If you thought religious figures in the U. S. were the absolute worst, just wait. A megachurch pastor in South Korea was just sentenced\u2026<\/b>
\nIf you thought religious figures in the U. S. were the absolute worst, just wait.
A megachurch pastor in South Korea was just sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping eight of his female followers and claiming the assaults were part of \u201can order from God.\u201d
Jaerock Lee, the leader of the Manmin Central Church (with over 10,000 branches), appears to be a textbook narcissist who was booted from conventional Christian groups and deemed a cult leader. It\u2019s not surprising that he took advantage of his position and abused several women. His church claims to have 133,000 followers worldwide.
He was ejected from the Christian Council of Korea in 1999 for his \u201cheretical\u201d beliefs and branded a \u201ccult leader\u201d by the Korean Ministry Association after claiming he was without sin and exempt from dying .
\u201cThe victims, who attended the church since childhood, believed that obeying Lee as a godlike figure is the path to heaven,\u201d the court said in its verdict. \u201cApparently the victims were psychologically positioned to be powerless to disobey Lee, and Lee took advantage of their status to commit the crime .\u201d
The court said Lee denied \u201cobjective facts\u201d during the investigation and showed no remorse in the courtroom. Lee, 75, was about 50 years older than his victims, it said.
\u201cThe victims believed him to be a divine being who wields divine power,\u201d the court said. \u201cThey would have accepted Lee\u2019s behavior as a divine act, rather than a sexual one, and gave up questioning him, thinking that it would constitute a sin .\u201d
At a time when scandals involving clergymen are a dime a dozen, this one is somehow even more despicable than usual. Lee took advantage of these victims for decades by using God to trick them into handing over what he wanted. Some pastors just want money. He wanted their bodies.
In 1999, approximately 300 of his supporters stormed a Korean television station after it broadcast a documentary critical of Lee and his claims that he could cure illness. His sect had obtained a court order preventing Munhwa Broadcasting from screening a story about Lee\u2019s sex life.
Lee was also invited to preach all over the world, with his church claiming he performed miraculous acts of healing .
\u201cAt each overseas crusade, countless have received God\u2019s healing of such incurable and terminal diseases as AIDS, cancer, and the like on the spot when Rev. Dr. Lee prayed not by placing his hand on each of the sick but merely for all from the pulpit,\u201d Manmin Central Church said on its website.
It\u2019s comforting to know that the 75-year-old man received what will likely be a life sentence (or maybe not, since he claims he can\u2019t even die). But the trauma that he\u2019s inflicted on members of his church \u2014 physical in some cases, emotional in others \u2014 will last far longer than that.
(Screenshot via YouTube)<\/p>\n