The date and location of a meeting to discuss concerns about the activities of a “cult” is being kept a secret because there are fears of it being hijacked.
The meeting is being called by University of Auckland chaplain Rev Dr Carolyn Kelly.
Church leaders, pastors, chaplains, police, youth leaders and concerned parents will be coming together to discuss the recruitment activities of a South Korean-linked group accused of teaching a “theology of deception”.
This is not the first time the Shincheonji, or the “New Heaven and New Earth” church, has been the focus of concern since it was established in Auckland.
It is alleged that Sincheonji has been recruiting members from Christian churches and universities using “deceitful methods”.
Kelly said there has been evidence and news reports of Shincheonji elsewhere…with churches responding to heightened activity and concerns for young adults being lured in.
“These reports have exactly mirrored the anecdotal evidence I have heard in Auckland,” she said.
Steve Worsley, the lead pastor of Mt Albert Baptist Church, said his church had lost members, including some leaders, to the group.
Worsley said recruiters, called “harvest reapers”, joined his church under the pretence of being regular attendees.
“But they are on the lookout for people they can invite away to one of their Bible studies,” said Worsley, who will be at the meeting.
“It would be fine if they were another open and trustworthy denomination, they’re not – they teach that their founder is immortal and he teaches hatred towards outsiders.”
Worsley said recruits were not told who the group really is until they were “well down the track”.
Scott Watson, a Shincheonji leader, denies the accusations. “An individual’s choice about which religion or belief to follow is a personal matter and not something that media and society can judge to be right or wrong.”
Source
- New Zealand Herald
- Image: Tumbir