MAGA Gun Church That Worships With AR-15

A growing following among MAGA supporters and Second Amendment devotees, and has attracted Trump allies Steve Bannon and former NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch to appear at a Freedom Festival last weekend.

19/10/2021

Kelvin Mwenda

MAGA. According to a Vice News tweet on 12th October 2021, the Rod of Iron Ministries, also known as The World Peace and Unification Sanctuary, bought a 130-acre land in Tennessee, which will act as a training and spiritual retreat center for its members.

The property, which costs around $460,000, is meant for recreating the South Korean Cheongpyeong, an infamous spiritual retreat of the Unification Church. The Rod of Iron Ministries also purchased another property in Texas, approximately 64 kilometers from Waco, which is supposed to serve as a refuge when war with the “deep state” starts.

The Texas property is equipped with different amenities, such as camping sites and fishing equipment. Besides, since the religion is pro-Trump, they have hosted a big Trump 2024 flag, which they refer to as “Trump Tower. Rod of Iron Ministries leader, Pastor Hyung Jin “Sean” Moon, also known as the “first king” amongst his congregation, has been acquiring property in the country as an attempt to spread his conspiracy theories and his reach.

A CIG Properties Incorporation purchased the Tennessee property according to the Grainger County records. The company that bought the land share an address with the Moon’s Sanctuary Church located in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania.

Furthermore, the firm and the Unification Church share the same acronym, Cheong Il-Guk (CIG). The videos and pictures on Moon’s Instagram account show the property, and from the aerial view, it has a pond and burial site for the Confederate Union Soldiers. Hence, it is true that the Tennessee 130 acre land is a property of the Rod of Iron Ministries.

The purpose of purchasing the Tennessee property is to recreate Cheongpyeong, where members pay for ancestor liberation, which happens through beating. For years, Unification Church leaders have denied the allegations of various abuses, ranging from financial, physical, and psychological.

The church’s spokesperson declined Strait’s, an ex-Moonie, claims about the abuse he had to endure while at Cheongpyeong. However, a statement by different former Unification Church members indicates that if they were to overlook the church’s belief policies, they had to commit suicide.

Moreover, it is suspected that the church uses sleep deprivation and brainwashing to acquire members. The inhuman treatments during ansu, the process of ancestor liberation, at Cheongpyeong emerged in a video that showed how the members dress and sit before they commence hitting their body parts vigorously in harmony. At some point, they start beating the person in front.

The church encourages members to visit Cheongpyeong for the ansu process to cleanse themselves and solve their spiritual problems, such as infertility, cancer, and marriage issues.

The 130-acre property will reduce the distance for those who want to undergo ansu. According to the Unification Church leaders, recreating Cheongpyeong in the United States will be different. According to Moon’s sermon, the property will have elementary and middle schools.

Separate cabins will be constructed for different genders and supplied with water from the well dug at the center of the property. Moon also stated that a “training center” would be constructed on the property, but he did not explain its purpose. The well will be surrounded by roses and lilies, with each representing a gender.

Roses will represent men, while lilies will represent women’s virginity. Lastly, Moon stated that the property would have a vegetable garden, fruit trees, and herbal supplements such as ginseng, which are very profitable in the United States.

However, Moon’s objective to duplicate Cheongpyeong has been condemned by the spokesperson of the central Unification Church, who claims that it cannot be replicated.

The main church argues that Cheongpyeong is meant for learning, praying, and seeking spiritual nourishment, but since the goal of the new property is not sanctified by Sun Myung or her wife, it fails as a replication of Cheongpyeong and does not represent the late Moon’s legacy.

The new Unification Church intends to go ahead with its plans of recreating the traditions and rituals that united the devoted members, which are essential for their religiousness.