23AR28-39

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pdf = www.tinyurl.com/AR28-39

chimp = www.tinyurl.com/2p992jkc

AR 28:39 - What should you know about Falun Gong?

In this issue:

FALUN GONG - "selling a ticket equates to saving a person" (and how The Epoch Times fits in)

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES - "children are not safe at all"

Apologia Report 28:39 (1,636)
November 17, 2023

FALUN GONG

"9 Things You Should Know about Falun Gong and 'The Epoch Times'" by Joe Carter (The Gospel Coalition, Aug 10 '23) -- one of the "Five Poisons" that China's communist government is focused on (besides "Taiwanese independence, Tibetan independence, Xinjiang separatists, and the Chinese democracy movement") is Falun Gong.

   In this explainer, Carter offers readers meaty factoids on "the Falun Gong spiritual movement, its oppression by the Chinese government, and how the group spreads its message in the United States," in this order:

   1. Falun Gong was part of the deep-breathing spiritual movement in China.

"Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, ... emerged in China during the early 1990s. It combines elements of Buddhism, Taoism, and qigong, a traditional Chinese practice of cultivating energy through movement and breathing exercises. ... The movement's founder, Li Hongzhi, promotes Falun Gong as a path to spiritual enlightenment and physical health. It emerged toward the end of China's 'qigong boom,' a period when millions of Chinese began to take up the varied practices."

   2. Falun Gong combines meditation and qigong exercises with a moral philosophy.

   "Falun Gong differentiates itself from Buddhist monastic traditions in placing great importance on participation in the secular world."

   But critics of the movement claim that Falun Gong members' emphasis on truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance are merely "a tactic for evading deeper inquiry," and that followers have been instructed by its founder to lie about their religious practices. <www.tinyurl.com/mryaw2yk>

   3. Falun Gong's leader believes he's a messianic and divine figure.

   Li Hongzhi sees himself as "unique in all human history, and able to teach people how to 'ascend to Heaven.'

   "Li believes orthodox faiths teach that virtue may be transformed into gong, or 'cultivation energy,' which is said to be an everlasting, fundamental energy a human spirit possesses, and what ultimately dictates where the spirit goes after death. 'As long as you do well on the human side, Jesus, Gods, or Buddhas will help you evolve gong,' says Li."

   4. Falun Gong teaches that space aliens are trying to replace humanity.

   "Li contends that aliens from other planets and dimensions created modern technology, including computers and airplanes, and have corrupted humans by teaching them modern science."

   5. Falun Gong teaches that racial groups were created by various divine beings - and that mixed races are "pitiable."

   "Li considers children of mixed race to be pitiable since 'after mixing blood people no longer have their correspondence to the divine beings in the Heavens.'"

   6. Falun Gong practitioners have continuously been persecuted by the Chinese government.

   "Initially, Falun Gong enjoyed a period of rapid growth and government tolerance within China. But relations between Falun Gong and the [Chinese Communist Party] soured by the late 1990s. ... In 1999, the CCP launched a crackdown against Falun Gong, leading to widespread human rights abuses, including arrests, torture, and reports of forced organ harvesting. Falun Gong was labeled a 'heretical organization.'"

   7. Falun Gong uses The Epoch Times to spread its message.

   "The Epoch Times was established in 2000 by Falun Gong practitioners to be a Chinese-language newspaper. ...

   "For the first 16 years of its existence, The Epoch Times was an obscure alternative news operation within the United States. But that changed when the publication began to throw its support behind Donald Trump's candidacy for president. ... The Epoch Times spent more money on pro-Trump Facebook advertisements than any group other than the Trump campaign.

   "Their support for Trump and their anticommunist credentials have helped the publication attract billions of views and become a dominant online media source, enabling Falun Gong to better spread its spiritual message - along with disinformation and conspiracy theories - to unsuspecting and gullible audiences."

   8. The Epoch Times has been characterized as a "misinformation machine."

   "In 2003, an online edition in English was launched, which began printing as a newspaper in New York in 2004." 

   "In 2020, the New York Times described <www.archive.ph/gN5Zp> the publication as a 'global-scale misinformation machine that has repeatedly pushed fringe narratives into the mainstream.'"

   9. Falun Gong also spreads its message of "salvation" by means of a widely advertised touring dance troupe.

   "In 2006, members of Falun Gong came together in New York to 'revive the traditional, divinely inspired culture of China' that they call Shen Yun. Shen Yun Performing Arts <shenyunperformingarts.org> (literally 'divine rhythm arts troupe') is a nonprofit performing arts and entertainment company that tours internationally, producing dance performances and symphony concerts. ...

   "Li Hongzhi has told his followers that 'selling a ticket [to a Shen Yun performance] equates to saving a person.'" <www.tinyurl.com/ynyzv994>

   For greater detail on Falun Gong, see the main entry at Apologetics Index <www.tinyurl.com/yur35c6d> and "Falun Gong: How the West Was Won" by Lindsey Medenwaldt in the July 2021 Christian Research Journal <www.tinyurl.com/yc4cdc2r>

 ---

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

"The rules and culture that keep child sex offenders hidden from followers of the Jehovah's Witness faith" by Anusha Bradley (Radio New Zealand, Aug 16 '23) -- "An RNZ investigation has found 11 active Jehovah Witnesses have child sex abuse convictions or serious allegations made against them, apparently unbeknownst to most followers. A former elder has also claimed he was told to destroy evidence from the church's internal disciplinary proceedings, which could have included cases relating to child sex abuse. The Jehovah's Witnesses strongly deny any suggestion of criminal destruction of evidence. ...

   "All of the 19 former or current Jehovah's Witnesses spoken to for this story want to see the church change the way it deals with allegations of child sexual abuse and the perpetrators, saying the current policies still fail to keep children safe.

   "The 'legal department' elders are advised to call when things go wrong is based at the Jehovah's Witnesses' regional headquarters in Sydney, which is also known as a 'branch office' or 'Bethel.'"

   Bradley enumerates sample concerns, including:

   "'When property damage occurs, quick action can go far in preventing further damage. Break-ins, thefts, arson, or other incidents of vandalism should be promptly reported to the local authorities,' the handbook advises." (This refers to the JW elder's handbook, "Shepherd the Flock of God," an internal Watchtower document.)

   Other areas of concern include child pornography, an adult sexting a minor, and allegations of child sexual abuse. The handbook advises that:

   "To ensure that elders comply with child-abuse reporting laws, two elders should immediately call the Legal Department for legal advice.

   "The handbook also makes clear that elders should inform the victim, their parents, or anyone who reports an allegation, that 'they have the right to report the matter to secular authorities' and should not be criticised for doing so.

   "In practise, current and former Jehovah's Witnesses say allegations of child sexual abuse are still nearly always encouraged to be left in 'Jehovah's hands'.

   "Distrust in secular authorities among believers is high - Witnesses are not encouraged to engage in what they call 'worldly' activities or with authorities outside the church - and are often referred to as part of 'Satan's system', says Edward Narayan" (a disillusioned former JW congregation elder).

   "Narayan questions why the police must be called immediately for a break-in, but not in child abuse cases. ...

   "In 2015, the Australian commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse found the Jehovah's Witnesses had files on 1,006 alleged sexual offenders since 1950, but did not report a single allegation to police even in states where it was mandatory." <www.tinyurl.com/z7bkk8yw>

   Further testimony from other former Witnesses includes a woman who "married a Jehovah's Witness man who she later found out had previously been thrown out of the church for having sex with a minor before they had met.

   "But two elders in her congregation only told her about his past after she had left him."

   "The Jehovah's Witnesses' secretive system for dealing with 'wrongdoing'" is described in significant detail. Shepherd the Flock of God "is also very clear what should happen at a judicial committee meeting if someone is guilty of child sexual abuse." However, even though this may be the most substantial glimpse yet published, most readers familiar with the horrors involved will regret its brevity. 

   "Internal church documents show some child abusers have severe restrictions imposed on them when they rejoin a congregation. This includes not having 'privileges' such as handling microphones or the sound system in meetings, only going door knocking under supervision of an elder, and not being allowed to have bible meetings at their home.

   "Offenders can regain these privileges, however. ...

   "As all New Zealand congregations report to the Australian Bethel <www.tinyurl.com/2meafcwk> and it receives a copy of all judicial committee forms, abuse survivors in this country believe the Sydney branch office will know exactly how many allegations of child abuse there are here too.

   "'There could be hundreds of cases,' says former elder turned activist Shayne Mechen. As a member of the New Zealand survivor network he's spoken to dozens of survivors who were abused within the Jehovah's Witness church."

   Former Witness Mikail Steens "says the Jehovah's Witness religion views itself as being set apart from all other forms of Christianity and secular society because of its high moral values. ...

   "I want to see more public knowledge and awareness so that people can ask Jehovah's Witnesses when they reach them at the door about the two-witness rule and about how it deals with child sexual abuse."

   Narayan's remarks close the story: "The elders are basically 'yes men'. Anything that came from the branch, anything in the elders' manual we followed religiously.

   "So as long as the current policies exist, children are not safe at all." <www.tinyurl.com/39fcaptk>

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