Lee Man-hee (Shincheonji)

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Korean spelling
Hangeul 이만희
Hanja 李萬熙
Revised
Romanization 		I man-hui
McCune-
Reischauer 		Yi Manhŭi

Lee Man-hee (born September 15, 1931 in Cheongdo , Chōsen , today South Korea ) is the founder of the Christian sect Shincheonji Church ( Kor.  신천지 , Hanja  新天地 , Eng . "New Heaven and Earth"), also known as "the Congregation of Jesus, the temple of the tent of testimony ”(recently also“ the temple of the tent of testimony ”) is designated, and is its president. The Shincheonji Church, which is also active in Germany, especially in Berlin, is one of the New Religious Movements .

Lee Man-hee is also the founder of other organizations that are viewed by critics as cover, part or sub-organizations of Shincheonji, such as Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), the International Peace Forum (IPF) or the International Peace Youth Group (IPYG).

Life

Lee Man-hee was born to a poor family in Cheongdo on September 15, 1931, according to a self- report . According to his own statement, he comes from a 500 year old royal family. In 1948 he was baptized by Baptist missionaries from abroad. In 1957 he joined the Jondogwan community and in 1967 he joined the end-time community "Temple of the Tent" in Gwacheon , Gyeonggi-do Province . He had had a revelation experience in which he was commissioned to establish the Twelve Tribes of Israel of the Kingdom of God . Thereupon he founded the New Heaven, New Earth Church on March 14, 1984. The Korean name “Shincheonji” used in accordance with Rev 21.1  EU means “New Heaven, New Earth”, which is said to have already appeared in the community. The group has been active in Germany at least since 2006. Until recently, she also used the name “Healing All Nations” on her website. Lee is primarily concerned with a new understanding of the end times , in which he himself as the “promised pastor ” and the Shincheonji Church as the group of 144,000 “sealed” named in Rev 7 : 4-8  EU want to play a role in salvation history . Lee has authored several books on the fulfillment of New Testament prophecies that are published through Shincheonji Church, such as: B. “The creation of heaven and earth”, “Revelation and human interpretation”, “The reality of revelation”, “The life's work of Jesus” and “The sanctuary of truth I, II”. Lee made two pilgrimages to the sites of the New Testament events in Egypt, Mount Sinai, Israel, Turkey, Greece and Rome. He is the chairman of various cultural centers he founded. In March 2020, a murder report was made against him in connection with the coronavirus epidemic .

Shincheonji Church Activities

The Shincheonji Church, which is described as a " sect " by the former sect commissioner of the Evangelical Berlin-Brandenburg Church , Thomas Gandow, is organized on the basis of Rev 7.4–8  EU and its analogy to the Old Testament organizational form of Israel in 12 tribes , from each to attract 12,000 members. Most of the tribes are in South Korea; there are 45 parishes there . According to its own information, the Shincheonji Church also has over 300 Bible schools worldwide. These are in Korea and internationally in the USA, Canada, China, the Philippines, Japan, India, Australia, South Africa, Germany (e.g. in Berlin and Frankfurt am Main ), Spain, the Netherlands, France and Austria with more than represented a thousand classes. In 2010 it was estimated to have over 70,000 members. It is always emphasized in our own publications that the teaching taught in the Shincheonji Bible schools is based exclusively on the original wording of the Bible . The established churches, especially in Korea (here the Presbyterian and Calvinist churches ) are rejected.

Bible schools and recruiting

The Shincheonji Church recruits new members particularly from existing Christian communities and Bible study groups. The active employees of the movement in this regard are called "harvesters", based on Mt 13.30  EU . An introductory Bible study is offered to those interested. According to Thomas Gandow, the former ideology commissioner of the Evangelical Berlin-Brandenburg Church, the end-time teachings of the group are taught to the interested person by a teacher very personally, but initially still veiled with reference to the fact that according to Hebr 5.13  EU inexperienced only milk and no should receive solid food. After the first course there is an examination in the form of a test, although in advance both the questionnaires and the "correct answers" expected by the management are given to the examinees for copying. It is irrelevant whether the questions asked and the given answers fit, because with this "test" it ultimately only depends on whether one is "humble" and "obedient" enough to write down the desired (memorized) answers without criticism . Only when this is passed will the recruits be drawn into the new teachings bit by bit in several advanced Bible study courses, each of which is concluded with exams, which are presented as previously sealed promises, which are only now being given by Lee Man-hee, the "promised Pastor ”could be re-understood. In addition, it is pointed out as a precaution and early on that as a member of the “only true church”, which is the only one who knows “the revelation of God”, outsiders might discredit as followers of sects and would like to refer to corresponding Bible verses in which the followers Jesus are referred to as members of the "sect of the Nazorae" (or "Nazarene"). That is why one should absolutely be happy if one experiences something similar in today's world and is insulted as a "sect", because then one would get the certainty that one is really on the right side.

In Germany, the movement has been recruiting more and more new members over the past few years, especially students. One focus of recruiting is the Frankfurt am Main area . Cult watchers warn that members will be driven into social isolation and put under pressure if they resist. The number of people who seek advice because they want to leave the group or have lost relatives to them has risen rapidly in the affected German regions.

Teaching

The center of the Shincheonji teaching is the self-understanding as the 144,000 "sealed" of the end times, as they are presented in the biblical book of Revelation of John , as well as the understanding of Lee Man-hee as the promised pastor of the end times. The world would be in the middle of the end times. According to Shincheonji, this means that all religions in the world and thus the differences between them would disappear and Christianity will come to an end. Above all, the teaching of dispensionalism is represented with characteristic deviations from other dispensionalistic models. Four displacements are assumed: from Adam to Abraham 2000 years, also from Abraham to Christ 2000 years. The third dispensation is taken to be the time of Christ until 1984 (the year the Shincheonji Church was founded), and since then the time of harvest and the millennium that followed . With the establishment of Shincheonji, the sealing described in Rev 7 : 4-8  EU began. As soon as their number is reached, the new Jerusalem ( Rev 21 : 1-6  EU ) will come down exclusively to the members of the Shincheonji Church, who would then become Priest-Kings. These are then promised eternal life , just as Lee Man-hee is told internally at Shincheonji that he has become immortal. Those believers who did not know about her, but recognize her special position, formed the “great crowd” according to Rev 7 : 9-17  EU . But those who fought against the Shincheonji Church would be thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur and thus be damned for all eternity.

Bible

The Shincheonji Church emphasizes that its teaching is based on the text of the Bible. Both the Old and the New Testament are, however, sealed and not accessible to normal understanding ( Isa 29,9–14  EU ; Rev 5,1–14  EU ). Just as God opened the sealed scroll of the Old Testament and gave it to Jesus ( Mt 11:27  EU ), Jesus opened the sealed scroll ( Rev 6: 1-17  EU ) and gave it to the promised Shepherd Lee Man-hee. It was exclusively through him that the sealed words would now be revealed in their actual meaning. It is characteristic of the Shincheonji doctrine that by no means all Bible verses are used to justify Lee Man-hee's claims, but only verses specially selected by himself that best fit his concept.

Lee Man-hee as the promised pastor

Since numerous passages from the New Testament that refer to the “ Lamb of God ” or the Holy Spirit are referred to Lee Man-hee in the Shincheonji Bible exposition, Lee Man-hee is given a prominent position. So the “Spirit of Truth” ( John 14.17  EU and so on) has now appeared in the form of Lee Man-hee, because he will be in one person when he comes. This person is identical to a figure from the Revelation of John, of which it is said that he “ rules the Gentiles with an iron rod” ( Rev 2: 26-27  EU ). It is emphasized that Lee is not God or Jesus himself, but he is a chosen messenger of the end times, the "promised pastor" already in the Bible.

Further special gauges

Lee Man-hee rejects the Church 's doctrine of the Trinity . Rather, the term "Holy Spirit" simply refers to any animistic spirit that is holy. So it does not mean the idea of ​​a single spirit of God, but there are many different holy spirits, including the angels in heaven; they would have different tasks and positions. The " comforter " is only one role among many.

Social work

According to its own statements, the Shincheonji Church supports schools and social institutions with scholarships and, especially in Korea, repeatedly participates in environmental campaigns with the participation of the media.

Web links

literature

  • Thomas Gandow: LEE Man-Hees "Shinchonji Church of Jesus the temple of the tent of testimony". In: Berlin Dialog. Information and viewpoints on religious encounters, December 2010, p. 15ff ( pdf ); Reprinted in: Korea Info No. 16/2012 (PDF; 2 MB). Berliner Missionswerk (ed.), Pp. 33–40

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Gandow (2010), p. 15ff.
  2. ↑ Shincheonji, other transcription: Shinchonji, other names: Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light HWPL . In: Evangelical Information Center Churches - Sects - Religions . Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  3. ↑ Thomas Gandow: Keyword: Shinchonji An update on Lee, Man Hees New Heaven on Earth of the Shinchonji Church of Jesus, the temple of the tent of testimony - PDF . In: religio.de . Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  4. ↑ Shinchonji Church: proselytizing with a magic hat . In: Frankfurter Rundschau . May 31, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  5. ↑ Murder charges: cult leaders are said to be responsible for the spread of coronavirus. In: stern , March 3, 2020, accessed on the same day.
  6. ^ Marie Degenfeld-Schonburg: South Korean Tarngemeinde on mission course. In: FAZ , December 28, 2019, accessed on the same day.
Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Korean. Lee is the family name here, Man-hee is the first name.
personal data
SURNAME Lee, Man-hee
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 이만희 (Hangeul); 李萬熙 (Hanja); I, Man-hui (revised Romanization); Yi, Manhŭi (McCune-Reischauer)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Korean missionary
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Cheongdo , Chosen , today South Korea