Note: This is an article following the a series of analyses, please see previous articles for a full context. (See previous article here)
After a series of credible sources countering the validity of the only “evidence” given by the accuser (Maple), suddenly the “original” icloud audio recording was deleted by the police and claimed to be unrecoverable. This was only briefly reported in the news and treated without much severity (See article use google translate for english), which wrote “It was confirmed that the victim’s important transcripts were accidentally deleted by the investigator ahead of the courtroom demonstration in the trial of Jung Myeong-seok (78) of the Christian Gospel Mission (aka JMS) on charges of sexual assault against a woman. According to the local legal community on the 17th, the file recorded by victim A (28), a Hong Kong national who first accused Jung Myeong-seok of semi-rape, was deleted from the cloud. It was found that the recorded file was deleted by mistake while the victim’s lawyer attended and the police investigator manipulated the cloud to check whether it was working properly before the court demonstration of the transcript ahead of the trial of the defendant Jeong Myeong-seok at the Daejeon District Court on the 3rd.”
Already, Maple did not have the original audio file recorded on her iphone, claiming that she had sold her iphone. Hence, the next best “original” would have been the file on icloud. Yet, stupendously, the file was “accidentally” deleted unrecoverablly before it was supposed to be forensically examined in greater detail. iPhone and iCloud users would know that it would take deliberate effort with multiple clicks to delete a file from iCloud permanently, given that there is a 30-day recoverable period for all files accidentally deleted. (See video explanation here)
There is little room to believe that this was a genuine mistake. It is reasonable to conclude that it could be a case of deliberate manipulation of “evidence”, while masking the whole accusation with an avalanche of media attacks that blurs truth from repeated lies. Repeated and widely spread lies are not equal to the truth. May God bring the truth to light.
A Netflix docuseries In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal was release in March this year painting malicious & one-sided narratives about Christian Gospel Mission (CGM, or Providence) and its founder Pastor Jung Myung Seok. The main informant to the director of the docuseries is Kim Do Hyeong. Since the docuseries release in March this year, Kim Do Hyeong has portrayed himself to be a hero to have uncovered the “secrets”.
Is he truly a hero, or a malicious actor with questionable self-serving intentions? A series of youtube and media coverage have begun questioning the trustworthiness of the main informant Kim, after examining his past criminal convictions, accusations of Pastor Jung, and past notorized confessions. Please see the following articles / videos to form a holistic view.
Kim Do Hyeong’s Credibility Assessment, Past Confessions and Extortions:
Christian Gospel Mission has released an investigative series on YouTube in response to the Netflix docuseries, titled: SSeollock & Wassul: Uncovering the truth behind the suspicions. (Drawing inspiration from Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson)
🔸 Content: The Netflix docuseries In the Name of God: Holy Betrayal released a malicious broadcast about Christian Gospel Mission.
Through the Netflix docuseries, they used a form of storytelling that involves distorting the truth and reconstructing it intentionally. We will explain each of these suspicions and truths within this series. English Subtitles are also provided (turn on “CC” button and click settings to choose english, there may be some delays due to translation)
🔸 Program Airing Time: Episode 1 was aired on 11th of May 2023 (Thu) @ 7pm. Subsequent episodes will be uploaded every Tue/Thu 7pm
Please see episode 1 in the link below – appreciate your *like* and *subscription*!
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the religious organization “S,” that caused the second wave of spread of COVID in South Korea, became an issue. As a result, national resistance to heretical religious groups exploded along with resistance to Christianity. On the internet, I Am Jesus, a parody of I Am a Singer, which was a composite of religious leaders calling themselves “the Second Coming Jesus,” was circulating.
Among them was Pastor Jung Myeong-seok (Christian Gospel Mission, so-called JMS). Why is President Jung Myung-seok, who has lived the life of a “religious/faithful bride of Jesus,” being treated as a “self-proclaiming Second Coming Jesus”? Is it because human nature seeks stimulation? Instead of the Word of God that resolves life’s problems, or wholesome and touching stories, the propagating power of stimulating rumors and criticizing content is much more overpowering.
This time on Netflix, a documentary called In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal was aired and spread secondary and tertiary content, once again infringing on President Jung Myung-seok and CGM members. Hold on. Here you can just press the “Back” button, saying “Oh, this article was written by a JMS believer” or “You are a cult, so you shouldn’t speak,” but I hope you can read this until the end.
That “perspective” is repeated again
Actually, as a result of checking the main content of the program, I found out that the logic, flow, and information used to attack CGM are the same as before. Mr. K, the key figure of the opposing force who appears directly in the program, has continued to slander CGM with the same narrative since 1999 through SBS’ I Want to Know, MBC’s True Story Expedition in 2020, and JTBC in 2022. In President Jung Myung-seok’s sermon video, he distorted the audio and subtitles from “evangelize one out of ten [yeol-ai-ha-na jeon-do]” to “evangelize one woman [yeo-ja-ha-na joen-do],” and he did not hesitate to use only a portion of an audio recording of President Jeong Myung-seok to make a religious consultation with a [church] member in need sound like a sex crime.
And in 2023, through Netflix’s In the Name of God, using OTT (over-the-top) platform characteristics that are not restricted by broadcasting law, without hesitation, President Myung-seok Jeong and the CGM are portrayed in a sexual and provocative way.
This program is promoted by various media outlets as being objectively and credibly produced. However, it meticulously interprets the path that President Jung Myung-seok walked through one person’s one-sided logic and narrative, which is Mr. K’s. This path, which started with the Word of God that saves lives, is a history that Mr. K has never been a part of. Based on the malicious claims of those who left CGM and the one-sided allegations of the opposition, the broadcast only tarnishes this history as a “history that sexually seduces female believers.” It was done to the extent that I thought it was childish. There was no mention of how God’s words had resolved people’s life issues or how it solved Biblical questions. Instead, Mr. K himself is portrayed as an “apostle of justice who seeks to rescue those who had been harmed by President Jung Myung-seok.”
Video claims and contents: is all of it true?
On February 17th, CGM filed an application for an injunction to ban the broadcast, but the Court rejected it. “For past cases, they have cross-checked various materials such as videos and photos, and the part related to the ongoing criminal trial is in line with the plaintiffs’ statements since they have met and conducted interviews with the plaintiffs, so it is difficult to see them as false,” the Court described.
In the film, Mr. K’s argument, the tearful statements of the accusers, and the presented video and audio recordings of the female believers make people speculate, “President Jung Myung-seok really committed these crimes.” The reenactments also emotionally trigger the general public and induce them to believe that “this really happened.”
But are these allegations and contents true? It is unclear from where these materials were gathered, and whether they were really produced at the site where President Jung Myung-seok had allegedly violated the female believers. In particular, the full version and context should be clearly given for recordings that are offensive and shocking for viewers. Among the statements of the accusers in the actual film, there were many things that could be proven to be absolute lies.
In the Name of God may end up as a source of stimulation and entertainment (or discomfort) for the public. However, CGM, which has been quietly preaching the gospel and spreading a sound view of faith, will be undermined, and the damage to its image and members will be severe.
Currently, President Jung Myung-seok is undergoing the first trial, and no decision has been made yet. The process from the prosecution of Ms. M in 2022 to the arrest and trial of President Myung-Seok Jeong was not easy from the standpoint of CGM’s opposition. Although I cannot reveal the specific trial process and the circumstances of the accusers here, there were sufficient grounds to prove that Ms. M’s claims were false. Meanwhile, the accumulated negative public opinion led to the arrest of President Jung Myung-seok. In the Name of God is the culmination of that. The accusers, including Mr. K, appear to be trying to agitate public opinion on a global scale through In the Name of God in order to lead the trial in their favor.
It is often argued that broadcasting should be fair. However, it is difficult to come up with such good broadcasts. This is because the broadcaster’s circumstances, characteristics, and financial logic have no choice but to come into play. In particular, fair broadcasts are no fun. In a reality where few people seek the Word of God, to have content encompassing CGM’s wholesome nature and image that differ from its opposition’s claims would be meaningless from the standpoint of OTT, which pursues profit. In order to make content that sells well to the public, there is no choice but to compose content that is stimulating and R-rated.
In the Name of God is a concoction of CGM opposers who cause trouble for CGM and try to justify themselves by any means beyond logic, Netflix’s pursuit of profit, broadcast producers’ desire to succeed through an OTT platform, and the general attack of Christianity which condemns CGM as heretical. Anyone who consumes content should keep in mind that there will be a certain number of hidden agendas.
[Writing | G. jams ]
* This blog collects organized material on the main issues appearing in Netflix’s In the Name of God.
Some of them can be fully explained, but some have not been made into content due to the safety of CGM members.
Jeong Gyeong News Article (Korea’s equivalent of The Economist Magazine): “All Previous Cases Related to JMS Religious Organization’s Founder, Jung Myung Seok, Dismissed Without Charge.”
The following is an article on Jung Myung Seok from a news magazine titled, “Sincerity moves the heart of Heaven; Truth will eventually surface.”
From January of last year, the case involving the religious organization referred to as JMS (Official name: Christian Gospel Mission) attracted a lot of attention through the media and the case finally concluded at the end of October.
Some of the people related to the case were acquitted by the court after investigation. Hereby, the founder, Jung Myung Seok, was cleared from all accusations and Continue reading →
Today I read the play by Arthur Miller titled, “the Crucible.” It retells the story of the Salem witch trials in which many people were prosecuted for witchcraft based on the accusations of a group of young girls. 50 people confessed to witchcraft to escape capital punishment while 19 were hanged refusing to confess to witchcraft before the trials were finally discontinued. The historical event took place in 1692, but the play was written in 1952. The 1950’s were also was a critical time in American history because it was amidst the McCarthy hearings in which countless Americans’ careers and reputations were on the line in fear of being labelled Communists.
It is generally thought that the author was commenting on the injustices of his times by writing such a play and it is for the injustices of my time that I sought out to find and read this American classic. Continue reading →
2,000 years ago Christianity was considered nothing more than a “sect” of Judaism referred to in Paul’s day as “The Way.” But Jesus’ apostles boldly testified for Jesus despite the many negative rumors that had spread about them. They began in Jerusalem but quickly spread as far as Europe and Asia. St. Andrew carried the gospel as far as Scythia (Ukraine and southern Russia) and was crucified in Achaia (southern Greece). Phillip evangelized as far as modern day Turkey and Asia minor before being martyred there at Hieropolis. Simon (the Zealot) went as far as North Africa and Persia (Assyriean empire which is modern day Iraq) where he was killed along Continue reading →
Recently my child has begun attending a new church and they are displaying some unusual behavior. They are waking up extremely early for prayer, attending church often, and is constantly sharing ideas about the bible that seem radically different than traditional orthodox religion.
Pastor Joshua Jeong Myung Seok is one of the most publicized Christians in Asia. He founded Providence Church which quickly became one of the fastest growing churches of the 20th century. The church has grown fastest in Korea (known as Sumni Church) and in Japan (known as Setsuri church). The church has grown to 50 nations and continues to spread through the world.
But in May 2007 while in China [where Christianity is illegal] he was arrested and thrown into prison. While he was suffering the inhumane conditions of the Chinese prison, accusations against him spread throughout public broadcasts. The church was labeled a cult in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan and members of the church all over the world began experiencing extreme persecution from friends, family, and each by their own nation.
After a year of imprisonment and interrogations China found him innocent of all charges and released him. Before his release he was asked if he would like to stay in China or face charges in Korea. He chose to go to trial, but his trial was far from fair. To hear first hand accounts of the trial and the final decision read the full article,
Providence conducts a bible study all over the world referred to as the 30 lessons or Principles. The bible study is not like any other bible study you might have experienced. It’s a series of lectures that are progressive, meaning you have to learn the beginner lessons to understand the intermediate lessons, and based upon that foundation of principles we teach a few advanced lessons that help the reader to understand how the prophecies of the Old Testament and New Testament apply to this advanced time period.
Misunderstandings caused by tabloids
There is a common misunderstanding among outsiders who were exposed to media broadcasts about Providence back in 1999-2005. At the time the news portrayed the organization as a cult that Continue reading →
