Church of God a Cult?
Posted On Sunday, November 4, 2007 at at 10:14 AM by John
Is Church of God, World Mission Society, a Cult?
When my friend first spoke to me about Second Coming Christ from Korea ( a man by the name of Christ Ahnsahnghong) and that he establish her church and revealed a Mother God only one idea came to my mind…definitely a cult. So before I went to her Church, as I promised her I would, I look up the definition of what a cult is in various dictionaries so that I could be aware of what to look out for. The following are the results of my search: Dictionary definitions of the term "cult" include at least eight different meanings.
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary lists five different definitions of the word "cult."
1. Formal religious veneration
2. A system of religious beliefs and ritual; also: its body of adherents;
3. A religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents;
4. A system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator;
5. Great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book).
The Random House Unabridged Dictionary's eight definitions of "cult" are:
1. A particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies;
2. An instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers;
3. The object of such devotion;
4. A group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc;
5. Group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols;
6. A religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader;
7. The members of such a religion or sect;
8. Any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.
Webster's New World College Dictionary defines "cult" as:
1a. a system of religious worship or ritual
1b. a quasi-religious group, often living in a colony, with a charismatic leader who indoctrinates members with unorthodox or extremist views, practices or beliefs
2a. devoted attachment to, or extravagant admiration for, a person, principle or lifestyle, especially when regarded as a fad [the cult of nudism]
2b. the object of such attachment
3. a group of followers, sect
Once I read these definitions I came to the conclusion that instead of having some sort of defense against my friends church I started to reflect on my own beliefs based on these definitions. For Lack of time I’m going to express what I mean through a few definitions.
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary:
2. A system of religious beliefs and ritual; also: its body of adherents; {What denominations doesn’t, that whats separates the various denominations}
3. A religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents; {2,000 years ago when Jesus Christ preached the Gospel the people of that time, those who believed in the same creator God and Bible that you and I do, regarded Jesus as the ringleader of the Nazarene Sect because he did things drastically different then what they were accustomed to by the tradition passed on by the forefathers yet were clearly written in the Bible. However, Christ teaching remain the same as they were 2,000 years ago yet now because 1 billion believe in Jesus now it is no longer a cult. Isn’t it kind of hypocritical?
5. Great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement {So if I’m a republican and I support President Bush, or a pacifist and revere the teachings of Gandhi then I’m in a cult? That doesn’t sound right.}
The Random House Unabridged Dictionary's definitions:
4. A group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc; {Isn’t that every religious denomination ?}
5. Group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols; {As a catholic my whole life , I can’t think of a denomination that is more ritualistic or filled with more symbols, statues and images then Catholics. So that must mean that my parents raised me in a cult?}
6. A religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader; {My aunt Cindy was always very religious, but after college her devotion got even stronger and she decide to be a Nun so she went off to live in a covenant to devote herself to God. My family was always so proud of her and they think that shes so holy yet by this definition she’s actually a cult member. Kind of Ironic isn’t it?}
Thus after trying to attack my friend and her new church I ended up realizing that as a Catholic, a Republican and an admirer of Gandhi’s moralistic teaching that I am actually a member of various cults. This is riduculous as you can well see. A cult is merely a group of people who believe in something that is outside that of the mainstream point of view. Yet 2,000 years ago that is exactly why the apostles were martryed because they believed in something and someone who the rest of the world rejected. They views, and ways of worship were thought to be radical and rebelious for the time yet they understood through the scripture that Jesus was the Christ, the Savior, God almighty in the flesh and for that they willing died. What if my friend is not wrong and Second Coming Christ came from Korea and his name was Christ Ahnsahnghong and there is a Mother God, if she can prove it to me 100% through the Bible then I’d be in the same situation as the disciple 2000, that is, choose between God and peoples opinion. I choose God. I’m going to study more about these topics and return to you all with my report. May God bless you all.
When I first started studying at the Church of God World Mission Society and learned about Christ Ahnsahnghong and Heavenly Mother, people told me that I was in a cult. However, I just believe what God said in the Bible. The same way that the apostles believed what the Old Testament said about Jesus Christ. If people want to believe that the apostles of Jesus were in a cult, then maybe you can say we are in one too. Nevertheless, just like you said, if I have to choose God's word or people's opinion, I also choose God.
Yea i always heard of talks about it either being Perfect Truth or a "cult". Weird. Chirst AhnSahngHong came and has stirred up as much talk as Jesus Christ. Who to believe? All i know is for questions on Christ (God), Bible is the source. Where else would one look?
I learned about Christ Ahnsahnghong in the Church of God, and everything they teach is in the Bible. Keep studying and you'll see for yourself. I heard many times people say that its a cult, but like you said, 2000yrs ago that's what they said, too. History repeats itself...
I never thought of it that way...they did always call Jesus Christ and his following ringleaders and members of a cult..Yet now we now Jesus is God and his followers went to Heaven. I definitely dont want to make the same mistakes that the ones 2,000 years ago by calling Jesus a cult leader. Although the teachings of Christ AhnSahngHong arent mainstream everything has been proven through the Bible.
You know, besides everything... truth is truth and no can deny it. Heavens and earth testify to the truth; but, i think people purposely blind themselves to it because it might not be convenient for them to believe.
Even though every kind of historical evidence testifies that Ahnsahnghong is the 2nd coming Christ people deny because it doesn't conform to their own way. it's like 2k yrs ago, why was Christ crucified?... because the belief was too new and it didn't adhere to the path the officials had paved already. Even at the cost of denying their God, they didn't care because of the simple fact that to believe Christ meant they had to change what they had already created for themselves and the people. I believe it's the same now with our Father AhnSahnghong.
I had no idea thats what the word cult actually ment. I always thought that it was the like KKK or that crazy guy that made his follwers drink coolaid all the time. I guess I was under a serious misconception. I'm glad I came across this page. Thank you!
Man! if I'm in a cult i'd rather be in the one that follows correctly the bible! Instead of having myself keeping things that i don't know why i'm keeping them... i'm from LA, new in the Church of God. the first time I heard the name Christ Ahnsahnghong i was like: NO way! but you're right. I mean we are in the same situation as 2000 years ago in the times of Jesus... and u know what? i feel lucky, because I got to meet God! lol... we are really blessed!
I believe God.
I believe God's word as is so.
Many people told me, I believe in cule. But I will not hear people's opinion. Only I believe God's word. I met God really through the Bible.
Thanks to Elohim God.
I also started to study the bible
a couple of weeks ago with church of God world mission society,
I learned about our Father Christ AhnSahngHong their is no way we can say this is not the true.
thanks for the info...
now I can teach the people what the word cult means!!!!!!
I don't think its a cult. I had a friend who went the church of God, and after awhile he became a better person. I could tell that whatever he learned really touched him alot.
I'm a member of the Church of God, and when I first came, I was a HUGE skeptic. You definitely have to come see it for yourself. Come learn about Christ AhnSahngHong through the Bible.
After researching it, I was surprised this church(so called WMC) had huge number of the members all over the world... Oh my~~~!! is it possible?? So many people believes in...
I don't know biblical idea if it is right or wrong... but I'm curious about the source sustaining the organization.
It makes sense. A cult is something that goes against the fundamental (basic) teaching of religion. Yet the Bible teaches Passover, and only Church of God keeps passover. Church of God can't be a cult then...they follow what the Bible says.
I guess the only way to find out if the Church of God is a cult is to study the Bible there yourself. If their teaching comes from man, you will find fault. But if their teaching is from God, then no matter what that church will succeed. Those who oppose Christ Ahnsahnghong will only be fighting against God.
Thank God that I understand the truth about our Father 2k years ago. People don't realize that the same way that Jesus Christ was persecuted and mocked becasue of who He was and no one understood Him, then it's the same now. Our Father Chrsit Ahnsahnghong is God the 2nd Coming Christ. Whether people acknowledge Him now or later, He is who He is.
I had a lot of questions regarding whether or not im in a cult or not and Im so glad that I stuck with the bible studies cuz the more i studied the more I realized that Im not in cult im following the truth..i mean it does make sense whenever someone one goes against the norm everyone is quick to judge...the biggest examples of that are Ghandi, Galileo, Jesus Christ, and nowadays Christ Ahnsahnghong...Truth is truth and is not easily accepted by people in general im glad Im one of those who chose to follow the truth rather than the social norm...truth leads to heaven society leads to destruction...
LOL its amazing the way people ignorantly throw words and ideas around without fully understandnig what they mean. I thank God that Eloihm has allowed me to just follow the word of God as our father taught us 2000 yrs. ago.
Actually what most of us concider to be normal flow of things actually fall into a cult. I guess we just dont realize it. But It's true i'd rather follow God through the bible... at least theres a promise at the end (eternal life). No organized religion can promise that!
Cult....it seems every single religion is a cult. Now I understand why God left us the Bible; because even the truth was going to be labeled as a cult, but through the bible we could find out which of these cults is true and which one is not... the Bible Clearly testifies that Christ Ahnsahnghong is GOD and Mother Jerusalem is God... and that the World Mission Society Church of God is the true Church that keeps Gods feasts, most importantly the New Covenant Passover.
I never knew the word 'cult' had s many definitions.