“The Church of God the Mother is a cult”

Recently, public opinion has been confused about the activities of the self-proclaimed Church of God, also known as the Church of God the Mother, when it goes against the tradition of "good life, good religion" of religions in our country. The reporter had an interview with Pastor Hoa Xuan Truc - Administrator of the Thanh Hoa Evangelical Church about this issue.

Pastor Hoa Xuan Truc - Pastor of Thanh Hoa Evangelical Church. Photo: Quynh Trang

The act of proselytizing goes against the Bible.

Reporter:Dear Pastor, the self-proclaimed Church of God has been causing confusion in public opinion in recent days, with actions that go against the good traditions of religions in Vietnam. Many people mistakenly believe that the followers of the Church of God the Mother belong to the Protestant Church. What do you think about this?

Pastor Hoa Xuan Truc:This is not a Protestant Church. It is essentially a cult, and its missionary activities are contrary to the Bible. The use of the above term has influenced and led to misunderstandings in the mainstream Protestant Church.

Some of our beliefs, the believers who bear the name of the Orthodox Protestant Church, are considered to be members of the Church of God the Mother, our believers are being suspected and isolated in the community. This cult has a great influence on society, disrupting the lives of each family, especially it has infiltrated our Christian Church to attract and bribe our believers.

Reporter:What do you think about the act of smashing incense bowls, ancestral altars, and leaving your family to preach in the name of the Church of God?

Pastor Hoa Xuan Truc:Each sect has its own beliefs, views, philosophies and ways of life. We have no right to judge. But the beliefs of any religion must guide people to live well, humanely, and do good deeds.

With our Protestant Church (of the World Evangelical Missionary Society), we always think about how to make every family live in harmony, tolerance, good life and good religion. The Bible teaches us to respect our parents, obey the authorities, respect God and love people. If we follow the teachings of the Doctrine and the teachings of God, we cannot incite people to do such things. In fact, when people's faith is full, they do it completely voluntarily and do not need to be forced.

If you leave your family or do anything inappropriate to your ancestors, it is against the Bible. The Church does not teach believers to go home and smash the altar or incense bowl because it is a way of respecting family traditions. The Church always advises husband and wife to respect, love, and listen to each other, and for each family to be united.

We advise students to be filial to their parents, to study well, to contribute their efforts and talents to society. Brothers and sisters should love each other. There is absolutely no such thing as taking "love potions" to drop out of school, leave home, or go preaching. These are acts that go against the Bible.

Group of people attending the Church of God at Golden City 3 Apartment located in Nghi Phu commune, Vinh city. Photo courtesy

Reporter:What about each member of the Church of God the Mother giving 1/10 of their income to the church, pastor?

Pastor Hoa Xuan Truc:Actually, they are going back to the Old Testament period, the Jewish law is that they have to pay 1/10 of their income and that payment is their responsibility. But the current period is the period of grace, not called paying, but the Bible calls it offering, that is, voluntarily. Each of our believers when giving to God is voluntary, not forced and all put into the fund for the common work of the Association, no one has the right to use the fund for personal purposes.

Extreme, crazy

Reporter:The Church of God the Mother preaches about the end of the world, causing confusion and fear among people so that others will believe and follow her religion. Is this extreme, Pastor?

Pastor Hoa Xuan Truc:That is extreme, fantastic.

Our church never asks its members to preach superstitious things about the end of the world, the day of death or the approaching dark age. Absolutely not. Doing so disturbs people's lives and society.

Reporter:The Church of God the Mother has spread to many provinces and cities from North to South, preaching immoral things. How does this affect the Protestant Church (of the World Mission Society), Pastor?

Pastor Hoa Xuan Truc:Our Church has no connection with them, nor does it comment or evaluate their activities.

However, with the press reflecting things like forcing members to abandon their parents, spouses, pay membership fees, threatening people when they see wrong and not following is a violation of spiritual terrorism of others, I think this is not in accordance with what we do, not in accordance with what is taught in the Bible.

Through this incident, I hope that everyone will be calm, consider, and clearly understand the nature of the problem, the nature of the Gospel, and not equate "the Church of God" with "the Church of God the Mother". We hope that the government will intervene to help us stabilize the church, protect the supreme name of God, protect true believers, and protect the community.

As for them, they must be responsible to the Supreme Being, God, for their blasphemy, they impersonate God to do things for their own purposes.

I understand that the Korean government is having concerns about the Church of God the Mother. This church's teachings are causing confusion and anxiety among many people in the country.

Reporter:Thank you pastor!