Wolves Among the Sheep > Hundreds of Christians murdered or suicided in Kenyan cult

 

Kenyan cult leader faces terrorism charges

for mass starvation deaths

Kenyan doomsday cult leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie appeared in court in the Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa on Monday at the start of a high-profile trial over the starvation deaths of more than 400 of his followers. Mackenzie faces terrorism charges and is also accused of murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, and torturing children, along with 94 other defendants.

Issued on: 08/07/2024 - 12:38

2 min

By:NEWS WIRES

The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult went on trial on Monday on charges of terrorism over the deaths of more than 400 of his followers in a macabre case that shocked the world.

Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie appeared in court in the Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa along with 94 co-defendants, an AFP journalist said.

Journalists were removed from the courtroom shortly after the start of the hearing to enable a protected witness to take the stand.

Mackenzie, who was arrested in April last year, is alleged to have incited his acolytes to starve to death in order to "meet Jesus".

He and his co-accused all pleaded not guilty to the charges of terrorism at a hearing in January.

They also face charges of murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, and child torture and cruelty in separate cases.

The remains of more than 440 people have been unearthed so far in a remote wilderness inland from the Indian Ocean coastal town of Malindi, in a case that has been dubbed the "Shakahola forest massacre".

Autopsies have found that while starvation appeared to be the main cause of death, some of the victims -- including children -- were strangled, beaten, or suffocated.

Previous court documents also said that some of the bodies had had their organs removed.

Police accused of laxity

Mackenzie, a former taxi driver, turned himself in on April 14 after police acting on a tip-off first entered Shakahola forest, where mass graves have been found.

In March, the authorities began releasing some victims' bodies to distraught relatives after months of painstaking work to identify them using DNA.

Questions have been raised about how Mackenzie, a self-styled pastor with a history of extremism, managed to evade law enforcement despite his prominent profile and previous legal cases.

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki last year accused Kenyan police of laxity in investigating the initial reports of starvation.

"The Shakahola massacre is the worst breach of security in the history of our country," he told a senate committee hearing, vowing to "relentlessly push for legal reforms to tame rogue preachers".

The state-backed Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) in March criticised security officers in Malindi for "gross abdication of duty and negligence".

The horrific saga has seen President William Ruto vow to intervene in Kenya's homegrown religious movements.

In largely Christian Kenya, it has also thrown a spotlight on failed efforts to regulate unscrupulous churches and cults that have dabbled in criminality.

(AFP)

Some Christian's Unfortunate Faith and Shallow Knowledge of God Will Help Covid-19 Spread in the USA

'The only time the church will close is when the Rapture is taking place': Florida pastor

Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne mocks coronavirus social distancing orders and says

his mass sermons will continue since his followers are 'revivalists, not pansies'

By ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

A conservative evangelical pastor in Florida is defying calls to close his church so as to prevent the spread of coronavirus, saying that his sermons will go on since his congregants aren’t ‘pansies’ and that they should even shake hands.

‘We are not stopping anything, Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne told his followers during a sermon at River Tampa Church on Monday.

‘I've got news for you, this church will never close.

‘The only time the church will close is when the Rapture is taking place.

Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne told his followers in a Tampa church on Monday that taking social distancing precautions because of the coronavirus outbreak is for 'pansies'

Howard-Browne, who heads a Tampa-based ‘Bible school’ called Revival Ministries International, delivered a sermon at the River Tampa Church on Monday

‘This Bible school is open because we're raising up revivalists, not pansies.’

Howard-Browne heads a Tampa-based ‘Bible school’ called Revival Ministries International.

During the course of the sermon, the pastor, a South African-born US citizen who first came to the United States as a missionary in 1987, told his followers to greet one another, according to Newsweek.

‘Well I know they don't want us to do this, but just turn around and greet two, three people,’ he said.

‘Tell them you love them, Jesus loves them.’

Tell them to ignore their governments directives!!!?? Does anyone know the chapter and verse for that?

Florida, as of Monday, has reported four deaths from the novel coronavirus.

There have also been 155 confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the state - a significant spike compared to figures over the weekend.

Some cities and counties have begun implementing bans on gatherings of more than 250 people.

But Howard-Browne doesn’t appear eager to heed any that might affect his church.

‘Listen, this has to be the safest place,’ he said during the sermon.

‘If you cannot be saved in church, you in serious trouble.’      

Astonishing! How cavalier with other people's lives, not just his congregation but their families, friends, neighbors, co-workers, store clerks, etc.

Last month, Howard-Browne bragged that he had plans to stop the coronavirus.

He said he would do to the pathogen what he did with the Zika virus, which was ‘cursed’ from Florida in the name of Jesus.

Howard-Browne pledged to ward off coronavirus and keep it from reaching the United States.

‘We are doing the same thing with the coronavirus,’ Howard-Browne said in a Periscope video posted on February 24.

‘We do not need it on these shores, and somebody said “Well, what about the rest of the world?”

‘I mean, I can't be responsible for every city, or whatever.’

As of Monday afternoon, the US has reported

more than 4,100 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

At least 73 people who were confirmed carriers of the virus have died

RHB's unfortunate faith doesn't seem to be working - perhaps he's not cursing hard enough

Howard-Browne is known for making outlandish statements.

In January, he made headlines when he said that Jesus should ‘beat the crap out of’ John Bolton, the former national security adviser who was critical of President Trump after he fired him over disagreements on foreign policy. 

Because that's just like Jesus, right?

He also led a prayer circle alongside his wife Adonica in the White House in 2017.  

Howard-Browne was part of a group invited to pray with Trump during a meeting with members of The Office of Public Liaison.

Howard-Browne, who is from South Africa but came to America in 1987 after a 'calling from God', described the moment as 'surreal' and 'humbling'. 

He wrote: 'I was asked by Pastor Paula White-Cain to pray over our 45th President - what a humbling moment standing in the Oval Office - laying hands and praying for our President - Supernatural Wisdom, Guidance and Protection - who could ever even imagine - wow - we are going to see another great spiritual awakening. 

Howard-Browne's teachings on the concept of 'holy laughter' - an outpouring of joy caused by the Holy Spirit - helped to inspire the Toronto Blessing, which many believe to be an instance of mass blessing which took place in 1994. 

True revivals lead people to repentance not laughter. Was the Toronto Blessing a movement of the Holy Spirit? I don't know; but it does not fit with anything I know about God, revivals, or the Bible.

I had the misfortune of seeing RHB at a fund-raiser service about 18 years ago. I was so impressed, I walked out in the middle of the service. He was there with Todd Bentley and others with Fresh Fire Ministries. Bentley has since been accused by an ex-protege of having a 'perverse sexual addiction' from which he doesn't seem to have been delivered many years later. 

I have complained about the lack of discernment in the  Christian church many times. It seems to me that working that closely with someone accused of raping young girls and homosexual relationships, that someone close to God would sense something.

Shincheonji Church

How many people will die because of RHB's lack of discernment? I'm beginning to suspect that God is cleaning up some of the blasphemy in His Name with this virus. The big church that was largely responsible for the dramatic Covid-19 attack on South Korea, the first major outbreak outside of China, was a church called The Shincheonji Church of Jesus. This massive church worships their leader, Lee, as the incarnation of Jesus Christ. To make that fit with the Bible, they have decided that the Bible is all written in code and only Lee can interpret it. 

This is an extremely dangerous cult. RHB's church is nothing like that, but then one has to wonder how much like Jesus Christ it is. Is this a witness of Him? It shouldn't take long to find out.

Dutch Father Who Held 6 Children Underground for 9 Years was Creating own CULT

‘Weird rituals & fantasy language’: 

The father of six children who spent nine years in a farmhouse basement was a former Moonie “trying to create a cult of his own” and has been arrested for holding his brainwashed offspring against their will, Dutch media reported.

Gerrit-Jan van Dorsten, the bedridden patriarch of the basement-dwelling clan, is the second person to be arrested over the shocking discovery of the six adult siblings living in a farmhouse cellar in Drenthe province.

He and a friend, both former members of the Unification Church – commonly known as “Moonies” after its founder, Sun Myung Moon – were reportedly trying to start their own brainwashing cult. Josef Brunner, whom neighbors had believed to be the farmhouse’s sole occupant, was taken into custody earlier this week after the oldest son in the family escaped and raised the alarm about their plight.

The two men were trying to start their own cult, according to Unification Church members who spoke to Dutch media. After van Dorsten left the group, he moved to Germany and they “lost sight of him” – but rumor was that he’d set up a group of his own “with his family.”

The six adult van Dorsten children were moved to a holiday park after their basement prison – accessible only through a secret passage behind a kitchen cupboard – was discovered. But their cult rituals, including walking circles every half-hour, disturbed other guests, forcing authorities to move them elsewhere. The 25-year-old son who sought help from the pub owner has been moved to a separate location from his siblings, some of whom had been reduced to communicating in a "fantasy language" because of their isolation, authorities said.

Van Dorsten has been charged with “depriving people of their liberty, harming the health of others and money laundering,” police said in a statement on Thursday.

Authorities found tens of thousands of euros piled up at the farmhouse, believed to be donations from the Moonies. The sect confirmed van Dorsten was a member on Friday in a statement that noted he “suffered from mental health problems” and left in 1987. It claimed to have no records of Brunner’s involvement. A cousin of van Dorsten's still with the group claimed those mental health problems were what got him kicked out of the cult in the first place.

“At some point he got certain ideas in his head. Crazy ideas… He started talking and discussing that, but they immediately said, ‘no, we don’t want anything to do with it.’ At one point our church said: we cannot go any further with you,” he told Dutch outlet Algemeen Dagblad. 

Apparently, it wasn't unanimous as it appears some were still supporting him for years.

Van Dorsten’s family had not heard from him in decades and feared he was dead when he did not attend his mother’s funeral.

Authorities are still investigating whether “a certain religion or philosophy” played a role in the family’s nine-year isolation, during which none of the children attended school or apparently understood there were other people in the world. Even the house’s owner said she had no idea there was anyone living there – least of all a cult “waiting for the end times.”

Now that's bizarre!

Can Russia Handle the Truth About Stalin? Will Putin Allow It to Emerge?

Stalin’s shadow won’t disappear until criminal case

launched against him – investigator

A demonstrator takes a selfie with a portrait of Josef Stalin. © Reuters / Andrey Volkov

A former high-ranking investigator is fighting for a criminal case to be launched against Joseph Stalin, insisting that the legal evaluation of the ex-Soviet leader’s crimes is the only way to finally end his cult in Russia.

Igor Stepanov, who used to be a major crimes detective, addressed the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Investigative Committee, saying that Stalin must be considered “an organizer of mass killings, meaning genocide of Orthodox clergy and other citizens.”

His accusations are based on an NKVD (the USSR’s secret police) order from July 1937 to repress former kulaks (wealthy farmers deprived of their property), ex-convicts, and other “anti-Soviet elements.” The paper, which was signed by Stalin himself, includes the precise number of those to be purged, with 82,700 to face firing squads and 193,400 to be sent to labor camps.

Among those persecuted were around 20 of Stepanov’s relatives, most of whom were priests.

His plea has been rejected by several local investigative bodies already, but he persistently appeals the rulings. He says he will go all the way to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to see that justice is served.

Stepanov said he’s well aware that a criminal case against Stalin can’t be launched “due to the death of the suspect” in 1953. But this was never his aim, as the former investigator is only looking for an official legal evaluation of the ex-Soviet leader’s actions. According to Russian law, prosecutors are obliged to carry out the evaluation before rejecting the case.

“Now, no such legal evaluation exists and that’s why the cult of Stalin remains,” Stepanov said.

Though it has been 66 years since he passed away, Stalin remains a widely discussed and highly controversial figure in Russia. Many argue that he led the Soviet Union to victory against the Nazis and created major industries in the country from scratch, but others accuse him of masterminding the merciless purge of hundreds of thousands of dissidents and creating a personality cult around himself.

His approval rating is currently the highest since the USSR collapsed in 1991. A poll in April revealed that more than 50 percent of the population consider Stalin a “positive figure.”

In May, a bust of the ex-Soviet leader was placed outside the Communist Party HQ in Siberia’s third largest city, Novosibirsk. 

The crimes of Stalin haven’t been officially condemned in Russia and what Stepanov is doing is “quite innovative,” Nikita Petrov, from the Memorial human rights group, which among other things investigates the purge of 1936-38, told Kommersant.

“In our country, there’s some special reverence towards Stalin; an unwillingness to admit that he was an ordinary criminal,” he said.

The only case investigated was the Katyn massacre of 1940, in which thousands of Polish POWs were executed, Petrov said. But the blame was placed on NKBD boss Lavrenty Beria and his associates.

Of course he was no ordinary criminal! How many thousands of Mennonites did he starve to death by stealing all their crops and selling them abroad? 

It was the Russian people who defeated Hitler, not Stalin. Stalin was a monster! He eliminated most of his own family because of his paranoia. Communism and paranoia are fused together.

Another Child Care Failure Story from Australia - 28 Kids Adopted by Cult Leader

Infamous Australian cult leader, known for brainwashing children, dead at 98

By Paulina Dedaj | Fox News

Anne Hamilton Byrne and husband William, left, with friend arrive at County Court, Melbourne, 15 Nov. 1993. (Getty)

Australian cult leader Anne Hamilton-Byrne, who was known for brainwashing and drugging children she adopted in the 1970s and 80s, has died. She was 98.

Hamilton-Byrne founded her sect, The Family, in the 1960s and was said to have adopted children and brainwash them into thinking she was their real mother for over two decades at a secluded home at Lake Eildon in Victoria, according to The Australian.

Hamilton-Byrne claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus and said she was building a “master race.”

Alongside her husband Bill Byrne, they pair adopted around 28 children who they had strict control over. This included forcing them to dye their hair blonde and wear identical clothing, while they were said to have had drugs administered to them, the BBC reported.

The children were also subject to beatings and starvation, yet despite this, Hamilton-Byrne was never charged.

Police finally raided the property in 1987 after one of the captives was able to contact authorities.

Hamilton-Byrne died at a nursing home in Melbourne after suffering from dementia for many years.

Former Victoria Police detective Lex de Man, who was involved with the investigation at the time, told The Age that her death signifies the end of the case.

"Today for me brings to an end the life of one of Victoria's most evil people,” he said. "My hope is that those who suffered, the survivors who are the former children, if there's any way they can receive compensation for what they went through that should happen."

Muck-Raker's Pathetic Attack on Hillsong Church

Inside Justin Bieber's Hillsong Church: Child abuse cover-up claims, rinsing its followers for money and facing 'cult' accusations

The Despacito singer may have denied cancelling his remaining Purpose World Tour dates in connection with his 'spiritual awakening' - but here's a look inside Bieber's religion of choice

BY EMMELINE SAUNDERS
Emmeline Saunders is a self-professed muck-raker in the UK and I would bet has never set foot in a Hillsong Church, if she's ever set foot in a church at all. It's a pity the Daily Mirror has reduced itself to this level of 'journalism'.

Celebrities have always raised eyebrows over their religion of choice – for Tom Cruise and John Travolta it's Scientology, while the likes of Madonna and Ashton Kutcher were proud followers of Kabbalah for a long time.

And now it's Justin Bieber's turn to spark controversy with his reported closeness to Hillsong Church, a global strand of Christianity that looks to recruit followers with music, dancing and community care projects.

Egad! Not music, dancing and community projects! 

But Hillsong has also faced accusations that it acts as a cult, as well as allegedly having attempted to cover up the child abuse allegations levelled against its founder's father.

It is also accused of pushing its congregations to donate cash and of using Bible verses selectively to set its own agenda.

So what is Hillsong Church? How is Bieber involved? And why do so many of its detractors believe it's a modern-day cult?

Justin Bieber has been involved in the Hillsong Church for years (Image: Splash News)

He recently cancelled the rest of his Purpose world tour, reportedly after a 'spiritual awakening' thanks to Hillsong (Image: Splash News)

Hillsong and child abuse

Brian Houston, who founded the Pentecostal Christian movement in Australia, (that's not really accurate) stood down his own father, William 'Frank' Houston, as a preacher in 1999 after hearing an allegation that Frank had sexually abused a seven-year-old boy.

In a letter sent to church leaders in 2001, Brian claimed that there was no reason for the information to be spread any further afield, prompting claims of an attempted cover-up when the letter was leaked.

"Sadly there are always one or two people with their own agendas who will try and get mileage from other people's pain," Brian's missive told ministers.

Frank would go on to leave Hillsong and died of a stroke in 2004. Fresh allegations that he'd molested six other children in New Zealand in previous decades continued to dog the organisation.

An investigation by Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found none of the allegations against Frank Houston were ever reported to police.

The commission's report found Frank had sexually abused the seven-year-old boy, and had later admitted it to an assembly of church executives.

The real story - Frank confessed to sexually abusing a boy in New Zealand, some 30 years earlier. He never confessed to, nor was he ever accused of molesting children in Australia. Should Brian have reported his father? Would you? He certainly should have encouraged his father to report himself and suffer the consequences in New Zealand. Whether he did or not, who knows.

But having followed the Royal Commission with some interest, I can tell you two observations that almost always happened in instances of child sex abuse in institutions: 

1. They were almost never reported to police before the 21st century.

2. Firing his father immediately upon his confession was the strongest action taken by the leader of any institution that I have read about from the Commission's hearings. 

Hillsong 'using selective Bible verses' to encourage hefty donations

Justin and Hillsong super-pastor Carl Lentz are close friends (Image: Splash News)

Those who have been to Hillsong services report that leaders are swift to imply followers must give as much money as they can to the church.

Obviously, she hasn't been to a Hillsong service so she has to use other people's impressions.

In Hillsong's own FAQs, there are six different ways to donate money listed - including using the church's own app to transfer money immediately. There are also calls on its website to set up a direct deposit or have an online account so cash can be sent electronically.

This is true of any modern church anywhere in the world. It is convenient and why wouldn't they?

As with many other churches, Hillsong followers will find empty envelopes left on their chairs ahead of services to be filled with money or standing order forms, which are collected up by staff. Collection buckets are also sent around the church during a service, with the congregation urged to dig deep.

Hillsong also uses Bible verses, such as Proverbs, to encourage its followers to donate generously. "The godly love to give," its own site quotes.

The movement is big on "the Biblical principle of tithing", which requests that believers donate the first ten per cent of their income to the church.

Many church denominations are. I think it is becoming less emphasized in recent years in many evangelical churches, but many still think it is important and with lots of scripture to base that opinion on.

"Tithes and Offerings received at Hillsong fund the vision and activities of our church," says Hillsong.

The 2016 Hillsong Church annual report found donations made up over half of its revenue - with another 19% stemming from the dozens of Christian rock albums it produces.

In most churches, donations make up virtually all the revenue.

Hillsong and homosexuality

Hillsong does not believe in homosexuality, in line with the Old Testament, (and the New Testament) nor does it agree with equal (read, gay) marriage. When a director of one of its church's choir was found to be in a committed gay relationship, Hillsong's founder issued a statement clarifying that the news came as "a complete surprise".  ???

In a blog post, Brian Houston told his followers: "Hillsong Church welcomes ALL people but does not affirm all lifestyles."

"Put clearly, we do not affirm a gay lifestyle and because of this we do not knowingly have actively gay people in positions of leadership, either paid or unpaid."

Justin Bieber was accused of homophobia in 2016 after reportedly turning down a role in Uber Girl, reportedly because his character would have a sex scene with another man, the film's co-writer Pete O'Neill claimed.

However, Bieber's rep said at the time there was "no truth" to his being offered the role in the first place.

Again, the muckraker resorts to rumors here. But why does not wanting to engage in a sex scene with a man make someone homophobic? Personally, I can't think of anything more disgusting than kissing or having sex with another man, but it is not out of fear (phobia), it's out of disgust.

Speaking in tongues

The act of speaking in tongues - or in a language that needs a special person to interpret - has long been associated with the Pentecostal churches.

"We believe that in order to live the holy and fruitful lives that God intends for us, we need to be baptised in water and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit," the church states on its site.

"The Holy Spirit enables us to use spiritual gifts, including speaking in tongues."

I have been baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit and I do not speak in tongues and never have. My wife has the gift of tongues, which the Apostle Paul wished everyone would have.

But many Christians believe it amounts to 'false worship' and 'showmanship', including members of a Facebook group who claim to be former followers of Hillsong.

Very conservative Christians believe tongues is not a valid 'gift' for today and there are certainly churches and occasions where tongues is used inappropriately. But all spiritual gifts are valid today, not just tongues.

One member, who said they had been involved in Hillsong for a few years in their early twenties, said church elders believed those who had been 'saved' would be given the gift of speaking in tongues.

They also claimed to have been disturbed by one pastor's 'healing' service.

"A visiting pastor performed a 'healing' show, calling out people wanting healing to the stage," they recalled.

"Some people went up and were 'healed'. This didn't sit right with me because there was a wheelchair bound person in the room who was ignored. Was this beyond God's power? Could God only heal afflictions that have no visible sign of it actually being healed? How must that wheelchair bound person have felt? I imagine he'd be thinking 'my faith must not be good enough yet'."

Did the wheelchair bound person go forward? Did they want to go forward? There is an element of 'coming to God' that is often, though not always, part of healing. Jesus said to the woman who touched His garment, "Your faith has healed you!"

Bieber spent six weeks in 2014 living with Pastor Carl - one of the church's lead pastors who is frequently compared to a rock star thanks to his charismatic brand of teaching - and grew close to the minister's family.

According to GQ, the troubled pop star moved into Carl's home after a period of car-crash media stories and reputational crisis. While he was there the two "worked through some stuff" and Bieber cried that he "wanted to know Jesus" before begging on his knees to be baptised.

He's since attended Hillsong services and conferences - and was even suspected of cancelling the rest of his Purpose world tour in July 2017 so he could found his own branch of the church.

The change in Bieber has been astounding and it has everything to do with Hillsong Church and Pastor Lentz. yet, the muckraker can only see something sinister in this instead of celebrating a man getting free, apparently, of drugs and alcohol.

Pandering to celebrities

Justin's ex Selena Gomez walking to a Hillsong service in New York (Image: Splash News)

Kendall Jenner was spotted leaving a Hillsong service (Image: Splash News)

It's not just Bieber who's known to follow Hillsong - his friends Kendall Jenner, Hailey Baldwin and ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez have also been linked to the religious movement.

While it attracts a cool, millennial-focused crowd, Hillsong believes all souls need to 'know Jesus' - but celebrities appear to have a special place in its pecking order.

"People say we cater to celebrities and I say, yes, we do," Pastor Carl told GQ.

"Celebrities deserve a relationship with God. Celebrities deserve a place to pray."

Is Hillsong a cult?

The church elders have batted away accusations that the movement is a cult - certainly, its followers seem to have made up their own minds about it.

But many of the movement's detractors claim Hillsong's focus on charismatic preachers, music and song-based performances, and its push for funds and donations give the church a sinister spin.

I think the only sinister spin comes from the unfortunate writer of this article. It seems obvious that she had a sinister attitude and has looked far and wide to find some reason for it. But the reason doesn't lie in Hillsong; it lies in Emmeline Saunders own heart. It is truly in need of a makover.

However, Bobbie Houston, who helped husband Brian found Hillsong, has previously denied any cult claims, insisting followers simply wish to worship their god.

Hillsong has produced some of the best contemporary worship music ever written. It has been leading many a Christian into deeper worship of Jesus Christ for about 25 years. No church is perfect! That will have to wait for the Lord's return. But this criticism is quite simply small-minded and naive. 

‘Female Jesus’ Cult Smashed in Police Raid, 18 Arrested

This is a real cult and it is exploding in popularity all over the world.

It is not true Christianity; it has many similarities, but many great differences.

They infect my Twitter feed from time to time with their propaganda

and I have to remove them.

Please familiarize yourself with these people so that you know

how to answer someone who becomes interested in them.

When Jesus returns to Earth, everyone will know.

It will not be as a little Chinese woman in New York who wants your money.

Chinese police detained 18 members of a banned religious cult which believes Jesus has returned to grace the earth in the form of a woman.

The Church of Almighty God, or Quannengshen, believes Jesus was resurrected as a woman in China, and that she will wreak the apocalypse.

Zhao Weishan founded the cult in the 1990s and his wife, Yang Xiangbin is believed to be the ‘female Jesus.’ 

They both fled China in 2000 and claimed political asylum in the US.  

The arrests were made in Zhejiang Province on Wednesday following an investigation into the cult, Xinhua reports.

"The cult's 'leaders' imposed spiritual control over the members," Changxing County police officer Dong Jianfeng said. "They were told that as long as they gave donations, the Almighty God would keep their illness at bay."

"Every member was willing to donate their money, and the amounts ranged from 10,000 yuan (US$1,481) to tens of thousands of yuan," he added.

Police seized computers, hard drives, 150 books and 460 pamphlets used by the cult, China News reports. They said eight of the suspects have been “re-educated” and denounced their cult beliefs.

That's a frightening term, 're-educated'. Many good people have been 're-educated' in China and have become little more than vegetables. I hope this is not the kind of 're-education' they are referring to.

The group came under fire in 2014, when its members were caught beating a woman to death in a McDonald’s when she refused to give them her phone number as they attempted to recruit her. 

One of the murderers Zhang Lidong said in an interview: 'I beat her with all my might and stamped on her too. She was a demon. We had to destroy her.' 

Two members, Zhang and his daughter, were executed for the murder in 2015.

The Church of Almighty God is accused of isolating members from family and friends and pressuring followers to give money to get salvation. Like Scientology, the more members donate, the higher they progress in the cult’s ranks.

The cult’s headquarters are now in the US.

Channel 4 news spoke with a member just after the McDonalds attack and claimed that there were at least a million members in the country.  

The Church of Almighty God refers to the ruling Communist Party as the 'great red dragon'.  

On its website, where one section is headed 'The Maturer the People Become, the Sooner the Great Red Dragon Will Collapse', the group describes the authorities as 'the persecutor of God and the enemy of God'.  

China has previously cracked down harshly on groups it labels 'cults', most notably the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which was banned in the late 1990s.