Sex cult brainwashed me into being a ‘bride’ for a rapist… I thought he was God & was sucked in with love-bomb tactics
Published By admin
LIZ Cameron, 32, is a health sector project manager and author. she lives in Canberra, Australia.
“As I walked out of the bookshop, a smiling woman approached.
She was a foreign student studying Australian culture, she explained, and asked if I’d mind completing a survey.
It was January 2011 and I was a shy, insecure 18 year old just starting my gap year.
I had no idea she was from a cult – and that I’d get sucked in.
I took the pen from the girl, who said her name was Yujun.
The questions were easy, from what I liked about Australia to my religion, so I gave my answers then said goodbye, thinking no more of it.
A week later, Yujun emailed more questions about my faith, as I’d said I was Christian.
She told me my answers showed I was ‘beautiful’, which made me feel good.
The next week, I went to her home for tea with her and her housemates.
That was the start of the love-bombing – the hugs when I arrived for meals, their joy at me joining Bible sessions.
Seeing how happy they were made me want to feel that way, too, so within a few months, I was getting up at 5am to pray, followed by a 6am service at their house and hours of Bible reading.
My mum started to worry, but I reassured her I was fine.
As the brainwashing took hold, the girls told me they belonged to Sarang Church and that its founder, Pastor Joshua, had been falsely imprisoned in South Korea because of his faith.
Searching for information on him or the church was forbidden, though.
I accepted this without question, even taking part in a ‘heavenly bride’ fashion show organised by the church.
In September 2011, they revealed Pastor Joshua – also called Jung Myung-seok or SSN – was the Messiah.
I was ecstatic when SSN wrote to me from prison to say he loved me, and I dreamed of being chosen to be a ‘Faith Star’ – one of his brides on Earth.
I moved out of my parents’ house that November to live with the group.
I no longer saw any of my old friends, as the church had become my life.
When my mum tried to show me research on the church in January 2012, I ran away, terrified – I’d been taught that even looking at it would be ‘spiritual suicide’.
Content retrieved from: https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/35539349/brainwashed-into-joining-religious-cult/.
