LMH is not a credible witness
First and foremost it should be noted that despite founding Shinchenoji 32 years ago today, Lee Man Hee has not written a simple witness account to circulate and be read. The closest he has done is seminars, but these seminars are hardly witness accounts as they do not mention any specific dates. Take for example, the introduction to the seminars.
Is the witness accurate?
The most consistent points are,
- He was not a believer until a large light appeared to him after he was discharged from the Korean war
- This light appeared to him for 3 days and by guidance of it, he began his life of faith on the mountains, after making a promise to God in his blood
- He has never attended church or been evangelised, what he knows and speaks about is only what he has seen and heard
This testimony does not do a good job at establishing a credible witness. The Korean war ended in 1953 and Shincheonji is said to have been founded in 1984. There is a gap of 31 years that is left in the air.
Less consistent points are,
- He spent time in the Tabernacle Temple and was drawn there because “they also made a promise in their blood to God”
- Jesus appeared to him after leaving the Tabernacle Temple, after one of the pastors tried to kill him
- He then returned and wrote the letters to each of the pastors individually
With this as well, no dates are ever mentioned. He has said many times that he can not name people because of defamation laws, but to simply give days, months and years is not a matter of defamation.
It is only a matter of defamation to state things like “Mr. X tried to kill me in January” without necessary legal evidence.
Basic questions that should be addressed in this testimony are,
- What date did the light appear?
- What did his life of faith consist of between making the promise in his blood, and sending the letters to the 7 pastors?
- What date did he enter the Tabernacle Temple?
- How long was he in the Tabernacle Temple?
- What did Jesus appear to him?
- What date did he return to the Tabernacle Temple?
Is the witness consistent?
A significant difficulty of Lee Man Hee’s testimony of the events of Revelation is consistency. Some examples that are worth highlighting,
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Lee Man Hee only talks about what he has seen.
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He testifies to the 7 messengers cutting their wrists to make a promise to God and filling a jar with their blood, despite not being present there.
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Lee Man Hee claims the 7 messengers were originally God’s people, appointed by Jesus.
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The Tabernacle Temple was claiming their leader was the one who ate the scroll in Revelation 10 before the group was even founded; if they were lying, then they were never God’s people.
Can the witness be collaborated?
The only things that can be collaborated in Lee Man Hee’s testimony is that the Tabernacle Temple existed and fell apart. Other details like the appearance of an enormous light in the sky, his transformation after the appearance or the sending of letters to the pastors of the Tabernacle Temple are not collaborated by anyone.
Does the witness have bias or motives?
The most credible witnesses are those with something to lose. In the case of Lee Man Hee, according to his testimony, there is motivation to see the Tabernacle Temple fall, because of them attempting to kill him. Outside of his testimony, he had taken the leaders of the Tabernacle Temple to court for defrauding him of his property.
Does the witness have established character?
Lee Man Hee is very straightforward that he is not someone with a history in churches, someone who has been ordained as a pastor, etc. The most significant problem here is not this. The problem is his involvement in groups like the Olive Tree movement and Tabernacle Temple.
Conclusion
In a court, Lee Man Hee’s testimony would not be accepted. There is simply nothing distinguishing his testimony from someone making up claims.
But what about Jesus?
At a glance, it may appear this same criteria would make Jesus not a credible witness, but this is not the case. First, Jesus never intended for people to believe Him based on what He said. He intended for people to believe Him based on what He did.
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know.”
But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
This was also the case for His apostles. They were sent out to be witnesses to Jesus, but people knew they were sent by God not because of what they said, but what they did.
So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles.
Furthermore, Jesus and the apostles have strong testimonies on the basis of collaboration and motivation.
On collaboration, because the events were witnessed to and testified by hundreds. These were not secret events, they were done in broad daylight.
On motivation, because upon death sentences, torture and the death of their friends and family, they retained their testimony. There is no report among Jews or Romans of Christians actually recanting what they said despite mass executions.