A South Korean Cult Leader who Held 400 Followers Captive Is Sentenced To 6 Years In Jail

Cult Leader Shin Ok-ju aka Reverend Esther

(CNN)A South Korean cult leader has been sentenced to six years in jail for holding some 400 followers captive in Fiji and subjecting them to violence and abuse.

Shin Ok-ju, the founder of Grace Road Church, warned of impending war, famine and natural disaster and convinced her followers to move to the South Pacific island to survive. Once in Fiji, her followers had their passports taken away from them and some were subjected to violent beatings.

Shin was arrested after flying into Seoul on July 24 2018 on charges of forced confinement and physical assault, South Korean police said at the time. Three of her followers were also detained.

Authorities then had to grapple with how to repatriate church members from Fiji, where they said many had been stranded without documents.  A South Korean court found Shin guilty of 9 charges including assault, imprisonment, fraud, child abuse and ordering child neglect on Monday.

Shin Ok-ju slapping her followers 

“The defendant not only committed assault and imprisonment but committed fraud, child abuse and ordering of child neglect,” the judge said in the sentencing paper, obtained by CNN. “The victims, on top of the sufferings listed in the indictment, had lost their family or suffered mental trauma. “

    Below is a video of CULT LEADER Shin OK-ju teaching her followers about God

Child victims “had been rid of education and caring from the early age and had suffered greatly in proper growth and personal development,” the ruling said.

The judge noted that Shin indoctrinated her followers and ordered them to give up their savings to move to Fiji, describing it as “the only paradise land written in the Bible” where they could avoid “the Great Tribulation”. In sermons, she showed them videos of earthquakes and famines, saying repeatedly that she had found a “kingdom of 1000 years where we can live in eternity.”

Shin also told followers they must pay for visas costing 30 million South Korean won (USD $25000) per person, the ruling detailed.  Followers who had escaped from the cult told journalists about ritual beatings and abuse.

Last year, former church members told CNN that followers were subjected to public beatings, known as “threshing”, a ritual involving being slapped and hit as a supposed form of repentance in accordance with Shin’s interpretation of the Bible.

Presbyterian Church Exchanges Pastors for Drag Queens and reads Gay Stories instead of Scriptures

CINCINNATI, Ohio — An apostate assembly that identifies itself as “a loving and progressive faith community” held a drag queen story time last Sunday as the building caretaker dressed in drag  to read a book in scheduled children’s time during the Sunday, June 16 worship service.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports Dan Davidson dressed up as “Sparke Leigh” complete with a purple dress, makeup, high heels, and “a glitter beard” and stood at the Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church door greeting members and visitors and read to the congregation a story about homosexual politician Harvey Milk and the creation of the rainbow flag.

 Harvey Milk

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Dan Davidson had previously performed as a drag queen in Seattle, Washington before moving to Ohio and joining Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, led by Stacey Midge. Davidson is a caretaker for the facility.

Last Sunday, Davidson donned a purple dress and high heels and applied a glitter beard as he presented himself as “Sparkle Leigh.” Following the song “God Welcomes All” by the church choir,  Davidson took the stage to read the book “Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag” to children and adults alike. Milk is considered the first openly homosexual elected politician in California and worked as a homosexual rights activist. Acquaintance Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag known today as the symbol for homosexual, bisexual and transgender pride.

“Harvey dreamed that everyone — even gay people — would have equality,” Davidson read. “He dreamed that one day, people would be able to live and love as they pleased.”

“Harvey and his friends planned marches to protest inequality and unfair laws. And just days before one of the marches, Harvey had an idea. … We need a symbol that shows who we are and how we feel. … Harvey knew an artist who could help — Gilbert Baker.”

Some in attendance held up their cell phones to reenact the San Francisco candlelight vigil for Milk, as mentioned in the book.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Mount Auburn Presbyterian is in the midst of celebrating Pride Month, and is decorated with pride flags and rainbow candles. One man told his “coming out” story during the service.

Davidson stood near the entrance at the end of the gathering and spoke to the people as they left.

Pro-Gay Church Plans to Build Worship Space/Brewery & Donate Profits to Planned Parenthood

The U.S. Episcopal Church Amends the Terms “Husband and Wife” To Find Favor With the LGBT Community

 

An Angry Spirit Emerges From Kenneth Copeland When Interviewed By Inside Edition Video

Televangelist Kenneth Copeland snapped at an Inside Edition reporter in a recent interview about his lavish lifestyle and private-jet use, saying he makes no apologies for the fact that his hypnotized blind followers ministry has made him “a very wealthy man.”

Mr. Copeland, owner of the Texas-based Kenneth Copeland Ministries, was confronted by Inside Edition’s Lisa Guerrero about using his private jets to travel to and from his vacation homes. Ms. Guerrero specifically asked him about a comment he made in 2015 in defending his private-jet use, when he argued that commercial planes are full of “a bunch of demons” who would bog down his busy schedule with prayer requests.

“Do you really believe that human beings are demons?” the reporter asked.

“No I did not,” Mr. Copeland responded, angrily. “And don’t you ever say I did.”

He said that he was talking about the demons inside of people, such as alcohol abuse, not the people themselves.

Kenneth Copeland Acquires New Gulf-stream V Jet, Paid For By “Donations” From His Followers/Church and Seeks $19.5M for Upgrades and Maintenance

Louisiana Catholic School Principal Arrested at DC Strip Club While on Field Trip With Students

Michael Comeau, the principal at Holy Family Catholic School in Port Allen, Louisiana, was accused of not paying his bill at Archibald’s Gentlemen’s Club

A Catholic school principal in Louisiana resigned after being arrested early Friday morning at a strip club during a field trip to Washington, D.C., media outlets report.

Michael Comeau, the principal at Holy Family Catholic School in Port Allen, Louisiana, was accused of not paying his bill at Archibald’s Gentlemen’s Club, according to the Monroe News Star.

The police were called and, when they arrived, found Comeau standing in the road and refusing to move, according to The Advocate. He was arrested and charged with public intoxication and “possession of an open container of alcohol,” The Advocate reported.

All this happened while Comeau was on a school trip with 7th and 8th grade students, according to WMBF.

The students were in the hotel with other chaperones while Comeau was at the strip club, The Advocate reported.

“The Diocese of Baton Rouge confirmed [Friday] that Michael Comeau, principal at Holy Family School in Port Allen, was arrested on May 30 while on a school sponsored trip to Washington, DC. …,” the diocese said in a statement published by WMBF and the News Star. “Mr. Comeau has submitted his resignation as principal and an interim principal will be appointed.”

Comeau also worked as an officer for the Brusly Police Department, according to WMBF.
He resigned from his position with the department as well, WMBF reported. Comeau was principal at the school for five years, and the school will appoint an interim principal following his resignation, the Monroe News Star reported.

Trinity Christian Academy Teacher/Coach Fired For Inappropriate Relationship with Student

Students, parents and staff at the Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville, Florida, are in shock after school officials announced Thursday that a popular Bible teacher and soccer coach was fired for having an “inappropriate relationship” with a student.

“On Tuesday, in keeping with legal and our own internal reporting guidelines, TCA reported an inappropriate relationship between a high school teacher and high school student to our local law enforcement,” the school confirmed in a statement to The Christian Post on Friday morning.

“In addition to the reporting, we have terminated the employment of the teacher. We are deeply saddened by this situation, because it is so far removed from the standards and values to which we hold our faculty and embrace as a school. We are committed to offering care and support for the student and all families impacted,” it ended.

While the school did not reveal any further details on the teacher, James Baltz, a former student who now works at the school told News4Jax that the fired teacher was a Bible teacher and soccer coach who was popular among students.

“When I heard about it, I was in complete, like, all in shock,” Baltz said. “It’s just completely awful that it happened in this environment, especially a Christian environment.”

Students like Baemnet Abetew, a 12th-grader, revealed that news of the teacher’s firing had rippled through the entire school community.

“It did shock me. I didn’t think anything like this would happen here,” Abetew said. “It is scary because it’s something that could have happened to me.” 

Zarek Jones, a soccer player who was coached by the fired teacher, told First Coast News that: “We thought he was cool. We’d go to his classroom and eat lunch there.”

He said he knows the female student who was involved with his coach but his teammates thought they were “just friends.”

“We thought they were just friends,” Jones said.

“I know he shouldn’t have done this,” he added. “I don’t know whether to be mad or sad, but he taught us not to do stuff like this.”

Auna Nix, a parent whose son attends the school, called the situation heartbreaking.

“It just scares me as a parent,” she said. “But I trust the school that they’re going to make the right decision.” 

When contacted for comment on the case Friday, the Jacksonville Police Department could not immediately provide any details on whether a report was made.

Trinity Christian Academy was founded in 1967 under the sponsorship of Trinity Baptist Church of Jacksonville “as an educational program that would provide not only the academic, social, physical, and values training, but also the spiritual training necessary for a well-rounded education,” according to their website.

Detroit Pastor Murders Transgender Woman

A Detroit pastor was charged this week in the shooting death of a 36-year-old transgender woman found dead on the street Friday.

Albert Weathers, 46, was charged with open murder and use of a firearm after an investigation into the death of Kelly Stough, who was found by a police officer in the Palmer Park neighborhood, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said.

No motive was given, though prosecutors said they have evidence to be presented in court that Stough’s status as a transgender woman played a role in Weathers’ alleged actions.

Weathers is a pastor of the Logo’s Church, and until this week, was an employee at the Great Lakes Water Authority.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed to the Daily News that Weathers’ employment has since been terminated, and that he was off-duty at the time of the alleged shooting.

Weathers, who is reportedly married with children, allegedly left the scene of the crime, clocked in at work, and called police an hour later claiming he’d been the victim of an attempted robbery and had shot someone, according to local ABC affiliate WXYZ.

His bond is set at $1 million, though his lawyer David Cripps told the outlet that he will petition for a lower bond on the argument that his client has strong ties to his community.

Stough, meanwhile, was remembered by mother Jessica Chantae Stough as a beloved member of the community who was very loved, and hoped to one day work in the fashion industry as a designer and buyer.

“She has a family who cared about her, who loved her, and I want them to know that transgender ladies – expressly those of color – they’re not just throwaways,” she told NBC News. “People care about them.”

A GoFundMe page launched in memory of Stough has raised more than $4,500.

As noted by NBC, Stough once weighed in on the police’s inadequate treatment of transgender people in Detroit in the wake of a 2015 murder of a local transgender woman.

 Kelly Stough (center) with friends

“The police are unaware with our struggle, so they have no sympathy for us,” she told the Guardian, using her stage name Keanna Mattel. “Nobody ever asks, what happened to the person to get here? Unelss you’re just in the middle of the street, dead bleeding, you can flag down a police officer, and they’ll just ride past you like you never flagged them down.”

Fair Michigan Foundation President and Michigan Attorney General-elect Dana Nessel said in a statement that Stough’s murder “reflected the excessive brutality that members of Detroit’s transgender community constantly face.”

Willow Creek Megachurch Paid $3.25M in Lawsuits Over Sex Abuse of Disabled Boys

Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois reportedly paid $3.5 million in lawsuits over the sex abuse of two developmentally disabled boys.

The evangelical megachurch, which recently saw its entire elders board resign over unrelated accusations that former lead pastor Bill Hybels sexually abused women, made the payments in the lawsuits over several years, court records obtained by The Chicago Tribune show.

One payment of $1.75 million was apparently made in February, while another one of $1.5 million was made last year.

Former Willow Creek volunteer Robert Sobczak Jr., now 24, pled guilty in 2014 of abusing an 8-year-old with special needs at the church, alongside an older boy not connected with the church. A year earlier, he admitted to sexually abusing another disabled boy at the church, believed to have been 9 years old.

Willow Creek said that the experience was “heartbreaking,” and insisted that it has made changes.

“We have worked with law enforcement and security experts to learn how this happened and how we can ensure it never happens again,” the church said, according to FOX 32.

Cook County prosecutors had described in the lawsuits that Sobczak separately took the two boys to an isolated area of the church, where he molested them.

What is more, the document shows that another church worker had raised concerns in January 2013 that Sobczak was “emotionally unhealthy.” The volunteer was allowed to remain with the program, however, and went on to abuse the second victim.

The second victim reportedly suffered “great mental and emotional harm” due to the abuse he suffered, and underwent therapy.

The settlement showed that despite agreeing to the financial payouts, the church “has denied and continues to deny all material allegations of negligence and damages in this case.”

When the child sex abuse charges first came to light back in 2013, the megachurch said in a statement:

“Willow Creek engages in a rigorous screening and training process for all volunteers and staff in our Special Friends Ministry that includes a detailed child protection application process, checking of references, a national background check, cross checking the sex offender registry, and offering training in child protection. Mr. Sobczak had completed and passed this screening process before he began serving with the Special Friends Ministry.”

Heather Larson, who would go on to become Willow Creek’s executive pastor, before resigning this August over the Hybels scandal, insisted back then that church leadership is “very concerned for the child as well as the family.”

“We take rigorous steps to protect our children,” she stated at the time.

Larson, along with Willow Creek’s entire elder board, resigned earlier in August, admitting that they should have believed the multiple women who accused Hybels of sexual misconduct and abuse this year.

The church initially sided with Hybels, who has continued to maintain his innocence in the face of all claims. It later admitted that its founder had “fallen into sin.”

“While Bill Hybels was our founder and pastor, he was human, broken, and self-admittedly sinful. We believe that his sins were beyond what he previously admitted on stage, and certainly we believe that his actions with these women were sinful. We believe he did not receive feedback as well as he gave it, and he resisted the accountability structures we all need,” said in a statement about the issue Missy Rasmussen, one of Willow Creek’s elders.

Catholic Church Guilty Of Covering Up Sexual Abuse of Over 1000 Children in Pennsylvania

• More than 300 Catholic priests across Pennsylvania had been sexually abusing little boys and girls for over 70 years.
• A thousand children were identified as victims in the investigation, but there are possibly thousands more.
• The Vatican refrained from making any comments about the situation.

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More than 300 “predator priests” across Pennsylvania were reportedly sexually abusing children for over 70 years, according to a new grand jury, who got internal documents from the state’s six Catholic dioceses dating back to 1947: Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton.

The grand jury states, “Priests were raping little boys and girls, and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing; they hid it all. For decades.”

On Tuesday, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said the cover-ups and abuse were reported by other state grand juries and they reviewed the information included in the “secret archives” — referring to the reports that hid the abuse that church leaders did for decades.

The jury report, consisting of 1,400 pages, described the gruesome details of some of the alleged abuse. A boy was raped repeatedly from age 13 to 15 and later suffered from severe spine injuries because of the priest who raped him. The boy later died of an overdose due to painkiller addiction.

In Pittsburgh, priests forced a victim to pose naked on the cross while they photographed him using a Polaroid camera. The report states that because of the cover-up, “almost every instance of abuse we found is too old to be prosecuted.”

In Pennsylvania, victims of child sex abuse have until they reach age 30 to file civil suits and until they are 50 to file criminal charges. The oldest victim who spoke to the grand jury was aged 83.

James VanSickle, 55, recounts the sexual abuse he suffered under the hands of a priest in Erie back in 1981, but because the statute of limitations had passed, the priest was not prosecuted for it.

As he testified before the grand jury, VanSickle said “This is the murder of a soul. We don’t have a statute of limitations on the crime of murder. We don’t go after victims . . . and question their ‘repressed memories’ or ‘recovered memories.”

Many questions now arise about whether high-level church officials could still be covering up their criminal actions.

The grand jury called for a law allowing older victims to file a case against the church for the abuse they’ve suffered as children, in addition to ending such limitations for criminal cases.

The Vatican press office refrained from making any comments to the situation, as the attention is now focused on Pope Francis, with many Catholics waiting on how he would handle this situation of abuse to restore the Catholic Church’s integrity.

Across the country, Pennsylvania is believed to have steered the most number of investigations on child sex abuse.

The recent grand jury report was described by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro as the “largest, most comprehensive report into child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church ever produced in the United States.”

Source: Fox News

Pro-Gay Church Plans to Build Worship Space/Brewery & Donate Profits to Planned Parenthood

 Church in Santa Cruz, Calif., plans to convert former bookstore into a worship space and public brewery.  (Google Street View)

A building in Santa Cruz, Calif., is being converted into a worship space and public brewery by a pro-gay church that plans to donate some of its beer proceeds to Planned Parenthood, according to reports.

Members of the Greater Purpose Community Church now meet on Sundays at a food lounge to pray, listen and drink beer, KNTV reports.

“There’s nothing in the Bible that says you can’t drink alcohol in a responsible manner,” Pastor Chris VanHall told the station.

Planned Parenthood has offices in the former bookstore VanHall plans to turn into a brewery by next summer, The Santa Cruz Good Times weekly newspaper reported.

“A church that serves beer and gives the profits away to places like Planned Parenthood is really exciting to me,” the pastor told the paper.

Santa Cruz’s recent Pride Parade included a contingent from Greater Purpose, the paper reported.

VanHall told KION-TV in a report Friday that on Sundays there will be church in the bar “but it’s going to be before we open to the public.”

The pastor told KNTV that holding services at the food lounge gave him the idea for the brewery.

“I thought to myself, ‘wouldn’t it be great if a church could figure out a way to make a product where they split the profits with local community service organizations?’ We were like ‘hey, we love beer, we love making beer, why not do a brewery?'” he said.

Anyway, he said, his sermons are always better after a couple of beers.

Pastor Charged With Sexually Assaulting Unconscious Parishioner

 “Pastor” Meally Morris Freeman 

A Minnesota opportunist who calls himself a pastor sexually assaulted a 28-year-old woman after she became unconscious during two “anointing sessions”  and has now been charged with two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct that could land him in prison for 15 years and a fine of $30,000.

A criminal complaint against Meally Morris Freeman, the 55-year-old “pastor” of Grace Mountaineer Tabernacle Church in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota said the woman accusing him of criminal behavior saw him as a “spiritual father” when she went to him for spiritual guidance starting on Sept. 20, 2017, according to Fox 9.

In January, however, she told police that Freeman sexually assaulted her at the church which led to his arrest on Tuesday.

She explained that during an anointing session at the church, the pastor anointed her with oil and advised her that she was in need of “deliverance” that would require a one-on-one session with him.

Trusting the spiritual guidance, the woman said she attended a one-on-one session with Freeman and he gave her small cups of ‘oil’ to drink. Soon after they began to pray, the woman says she lost consciousness…

When she woke up, the woman explained that her underwear was wet and there was oil on her stomach and near her breasts. The pastor told her he had “anointed all places, but that he didn’t see all places,” and informed her she needed a second session that would take place after Bible study that night. The woman said in their second deliverance session she became unconscious again but when she woke up this time her pants and underwear were hanging ripped at her ankles and her shirt and bra were pulled up over her chest.

She said the pastor, who was spraying a water bottle filled with oil on her private areas, also inappropriately touched her genitals and anus.

It wasn’t until she shared what happened to a friend that the woman realized she was sexually assaulted. 

The woman eventually confronted Freeman and recorded their conversation without him knowing. Freeman did not deny touching her genitals, but instead discussed the “deliverance process.” He admitted he anointed her breasts with oil and told her, “We insert things into people” and “you don’t ask what happens [during deliverance], you don’t go into details and that deliverance can be very tempting.”

The woman said at another meeting a church elder, Freeman and his wife [who should be arrested too] told her not to report the incident to police.

This disgusting so-called pastor Meally Freeman was arrested by Brooklyn Center Minnesota  police Tuesday around 4 p.m. and is in custody at Hennepin County Jail.

This is an absolute mockery of God and His Kingdom…. Psalms 118:8 says It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man; it’s funny how Christians seem to overlook that verse.  If you need “deliverance” from sexual sins make a decision to live above all evil and  JUST STOP DOING IT, then you’ll be delivered! James 4:7~ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Many unfavorable “church” situations can be avoided if Christians would obey whats written in the bible instead of just reading it.