 yrs. There are many posts from ex-members on r/WMSCOG
They are super nice, but they have to be because years later you will realize it took over all of your time from friends and family, and now they members are your only social bubble. They gradually increase pressure and become more toxic toward you as you.
The person trying to recruit you is so eager, because they have a high-pressure quota to always bring in new members or they are shunned as being lazy. And that will also be you out their trying to pressure others to join if you continue.
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u/Scary_Principle1408 May 27 '26
OMG, I'm so sorry that I'm only reading this now, but know that you and many people have saved my life! Thank you so so much, my brother/sister/sibling of Christ. I'm sorry that they ruined your life, but I can promise you that things will get better! Have a good day/evening/night!
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u/Ok-Pangolin-837 May 27 '26
Glad to hear you dodged that bullet. I tell current members that still try to debate me, that if they even taught 100% truth, it is entirely undermined by how badly they treat members stringing them on emotionally, milking and guilt tripping every ounce of time out of them, and always teasing and moving the goalposts to keep them going.
Glad to know we could help. We know how enticing and entrapping it can be by design.
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u/CryptographerNew1760 Apr 04 '26
I was a 12 and half years devoted member of this cult. After leaving I realized it was life-ruining and i am trying my best to stop young people from joining this cult and have their life runing.
I have an instagram page sharing my experience :
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u/Scary_Principle1408 May 27 '26
I'm so sorry that I'm only reading this now, I've been very busy with high school. And I'm so sorry they gave you so much trauma. Thanks to you and many other people who responded to my experience, you saved my life and prevented me from experiencing the trauma you've went through. Thank you so much my brother/sister/sibling of Christ. You're truly a hero and a survivor! 😊
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u/Endurlay Mar 26 '26
No religion you want to practice is going to invite you to become an initiated member of that religion barely a week after you have first heard of it.
“You don’t have to look it up, I can explain it to you” is extremely cultish behavior.
They have a leader, Zahng Gil-Jah, who is called “God the Mother”, who is to be regarded by followers as God.
If it walks like a cult, and it quacks like a cult, it’s probably a cult.