what a nice looking group of people!
So in the past six months or so I've heard from several University of Washington students that attend United Life about people approaching them and asking them something along the lines of, "Have you heard of God the mother?" Usually the students, being polite and also open to a good theological discussion, engage these people. They find, however, that these people are extremely well versed in the Bible. My students feel like there's something wrong with their argument, but they come to me saying that they couldn't think of a good response off of the top of their heads.
I'm going to give you my response in a second, but let me say a couple of things to start. Skip to the next pic if you just want the part 1 of my response.
First of all, just because someone uses Bible verses and knows a lot of them by memory, don't assume that they know Scripture. The Bible is meant to communicate God's heart and message to us, and we must be careful to read all of it, not just the parts we like or that fit our argument. We must also be careful not to assume that just because someone knows more Bible verses than you do by heart, that they must know the Bible better than you do. Sure, take it as a challenge to get into the Word more deeply, but don't assume that they know what God is saying better than you do. Many cults train their members to memorize certain key verses that support their beliefs. It's an uneven playing field: good pastors train their members to look at all of scripture, which makes it harder for them to memorize what they're reading. Cults tell their members to look at specific verses that support their beliefs: of course it's easier for them to memorize.
Second, don't judge a book by its cover. Just because the people coming up to you look like they have your best interests in mind and talk like they know all about God, be careful. Many of them have been well trained to make specific arguments and defeat any counter-arguments you come up with. You need to know their whole story, not just the side that they present to you.
Okay, now here's my response to "Have you heard of God the mother?"
Answer: "I have, and I've also heard of Rev. Ahn Sahng-Hong who is the founder of the World Mission Society Church of God. Are you a representative of that group?" If they're not, then let me know. I'll have some more research to do. If so, then read on:
"I read in your website that the WMSCG believes the following:
- that Rev. Ahn (who passed away in 1985 and predicted the end of the world in 1988 as well as 1967) is the second coming of Christ
- that we should also worship someone called the "Jerusalem Mother" and can only receive salvation if we go to both Rev. Ahn and the "Jerusalem Mother"
- that anybody who denies these beliefs are perverting the true teachings of the Bible
- that anybody who worships on Sunday will not be saved
- that women who worship without a veil will be regarded as "trivial" by God
- that the "Jerusalem Mother" is the name given to Ms. Chung/Zang Gil Cha
- that God is not One but many because in the Old Testament he is described as "Elohim" which is a plural Hebrew word, and therefore we must worship several gods
"If you acknowledge all of these things, then I think there's a lot more to respond to than simply the question, 'Have I heard of God the mother.' In fact, I think it's a little bit deceptive to start with that question. Why not just start by asking me if I want to go to your worship on Saturdays and condemn those who worship on Sundays, wear a veil (if I'm a woman), and worship Rev. Ahn and Ms. Zang? That would be a lot more straightforward."
"That way I'd know that instead of debating the biblical roots of the idea of God the mother, what we should really be talking about is whether Christ, Paul, Peter, and all of the Old Testament prophets would really agree with you that Rev. Ahn is the incarnated Christ and that Ms. Zang is God. There are too many Bible verses that I could bring up to dispute that to show here, but I will give you a couple just in case you were looking for them:
*
Deuteronomy 6:4 "The LORD our God is one LORD; or The LORD is our God, the LORD is one;" (not many gods, not a father and a mother, but One God)
“‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’[a]
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Not by the name of Ahnsunghong, not by the name of the Jerusalem Mother, only by the name of Jesus Christ)
***
The following verses I give as a warning to all who would preach a gospel contrary to Christ's:
Galatians 1:8 "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!"
Matthew 24:4-5 "See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name saying, 'I am the Christ' and they will lead many astray." In fact, just read all of Matthew 24 and see that the second coming of Jesus is going to be pretty obvious and won't leave quite this much room for debate.
***
In my next post, I'll answer specifically the question and argument regarding God's "motherhood".
A couple of really good websites to check out in the meantime:
http://encountering-ahnsahnghong.blogspot.com/ - written by someone whose sister was taken into the WMSCG.
http://www.confessionalsbytes.com/2010/07/world-mission-society-church-of-god.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Mission_Society_Church_of_God
