The World Mission Society Church of God boasts of churches in 150 countries, including Malawi. Not many, however, know that the church believes that Jesus already returned and that there is God the Mother apart from the father and son. BRIGHT MHANGO explores the church’s dogma.
The World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCG) is well known by its trademark volunteer acts which include cleaning streets and hospitals. The church was founded by Ahn Sahng-hong in 1964 and since then it has spread to many countries, with the church now boasting of about 2 million baptised members.
There is nothing strange about a church being Korean, nor is there anything new in its volunteer and charity drives – all churches do that. It is the dogma the church teaches and believes in that is unique.
We tracked down the church’s Lilongwe-based pastor, Evance Kandodo, to help us understand what the church stands for but rather surprisingly, Kandodo said he had sought permission from the church’s headquarters which told him not to take our questions.
The church, however, has tried to list some of its philosophy on its website www.english.watv.org.
God the Mother
It has always been known to the average Christian that there is a trinity which consists of God the father, God the son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. This is for Catholics and most Protestants.
For members of WMSCG, there is God the Mother somewhere.
Alert! You are going to get convinced: The church argues that since man (men and women) were created in the image of the Gods that sat at the beginning of Genesis, there has to be a female God to account for women.
The church draws its argument from Genesis 1: 26-27, which says: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Some people say the word “us” in this verse indicates God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. If this argument is correct, there should be three types of people in the world—those who were made in the image of God the Father, those who resemble the image of God the Son, and those created in the image of the Holy Spirit.
“However, on this earth there are only two types of people: men and women. Therefore, the “Gods” mentioned in Genesis 1:26 are the male image of God and the female image of God—God the Father and God the Mother,” argues the church on the website.
Well, there sure is nothing on earth that looks like the Holy Spirit, so maybe this is true. But then it goes a step further.
The church uses Romans 5:14 to get to the conclusion that God’s intent in creating Adam was to reveal the Second Coming Jesus (heavenly Father) and thus Eve was created to reveal the Second Coming Jesus’ wife (heavenly Mother.)
Romans 5:14 describes Adam as the figure of who is to come. And the literal translation of the name Eve means “life” and the church calls her the “mother of all the living.”
“In other words, just as Eve was called “the mother of all the living,” we can only be given eternal life through our heavenly Mother. Eve represents our heavenly Mother,” says the church.
Christ returned and went back to heaven!
All these are very convincing arguments and the church did not stop there. It says the church’s founder, Ahn Sahng-hong, is the Christ. If you like: Christ came again and he died again.
Of course, to the church, he went to heaven to fulfil other duties as prophecy requires of him.
Before Ahn Sahng-hong went to heaven or died, he revealed the God Mother. Yes, God is alive and is in Korea and people can actually touch her.
Her name is Zhang Gil-Jah, the current leader of the church. Some believers actually report that they had a spiritual encounter when they embraced her.
The church says Jesus could have given humans life if he wanted when he came about 2000 years ago but he waited, the church says, because life can only be given by the Heavenly Mother who they say is the one being referred to in Galatians. 4:26.
“In this last age, we need our Jerusalem Mother who has been established by Christ Ahnsahnghong the Second Coming Jesus. Let us believe in Christ Ahnsahnghong, the Holy Spirit, and in Jerusalem Mother, the Bride, so that we can receive eternal life,” reads a posting on the website.
Opposition
Naturally, a church preaching such revolutionary teachings had the potential to cause wars in the days of the early church. Today, the church’s opposition comes mainly from bloggers.
Leading the pack is www.examiningthewmscog.com which has some works written by former members of the church.
The website claims Ahnsahnghong actually wrote against the idea of a mother god. It also says the church misinterprets Galatians for its own schemes. It argues that Paul was referring to Sarah and Hagar when he wrote about the heavenly city of Jerusalem which the church says refers to the mother god.
Another reader of the blog, commenting on the critical website, said the idea of a mother god is wrong because it means that God cheated on his wife to impregnate Mary.
Is Ahnsahnghong Jesus? Is Zhang Gil-Jah God? Was she Ahnsahnghong’s wife? Did Ahnsahnghong go back to heaven? Was he the same guy as the Jesus of 2000 years ago?
Not easy questions.
