"Bible Study", Parachristo warning from Church of England

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It’s not just Korean religious leaders who have spoken out about the group’s use of deception.

In December last year, leaders from the Church of England sent out warnings to parishes in London, telling them to beware of a non-profit group called Parachristo. The group is understood to be a front for Shinchonji.

“This group has no connection whatsoever with the Diocese of London and has no authority to promote itself amongst our churches,” reads a statement sent by church officials. “A call for vigilance has been issued to all churches in the Diocese.”

A statement from Rev. John Peters, that rector at St. Mary’s in London, used even stronger language to describe the group offering Bible study classes under the name Parachristo.

“A number of members of London churches have been pulled into this cult and gradually they are encouraged to cut all ties with friends and family,” reads the message from Peters, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

In April, similar warnings were issued about Shinchonji’s alleged activities in New Zealand.

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The path to becoming a member of the church of Shinchonji usually begins in a classroom. Chanting disrupts critical thinking and fosters group bonding.

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In one of the classrooms, 40 or so students sit behind desks and answer rapid-fire questions about the scriptures from their teacher, who writes notes on the chalkboard up front.

Throughout the exercise, a woman with bright red lipstick in the back of the classroom sits in front of a microphone and prompts the class every 15 seconds or so to respond in unison with a robust, “Amen!”

On the wall outside, there is a sign with the name of the study center. But it does not include the name Shinchonji. And that is typical.

Believers say they must keep the locations of their group’s activities secret, because they face so much persecution, especially from other Christians. Some churches in South Korea, in fact, post signs that say something to the effect, "No Shinchonji."

Lee, the director of the Bible study center I visited, says she has been a member of Shinchonji since 1999.

“We offer a very deep course of study into the Bible,” she says. “This is different than other churches.”

“The students would like to come to class seven days a week, but we limit it to five,” Lee says.

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The founder of Shinchonji goes on to say that prominent Christian leaders in South Korea and elsewhere only criticize Lee out of jealousy. He says his church is growing, while their churches are shrinking.

Lee sees the persecution that he faces as evidence that he is on the right track. After all, he tells me, wasn’t Jesus persecuted by prominent religious leaders of his time? His critics, Lee says, “are not connected to God. They don't know Bible.”

This leads me to ask about the “narrow path” to heaven offered by the teachings of Shinchonji. In 2,000 years of Christian history, I ask, is Shinchonji the only real way to God?

“Yes, that’s right,” Lee says.

Before leaving, I ask Lee another sensitive question. Who will take over for him after he dies?

At this point, Lee’s interpreter seems to get a little nervous, and he hesitates to translate the question. When it is finally put to Lee, he answers with a few words in English.

“I don’t know,” he says. “This is a nonsense question,” Lee adds in Korean.

But some mainstream Christian critics of Shinchonji say this question gets to the heart of why Lee Man-hee is preaching what they see as heresy.

‘He will live forever’

“Shinchonji people believe that he will live forever,” says J-il Tark of Busan Presbyterian University, referring to Lee Man-hee.

Tark is an expert on heretical Christian groups, and he says Shinchonji is one of the most prominent of them in South Korea today. Korean Christians are “strongly against Shinchonji,” Tark says.

That's because the believers of Shinchonji, “are attacking the core belief of Christianity,” Tark says, by equating their founder with the second coming of Jesus. That, he adds, puts Shinchonji far outside of the Christian mainstream.

Another controversial aspect of Shinchonji is the way the group recruits new members. In general, competition among Christian churches to grow their congregations can be fierce in South Korea, where about a third of the country’s population belongs to one Christian denomination or another.

But Shinchonji stands apart, says Byun Sang-wook. Byun is a broadcaster with CBS, a Christian television station in South Korea. He produced a television documentary series that is highly critical of Shinchonji.

“Shinchonji members infiltrate other churches and try to lure people to their Bible study classes. And when new students sign up, they are not told right away that the class is part of Shinchonji,” Byun says