Recently I was stopped in the mall by two “missionaries” from the World Mission Society Church of God. The Christchurch base is near The Palms Shopping Centre in Shirley. This is a cult from South Korea, which puts “Mother God” at the centre of its mission, though initially this was not the focus of its beliefs. In recent years this cult has spread widely, particularly also in the United States, where its teachings about “Mother God” has resonated with college students.
A few weeks earlier my wife had a long conversation with some missionaries from that cult, so I had researched the movement a little bit. I knew that its predecessor was founded in Korea in the 1960s, that it split in the 1980s and that today the stronger movement regards the founder not so much as a prophet, but as the second coming of Christ and his mistress at the time as “God the mother”. I also knew that they have sacred writings and see themselves as the real Church of God, and consider all other Christians to follow a paganised version of the faith. I have heard that by now it is a very controlling sect.
I was hurrying through Northlands Mall when I was approached, thinking about all sorts of family responsibilities. I said that I heard a bit about them and thought that we might talk about Christian history, in particular that the Gospel did not descend directly from heaven in Korea in the 20th century.
So, I asked them whether they knew about church history, how God had been with Jesus and how the Gospel had been carried by the apostles from Judea throughout the Roman Empire, east towards India and south to Ethiopia. They said they knew all that.
I then casually said that, of course, God’s interaction with the world goes further back, particularly also through the history of the Jews.
At that point they started arguing vigorously. God was in no way with the Jews, they maintained. Jesus certainly was not a Jew, but a Christian. I was taken aback by the claim that Jesus was not a Jew. I acknowledged that Jesus initiated Christianity and that modern Judaism is quite different from that of Jesus’ time, therefore the teachings of Jesus are more clearly reflected in modern Christianity than modern Judaism; but historically speaking Jesus was the fulfilment of God’s history with the Jews.
The two missionaries shook their heads and said: “No, no, no.” Seeing that I got absolutely nowhere I didn’t push the point. They then asked whether I would be interested to hear about “Mother God”. While I would have wanted to have a discussion with them, I was in a hurry and said that I would have loved to talk with them about Jesus, but maybe we didn’t have time now.
I certainly continue praying for these “missionaries”. Of course, it is not only such cults that today emphasise a sharp differentiation between Jesus and Judaism, it is also more prevalent in the Church today. Nevertheless, such a total lack of any historical awareness is, I think, a common mark of cults. I do hope that in the Church we know more about the history of God’s Church, more about how God has worked through the Jews, and more about Jesus. I also hope that the Church can proclaim the real Good News and combat the confusion sowed by cults.