Recognizing a cult in America is not always so easy. Americans tend to be drawn to groups who seem generous, have a clear vision, and do charity work. Today I came across an article that highlights one such cult group, and its characteristics. I found it highly relevant.
Why is this group called a cult?
Here are some reasons reported.
Former members allege that they were pressured to spend most of their free time at the church and were kept so busy they did not get enough sleep, which made them more susceptible to the teachings.
One former member reported the church coerced her into getting an abortion.
Ex-members said they agreed to donate 10 percent or more of their incomes in tithes and other offerings as a show of devotion to the Heavenly Mother.
Former members said it was common for people to give up dreams of careers and families because church leaders asked congregants to devote themselves to the gospel.
How did the group respond?
Here are the few responses of the group.
The church denied encouraging abortions, saying that such decisions were a “private matter” and that many members had children.
The church said that many members remain close to relatives who are not part of the church.
How does the group interact with the public?
The public sees the group as “very helpful” as the group does charity work.
As the church has grown, it has gained a reputation for public service, including holding large blood drives that draw members from its East Coast branches.
They show up at picnics for the elderly.
Church members, wearing their distinctive yellow shirts, take on difficult tasks, such as removing downed tree limbs after Superstorm Sandy.
What group is this?
You can read more about this group now, thanks to some lawsuits. The value of the lawsuits is not in winning the suit, but in exposing the group.
Controversy Engulfs Ridgewood Church from South Korea in New Jersey
For those familiar with our blog here, what sounds familiar? What is different from other Korean groups? Is the lawsuit path helpful or not?
At first I thought they were talking about UBF. But when they mentioned charity work and public service, it was clear that this must be another group. How ironic.
What Chris said.
Based on what is written here, it seems that this group is a little healthier than UBF, because they engage in real public service. They appear to be far more rooted in their local community than a typical UBF chapter. (Unless, of course, their community service is just a public relations campaign to help recruit people to grow their organization.)
Thanks for sharing this Brian. The prowling Enemy seeks out more whom he may devour. I’m not sure if you can embed their name into this site for the sake of helping their ex-members and/or current members as well. A cult by any other name will still much havoc wreak! (Thank you, Shakespeare!)
Here are the quotes from the article that most struck me as common cult identifiers:
1. “No one joins a cult,” Colon said. “People are systematically influenced to join cults by members who are trained to manipulate and use fear and guilt as weapons.”
2. Ramos said he had been instructed to bring new church members along slowly because you “don’t feed a baby solid food.” They would be taught early on that the church observes Passover and the day of rest is Saturday, he said, but it might take months to mention the Heavenly Mother.
3. Members were told not to tell their families details about the church’s teachings because “they wouldn’t understand,” Ramos said. And church leaders advised them to be wary of family members objecting to their new religion because it might be “Satan masquerading as a relative,” Ramos said.
4. Monitors were assigned to watch over new members and report back to church leaders, he said. Those who asked too many questions, he said, were asked to leave.
5. Colon said she was ordered to sit apart from other members after returning to the church following a hiatus because talking to them would “infect them with my doubts. I was told I would kill them spiritually.”
6. “It’s like something out of that old movie ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers,’” said one mother who lives in another part of the country. “He and his church people are the only ones who have ‘the truth.’ … It’s like you have lost a family member. They aren’t dead, but they’re not there anymore, either. I miss him.”
In terms of the lawsuit, I’m not sure what I think. It kind of seems like a slippery slope that could quickly be used to trample on the religious freedoms of legitimate churches. I think in order for it to be plausible, there would have to be very clear guidelines established for what constitutes a cult to avoid legitimate churches from becoming unwitting targets of undue persecution. That is what makes groups like this especially repugnant- their sick, twisted agendas bring great harm and defamation upon the Christian community at large.
“It’s like something out of that old movie ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers,'”
Indeed. It would appear that my book title is aptly named…Identity Snatchers. Co-opting your identity is one distinguishing mark between a healthy religion and a cultic NRM (new religious movement).
I found this article from Steven Hassan, who keeps up with all these movements, and accurately describes each of them. Reading about such groups has been a big part of my healing from UBFism. Such reality checks are necessary to come out of the fantasy/fog that envelopes your life in groups like ubf.
Here are some realities I have come to accept. For many years, my mind denied these but the further I get from the group and the less impacted by KOPAHN ideology propoganda, the more I see reality more clearly:
1. ubf is small. Yea, don’t believe the hype that ubf is “the largest campus ministry in the world”. They aren’t.
2. ubf is not unique. There are many groups attempting to minister to college students. Of course there are some unique characteristics in ubf, but the general idea of targeting college students and young people to promote your brand of religion is as old as the sun.
3. ubf is about money. Don’t be fooled by the alligator tears and fake poverty. ubf missionaries know they have a solid retirement, complete with ubf insurance, if they just ask. It’s like having a rich uncle who will support you as long as you are loyal. ubf missionaries can be reckless with finances because they know they will be bailed out. I would not give a dime to them until the following questions are publicly answered:
– What happened to the gold bars from the 1970’s?
– What is the plan for the $13 million USD?
– How much did all the shiny new buildings in Korea cost?
– How much money is spent flying all those “servants of God” around the world?
– Who the heck are Andrew Westerfield, E M Barry and John L Hatcher? They are the registered owners of the ubf non-profit corporation in Mississippi.
– While we are at it, why was one chapter’s registration in Ohio canceled in 2005? And what is up with the multiple registrations listed as foreign stock?
So the group mentioned in my article here is not ubf. The group (as I pointed out in the link at the end) is Ridgewood Church in New Jersey. If this church, which on the surface, appears better than ubf, and they are called a cult, what does that say about what we experienced at ubf?
As Susan already shared, she only experienced about 2 years at ubf. This matches the story of several of those 35+ people who contacted me for help since 2012. Of those 35 or so, some had only experienced the ubf lifestyle for 1 to 3 years. And yet some of them were suicidal and dealing with deep depression and anxiety attacks.
This all speaks to how very dangerous and deceptive UBFism is.
“ubf is about money”: so what will it be about when it loses it all?:)
“some had only experienced the ubf lifestyle for 1 to 3 years. And yet some of them were suicidal and dealing with deep depression and anxiety attacks”: what about some who grew up in it? ptrd-post traumatic religious disorder
What is life like in a cult from Korea like ubf?
This:
American student confesses emotionally
Wake up people! Don’t let the Koreans force you into confession.