Chen Tao

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For Chinese footballer, see Chen Tao (footballer).
 This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations.
You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations.

Chen Tao or "True Way" was a UFO based religious group that originated in Taiwan. It was founded by Hon-Ming Chen (born 1955), a former professor who claimed to be atheist until he had a religious experience in 1992. He joined a New Age UFO group soon after that, but broke with them in 1993 to create his own group.

The group moved to the USA from Asia. The group was registered in the US as God's Salvation Church and first relocated to San Dimas, California. Adherents moved to Garland, Texas in 1997.

Contents

[edit] Beliefs

This New Religious Movement was a mix of Buddhism, Taoism, and UFOlogy. They emphasized transmigration of souls and three souls per person, and placed great emphasis on spiritual energy. They also believed in "outside souls" who basically acted as demons.

Followers also believed that the Earth went through five tribulations going back to the age of the dinosaurs. Each of these tribulations were survived by beings living in North America who were rescued by God in a flying saucer. They believed the solar system is 4.5 trillion years old, or roughly 300 times the age science gives for the Universe. They believed that the solar system was created by a nuclear war.

[edit] Failed prophecy

The group is best known for a highly publicized, and failed, millennial prophecy. Shortly after moving to Garland in August 1997, Chen predicted that at 12:01 a.m. on March 31, 1998 God would be seen on a single television channel all across North America. Whether or not you had cable service was irrelevant to God's appearance on that channel.

The group reportedly moved to Garland because the name sounded like "God Land." At the time the group had roughly 160 members, 40 of which were children. Members purchased more than 20 homes in an upper-middle class south Garland neighborhood. Like their neighbors, these followers were white-collar professionals, some of whom were reportedly wealthy. "They dressed in white, wore cowboy hats and drove luxury cars," according to The Dallas Morning News. "They reportedly believed that two young boys in their group were the reincarnations of Jesus and Buddha. They told reporters they had come to Garland to watch God come to Earth and take human form at 10 a.m. on March 31, 1998, at the home of Mr. Chen, a former college professor."

The Garland Police Department, understanding the potential gravity of the situation, coordinated resources, including Southern Methodist University religious studies professor Lonnie Kliever, and were on stand-by when the international media began arriving in what had previously been an upper-middle class section of the Dallas suburb. "Its presence unsettled many Garland residents," wrote Adam Szubin in a law enforcement case study. "They did not understand the group's different style of dress and behavior, and many feared violence. Throughout the group's stay, the [police] department maintained contact with community members and informed them of investigation developments and contingency plans for the community's well being. "

When the predicted appearance did not occur, the group became confused. "The Chen Tao leader announced that he obviously had misunderstood God's plans, and members quietly returned to their homes," wrote Szubin. Chen offered to be stoned or crucified for the event, but no one took him up on this offer. He had earlier made a false prediction of finding a "Jesus of the West" who would look like Abraham Lincoln.

[edit] Aftermath

Unlike other millennial religious groups such as Millerites, Chen Tao seems to have effectively fallen apart after its leader's prophecies were unfulfilled. Immediately after the failed prediction some of the members had to return to Taiwan due to visa problems. In total, roughly two-thirds abandoned the group. An estimated 30 members moved to Lockport, New York. They also had a website for a time and set up a group in Brooklyn. They claimed that mankind had to become "100% spirit" and offered to do healings of cancers or AIDS.

Whether the group still exists is at best murky. The group entered a sharp decline after the failed prophecies and virtually nothing was heard of them after 2001. The current whereabouts of Hon-Ming Chen are unknown.

[edit] External links

[edit] Sources

  • Davis, Derek; Hankins, Barry. New Religious Movements and Religious Liberty in America, Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2003.
  • Dawson, Lorne L. (Ed.) Cults and New Religious Movements: A Reader, Wiley-Blackwell, 2003.
  • Kliever, Lonnie. "Meeting God in Garland: A Model of Religious Tolerance," Nova Religion: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 3, n. 1 (October 1999): 45-53.
  • Szubin, Adam; Carl J. Jensen; and Rod Gregg. "'Interacting with "Cults': A Policing Model," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Vol. 69, No. 9, 2000.
  • "Ministry says Armageddon is near," by Richard Abshire and Andrew D. Smith, The Dallas Morning News, June 18, 2006. [1]
  • Prather, Charles H. "God's Salvation Church: Past, Present and Future", Marburg Journal of Religion Vol. 4 No. 1 July 1999
  • Cook, Ryan J. "Chen Tao in Texas: A New Religious Movement, its Host Community, and Mass-Mediated Adaptation," presented at the University of Chicago, Center for Study on New Religions conference 1999. Access at [2]
  • Prather, Charles H. "Ritual and the experience of belief: understanding group reactions to failed prophecy" Unpublished MA Thesis, University of North Carolina at Greensboro 2002.