Xi Wuyi: "Doomsday" and the "Church of Almighty God"
Recently, the "Church of Almighty God," operating under the banner of Christianity, has engaged in illegal gatherings, spread "doomsday" rumors, and advocated that "only faith in the religion can bring salvation and safety," sparking vigilance among people from all walks of life.
The "Church of Almighty God" is a derivative organization of the "Shouters" [1], a US-based Christian heresy, and possesses strong political rebelliousness.
The "Church of Almighty God" organization is also known as "Eastern Lightning" or "Real God." The organization originated from the fragmentation and derivation of the "Shouters," a Christian heresy that entered China from the United States in the late 1970s. Its founder, Zhao Weishan, was originally a core member of the "Shouters" who started his own venture due to discord with his associates. "Almighty God" cites and distorts Christian doctrine, spreading fallacious heresies adapted from the Bible, such as The Lightning Comes from the East and Almighty God, You Are So Good, and engages in illegal proselytizing.
The organization preaches that the "Age of Law" ruled by Jehovah and the "Age of Grace" ruled by Jesus have passed, and the "Age of Kingdom" ruled by "Almighty God" has arrived. It claims that God has been incarnated a second time in the image of an Eastern woman who has descended upon China to judge humanity. It further asserts that "doomsday is coming" and only those who believe in "Almighty God" can be saved, while all who disbelieve or resist will be struck dead by "lightning." It claims that "contemporary China is a decadent imperial family dominated by the Great Red Dragon (referring to the Communist Party)" [2], inciting followers to engage in a decisive battle against the "Great Red Dragon" under God’s leadership to "exterminate the Great Red Dragon and establish a kingdom ruled by Almighty God."
The Organizational Model, Propagation Methods, and Social Harms of the "Church of Almighty God"
The "Church of Almighty God" has a tight organizational system and secret methods of communication. The highest figure in the organization is a Female God, under whom priests are established. The church is divided into districts, sub-districts, and branch churches; the person in charge is called a "Leader" (dàilǐng). Their proselytizing operates like a pyramid scheme, using an "interpersonal network rolling method" with single-line contacts. Members are only concerned with induction and are forbidden from asking names; only pseudonyms are used during interactions. Being discovered by government departments is called "encountering the environment" (chū huánjìng). Proselytizers are generally forbidden from carrying any communication tools and are escorted by others during contact.
The organization's propagation methods have strong local characteristics and grassroots permeability. It emphasizes activities such as speaking in tongues, singing spiritual songs, dancing spiritual dances, seeing visions, and exorcising demons to heal the sick. It focuses on using miracles and the supernatural to eliminate suffering and treat illnesses. Whenever someone’s family member is ill or hospitalized, or if an accident occurs, they will arrive upon hearing the news, showing tireless concern and listing numerous cases of healing through prayer and averting disasters. The purpose is to persuade people to join and to amass wealth through deception. The organization even incites its members to leave home and give their entire bodies, minds, and property to the leader, causing many originally happy families to break apart and exacerbating the hardships of many already impoverished families.
Cult Organizations and "Destructive Cults"
Based on its social harm, the "Church of Almighty God" has been characterized as a cult organization (xiéjiào). Article 300 of China's Criminal Law stipulates that cult organizations refer to "illegal organizations that use the name of religion, qigong [3], or other guises to establish and deify their leading members, and utilize means such as creating and spreading superstitious fallacies to delude and deceive others, recruit and control members, and endanger society." The fundamental purpose of the government in punishing cults is to safeguard basic human rights and the stable development of society.
The definition of cults in contemporary Chinese mainstream society is a unique legal interpretation. As a scholar studying contemporary religious and cult issues, I believe that in the international academic context, xiéjiào can be referred to as "destructive cults." Using the Western religious studies concept of "destructive cults" to examine China’s "cult" problem and striving to explore a cross-cultural academic paradigm will help push contemporary Chinese "cult studies" into the international academic discourse circle.
Main Characteristics of Contemporary Cults or "Destructive Cults"
First: Leader worship and mental control. Cult leaders proclaim themselves to be the supreme "God," acting as the absolute center of power with a will that stands above all others. Their internal structure is a dictatorship that deviates from modern society. The leader deifies themselves, creates "miracles," and demonstrates "supernatural powers" to create a sensational effect and entice the masses' superstition. They then incite fanaticism in followers, gradually weakening their psychological defenses, distorting their normal personalities, and depriving them of independent thinking, making them willing to follow the leader blindly. The leader's political ambition and desire for power expand continuously with their growing influence, plotting or encouraging the followers' spirits and behaviors to reach a state of obsession.
Second: Preaching doomsday and violent behavior. Cult leaders wantonly preach the end of the world to create an atmosphere of panic, causing followers to follow blindly in a frenzy. Once a cult’s misdeeds become notorious and it faces social condemnation or government investigation, the leader—feeling their "divine" status threatened—will take risks, using the coming of doomsday as a rallying cry to incite followers to violent resistance against society. Using frantic means such as suicide, gunfights, or poisoning, they cause grievous social harm.
Third: Secret societies and illegal accumulation of wealth. Cult leaders usually employ the method of secret societies to establish closed or semi-closed organizations. The leader requires followers to sever or distance themselves from family and social ties and to dedicate everything—including thoughts, property, and even their bodies and lives—to the leader. The leader seizes the "donations" of followers, becoming an overnight nouveau riche through illegal accumulation, living in luxury and dissipation, and squandering wealth at will.
In December 2007, I was invited to record Phoenix Satellite TV’s Tiger Talk (Zhènhǎi Tīngfēng Lù). While commenting on the development trends of destructive cults in our country, I noted: "The impact of destructive cults on developing countries far exceeds that on developed countries. This is because developing countries are in a period of social transformation; social security systems are being gradually established, and there remain many blind spots and weak links. The risk coefficient of the entire society is relatively high. As scholars from a developing country, we pay closer attention to the destructive factors of cult groups."