Manipur church body sounds alert against Korean cult

Christians in Manipur are worried over "infiltration" of Shincheonji, a cult from South Korea, who are reportedly luring youths from the state living in metropolitan cities.

In a warning issued on Monday, Manipur Baptist Convention has alerted all churches to be vigilant against a "dangerous heretical cult" led by Man Hee Lee, who claims to have access to secret knowledge of scriptures, which other church pastors do not know.

"He claims that one can truly know God only by following and listening to the teachings of Shincheonji. One major concern for us is that they are infiltrating into our city churches and luring our young people with their false doctrinal Bible study. These teachings create animosity and distrust between the church members and the local church pastors," said the notice issued by Rev. Dr. Wungnaoting Kongkhon, general secretary of the convention.

The convention said the Korean cult had taken to YouTube and other Internet platforms to lure the youths.

"If you have any of your church members being victimised by this group, please treat it as serious. It is our utmost duty to counsel them, teach and even warn and bring them back to the right path. You will get more details of the group and their cult in YouTube and Google," it said.