True Crime-Paranormal-Conspiracy Theories Stories Part V #Wattys2023

Eastern Lightning

The Church of Almighty God(simplified Chinese: 全能神教会;traditional Chinese: 全能神教會;pinyin: Quánnéng Shén Jiàohuì), also known as Eastern Lightning(simplified Chinese: 东方闪电;traditional Chinese: 東方閃電;pinyin: Dōngfāng Shǎndiàn), is a monotheistic new religiousmovement which was established in China in 1991. Government sourcesestimate the group has three to four million members.

The group's core tenet is that JesusChrist has returned to earth and is presently living as a Chinesewoman. The name "Eastern Lightning" alludes to theGospel of Matthew 24:27: "For as the lightning cometh out ofthe east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming ofthe Son of man be."

The movement has been described byChinese media as the nation's 'most dangerous cult', and the grouphas been formally banned in China since 1995. Christian opponents andinternational media have in turn described it as a cult and even as aterrorist organization. In contrast, members of the group deny allaccusations and argue they are victims of religious persecution atthe hands of Chinese authorities.

Sources

Scholars who have tried to study thegroup have complained that, due to its "secretive"nature and the fact that in China it operates underground,researching Eastern Lightning is difficult, and media coverage isonly partially reliable.

Two books on the group were publishedby Western academic presses. Brill published Lightning from the Eastby Emily Dunn in 2015, and Oxford University Press published InsideThe Church of Almighty God by Massimo Introvigne in 2020. Holly Folk,a professor at Western Washington University, reported in 2020 thatshe is observing Eastern Lightning through a participant observationstudy since 2016.

Due to the growing influx of refugeesfrom Eastern Lightning who seek asylum abroad, some nationalauthorities have published reports on the group. In 2019, theImmigration and Refugee Board of Canada published a compilation ofits interviews with scholars about Eastern Lightning. In the sameyear, the National Commission for the Right of Asylum of the ItalianMinistry of the Interior published and shared with the other EuropeanUnion countries through the European Asylum Support Office a reporton "Persecution for religious reasons in China: Church ofAlmighty God."

History

Zhao Weishan

A woman, whose name is never mentionedin the group's literature, but is believed to be Yang Xiangbin (b.1973, simplified Chinese: 杨向彬;traditional Chinese: 楊向彬;pinyin: Yáng Xiàngbīn), started spreading in 1991 among Chinesehouse churches, most of them part of The Shouters, roneotyped textswith revelations she said were coming from the Holy Spirit. Chineseauthorities state that Yang had a history of mental problems.

Zhao Weishan (simplified Chinese: 赵维山;traditional Chinese: 趙維山;pinyin: Zhào Wéishān; born December 12, 1951), a former physicsteacher, had a history of membership in a variety of Christian newreligious movements. In 1986, Zhao was a member of a Christian housechurch, and in 1987 he was baptized into a branch of The Shouterswhich venerated their leader Witness Lee as "Lord Changshou".Zhao rose to a leadership position within the group and, according toChinese governmental sources, preached that he was himself the "Lordof Ability."