It is understandable that people are criticizing Shincheonji's mass even after some believers are confirmed Wuhan corona virus. However, they should not be harassed or scourged just because of their religion. This outbreak is mainly due to Moon government's failure in containing the virus. Many experts strongly recommended the travel ban from China must be imposed at the initial stage of Wuhan virus outbreak, however Moon did not listen, and even now completely open. Last January over 1,000 Chinese travelers visited Daegu, where the biggest outbreak started. Shincheonji are just one of the victims. Moon is using Shincheonji to cover their fatal mistakes. They are said to be fearless of illness, and the same is true of some Mormon believers.
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I’ve read one too many NYT articles focusing on South Korea’s coronavirus outbreak and Shinchunji group’s fallout. How about NYT write about how South Korea is handling this outbreak instead? For example, how thoroughly they are tracking and testing possible cases and how efficiently and swiftly they are responding to the whole situation? They have very effective public awareness campaigns, they have drive-through testing centers (genius!!), they have websites like www.wuhanvirus.kr where you can literally check every single case of over 7000 people (without compromising any of patients’ privacy) and very accurate statistics of almost everything related to this pandemic and in a very transparent way. They have tested over 100,000 people, over 7500 people confirmed and only 58 death so far. I think they way South Korea is dealing with this coronavirus should be the model for all countries. Their data will become a great source for studying this virus when this is over and dust is settled. Go check out the website I mentioned above, you can get a translated version.
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Already in Korean traditional church, Shinchonji is called cult over heresy. So the reporter should not call this group a church any more.
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The Shincheonji Church of Jesus, like the Unification Church before it, uses sophisticated psychological techniques to lure and control their members. For those who study religious cults, their techniques come right out of Lifton (1961), a psychological study of the brainwashing techniques used during and after the Korean War.
Perhaps its no coincidence that these churches coexist with the ROK Armed Forces: a military with one of the finest psychological operations in the world. After all, the army constantly discharges military personnel directly into the civilian sector, and psyops are perfectly suited to the formation of religious cults. Like here in the U.S., the military probably has a 'release and forget' policy towards their people.
I was surprised to find out in this article that the Shincheonji Church uses light sticks during their spectacular graduation ceremony. These are similar to those used by the Korean K-pop group BTS during their (Asian) concerts. These devices seem to perform the same function as a television 'laugh track', by centrally controlling applause. Their psychological function is probably to instill a similar central control in the audience.
Cite:
Lifton, Robert Jay M.D. Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism : A Study of Brainwashing in China. University of North Carolina Press, 1961.
spectacular commencement ceremony
https://youtu.be/wHHijQhjseY
BTS OFFICIAL LIGHT STICK VER.3 (ARMY BOMB)
https://youtu.be/vkRKZLUwWkc?t=16
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We've been here before. Blaming the Jews for the plague. Blaming Gay people for HIV. Didn't take long did it. I can assure you the virus does not know this church exists.
The human race loves a scapegoat, preferably a minority. And we're only a few weeks in!
Whatever you think of this church, it's members are not guilty of propagating the virus. The science is in on this one. They are victims of an epidemic — show some mercy, or at the very least leave them alone.
All churches are strange from the outside looking in. There is no one right way to be human.
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@Arthur
If you're going to use science in a religious issue, it's best to rely on the science of psychology. For example, as pointed out by this article, the Church uses meaningful coincidences to create awe in new members. It's a con, of course, that it shares with the Unification Church, called 'planned spontaneity'. It's psychological purpose is to imply that God has created a miracle.
Compare and contrast this to the various causes attributed to malaria, according to Edinger (1996):
"Consider, for example, a sickness that occurs in tropical climates that is characterized by the symptoms of cyclical episodes of chills and fever. This disease entity has been observed since the earliest of times. Primitives having, in keeping with all human beings, causality built in, sought a cause for this illness, which the attributed to the possession by an evil spirit. The ancients put it in terms consistent with more accurate observation. They noticed that this disease occurred after people visited dank, swampy regions of bad air, so they called it bad air disease, in other words, malaria. Moderns, with the aid of the microscope and scientific method, have discovered that this disease is caused by a plasmodium, a pathogenic protozoa carried by mosquitoes, to which we attribute the cause of the disease." (p. 29)
Cite:
Edinger, Edward F. The New God-image : A Study of Jung’s Key Letters Concerning the Evolution of the Western God-image. Chiron Publications, 1996.
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Why is this a cult when many similar recruiting techniques are used by most. There’s massive secrecy in grown men taking advantage of young children. Their leaders bask in wealth while the poor members scrimp to support the church. They all rely on myths. Some are worse. But all are cults. The largest and oldest of them call the smaller, younger ones cults. But isn’t that to draw attention away from themselves? That they’re good because they occupy minds is a myth in itself, as witnessed by the hate and death they all instigate.
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Shincheonji church’s methodology definitely did not help in containing the rapid spread of the virus and they do deserve some vilification. However, the Korean politicians amplifying the populist sentiment of hatred and anger towards the Shincheonji church is a manipulation. And yes, this is happening everywhere(even in the US with Trump gaslighting the public). Manipulating, creating, and drawing the public’s attention to unnecessary distractions.
If we dial down the distractions and noise propaganda, the root of all these cults (young and old people in Korea) seeking “salvation” from these shamanistic religions shows how unhappy the majority of the population are. The movie Parasite clearly shows the income inequality that is prevalent in Korean society due to the “chaebols” controlling all facets of the economy.
I hope the Korean government will be able to focus their attention to help their youth (whom are mostly all college graduates) get job opportunities and have the liberty to create their own start ups or small businesses without being crushed by conglomerates who infiltrate every industry from making cell phones to a local chicken store.
The discontent with income inequality is causing protests in Hong Kong, Argentina and even the hatred of refugees or immigrants(all of Europe and the US).
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Okay the thing I’m getting out of this article is South Korea’s covid-19 outbreak is focused on a population of a church that has a majority of young people. Why have not this been mentioned as a reason why the death rate is so low in Korea vs other places?
When I see this kind of blaming (including liberals glee at republican congressmen getting quarantined - and I’m a long time democrat), it makes me think this could happen anywhere. My church. My Bernie rally. Your pro life rally. Etc and any group can get scapegoated.
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@Jenny No, the majority isn't young people. It is mostly older people. But young folks get hooked too and parents try to get them out. I believe the death rates are so low in South Korea because early detection has been so good and there is national health care for everyone. They've tested over 200,000 people.
This Church also claims that illness is evidence that you have sinned, and are being punished. So people are likely to hide their illness and go on business as usual. Patient 31 who was a super spread and church member was in her sixties. She went to the hospital twice (snuck out once), 4 church services, traveled to Cheongdo province where she visited a spa, and went to Gangnam in Seoul, all before getting tested.
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@Jenny . Some prominent rabbi has already blamed gay parades for the coronavirus outbreak.
I wish someone would sue him for his hateful, deluded, and superstitious remarks.
This kind of rhetoric doesn't help anything during an emergency such as this virus.
All religions were created by men to control people.
The little good in them is overshadowed by the bad.
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Religion is so archaic and troublesome, it's so sad that humans are uniquely at risk because of our irrational emotional needs. I guess gullability goes hand-in-hand with being human. If humans really understood our fragile grasp on our own mortality, research into terror management theory would probably yield findings that for once and all condemned religious beliefs as a mental disease, all evidence supporting the facts as they are.
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This is not a church - it's a cult. There's a difference. Shincheonji wasn't merely viewed with suspicion; there have been plenty of media coverage exposing the sexual, physical and psychological abuse it inflicts upon its followers as well as their non-religious family members. The cult members walked around busy downtown streets without protection and refuse to get tested in spite of knowing they could have contracted the virus. There's little "vilification" involved in pointing out the reality that this cult was at the crux of the rapid spread of this virus in Korea, along with its toxic theology that tore families apart for years.
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@Tiffany What is the difference?
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2000 years.
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