Shincheonji

Overview

Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, commonly known as Shincheonji, is a new religious movement founded by Lee Man-hee on March 14, 1984. It is headquartered in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Lee was born in 1931 in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province. He reportedly founded his own group after passing through Park Tae-seon's Evangelical Center (now Cheonbugyo), Yu Jae-yeol's Tabernacle Temple, and other groups. In 1990 Shincheonji opened the Free Bible Theological Institute, making Bible study courses the centerpiece of its proselytizing. This institute is now the Zion Christian Mission Center. In 1995 the organization was reportedly divided into twelve tribes. Its membership is reported to exceed 200,000.

Principal Claims and Doctrines

• Parabolic interpretation and "actualization": Shincheonji holds that most of the Bible is written in parables and symbols. In particular, it teaches that the prophecies of the Book of Revelation have been fulfilled in actual present-day persons, organizations, and events, and it calls these real-world fulfillments silsang ("actualization" or "reality").
• Lee Man-hee's status: Shincheonji regards Lee Man-hee as the only person who sees and testifies to the fulfillment of the prophecies of Revelation. Within the group he is called "the one who overcomes," "the promised pastor," and "the Advocate." The Advocate, or Comforter, is the Helper whom Jesus promised to send in John 14:16, 26. Mainstream churches understand the Comforter to be the Holy Spirit.
• The 144,000: The group reportedly proselytizes by linking the 144,000 of Revelation 7:4 to the number of those who will be saved.

Assessments by Major Korean Denominations

According to lists of general assembly resolutions compiled by denominational newspapers and other sources, the denominations have ruled as follows:

• Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap): Declared it heretical at the 80th General Assembly in 1995.
• Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapdong): Resolved at the 80th General Assembly in 1995 that it was "a group not worthy of theological critique," and declared it heretical again at the 92nd General Assembly in 2007.
• Korea Evangelical Holiness Church: Declared it heretical at the 54th General Assembly in 1999.
• Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapshin): Declared it heretical at the 88th General Assembly in 2003.
• Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin): Declared it heretical at the 55th General Assembly in 2005. The Kosin denomination's Committee for the Study of Pseudo-Christianity gave two reasons: Lee Man-hee claims to be a recipient of direct revelation, that is, one who receives revelation directly from God apart from Scripture, and he also claims to be the Advocate.
• Presbyterian Church in Korea (Daeshin): Declared it heretical at the 43rd General Assembly in 2008.

Shincheonji's Position and Rebuttals

Shincheonji maintains that its interpretation of Revelation bears witness to the actual fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Rather than referring to Lee Man-hee as a cult leader, it uses the title "Chairman." It has also gone to court in response to denominational declarations of heresy. In 2003 Shincheonji sued the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap) for damages, alleging that the denomination's declaration of heresy had defamed it. The court dismissed the claim.

Social Controversies

• Proselytizing methods: Christian media have long criticized the activities of "harvesters" and the "mountain-moving" strategy. Harvesters are members who conceal their identity, join other churches, and draw away their congregants; "mountain moving" refers to a strategy of taking over an entire church.
• COVID-19 cluster outbreak: In February 2020 the first confirmed COVID-19 patient in Daegu, who was also the 31st confirmed case in South Korea, was identified as a member of Shincheonji's Daegu church of the Thaddeus Tribe. A cluster outbreak centered on this church followed. After an administrative investigation, the City of Daegu announced that of the 10,459 members on the list Shincheonji had submitted, 1,877 either did not match the actual membership register or could not be verified.
• Lee Man-hee's trial: Lee Man-hee was indicted on three charges: submitting understated lists of facilities and members to public health authorities; holding events without permission at public stadiums and other venues between 2015 and 2019; and embezzling the group's funds. On August 12, 2022, the Supreme Court of Korea upheld the lower court's sentence of three years' imprisonment, suspended for five years. He was found not guilty of obstructing disease control efforts, as the Supreme Court held that the demand for the membership list did not constitute an epidemiological investigation as defined under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. The court did, however, find him guilty on some counts of obstruction of business and trespassing, as well as of embezzling several billion won.