Old Wei (pseudonym) was born in 1958, and is now 65 years old, from Huangwan Township, Fengyang County, Anhui Province. Although life was getting better, they no longer had to worry about basic needs. As they aged and their children worked away from home, the couple felt increasingly empty, and their lives slowly lost direction. They yearned for a form of spiritual solace. In March 2007, Old Wei encountered several individuals who claimed to be followers of the “female Christ” from the Church of Almighty God (or “CAG”). They promised to provide believers with profound meaning and fulfillment. They told Old Wei and his wife that only this religion could provide true care and a sense of belonging, while everything else was false and evil.
Deeply trapped in the mire for ignorance
They told Old Wei that their current good life was a result of God's blessing, but that they were worshipping a false god. If they worshipped the true God, they could live a life a hundred times happier than the present one, and their descendants would also receive God's protection, especially when the “Doomsday” arrives, they would be saved. Due to their lower educational level, after the CAG followers listed some so-called “miracles,” Old Wei and his wife truly believed that they were blessed by God. In order to ensure that God could continue to bless the family and that, their happy life could go on, the elderly couple joined the CAG organization, treating the Almighty God as their “savior.”
Struggling painfully as disaster strikes
Under the beautiful lies woven by CAG, the elderly couple became devoted followers of the Almighty God. From then on, they attended gatherings regularly and began to engage in so-called “evangelizing” in the village, spreading the word that “the Doomsday” was approaching, trying to recruit more people to join the Almighty God. However, the happiness they imagined did not come; instead, they faced estrangement from their children and strange looks from their neighbors. In a moment of confusion, the elderly couple began to doubt this “god,” but at that time, the 'leaders' in the church said, “To receive God's salvation, one must repent daily. The current abandonment by friends and family is merely a process of atonement. If you cannot get through this test, you will not receive God's favor.” At this point, the couple had no choice but to continue believing in Almighty God, remaining busy with “evangelizing” and attending gatherings.
At the end of 2012, while participating in illegal activities of Almighty God, the couple was apprehended by the public security authorities. For a long time afterward, the local followers of Almighty God did not contact the couple again. However, the elderly couple did not truly recognize the error of participating in the cult and moved to another stronghold of CAG in other towns, continuing their involvement in cult activities.
At the end of August 2023, the couple was reported and caught once again. During this time, county and township officials, along with anti-cult volunteers, explained various cases of harm and death caused by the Almighty God cult and watched the warning film “Seeing through the Almighty God Cult.” With everyone's patient explanations, the couple finally realized the evil nature of CAG. It turned out that Almighty God was not the sacred organization they believed it to be, but rather a cult that used “female Christ” and “evangelism” to deceive the masses, persuading followers to sacrifice themselves, neglect their children, turn against their spouses, abandon their families, and fraudulently extract money from believers in the name of devotion. This deeply touched the couple's hearts: “Aren't these precisely the experiences we've had over the years? This “god” not only failed to protect my family but instead brought disaster upon us, shattering our once-happy family.”
Sincere repentance leads to rebirth
With the care and encouragement of anti-cult volunteers, Old Wei and his wife realized that true faith should be a personal choice and contract, rather than a result of coercion or control, and that the source of all faith should be in abiding by the law.
Finding one's way back is not an overnight process; rebuilding oneself is not easy. It requires a combination of individual effort and external supports. Only by providing understanding, patience, and love to cult victims like Old Wei and his wife can we hope to help them re-shape their thoughts and beliefs and reintegrate into society.
Source: https://www.chinafxj.cn/n174/c883985/content.html
