Suspicious behaviour and other red flags within Shincheonji (SCJ)
Disclaimer
This list is by no means exhaustive, and is based on my own experiences from the 3.5 months I was with SCJ. Others’ experiences with these behaviours (if any) may differ from mine. However, my goal here is to point out some suspicious behaviours and practices that may emerge early on during one’s time with SCJ. I’ll also add several tips for escaping SCJ at the end. Please feel absolutely free to comment with any of your own points and experiences.
There will be references to the Bible in this post, but SCJ’s interpretation of Scripture (as outlandish and misleading as it is) is not the main focus here. I’ve chosen instead to talk about SCJ’s behaviour and practices because, from what I’ve read in many testimonies, these are usually among the first things that people notice, and that cause people to question the group.
And to those of you out there who are as fascinated by the practices of cults and fringe groups as I am… I hope you enjoy.
Lying and deception
SCJ conceals its identity by lying about who they really are. If you ask a teacher which organisation they’re affiliated with, they may give you a name, only for you to find nothing of relevance when you look it up. One of my teachers (whom I’ll call Leanne) told me her group was called “Living Bread Ministries”, and when I looked them up, I found nothing in my city. When I asked her about it again, she explained they were from the USA. Sure enough, there are loads of ministries in the USA named “Living Bread” or similar, but none of them have operations in Australia, or even in Leanne’s home country (where she had allegedly come to know them).
SCJ encourages members to lie to others about their whereabouts, or how they’re spending their time. Leanne told me that, if my parents seemed concerned about me going to Bible class, I could tell them I had “spent some extra time in the library”. When I confronted her over this later on, she claimed I was misunderstanding her.
Even the teachers may take steps to hide their identity. When Leanne (whom we were to call “teacher Leanne” in class) gave us her phone number, she told us we could just save her contact as “T Leanne” instead of “Teacher Leanne”, so that people wouldn’t see the word “teacher” and ask about it. Make no mistake, the Bible is clear: lying is wrong, whatever the purpose (Proverbs 6:17, Proverbs 12:22, Romans 3:5-8).
Restricting communication with others
Teachers will overtly tell you not to let “other people” (i.e. non-SCJ members) know about class content, or even about your attendance of classes. This includes your family, friends, and pastor. They’ll claim it’s to prevent them from persecuting you and/or interfering with your understanding of the teachings. They’ll also tell you that you shouldn’t be sharing what you’ve learned until you’ve finished the course and understood everything.
They even try to sow distrust of non-SCJ members. They quote Micah 7:5-6 (out of context, may I add) to justify this, and claim Satan can work through people close to you to discourage you from coming to Bible study and “listening to the Word”. While that may be true, we were simply told this as a fact; we were not told what to do in response. Essentially, this was likely told to us with the intent of isolating us from non-SCJ members.
Students are barred from exchanging contact details. We were to only have teachers’ phone numbers. The teachers claimed that this was to prevent us from interfering with each other’s understanding of the teachings. In effect, this meant that the only time I could talk to most of my classmates was when we all met up for Bible class – during which the teachers would be able to listen into any discussion we had amongst ourselves. So, I do suspect this rule was also to prevent us from spreading doubts, suspicions, or anything of that sort about the Bible study group without the teachers noticing.
Withholding and restricting access to information
One concept they repeatedly drum into students is that, if one has a question about something in the Bible, the answer has to come only from the Bible. It sounds simple enough, but this means students are forbidden from using Bible commentaries and other resources such as Christian websites (because the authors allegedly interpret things according to their “own thoughts”). Essentially, the only approved resource for understanding the Bible is the group’s teaching.
Questions about class content are frequently met with “you’ll get to learn this later”, and even when there aren’t any questions, the teachers often say the same thing on their own accord while tutoring. What makes this suspicious to me is that they say this even for “very important” (in Leanne’s words) topics, such as the Trinity (which SCJ denies, but they very likely won’t tell that to new students).
In class, it was unofficially established that we were to use only the New International Version (NIV), in print. During my basic (one-on-one) classes, I was allowed to use the New Living Translation (NLT), which is my personal preferred version, a couple of times. Nevertheless, for the most part, the teacher would actively direct me to her NIV print Bible whenever she wanted me to read a passage.
Now, consider the verse Isaiah 34:16. The NIV’s rendition of this verse states that, in the scroll of the Lord, “none of these will be missing, not one will lack her mate”. According to SCJ, this means that all verses in the Bible are paired, and so the various concepts in the Bible should be interpreted using only verses from the Bible. This seems like a legitimate claim, but consider the NLT, which specifies that “not one of these birds and animals will be missing, and none will lack a mate”. Even with the NIV, reading the preceding verses will tell you that Isaiah 34:16 refers to wild animals and not Bible verses. Going by this example, perhaps the reason SCJ standardises the version to use is because it wants to prevent students from comparing different translations of the Bible. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. (And for the record, I have nothing against the NIV, the translators who helped produce it, or the people who like to use it. I’m simply stating things as they are.)
Monitoring of attendance and behaviour
The teachers won’t say this directly, but attendance of class is pretty much mandatory. They won’t accept any excuse for missing class – not even illness, and especially not work or university commitments. They’ll even tell you that such commitments, where they clash with Bible class, are tricks from Satan to prevent you from attending. Now this didn’t happen to me personally (because I attended all my classes), but I’ve read in other testimonies that teachers will harass students who do miss class by spamming them with text messages.
Also, strict punctuality is expected, which by itself isn’t unreasonable, but they’re exceedingly particular about it. Looking at my university schedule, I told Leanne there would be several days where I could be late to class, and upon hearing that, she actually told me to compile those dates into a list and send it to her.
In class, teachers repeatedly warn against falling asleep, saying that Satan makes you sleepy so you can’t “listen to the Word”. We students were told to keep an eye on the people next to us, and nudge them awake if we noticed them falling asleep. On multiple occasions, our head teacher even commented on how tired we looked coming into the afternoon class, and encouraged us to “have more energy to listen to God’s Word” instead of looking like we were “carrying the troubles of the world”.
At the end of every class, without fail, teachers go around and double-check that students have understood the material, and also remind them to come to the next class. This is pretty excessive if you ask me, considering that classes are already run on a rigid schedule and we students know full well when the next class will be. But it does show you just how much emphasis SCJ puts on class attendance (and indoctrination).
Teachers will maintain constant contact via text message, even outside of class. Generally, they’ll ask how you’re doing and also remind you to come to any upcoming classes. Back when I was attending basic classes, my teacher would text me almost daily. She even did it when I went on holiday that December with my family (albeit a little less frequently)! Bear in mind, this was coming from a lady whom I had known only for a short time, and who was several years older than me.
Tips for escaping
Keep it short and sweet. If you wish to leave, leave as soon as you can. Avoid attending any more classes or otherwise hanging around for extended periods, as this could send mixed signals to the teachers.
Be firm without being rude. Whether you’re conversing over text message or in person, remember that your teacher is human. Be steadfast in your decision to leave, but don’t ignore what they have to say. Make sure you have a firm reason for leaving, and that the teacher gets to hear it.
No need to push for a confession. Established SCJ members may have invested loads of time and energy into the group, so leaving could cost them everything. What I’m saying is that there may be no getting your teacher to confess. If you’ve already got evidence that points to your Bible study group being SCJ, then that’s all the confirmation you really need. It’s better to be on the safe side than to associate with a group that exhibits any of the above-mentioned behaviours.
On a related note, know when to break off the conversation. If you find the teacher is continually ignoring your points or evading your questions, recognise that the conversation will likely go nowhere. Prolonging it will only prove pointless and frustrating. They will generally leave you alone if you mention the name “Shincheonji”.
Remember, help is always available! There are people around you who care about you and want to help you through this experience. If you are feeling troubled, please don’t hesitate to talk to a trusted family member, friend, or member of your church. If needed, seek professional help from a counsellor. There are even organisations out there that specialise in helping ex-cult members recover, such as Cult Consulting Australia.
And if you are a Christian, pray. I trust that most of the people caught up in SCJ are simply misguided and aren’t malicious by any means. Pray that God will open the eyes of SCJ members to see Him and His Word for what they really are. Pray that He will give them the strength and courage to escape. And for those who have escaped, pray that God will reassure them of His perfect love which casts out all fear.
(Edited for formatting.)
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