This group, accused of exhibiting cult-like behaviour, reportedly holds significant influence within Google. There have been claims that the group is actively recruiting new members to join the tech giant.

A spokesperson from Google said, "It's against the law to ask for the religious affiliations of those who work for us or for our suppliers, but we'll, of course, thoroughly look into these allegations for any irregularities or improper contracting practices. Read more

Nigerian police in Ondo Town were stunned to find the hostages locked in the tiny cell beneath the Whole Bible Believers Church which they had reportedly been told to stay in. Read more

He alleged that as many as 12 Fellowship of Friends members and close relatives worked for the Google Developer Studio. Read more

Last year she and her husband, former Tarzan actor Joe Lara, as well as five other leaders within Remnant Fellowship, died in a plane crash.

Now a docuseries, The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin on HBO Max examines the dark world of the Remnant Fellowship. Watch the trailer. Read more

Eleven days later, two lawyers, a private investigator and a forensic expert showed up at Simmons' Mangere Bridge home just before dawn.

They had a court order to search every electronic device in his home.

The order was made ‘without notice' - meaning Simmons had no clue what was coming.

An independent, court-appointed solicitor was on hand to explain to Simmons that his former boss Peter Bishop, understood to be one of the church's top elders in New Zealand, and employer Rock Solid Holdings were making a series of serious claims against him in a civil action before the Auckland High Court Read more

Phelps-Roper is the granddaughter of Fred Phelps, founder of the Westboro Baptist Church known for picketing funerals of U.S. service members.

Since leaving the church, Megan has become an advocate for people and ideas she was once taught to despise Read more

Police have charged a man who holds Permanent Residency status in New Zealand with five counts of murder and one of attempted murder in relation to the deaths of the family of five from Legalega. Read more

Also, a bottle of anointing oil, blended with olive oil from the Holy Land will be given free of charge.

Martyn Bradbury, posting on the Daily Blog, has some questions about it all.

P.S. The small print says the Ark is a replica. Read more

Liz Gregory says it's now time to set up a trust to help support those who had made the "massive" decision to leave the community of about 500 members. Read more

As Dan Bobkoff reports in Business Insider's new podcast, "Household Name," the church service mixes Catholicism with a local religion, and it's said that parishioners at the church believe that burping purges evil from the soul. And, well, Coke makes you burp. Read more

Social Democratic Liberal Party leader Sitiveni Rabuka is also calling urgently for an investigation into the running of the Grace Road Group.

The Grace Road Group of companies runs dozens of businesses in Fiji employing at least 300 Koreans and 100 locals.

Fiji Trades Union Congress National Secretary Felix Anthony said the case had exposed local immigration and labour authorities.

Anthony said it was not the only company that was bringing in foreign workers.

"Work permits are issued willy-nilly despite the fact that we have workers in Fiji who could do [that] work and we have people unemployed in this country. So it's all about cheap labour."

Rabuka claimed that since 2014, the church had established a group of at least eight limited liability companies in Fiji.

He also claimed that the group's construction arm was carrying out refurbishment of the official residences and executive office of two high Fijian Government officials.

"It is also interesting that in October 2017, after only three years in Fiji, the Grace Road Group was awarded the Prime Minister's International Business Award supported by the governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji.

"The award was given on the premise that the company demonstrated innovative farming methods, passion and a strong desire for quality leading to excellence."

The six members of the Grace Road Church in Fiji were detained after its founder, Shin Ok-Joo, was arrested in Seoul for enslavement.

They have subsequently been released without charge after the intervention of the Attorney General's office.

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz
• fijtimes
• Image: fijisun.com.fj

Esther, whose legal name is Shin Ok-ju', is the founder of the Grace Road Church.

The church has a corporate branch called the GR Group.

Esther was arrested with three other cult leaders when they arrived at Seoul's Incheon International Airport last week.

Cult members began travelling to Fiji in 2014 after Esther predicted there would be a famine across the Korean peninsula.

Once they arrived, their passports were confiscated and many were allegedly subjected to beatings and brutal rituals ostensibly aimed at driving out evil spirits.

GR Group has opened businesses in Fiji in industries ranging from construction to agriculture.

The Grace Road Church and the GR Group have maintained connections at the highest levels of the Fiji government.

Pictures in local media and on the GR website show Fiji Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama personally appearing beside GR Group's president to give the company an award for its business successes in 2017.

When questioned by Fijivillage, Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho confirmed that they have been contacted by South Korean authorities.

The Fijian Police have started preliminary investigations while they await official notification.

Some followers who escaped the farm told journalists that those who attempted to leave the church were subjected to severe public beatings known as "ground thrashings."

This is not the first time Esther has been in trouble with the law. She was sued for $6m in 2014 in Brooklyn by a 27-year-old mentally ill man after she tried to cure his schizophrenia with prayer.

Source

• japantimes.co.jp
• theguardian.com
• fijivillage.com
• edition.cnn.com
• Image: edition.cnn.com

She says it has infiltrated university campuses, schools and mainstream churches in New Zealand under the guise of being a Christian movement.

It also uses the names Nikau Church, Christian Gospel Mission and Jesus Morning Star.

Providence was founded in 1978 by Jung Myung-Seok, now 73, known by members as "Joshua."

Jung Myung-Seok claims to be the second coming of Christ.

But he has spent the past ten years in jail in Korea after being convicted of rape.

Reverend Dr Carolyn Kelly works as a chaplain at the University of Auckland. She told Labone that Providence was "recruiting under my nose."

After becoming aware of the presence of the cult in the university, Kelly began following Providence through social media.

She found social media associated with the group was used for recruitment, with special language for young members. It refers to teenagers as "shining stars" and younger children as "milky ways."

Kelly also talked to ministers at local Presbyterian and other mainstream churches and discovered they were having a problem with Providence "recruiters" operating in their congregations.

The cult members are known to have infiltrated a Wellington high school, and Victoria and Massey Universities, by presenting to assemblies and setting up dance, sports and modelling groups.

In Auckland, the sect ran a dance group called Make Wings Dance for children as young as three.

The Providence-run "Kotuku Models" operated in New Zealand for several years but is now defunct.

Labone said that over the months of her investigation into Providence's New Zealand activities, she put questions to the church leadership several times.

Providence declined to answer specific questions about their operations in New Zealand, their recruiting methods and leader Jeong Myeong-Seok.

Source

• noted.co.nz
• nzherald.co.nz
• www.vice.com
• Image: nzherald.co.nz

He had been suffering from cancer.

Cooper's funeral took place on Wednesday, but outsiders were not allowed to attend.

They were able to email condolence messages to the community.

Two cars blocked the entrance to the community on Wednesday morning.

It is understood community members wanted to keep the funeral an internal affair.

According to the 2015 TVNZ documentary "Gloriavale: Life and Death," when someone dies at Gloriavale no one calls a funeral director.

"They can handle everything themselves. Noah Hopeful gets cracking on the coffin," the narrator said.

Bodies are washed and dressed by family members and placed in a spare chiller. There is no embalming and the coffins are simple and made of MDF.

They are spray-painted white, with some poetry on top.

Hopeful Christian...born Neville Cooper, was the sect's leader for more than 40 years before retiring in 2010.

He remained an influential figure, holding the position of "Overseeing Shepherd."

Cooper came to New Zealand from Australia in 1967.

He set himself up as a Christian preacher and spoke around the country, but he quickly fell out of favour with mainstream religious groups because of his fundamentalist preachings.

He changed his name to Hopeful Christian sometime after setting up Gloriavale Christian Community - named after his first wife Gloria - in 1969 in North Canterbury.

The community, which has about 600 members, moved to the West Coast in the early 1990s. It now sits on the shores of Lake Haupiri, a remote part of the West Coast.

Christian was thought to have at least 19 children with three different wives.

The trust owns land worth about $10 million along with buildings, vehicles and equipment worth about $20 million.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: tvnz.co.nz

The document allegedly included clauses that stopped members from speaking about the community to outsiders and others that prohibited any legal action, TVNZ reported. Continue reading

Flyers offer a free barbecue lunch, including dumplings, and Chinese services every Saturday and Sunday at the religion's central Auckland headquarters on Grafton Rd. Continue reading

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

Rev Dr Carolyn Kelly, chaplain at the University of Auckland, said JMS had been active for "quite some time" at the university and there were grave concerns for safety of female students.

Often they are promised lucrative modelling contracts.

But the cult, which uses multiple aliases, ultimately wants members to be "purified" by having sex with their leader Jung Myung-seok. Continue reading