About Providence

So what is Providence?

Providence, otherwise known as JMS or Setsuri, is an infamous South Korean cult with small followings in other countries, including the U.S. The leader of the group is Jeong Myeong-suk, also known as Joshua Jung, and "seong saeng nim" or "R" to his followers.

What makes them a dangerous cult?

Jung teaches that he is the new messiah, the Second Coming of Jesus. According to Jung, Christianity has gone astray, and in this new time period of Jung being the messiah, following him is now the path to salvation rather than atonement through Jesus Christ's death on the cross.

Jung's followers go around college campuses in the U.S., masquerading as Christians and asking students to do Bible study with them. Teaching Jung's "30 lessons," Providence teachers teach the Bible with warped interpretations. Factors common to cult indoctrination such as love bombing, ignorance of proper biblical interpretation, wanting to be part of a special elite group, etc., lead students to accept the teachings and join the cult.

Once inside, members are mentally abused, pushed to work hard to evangelize others and perfect themselves, regulated in what they can eat, and encouraged to detach from family and friends while spending much of their time with fellow Providence members. In addition, members have to wake up at 4 am every morning to listen to morning messages, recordings of Jung's teachings that serve to preserve the cult mentality of members, while impairing critical thinking skills due to a lack of sleep.

What are the 30 Lessons?

The 30 Lessons comprise the Bible study program which Providence teachers teach students. Based on Jung's teachings, these lessons reinterpret and skew foundational Christian doctrines. These lessons teach that Jesus is not God, Jesus did not physically rise from the dead, Jesus' death on the cross was not God's original plan, the Holy Trinity is actually "Father, Mother, and Son," John the Baptist was a failure who went to Hell, etc.

What is the Unification Church and its relation to Providence?

The Unification Church is a more well-known cult in America, which peaked around the 1970's. This cult is led by Sun Myung Moon, who also claims to be the messiah. Much of Providence's teachings are copied from or are a slightly modified version of the Unification Church's teachings, which started before Providence. To explain this problem, Providence teaches that Moon is the "John the Baptist" sidekick to Jung. Moon received the same teachings from God and was supposed to proclaim that Jung was the messiah, but he failed and instead set himself up as the messiah. Thus, Providence conveniently explains away the more reasonable conclusion that Providence is a smaller, second-rate derivative of the Unification Church.

So is this Jung guy a rapist?

Yes. On August 12, 2008, Joshua Jung was convicted of raping three of his female followers.

Isn't that good enough evidence? Why bother making a blog to refute such a small cult?

Because there are still many Americans and other English-speaking Providence members who may need more than Jung's rape conviction to be convinced that Providence is wrong.

Because while it is obviously wrong to someone outside of Providence, it is not so clear to those inside the bubble. The feeling and idea of being an elite spiritual person (one of the special few to receive the revelation of Jung's teachings), the idea of superiority over the "ignorant and spiritually weak" followers of Christianity, and the friendships and community within Providence entice many to stay despite the abuse and secrecy. Jung also teaches that those who leave Providence will be condemned to Hell, further complicating matters.

And those who leave still have to overcome the indoctrination, especially if they've been a member for years.


For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providence_(religion): Wikipedia article of Providence.

http://www.jmscult.com: Best English resource for information on Providence.

http://www.providencetrial.com: American Providence's website, offering a defense of Providence and Joshua Jung.