July 27,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, A lawsuit against a Ridgewood church, the World Mission Society Church of God that some former members have described as a cult is moving forward after a judge denied a motion to dismiss a woman’s claim that she was subjected to “psychological harm and trauma” after joining and that she was pressured to have an abortion.
The World Mission Society Church of God has been applauded for its efficiency and devotion in community emergencies has been accused of being a cult by former members and experts alike. The religion centers around the belief that a South Korean woman in her 70s is the physical manifestation of God. Among many alarming accusations, the allegations that officials forced members into having abortions are the most shocking.
Former members claim that because one of the tenets of their beliefs was the idea that the world would end in 2012, congregants were encouraged not to have children. One woman, Michelle Ramirez, has a pending federal lawsuit that details the coerced abortion that still causes her to have nightmares about the apocalypse. Ron Ramos, a former church leader, claimed that he never saw anyone directly tell a member to terminate their pregnancy, though it was often implied.
In the federal lawsuit, that was filed in 2014, the suite alleges that the World Mission Society Church of God deprived a former North Jersey woman of sleep, overworked her and alienated her from friends and family as a form of “brainwashing” in order to destroy “her independent will.”
The plaintiff, Michelle Ramirez, also alleges that the church defrauded her by persuading her to donate 10 percent of her income without revealing its true beliefs. Former members have said they attended the church for months before being told a South Korean woman in her 70s is the living manifestation of God.
The church has denied the lawsuit’s allegations in court papers.
