The Sociological Deviance of The Church of Almighty God

Author:

Hank Hanegraaff

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Article ID:

JAF48233

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Updated: 

Aug 7, 2026

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Published:

Aug 7, 2026

This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, Special Print Issue, volume 48, number 02-03 (2025).

For further information on this issue please click here. To learn more about receiving this issue for your partnering gift please click here. 

For information on receiving  the Special Dual Language “Flip”-English and Chinese Print Issue 48: 02-03 — The Eastern Lighting Cult: Christ Returns to Earth as a Female please click here. 

***Please see also see the sidebar the accompanied this article entitled, “Turning the Tables“.  ***

CONTENT WARNING: GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE IN TEXT AND IMAGES.

On the one hand, I kill all who are not in line with My intentions and who violate My administrative decrees;

n the other hand, in My wrath I curse all who violate My administrative decrees.1

—the female christ of The Church of Almighty God

 

From a theological perspective, cults are pseudo-Christian groups that compromise, confuse, or contradict the essentials of the historic Christian faith. This is precisely what The Church of Almighty God does.2 It virtually replaces the Old and New Testaments with the incoherent ramblings of an alleged female reincarnation of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.3 A counterfeit christ who envisions herself to be the Jehovah of the Old Testament and the Jesus of the New.4 The very Jesus by whom “all things were created” (Colossians 1:16).5 A false christ who brazenly asserts that “the Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit simply does not exist.”6 That had Christ only come in incarnation as a man, “not even a single woman could be saved.”7 Moreover, a christ who asserts that most humans “have to incarnate as animals seven to twelve times.”8

Yet this is but the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Added to theological perversions of The Church of Almighty God is the matter of sociological deviance. From a sociological perspective, a cult is a religious or semi-religious sect whose followers are controlled in virtually every dimension of their lives. As such, devotees characteristically display displaced loyalty for the guru and the group and are galvanized together through physical and/or psychological intimidation tactics. Sociologically deviant cults promote a “we/they” siege mentality and cut off devotees from former associations, including immediate families.9

The Peoples Temple cult is a classic case in point. Still emblazoned on the consciousness of millions worldwide is the infamous Jim Jones, who on November 18, 1978, presided over the coerced suicide/murder of almost a thousand men, women, and children. In People’s Temple — People’s Tomb, Phil Kerns recounts the heart-rending words of one victim’s vow. Addressing the cult leader as “Dad,” this deluded devotee thanked the cult leader “for the only life I’ve known.”10 A life sanctified by the disciple’s belief that he, like Jones, was a god. As Jones jarringly pontificated, “When you recognize that you’re a god, I shall go back into principle and will not appear as a personality. But until I see all of you knowing who you are, I’m gonna be very much what I am — God, Almighty God.”11

At the head of yet another well-known sociologically deviant cult is the late Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Though decidedly deceitful and socially disruptive, this pernicious cult attracted such well-known personalities as singer/actor Diana Ross and the sister of United States President Jimmy Carter (Ruth Carter Stapleton). Moreover, in full view of the fact that Congressman Leo Ryan had been murdered by the direct order of Jim Jones himself, Ryan’s daughter Shannon traveled to Pune, India, to offer Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh money collected from her father’s life insurance policy. The late Christian Research Institute cult expert Elliot Miller aptly noted that when parallels between Rajneesh and Jones were raised, Shannon Ryan candidly acknowledged that she’d heard people say that “if Bhagwan asked them to kill themselves, they would do it. If Bhagwan asked them to kill someone else, they would do it. I don’t know if my trust in him is that total.” However, “I would like it to be.”12

While Shannon’s forthright admission is shocking, it is not particularly unusual. Cult leaders such as Jones, Rajneesh, and myriad others gain control over their devotees through a variety of sociopsychological manipulation methods. First is the altered state of consciousness. The objective of achieving an altered state of consciousness is always the same: to dull the critical thinking process because the mind is seen to be the obstacle to enlightenment. Second is peer pressure. Cultists routinely employ the psychology of peer pressure to conform followers to predictable patterns of behavior. Third is the exploitation of expectations. At times the expectations of cultic crowds are heightened to such an extent that, as writer Robert Marks notes in The Story of Hypnosis, “they are no more capable of resisting the proper hypnotic suggestion than Pavlov’s dog was capable of resisting the stimulus to salivate.”13 Finally, sociologically deviant cultists employ the subtle power of suggestion to trap their subjects in a dangerous web of subjectivism.

Cynics may write off the use of altered states of consciousness, peer pressure, the exploitation of expectations, and the subtle power of suggestion as mere socio-psychological manipulation. Authentic Christians, however, comprehend an even more significant threat — these manipulation techniques are fertile soil for satanic and spiritual deception.14

The Altered State of Consciousness

Psychologist Charles Tart, who has been credited with coining the term “altered states of consciousness,” says that during deep hypnosis, “a transition to a new state of consciousness” takes place, a state in which the hypnotized subject’s “identity is potentiality, he’s aware of everything and nothing, his mind is absolutely quiet, he’s out of time, out of space.”15

Seeking mystical experiences through an altered state of consciousness is a broad road to deception. When devotees enter an altered state of consciousness, they are prone to lose their grip on reality. Whether in the ashrams of cults or the altars of pseudo-religious churches, the goal of inducing an altered state of consciousness rests on a single principle: the suppression of critical reasoning because mental acuity is viewed as an impediment to enlightenment. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh went so far as to say that the “goal is to create a new man, one who is happily mindless.”16

Rajneesh’s prescription for attaining this new consciousness is a process referred to as “dynamic meditation.” Dynamic meditation is used to subjugate the critical faculties of idealistic devotees to the will of the “master.” Mindlessly they chant in unison until the hushed moaning of their mantras fills the ashram. Sanskrit songs of praise are sung to the accompaniment of rhythmic clapping. At the subtle suggestions of the “master,” they engage in repetitive physical motions to complete the process of becoming mindless. In the end, they personify Rajneesh’s rendition of the “mindless man.”

What was once relegated to the ashrams of cults is now replicated in pseudo-Christian environs.17 Whether devotees experience involuntary movements or encounter illusory monsters, all is written off as progress on the road to enlightenment. Tragically, duped devotees are dangerously ignorant of the striking parallels between their experiences and those of Eastern meditators who achieve altered states of consciousness through occult practices. As has been well documented from studies of the world of the occult, the dangerous effects may involve depression, detachment, depersonalization, disillusionment, and many equally serious disorders. And as I have cautioned repeatedly, God is not obligated to protect people from the consequences of destructive behaviors. Irrespective of whether one’s intentions are good or bad, the consequences of swallowing spiritual cyanide are identical.

The Psychology of Peer Pressure

Peer pressure, like the altered state of consciousness, is a useful contrivance in the arsenal of cultists. Many, like Shannon Ryan, not only fall prey to this sociologically deviant manipulation tactic but do not seem moved in the least when the obvious deception is exposed. The peer pressure that caused them to participate in the first place keeps them from acknowledging that they were willing participants in a spiritual deception. Peer pressure is such a powerful force that even the threat of physical or psychological pain does not always prove to be a sufficient deterrent. The pressure to be accepted by peers is so potent that even faking exotic experiences in cultic contexts is rather routine.

Sociologically deviant cults employ peer pressure to conform devotees to predictable patterns. They urge them to follow the crowd rather than consider the consequences. Routines are carefully crafted to enhance the likelihood that devotees will cave in to the seductive power of peer pressure. Meetings are initiated with the testimonies of those who allegedly once feared deception but now embrace the exotic teachings and experiences of the cultic commune. The time of testimony is followed by a time of teaching designated to further induce devotees to throw caution to the wind. The grand finale is a time of participation in which virtually anything goes. The peer pressure to participate is so elevated that even otherwise discerning people end up casting caution to the wind.

Cult leaders are hip to the reality that people in crowds are prone to believe that the behavior of their peers is a standard that should not be questioned. They reinforce this proclivity by intimating that to resist exotic behaviors may well be tantamount to contesting the self-appointed deity of the cult.

The Exploitation of Expectations

As proficient as cultists are at using peer pressure as a means of socio-psychological manipulation, they are even more adept at elevating the expectations of followers. Subjects are systematically intoxicated by the confidence that they are poised for something grandiose. Perhaps destined to take over the sociopolitical systems of society. Possibly chosen participants of the greatest movement in the history of humanity. Or maybe even collaborators with Almighty God herself.

Cult leaders know full well that the best assurance of a successful enterprise is the enthusiastic embellishment of previous audiences. Humorist Mark Twain tells of an amazing experience during his teenage years. It concerned the arrival of a mesmerist. His “village had heard of mesmerism in a general way,” recounts Twain, “but had not encountered it yet.” On the day after the mesmerist’s first performance, the villagers “had so many wonders to tell that everyone’s curiosity was fired and after that for a fortnight the magician had prosperous times.”18

People travel across continents with the expectation that communing with cultic gurus will enable them to achieve the extraordinary. In Counterfeit Revival, I recount stories of revivalists who banked on the fact that the expectations aroused by their evangelastic stories will inevitably give birth to a broad range of mystical experiences. And that the expectations of their followers will give way to the experiences themselves.19

The Subtle Power of Suggestion

The power of suggestion is incredibly potent. In an altered state of consciousness, this power is significantly magnified as people become hypersuggestible. Add to this potion peer pressure plus enhanced expectations, and people become willing to accept virtually anything that enters their minds.

The subtle power of suggestion can be brought to bear on individuals either directly or indirectly. Indirect suggestions involve “embedded suggestions and commands, paraverbal shifts of tone, voice directionality, enunciation, syntax, and pacing; the use of truisms, binds, double binds, and other semantic variations.”20 And as highlighted by Marks, “people in crowds are more easily influenced than people taken singly. This fact has been capitalized on by stage hypnotists as well as evangelists, political orators, and dictators.”21

Once epidemic suggestion contaminates a movement, human beings can “behave like beasts or idiots — and be proud of it.”22 Ultimately, no one “is immune to the force of mass suggestion. Once an epidemic of hysteria is in full force it strikes intellectuals as well as morons, rich and poor alike. Its wellsprings are subconscious and biological, not rational.”23

IS THE CHURCH OF ALMIGHTY GOD SOCIOLOGICALLY DEVIANT?

The list of sociologically deviant cults that employ such contrivances as altered states of consciousness, peer pressure, enhanced expectations, or the subtle power of suggestion is appallingly long. They obviously do not all employ precisely the same techniques, but they do entangle their devotees in a dangerous web of subjectivism. Not faith in irrefutable fact. But blind faith. The kind of subjectivism that seduces devotees to embrace the sociologically deviant and dangerous notion that a female born in China is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and that she is to be afforded total obedience as the very God who spoke and the universe leapt into existence.

Yet, as with Jonestown, Guyana, and Pune, India, there are millions of devotees who swallow the spiritual cyanide. Moreover, significant religious studies specialists continue to uphold The Church of Almighty God as a genuine Christian movement. In a book titled Inside The Church of Almighty God — The Most Persecuted Religious Movement in China, sociologist of religion Massimo Introvigne cites scholar Holly Folk as a classic case in point. Says Introvigne, “She argues that even though the CAG [The Church of Almighty God] has proposed innovations with respect to traditional Christianity, its theology is ultimately rooted in Protestantism and it has maintained ‘Protestant continuities’ with respect to mainline Christian teachings. She concludes that [The Church of Almighty God] should indeed be considered a Christian movement.”24

In The Journal of CESNUR, Folk personally affirmed that “The Church of Almighty God is very much a Christian tradition, one in responsive dialogue with other Christianities.”25  Folk makes this assertion in full view of the fact that The Church of Almighty God denies the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ;26 rejects Jesus Christ as the onlybegotten Son of God;27  and supposes that “the image of the invisible God” by whom “all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible” (Colossians 1:15– 16) now resides in New York as the female reincarnation of Jesus Christ.28 Moreover, in the train of the Peoples Temple and the Rajneesh cult, The Church of Almighty God brashly trumpets their founder as an omnipotent deity demanding “total submission” in all things. In The Ten Administrative Decrees “That Must Be Obeyed by God’s Chosen People in the Age of the Kingdom,” the female christ makes plain that she is to be worshiped and exalted. That the offerings of her devotees are for her enjoyment as God. That if anyone else enjoyed them they would be stealing. And that she — The Almighty God of the Universe — demands absolute compliance: “Be absolute in your compliance, and do not analyze right or wrong; what is right or wrong has nothing to do with you. You must concern yourself only with total submission.”29

Equally disconcerting are the female christ’s threats for non-compliance. Those who fail the standard of complete and total obedience, or defect from the ranks, suffer the most horrifying consequences imaginable. In a book titled Typical Examples of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God, The Church of Almighty God uses dreadful death descriptions to dissuade disenfranchised disciples from defecting as well as persuade skeptics to reconsider their disbelief.30 One unambiguous example cited by The Church of Almighty God involved a fifty-eight-year-old woman named Gong. According to The Church of Almighty God, Gong was a deaconess in the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). “After she read the book of God’s word [The Word Appears in the Flesh], she not only refused to accept but condemned God’s endtime work, and she said viciously, ‘I would rather lead the people to hell than accept it.’ On the night of August 10 of the same year, Gong was hacked to death by her son at her home, and then her son was beaten to death by her husband. Because Gong did evil, her family was ruined.”31

Another example cited by The Church of Almighty God recounts the gruesome death of a Pentecostal Christian named Wu. Wu initially “accepted the end-time work of Almighty God” but eventually “went back to her former church. And she slandered and blasphemed recklessly, ‘The female Christ is not the right way. You’ve gone astray.’ Moreover, she spread rumors everywhere to hinder others from accepting Almighty God.” The consequences were gruesome! “Before long, Wu began to have festering sores on her gums. In March 2000, she was diagnosed [with] gingival cancer. Her gums were covered with malignant tumors of various sizes, which almost blocked her mouth and left her unable to close it, with thin blood trickling all the time. She was racked with unbearable pain. In May 2001, she died of starvation. It was with her mouth that she spoke words to condemn God’s work, so that her mouth was filled with malignant tumors and was blocked. It was really her retribution!”32

While warnings/threats toward those who reject the female christ or defect from their ranks can be multiplied indefinitely, one more should suffice. It involved a woman named Lü from Zhengzhou City. Lü is described as “a worker of the Local Church,” which has its roots in the ministry of Watchman Nee. “In 1998, someone preached God’s end-time work to her, but she refused to accept it. In August of 1999, she said in a meeting, ‘Witness Lee is the true way, and “the Eastern Lightning” [The Church of Almighty God] is a false way. If Witness Lee is false, and “the Eastern Lightning” is true, let me die within one year.’ On January 2, 2000, Lü was thrown out of the vehicle on her way to the meeting, and she died that day. She really died within one year!”33

As one might well imagine, when stories like this are broadly circulated in churches throughout the countryside of China, the peer pressure to acquiesce to the precepts and principles of The Church of Almighty God becomes palpable. When added to the words of the female christ herself, a deadly elixir emerges. In no uncertain terms she warns devotees to exercise extreme cautiousness. Why? “On the one hand, I kill all who are not in line with My intentions and who violate My administrative decrees; on the other hand, in My wrath I curse all who violate My administrative decrees.” The Word Appears in the Flesh ominously proceeds to pontificate that “Everyone is handled according to these two principles, without emotion, regardless of how loyal a person might be.”34

And who exactly is this alleged God? This self-proclaimed deity who demands absolute obedience from her devotees, and for whose pleasure her enthusiasts exist. Paradoxically, the self-depreciating answer lies in The Church of Almighty God’s own “scriptures.” She is characterized as someone who cannot make “polite” conversation and whom people take to be “a simple bumpkin from the countryside who was without knowledge of the world, and no wisdom.”35 Some identify her as “an unmarried woman with the surname Deng…who lived near Zhengzhou in Henan.” Others as a “Shanxi woman named Yang Xiangbin.”36

While opinions may vary on the identity of the alleged female reincarnation of Jesus Christ, there is little doubt about the man behind the curtain. In an authoritative tome titled Lightning from the East, scholar Emily Dunn identifies the inspiration behind the creation of the female christ as Zhao Weishan. Dunn cites reports which indicate that in 1991, he “was in the doldrums following the suppression of his fledgling new religious movement in Heilongjiang [a province in northeast China]. He fled to Henan, where he came across Yang (b.1973), who had experienced a mental breakdown after failing her university entrance examination, and had been writing a religious text that she called ‘God’s Word.’ Zhao recognized the potential that she and her writing held to attract followers, they became lovers, and Zhao declared her to be the Female Christ in 1993.”37 Predictably, Zhao himself is designated “the Man Used by the Holy Spirit and the Priest of [The Church of Almighty God].”38 The female christ and the priest now presumably reside in New York.39

From 1991 to the present, The Church of Almighty God has attracted multiplied millions of followers and has A victim of brutal violence by followers of The Church of Almighty God shows the lasting damage inflicted by an iron rod. garnered significant attention from experts in the field of comparative religions. Among them Massimo Introvigne.

Fake News: The McDonald’s Murder of 2014

Introvigne is the author of an impressive Oxford University Press research project titled, Inside the Church of Almighty God. In the sixth chapter titled, “Fake News: The McDonald’s Murder of 2014,” Introvigne provides a comprehensive overview of a gruesome murder that took place in Zhaoyuan, in the Chinese province of Shandong. “Six ‘missionaries’ entered the restaurant preaching their religion and asked clients to leave their phone numbers for further contact. Wu Shuoyan, a sales assistant working in a nearby clothing store, refused to give her number. She was declared an ‘evil spirit’ and beaten to death with a mop handle.”40

Introvigne identifies the six missionaries as a father, his lover, two daughters, a son, and a woman named Lü Yingchun. The missionaries purportedly saw Wu transfigured into a demon and beat her to death in what they supposed was an epic battle between the divine and the demonic. Wu’s refusal to supply her phone number was deemed “an unpardonable sin.” Why? Because two of the six “missionaries” who entered the McDonald’s that fateful day believed themselves to be “Almighty God.”41

Introvigne notes a distinction between the two female missionaries (Lü Yingchun and Zhang Fan — “two fleshy bodies sharing a same soul”42) who claimed they were Almighty God and the female christ who likewise declares herself to be Almighty God.

The messianic role of the duo was exclusive, in opposition to the doctrine of [The Church of Almighty God], which admits only a singular Almighty God. At trial Lü clearly explained, “Only Zhang Fan and I, the ‘firstborn sons,’ could represent the real ‘Church of Almighty God.’ Zhang Fan and I are the unique spokeswomen for the real ‘Almighty God.’ The government has been cracking down on the Almighty God that Zhao Weishan believes in, not the ‘Almighty God’ we mention. They are fake ‘Almighty God,’ while we are the real ‘Almighty God.’”43

While contending that the two murderous missionaries were not members of The Church of Almighty God, Introvigne notes a news source that makes plain that devotees of the female christ and devotees of the cult that instigated the McDonald’s mayhem all drank from the same poisonous well.44 That both groups read from the same Bible, “The Word Appears in the Flesh, the core ‘doctrine’ of the ‘Almighty God’ cult.”45 Moreover, the news source depicts Zhang Fan “‘eating and drinking the word of God’ (studying The Word Appears in the Flesh) with others every day.” It, likewise, underscored the tragic reality that “Zhang Fan became a ‘lamb’ that Lü Yingchun ‘shepherded’” to the point of believing that she too was “Almighty God.”46

While Introvigne distinguishes between The Church of Almighty God and the cultic missionaries that committed the horrendous murder, the Communist Chinese Party (CCP) did not. Instead, says Introvigne, “the CCP still felt the need to use the McDonald’s murder to justify their persecution of [The Church of Almighty God].”47 He concludes that “the ‘May 28 McDonald’s Murder’ was a crime committed in 2014 by a religious group different from the CAG [The Church of Almighty God] and transformed by Chinese propaganda into a CAG crime through a massive operation of fake news spread both at home and internationally.”48

This, however, misses the most salient of all realities. Heresy begets heresy and error begets error. Whether in the ashrams of Pune, India, the jungles of Jonestown, Guyana, or the epicenter of civilization and culture in China, the selfdesignation of a cult leader as Almighty God inevitably leads to sociological deviance, theological perversion, and, as comprehensively chronicled by Introvigne, “The McDonald’s Murder of 2014.”

The Art of Persuasion: Eastern Lightning’s Recruitment Strategies

In what has been appropriately recognized as “the first comprehensive account of what The Church of Almighty God [aka Eastern Lightning] teaches,”49 Dunn, a former associate at the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute, “offers a sustained exploration of Eastern Lightning’s teachings, activities and reception.”50 Published by the prestigious international publishing house, Brill, this volume includes an insightful chapter titled, “The Art of Persuasion: Eastern Lightning’s Recruitment Strategies.” In it, Dunn “investigates the techniques that Eastern Lightning uses to recruit Protestants to the religion.”51

Techniques include migration to establish new congregations. A clandestine approach that “sees recruiters covertly gathering information on potential converts.”52 Literature replete with “anecdotes of divine retribution and visions of supernatural phenomena — to persuade their audience to trust the Female Christ.” And coercion whereby “some adherents evidently resort to abduction and violence.”53

With respect to “coercion,” Dunn provides a gripping account of an abduction involving the China Gospel Fellowship, which at the time “boasted a membership of between 2.3 and five million” adherents.54 “Members of Eastern Lightning abducted thirty-four of the network’s most senior leaders and held them against their will for up to two months in an attempt to convert them and, ultimately, their congregations. The scale and audacity of the act shocked many in the Chinese and overseas Protestant communities and illustrated Eastern Lightning’s organizational capacity and social and religious threat.”55

Of particular note is the report by the China Gospel Fellowship indicating that the “Eastern Lightning captors initially seemed kind, but accuses the latter of drugging them, using deception, sexual seduction and flirtation, bribing local police and threatening divine retribution at various later points during their detention.”56 After careful examination, including “fieldwork from theologians, church leaders and lay Protestants,” Dunn deemed China Gospel Fellowship’s “reports of the incident as broadly accurate.”57

As with the McDonald’s murder, The Church of Almighty God “emphatically denies Protestants’ allegations of coercion and kidnapping.”58 In a 2017 statement, they assert that the China Gospel Fellowship “invented the kidnapping narrative.”59 Introvigne essentially agrees. “It is difficult to escape the conclusion that the narrative they [China Gospel Fellowship] proposed has so many inconsistencies and shortcomings that it cannot be literally true.”60 He concludes his assessment in a chapter titled “The Red Dragon and the Pastors: Accusations of Kidnapping” with the assertion that Chinese officials falsely used the kidnapping story “in their campaigns against [The Church of Almighty God], reconstructed it as just one more item of fake news, to be added to the McDonald’s murder and the story of the boy whose eyes were gouged out.”61

THE CRITICALITY OF PRIMARY-SOURCE RESEARCH

If there is a criticism of Dunn’s research as “the first non- Chinese scholar who studied the CAG [The Church of Almighty God],” it is, according to Introvigne, that “she only relied on internet sources (some primary and posted by the CAG, others from obviously biased Chinese media).” Moreover, “She did not interview a single member of the CAG.”62 While I personally find Dunn’s research evenhanded and substantial, I do agree with the criticality of primary-source research.

As such, I appreciate the thoroughness of Introvigne’s investigation into The Church of Almighty God. As he wrote in the Introduction to Inside The Church of Almighty God, “This book is mostly based on primary sources and on my interviews in 2017, 2018, and 2019 with members of the church in several countries.” He also conducted “interviews with officers of the Chinese police, anticult activists (including some who claimed to be former members of the CAG), and scholars engaged in CCP’s official campaign against the church.”63

In like fashion, the Christian Research Institute (CRI) has carefully examined The Church of Almighty God. Warren Nozaki, lead researcher on The Church of Almighty God at CRI, has thoroughly scrutinized primary-source materials — most notably The Church of Almighty God’s self-designated Bible for the Kingdom Age, The Word Appears in the Flesh.64 Additionally, I have personally consulted a wide variety of Chinese agencies and authorities including SARA (State Administration of Religious Affairs), Public Security Bureau officials, and professors from a wide variety of Chinese educational institutions.

Zhang Chunli, a professor at the Department of Criminology of the Chinese People’s Public Security University and a visiting scholar at Baylor University, is of particular note. Professor Zhang has been a valuable resource to CRI for some two decades and was particularly helpful as we engaged in another primary-source research project respecting a movement founded by the distinguished Chinese Christian leader Watchman Nee.65 She has visited the offices of the Christian Research Institute in the US and has been instrumental in mitigating tensions between the local churches and public security bureaus throughout mainland China.

Most importantly, I took the time and effort to meet with victims of The Church of Almighty God.

Visiting the Victims

As president of the Christian Research Institute for almost four decades, I have developed an aversion to purely anecdotal evidence. While anecdotal data is necessary in and of itself, it is largely insufficient. Nonetheless, in the interest of first-rate primary-source research, I allotted significant time to visiting victims of The Church of Almighty God.

One of my first encounters was with China Gospel Fellowship pastor Zhang Heng. Pastor Zhang was one of thirty-four senior leaders allegedly kidnapped by The Church of Almighty God. During our April 8, 2024, meeting, he provided a comprehensive and compelling account of his abduction — including time frames, tactics, and materials. In all, his verbal account cohered well with previously evaluated primary-source accounts.66

While Introvigne says that he is “personally fascinated” by the “possibility” that the kidnapping may have been organized by the Chinese police, I find this theory to be dubious at best. As Introvigne straightforwardly acknowledged, it is doubtful “that Chinese police officers would have been able to teach theology to Evangelical leaders for several days without being unmasked.”67 Other theories forwarded to explain away the kidnappings prove equally unconvincing.

The Church of Almighty God’s own contention that they “have expelled from 300,000 to 500,000 members” and therefore had “no reasons to resort to extreme and bizarre maneuvers to gain some 30 more” is a classic case in point68 The evident error in this argument is that the objective of the kidnapping was not to add thirty-four new leaders but through these leaders to gain multiplied millions of their followers. Moreover, I doubt that even the staunchest defenders of The Church of Almighty God are willing to swallow the palpably fallacious assertion that The Church of Almighty God excommunicated hundreds of thousands of cultic adherents. If this were factually correct, The Church of Almighty God indubitably set a new benchmark for expulsions in the sordid history of sociologically deviant cults.

What does appear to be factually correct is that one of the thirty-four abductees ended up joining the cult.

In an official statement, The Church of Almighty God identified him as Xie Qiang.69 The story is as revealing as it is tragic. In a personal testimony titled, “I Have Received Almighty God’s Great Salvation,” Xie divulged that he “received a call from my upper leader, and he invited me to Qingdao for a theological training. On the third day of the training, I realized that they were the preachers of Almighty God, the ‘Eastern Lightning’ sect.”

Xie proceeds to describe how he forthrightly challenged Eastern Lightning kidnappers to answer “three typical questions” regarding the reincarnation of Jesus Christ in female form: “If you can make them clear to me and show me biblical proofs, I will believe. Otherwise, I’d rather die than believe.’” First, said Xie, “I don’t believe that God will be incarnated in the flesh again.” Second, “I cannot accept that God is female.” Third, “I don’t believe that God will be incarnated in China.” Inexplicably, Xie says his Eastern Lightning captors satisfactorily answered all three questions and, as a result, “my former imaginations, notions, and misunderstandings have been thoroughly dispelled by God’s words, God’s work, and the facts.”

Particularly striking about Xie’s testimony is not just that it lent credence to the kidnapping event itself, but that as a significant Christian leader, Xie was inexplicably unprepared to rebuff some of the most obvious theological falsehoods imaginable, particularly regarding the essential reality of Christ’s physical resurrection from the dead. While The Church of Almighty God’s fraudulent female imposter overtly denies that Christ’s resurrection from the dead can be taken literally,70 Saint Paul, apostle to the Gentiles, made plain that had Christ “not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:17–20).71

In stark contrast to Xie Qiang, I interviewed another church leader who would rather die than surrender to the vagaries of the Eastern Lightning cult. And in truth, he almost did. Pastor Shuhai is the spiritual leader of a small group of churches in a rural expanse of Henan province.72 Sitting on a small stool in his village church surrounded by family, Pastor Shuhai recounted being savagely beaten with rods and left for dead by devotees of the female christ. He raised his right pant leg and exposed the scarring left by broken bones (see below). When I inquired as to the motive for the beating, Pastor Shuhai forthrightly communicated that had he been incapacitated, he would not have been able to walk to the surrounding villages to tend to his flock. And had he been killed, the sheep would not only have lost a shepherd but would become easy prey to cultic wolves in sheep’s clothing.

***Image courtesy of Pastor Shuhai, from his personal interview with Hank Hanegraaff, showing the brutal violence by followers of The Church of Almighty God  and the lasting damage inflicted by an iron rod. ***

During the interview process, I also spoke with a young man named Jie who dropped out of school after being convinced by Eastern Lightning devotees that the current world order was about to end.73 Four years later, an Eastern Lightning leader persuaded him to serve full-time in the multimedia divisions of The Church of Almighty God. As he moved through the ranks, he was required to produce handwritten vows. In sum, he produced five vows. In all five, he promised never to divulge the inner workings of The Church of Almighty God. And should he do so, to gladly succumb to the temporal and eternal retributions of the reincarnated christ — in his case, to be killed, and thereafter suffer the horror of an alleged eighteenth level of hell.74

Within the confines of the cultic configuration, Jie said that his critical thinking processes were systematically undermined. He may not have achieved an altered state of consciousness in the classical cultic sense, but as with devotees in similar cultic communes, his critical thinking abilities were inescapably destabilized. Only years after being arrested by a public security officer and subsequently quarantined by The Church of Almighty God did Jie realize how significantly his rational thinking processes had been affected. In time, he embodied the counterfeit christ’s mandate to become “absolute in compliance.” To refrain from analyzing right from wrong. And to relinquish the ability to think rationally and critically.75

In short, Jie followed a horde of other devotees on the broad road of demonic deception. In the vernacular of Elizabeth Hillstrom, “Having largely set aside their ability to think rationally and critically or to exercise their will, they [the devotees] become hypersuggestible, which means that they are likely to accept any spiritual truth that enters their minds. Even more remarkably, they seemed to be primed for mystical experiences and may attach great spiritual significance to virtually any event or thought, no matter how mundane or outlandish.”76

Added to the horror of relinquishing the ability to analyze right from wrong, Jie, like other devotees of The Church of Almighty God, fell prey to the destabilizing power of peer pressure as well. Over time, these devotees abandon virtually all social obligations and commit themselves to little more than spreading the culturally subversive message of their counterfeit christ. And this, heartbreakingly, extends to the rending apart of the very fabric of civil society, the family unit.

In several of my interviews, I listened to tragic accounts of devotees leaving home and family to become traveling missionaries for a destructive distortion. One interviewee named Zhiwei explained that his wife had left the family shortly after their baby stopped nursing.77 The child, now four years old, is still devoid of the nurturing care of a mother. Zhiwei said he remains committed to his wife but due to a lack of education feels ill-equipped to reason with her. The village, he said, is replete with devotees of The Church of Almighty God, and the peer pressure to conform is enormous. He added that the peer pressure that caused his wife to participate in the first place has kept her from coming to grips with the heartbreaking reality that she is a willing accomplice to a pernicious deception.

This demonic deception is overtly exploited by the counterfeit christ. In no uncertain terms, she exhorts devotees to leave their families and wholeheartedly commit to the mission of gaining new converts. Those who fail to do so, she overtly renders “worthless.” “When there is a conflictbetween doing your duty and being a good wife and loving mother,” intones the duplicitous deity, it is “brought about by the influence of traditional culture’s ideas and theories about being a good wife and loving mother.” While “in the eyes of others, you may be a good wife and loving mother, an excellent housewife, a filial child, and an upstanding member of society, but before [me] you are one who rebels against [me], one who has not fulfilled their obligation or duty at all, one who accepted yet did not complete [my] commission, one who gave up halfway. Can someone like this gain [my] approval? People like this are worthless.”78

To fully understand how seriously devotees take such invective, one need only ponder their obligatory vows. One vow, in particular, caught my attention. A pledge written by Zeng Quanmei.79 “In order to believe in the Almighty God, and to be faithful to the Almighty God, and in order to be rescued and helped by God, I follow God’s commands and decide to terminate my mother-son relationship with my son Zuo Yan, and terminate my mother-daughter relationship with my daughter Zuo Ying and Zuo Huan. From now on, they have nothing to do with me. I believe in God for my own sake, not for anyone else. Later on after they grow up, and even now, all their burdens have nothing to do with me. What I write here is out of my inner heart. I will never regret it. Here I sign my name. If I disobey I am willing to bear all consequences.”

As seductive as the female christ is at employing peer pressure to break up families, thereby unraveling the
fabric of civil society, she may well be even more adept at the exploitation of their expectations. Devotees are systematically seduced into believing that the female christ is about to overthrow the current socio-political milieu,80 exact vengeance upon the great red dragon of Chinese civilization,81 and transform them to the metaphorical head of the dragon rather than being ignominiously relegated to its tail. Expectations are elevated to fever pitch by the promise that devotees will become invincible, and that God is promising them a greater opportunity than has been offered to anyone from Adam to the Advent of the millennial age. That they are about to become the very glory of society.82

Even now the promise of messianic Lightning that came from the East is becoming increasingly bright worldwide as Eastern Lightning devotees accelerate their migration globally. Introvigne says he has personally interviewed members of The Church of Almighty God in “South Korea, Taiwan, the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Finland, Spain, [and] Hungary.”83 Though just a sampling, these devotees represent the “crystallization of God’s 6,000-year management plan, and the very fruit enjoyed by God.” They are designated “stars” who inexorably “wield sovereign power in God’s stead.”84 Even now, especially now, the female christ is affording them an opportunity to be “made perfect.” To experience “a foretaste of the Age of Millennial Kingdom” and to reap the spoils left behind by the uninitiated.85

It may well be said that expectations of devotees have now been heightened to such an extent that, to reiterate the sentiment of Robert Marks, “they are no more capable of resisting the proper hypnotic suggestion[s]” of the female christ and her emissaries “than Pavlov’s dog was capable of resisting the stimulus to salivate.”86

Lastly, a word about the subtle power of suggestion. I should first underscore the inviolate reality that hypersuggestibility is very real. Such fantasy proneness is roundly referred to as Grade Five Syndrome.87  While Grade Five personalities are generally very intuitive and intelligent, they also have vivid, visual imaginations. Thus, they are highly susceptible to the power of suggestion. To begin with, they are very trusting. Second, they desire to please (particularly an authority figure like the selfdesignated female imposter who alleges herself to be the creator of all things). Third, they have the capacity to accept contradictory experiences. Fourth, they have a marked propensity for affiliation with new or unusual events. Fifth, they are apt to relate everything they experience to their own self-perception.88 This complex of characteristics makes Grade Five personalities particularly susceptible to spiritual fantasies such as those concocted by a female from China masquerading as God.89

Furthermore, as I have previously underscored, “people in crowds are more easily influenced than people taken singly. This fact has been capitalized on by stage hypnotists as well as evangelists, political orators, and dictators.”90 And as is widely acknowledged, “in the sphere of movement, suggestion by imitation is common. Immoderate laughter readily spreads through a crowd; yawning is contagious.”91 Once epidemic suggestion contaminates a movement such as Eastern Lightning, human beings can “behave like beasts or idiots and be proud of it.”92

Pagan religions and pseudo-Christian cults have long capitalized on the power of suggestion to promote their pernicious practices. And The Church of Almighty God’s leadership has followed in their train. The effect in China has been nothing short of societal devastation. Added to the aforementioned litanies of sociopsychological manipulations, the consequences of the subtle power of suggestion appear virtually without constraint. “It can make black appear white. It can obscure realities, enshrine absurdities, and impel me pitilessly to cleave the skulls of their brothers.”93

In sum, the mythological narrative that The Church of Almighty God is just another well-intentioned Christian ministry originating in the East and unjustly persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party cannot remain unchallenged. This cult is neither Christian nor is it in “responsive dialogue with other Christianities.”94 Rather, it is a subversive movement that has damaged millions of lives within its own cultic commune and in the broader culture.

NOTES:

  1. “Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, The Words of the Holy Spirit to the Churches (February 11, 1991 to November 20, 1991): Chapter 103,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, The Appearance and Work of God, trans. The Church of Almighty God (n.p.: The Church of Almighty God, 2023), accessed September 25, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-one-hundred -and-third-utterance/.
  2. See Hank Hanegraaff, “Theological Travesties of The Church of Almighty God (aka: Eastern Lightning)”
  3. See “The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches II (November 1992 to June 1993): Concerning the Bible (2),” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed September 14, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/concerning-thebible-2/; “The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches II (November 1992 to June 1993): Concerning the Bible (1),” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1,accessed September 20, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/concerning-thebible-1/; “Why Is the God Incarnate of the Last Days Female?,” The Church of Almighty God, September 28, 2021, accessed September 23, 2024, https://www. holyspiritspeaks.org/gospel/God-incarnate-of-last-days-female/.
  4. See “Preface” (n.d.), in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed September 14, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/preface-4/; “Introduction,” in “Picture Exhibition of the Appearance and Work of Almighty God,” The Church of Almighty God, 2024, accessed September 20, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/special-topic/picture-exhibition/introduction; “Chapter 2: The Incarnate Son of Man Begins to Speak in the House Churches (1991),” in “Picture Exhibition,” accessed September 20, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/special-topic/picture-exhibition/Son-of-man-begins-speaking-in-house-churches; “Chapter 4: During the Six Trials of the Chosen People, God Testifies to God Incarnate and the Man Used by the Holy Spirit,” in “Picture Exhibition,” accessed September 20, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/special-topic/picture-exhibition/Godincarnate-and-man-used-by-God.
  5. Unless noted otherwise, Bible quotations cited by the author are taken from NIV1984. Emphasis in Bible quotations is the author’s.
  6.  “The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches II (November 1992 to June 1993): Does the Trinity Exist?,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed September 14, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/does-the-trinity-exist-2/.
  7. “The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches II (November 1992 to June 1993): The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed September 20, 2024, https://www. holyspiritspeaks.org/the-significance-of-the-incarnation/.
  8. “God Himself, the Unique X: How God Rules and Administers the Spiritual Realm” (February 15, 2014), in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 2, On Knowing God, trans. The Church of Almighty God (n.p.: The Church of Almighty God, 2023), accessed September 20, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/godhimself- the-unique-x-2/#sigil_toc_id_230.
  9. Paragraph largely adapted from Hank Hanegraaff, The Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector’s Edition, rev. and expanded ed. (Thomas Nelson, 2024), 294.
  10. Phil Kerns with Doug Wead, People’s Temple — People’s Tomb (Logos International, 1979), 205, emphasis added. The original puts “only” in all capital letters.
  11. Jim Jones, in Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown, directed by Marian Mohamed (National Geographic, 2024; Hulu, released June 17, 2024), emphasis added.
  12. Shannon Ryan quoted in William Endicott, “Daughter of Rep. Ryan Is Follower of Indian Guru,” Los Angeles Times, January 10, 1981, part 1, p. 1, quoted in Elliot Miller, “The Rajneesh Cult,” Forward 5, no. 1 (1982): 18, emphasis added.
  13. Robert W. Marks, The Story of Hypnotism (Prentice-Hall, 1947), 150.
  14. For detailed argumentation concerning sociopsychological manipulation methods, including altered states of consciousness, peer pressure, exploitation of expectations, and the subtle power of suggestion, see Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival: Looking for God in All the Wrong Places, expanded and updated edition (Thomas Nelson, 2001), pt. 5, from which the two previous paragraphs and the following four sections are partially adapted.
  15. Charles T. Tart, “Transpersonal Potentialities of Deep Hypnosis,” Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, no. 1 (1970): 37.
  16. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, in Fear Is the Master, Jeremiah Films, 1986, videotape.
  17. Not only pseudo-Christian environs, but — as I show extensively in Counterfeit Revival — tactics once relegated to the ashrams of cults are now replicated even at the altars of Christian churches.
  18. From Mark Twain in Eruption, ed. Bernard DeVoto (Harper and Row, 1922), 118–29.
  19. See Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival, 251–54.
  20. Vance L. Shepperson, “Hypnotherapy,” in Psychotherapy in Christian Perspective, ed. David G. Brenner (Baker Book House, 1987), 164.
  21. Marks, The Story of Hypnotism, 190.
  22. Marks, The Story of Hypnotism, 193.
  23. Marks, The Story of Hypnotism, 195, emphasis added.
  24. Massimo Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God: The Most Persecuted Religious Movement in China (Oxford University Press, 2020), x, emphasis added.
  25. Holly Folk, “Protestant Continuities in The Church of Almighty God,” The Journal of CESNUR 2, no. 1 (2018): 73, emphasis added, https://doi.org/10.26338/tjoc.2018.2.1.4.
  26. See “Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, The Words of the Holy Spirit to the Churches (February 11, 1991 to November 20, 1991): Chapter 98,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed September 20, 2024, https://www. holyspiritspeaks.org/the-ninety-eighth-utterance/.
  27. See “The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation” (see note 7); see also “Why Is the God Incarnate of the Last Days Female?,” The Church of Almighty God, September 28, 2021, accessed September 30, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/gospel/God-incarnate-of-last-days-female/.
  28. See “Preface” (see note 4); Emily Dunn, Lightning from the East: Heterodoxy and Christianity in Contemporary China (Brill, 2015), 71–72, 201, 201n20; Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 39–40; cf. Wang Xiaoyi, “The Leader of the Cult of Almighty God Fled to United States and Spent 10 Million Yuan to Advertise and Preach,” Global People, June 24, 2014, https://www.163.com/news/article/9VG8VDQG0001124J_all.html; and “The Church of Almighty God (CAG) (Quannengshen jiao 全能神教; Quannengshen 全能神), Also Known as ‘Eastern Lightning’ Including Its Leaders, Location and Activities; Treatment of Members by Authorities; Religious Texts Used; Whether All Members Have Access to Religious Texts (2019–October 2021),” IRB — Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, October 14, 2021, accessed September 24, 2024, https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2063634.html.
  29. See, e.g., “The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches IV (1994 to March 23, 2010): The Ten Administrative Decrees That Must Be Obeyed by God’s Chosen People in the Age of Kingdom,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, emphasis added, accessed September 14, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/tenadministrative/. Cf. “The Ten Administrative Decrees That Must Be Obeyed by God’s Chosen People in the Age of Kingdom,” The Church of Almighty God, n.d.,accessed September 14, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/recital-kingdomselection-128/.
  30. Typical Examples of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God, trans. The Church of Almighty God (n.p.: The Church of Almighty God, 2002), accessed September 24, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/books/typical-cases-of-punishment-forresisting- almighty-god/.
  31. “Typical Cases of People from Christian Denominations and Sects and Catholic Churches in Lioning Province Who Were Punished for Resisting Almighty God,” in Typical Examples of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God, emphasis added, accessed September 24, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/typical-casesof-people-from-christian-denominations-and-sects-and-catholic-churches-inliaoning-province-who-were-punished-for-resisting-almighty-god/.
  32. “Typical Cases of People from Christian Denominations and Sects and Catholic Churches in Heilongjiang Province Who Were Punished for Resisting Almighty God,” in Typical Examples of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God, emphasis added, accessed September 24, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/typicalcases-of-people-from-christian-denominations-and-sects-and-catholic-churchesin-heilongjiang-province-who-were-punished-for-resisting-almighty-god/.
  33. “Typical Cases of People from Christian Denominations and Sects and Catholic Churches in Henan Province Who Were Punished for Resisting Almighty God,” in Typical Examples of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God, accessed September 25, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/typical-cases-of-people-fromchristian- denominations-and-sects-and-catholic-churches-in-henan-provincewho-were-punished-for-resisting-almighty-god/.
  34. “Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, The Words of the Holy Spirit to the Churches (February 11, 1991 to November 20, 1991): Chapter 103,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, emphasis added, accessed September 25, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-one-hundred-and-third-utterance/.
  35. “Part Two: God’s Words to the Entire Universe (February 20, 1992 to June 1, 1992): Chapter 31,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed September 25, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-thirty-first-utterance-2/.
  36. Dunn, Lightning from the East, 71.
  37. Dunn, Lightning from the East, 71, emphasis added.
  38. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 37.
  39. See note 28 above.
  40. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 88, emphasis added. Cf. Dunn, Lightning from the East, 204.
  41. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 90, 93.
  42. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 92.
  43. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 93. For Lü’s testimony, Introvigne cites “山东招远血案被告自白:我就是神” [The Confession of the Defendant of the Murder Case in Zhaoyuan, Shandong: ‘I Am God Himself ’”], compiled by Yang Feng, Beijing News, August 22, 2014, archived August 25, 2014, at Wayback Machine, https://web.archive.org/ web/20140825031858/http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2014-08-22/123730728266.shtml.
  44. See Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 100. The news article Introvigne refers to is Wuxiejun, “山东招远麦当劳杀人案行凶者的狱中忏悔” [The Prison Confession of the Perpetrator of the Zhaoyuan, Shandong McDonald’s Murder Case], Kaiwind, May 28, 2016, machine-generated translation by Google Translate, archived at Wayback Machine, https://web.archive.org/web/20160624080449/http://anticult.kaiwind.com/xingao/2016/201605/28/t20160528_3879217.shtml.
  45. Wuxiejun, “The Prison Confession of the Perpetrator of the Zhaoyuan, Shandong McDonald’s Murder Case,” emphasis added.
  46. Wuxiejun, “The Prison Confession of the Perpetrator of the Zhaoyuan, Shandong McDonald’s Murder Case.” See also Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 88–96; and an interview with Zhang Fan, “社会能见度 审判“全能神” [Social Watch: Trial on Almighty God], Phoenix Satellite TV, August 21, 2014, transcript archived December 9, 2018, at Wayback Machine, https://web.archive.org/web/20181209105942/http://ucwap.ifeng.com/client/channelone/fenghuang/news?aid=88221898&rt=1&mid=1544315213461_ap596v5404&all=1&p=2.
  47. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 101, emphasis added.
  48. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 82, emphasis added.
  49. Publisher’s description of Dunn, Lightning from the East, Brill, accessed September 26, 2024, https://brill.com/display/title/24286.
  50. Dunn, Lightning from the East, 5.
  51. Dunn, Lightning from the East, 140.
  52. Dunn, Lightning from the East, 140.
  53. Dunn, Lightning from the East, 141.
  54. Dunn, Lightning from the East, 155.
  55. Dunn, Lightning from the East, 155.
  56. Dunn, Lightning from the East, 156.
  57. Dunn, Lightning from the East, 155. Dunn cites Brother Shen, “Testimony of Younger Shen: The Kidnapping,” China Gospel Fellowship, accessed (by Dunn) July 8, 2009, and accessed September 28, 2024, http://www.chinafor jesus.com/cgf/CGF_shen_july_2002.htm; China Gospel Fellowship (中华福音团契), “Report from China Gospel Fellowship of the April 16 Kidnapping by the Eastern Lightning Cult,” China Gospel Fellowship, accessed (by Dunn) March 23, 2004,http://www.chinaforjesus.com/cgf/070702/ index.htm; link no longer active but was archived April 12, 2004, at Wayback Machine, https://web.archive.org/web/20040412131134/http://www.chinaforjesus.com/cgf/070702/index.htm.
  58. Dunn, Lightning from the East, 158.
  59. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 114. Introvigne cites “Statement: The Church of Almighty God Did Not Kidnap 34 Leaders of China of China Gospel Fellowship in 2002. The Kidnapping Incident Is Simply a Fabrication,” The Church of Almighty God, October 18, 2017, https://www.holyspiritspeaks. org/statement; link no longer active but was archived December 17, 2017, at Wayback Machine, https://web.archive.org/web/20171217014053/https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/statement/.
  60. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 114.
  61. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 116.
  62. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 83.
  63. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, x, xi.
  64. See Warren G. Nozaki, “The Iron Rod of the Faux Almighty God”.
  65. See “We Were Wrong,” Christian Research Journal 32, no. 6 (2009): 3–62, https://www.equip.org/christian-research-journal/we-were-wrong-2
  66. See Zhang Heng, Abraham Ho, and Jacob Feng, “A Firsthand Account of the ‘4/16 Eastern Lightning Kidnapping Case’” .
  67. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 113.
  68. Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 112. Introvigne cites “Statement: The Church of Almighty God Did Not Kidnap 34 Leaders of China of China Gospel Fellowship in 2002. The Kidnapping Incident Is Simply a Fabrication,” The Church of Almighty God, October 18, 2017, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/statement.
  69. Xie Qiang, “I Have Received Almighty God’s Great Salvation,” The Church of Almighty God, archived January 21, 2016, at Wayback Machine, https://web.archive.org/web/20160121062703/http://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/19-i-havereceived-almighty-gods-great-salvation/.
  70. See “Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, The Words of the Holy Spirit to the Churches (February 11, 1991 to November 20, 1991): Chapter 98,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, emphasis added, accessed September 20, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-ninety-eighth-utterance/. The female christ further denies the bodily resurrection of Jesus by contending that neither the first nor the second incarnation is permanent — the embodied interactions between a human incarnation of God and humanity eventually cease. Why? Because the faux Almighty God “has to shed the flesh to do the work He must do.” See “Part Three: The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches I ( June 1992 to October 1992): 40 The Essential Difference Between the Incarnate God and the People Used by God,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed March 17, 2025, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/incarnate-god-and-people-2/; “Part Three: The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches II (November 1992 to June 1993): 21 The Mystery of the Incarnation (2),” accessed March 26, 2025, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-mystery-of-the-incarnation-2/.
  71. Also worthy of note is that Xie did not merely fall prey to the obvious theological deceptions of his captors but to sociological scheming as well. Schemes spelled out with surprising candor in a purportedly leaked document from The Church of Almighty God titled Detailed Instructions for Sounding Out and Paving the Way. In this guidebook for deception, The Church of Almighty God allegedly provides instructions followed to a tee by Xie’s captors. Instructions for infiltrating and proselytizing “good denominations.” For disregarding people who have “severe physical handicaps.” For hiding their “own identity” so as to “infiltrate the inner circle” of churches. For carefully camouflaging their deceptions to not “let them see that we are lying when we speak.” In sum, “paving the way” is a disturbing, all-inclusive prescription for eliminating suspicion, for gaining the gullible, and for concealing their identity as members of the Eastern Lightning cult. The Church of Almighty God denies that it wrote this document, but even if the document’s origins are ultimately proved unknowable, its principles cohere with established teachings and practices of The Church of Almighty God. See “Detailed Instructions for Sounding Out and Paving the Way,” in Appendix of Zhang Dakai, Exposing Eastern Lightning (n.p.: China Gospel Fellowship, n.d.), trans. Google Translate, accessed September 26, 2024, http://chinaforjesus.com/resources/exel/indexch.htm; see also “China Gospel Fellowship Statement June 19, 2002,” China for Jesus, accessed September 26, 2024, http://chinaforjesus.com/rules.htm. Cf. Dunn, Lightning from the East, 146–51; Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, 115.
  72. Unpublished personal interview with Pastor Shuhai, April 9, 2024.
  73. Unpublished personal interview with Jie, April 8, 2024.
  74. As noted by Emily Dunn in personal corresondence, the notion of eighteen levels of hell is a traditional Chinese concept. She referenced “The Eighteen Layers of Chinese Hell,” China Underground, April 27, 2011, accessed March 9, 2025, https://china-underground.com/2011/04/27/the-eighteen-layers-of-chinesehell/.
  75. It is worth quoting the seventh administrative decree of the female christ in full: “In work and matters of the church, apart from submitting to God, follow the instructions of the man who is used by the Holy Spirit in everything. Even the slightest infraction is unacceptable. Be absolute in your compliance, and do not analyze right or wrong; what is right or wrong has nothing to do with you. You must concern yourself only with total submission.” “The Ten Administrative Decrees That Must Be Obeyed by God’s Chosen People in the Age of Kingdom.” See note 29.
  76. 76 Elizabeth L. Hillstrom, Testing the Spirits (InterVarsity Press, 1995), 79, emphasis added.
  77. Unpublished personal interview with Zhiwei, April 8, 2024.
  78. “Part One: The Sermons and Fellowship Given in Congregation by Almighty God (2007 to September 25, 2021): Only by Recognizing One’s Own Misguided Views Can One Truly Transform (Spring 2008),” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 3, The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days, trans. The Church of Almighty God (n.p.: The Church of Almighty God, 2024), accessed September 26, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/recognizing-misguided-views-to-truly-transform/; see also “Part One: Utterances of Christ in the Beginning—The Words of the Holy Spirit to the Churches (February 11, 1991 to November 20, 1991): Chapter 99, “ in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed March 13, 2025, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-ninety-ninth-utterance/; and “How to Pursue the Truth (11),” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 6, On the Pursuit of the Truth, trans. The Church of Almighty God (n.p.: The Church of Almighty God, n.d.), accessed March 13, 2025, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/how-to-pursue-the-truth-11/.
  79. Handwritten vow shown to and translated for the author.
  80. See, e.g., “Countering the CCP’s Rumors and Fallacies,” The Church of Almighty God, February 23, 2021, accessed March 29, 2025, https://www.holyspiritspeaks. org/gospel/countering-the-ccp-s-rumors-and-fallacies-7/.
  81. See “What Will the Outcome of the CCP Government and the Religious World Be After They Madly Condemn and Resist God?,” The Church of Almighty God, November 29, 2017, accessed March 29, 2025, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/ gospel/outcome-of-the-ccp-government-and-the-religious-world/; “Appendix: Interpretations of the Mysteries of ‘God’s Words to the Entire Universe’: Chapter 10,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed March 29, 2025, https:// www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-interpretation-of-the-tenth-utterance/.
  82. See, e.g., “The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches I ( June 1992 to October 1992): The Age of Kingdom Is the Age of Word,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed September 30, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-age-of-kingdom-is-the-age-of-word/.
  83.  Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God, x.
  84. “Appendix: Interpretations of the Mysteries of ‘God’s Words to the Entire Universe’: Chapter 12,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol. 1, accessed September 26, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/interpretation-of-thetwelfth-utterance/.
  85. “The Words of Christ as He Walked in the Churches I ( June 1992 to October 1992): The Age of Kingdom Is the Age of Word,” in The Word Appears in the Flesh, vol 1, accessed September 26, 2024, https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/the-age-ofkingdom-is-the-age-of-word/.
  86. Marks, The Story of Hypnotism, 150.
  87. See Jon Trott, “The Grade Five Syndrome,” Cornerstone 20, no. 96 (1991): 16.
  88. This information was summarized from a variety of sources, including George Ganaway, “Historical versus Narrative Truth,” Journal of Dissociation 2, no. 4  (1989): 205–20; and Steven Jay Lynn and Judith W. Rhue, “Fantasy Proneness,” American Psychologist, January 1988, 35–44.
  89. See Judith W. Rhue and Steven Jay Lynn, “Fantasy Proneness, Hypnotizability, and Multiple Personality,” in Human Suggestibility, ed. John F. Schumaker (Routledge, 1991), 201. The application to Eastern Lightning is mine.
  90. Marks, The Story of Hypnotism, 190.
  91. Charles Baudouin, Suggestion and Autosuggestion (George Allen and Unwin, 1954), 80.
  92. Marks, The Story of Hypnotism, 193. The application of Marks’ words to Eastern Lightning is mine.
  93. Marks, The Story of Hypnosis, 191, emphasis added. For further information, see “The Subtle Power of Suggestion,” in Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival, 255–60, from which the three previous paragraphs are largely adapted.
  94. Folk, “Protestant Continuities in The Church of Almighty God,” 73. (See note 25.)

 

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