The following article is an English translation of a Korean newspaper article containing the testimony of Australians who left Shincheonji.
↑ George Gerry, the victim of Shincheonji, reported in the South Australian daily The Advocate. Below the photo is a message that his social network has been cut off when he was taken over by Shincheonji. Instagram capture
It turns out that the ‘Shincheonji’s Contemplative Propagation’ is causing social problems in major Australian cities as well. The need for legislation to prevent damage is also being raised.
The Advertiser, a leading media outlet in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, reported an exclusive article on the 6th (local time) that contained testimonies of those who left Shincheonji. The first victim in the article was Lily Jiwon (26), who has been studying the Shincheonji Bible since 2019.
“At first, I believed that the ‘Shincheonji leader’ would lead believers to salvation and give them a chance to immortality during the Second Coming,” he said, deeply regretting. Saying that he was “brainwashed,” he dropped out of Flinders University and gave up his job as an intern at a media company. He broke up with his lover and was cut off from his friends. Instead, he began his distorted daily life of cooking and cleaning at the Sincheonji center, including his religious life, education and missionary work in Shincheonji.
However, he recalled, “At some point, I left after experiencing a ‘moment like a glass breaking’ that none of them could refute, and they distorted my true feelings and tried to extinguish my personality.”
↑ Advertiser article with exclusive report on Shincheonji. Capture online
Another victim, 20-year-old George Gary, had been studying the shincheonji’s Bible in April last year. “I was originally Christian, but I was tempted after not attending church for two years and immediately participated in the Bible study,” he said. “I had four classes every week and studied the Bible for three hours at a time, but I lost contact with my family and friends, and only Shincheonji became the only acquaintances.”
However, he said, “I realized that something went wrong in various cases, such as preventing me from searching for Shincheonji online during my strict Bible study for nine months, and by then, I was already in a ‘end-of-life cult’,” adding, “When I left this place, I felt ‘lost’ and lost the ability to trust myself.”
Adelaide City Councilman Carmel Noon suggested the need for strong legislation to prevent damage to Shincheonji, saying, “All religious organizations must comply with local bylaws and strengthen transparency when they spread or operate.”
According to ‘MODERN RELIGION’, a media outlet specializing in heresy, Australia is known as one of the most active countries among Shincheonji abroad, with the Shincheonji Petros faction in charge. Pastor A, who pastors in Adelaide, said in a phone call with the Kookmin Ilbo on the 7th, “I was surprised to learn that Shincheonji is spreading so widely through the report,” adding, “If we don’t come up with measures, the Australian religious community and society may be reeling.”