Jesus Christians

The Jesus Christians are a small group of about 30, but they have made a significant presence in the media. In 1984, a member was imprisoned for burning money as an act of protest, which became the start of a series of highly publicized and controversial demonstrations. For the next 25 years, they donated kidneys to strangers, flogged each other, sent children into the desert with no money or provisions, cleaned the sewers of India, and conducted several other demonstrations, each with its own message. In addition, they also got into legal trouble on multiple occasions for various charges related to kidnapping, all of which were dropped.

In 2010, they announced that they were disbanding the movement. However, members continue promoting the same religious messages under various names.

Other info:

• Accused of kidnapping a 19-year-old in 1999. Officials dropped the investigation after the young man walked into a police station and stated that he was not kidnapped  (source)

• The organization was accused of kidnapping a 16-year-old boy in 2000. This story became national news, and the organization went into hiding, making them fugitives. In court, it was determined that the man joined the group voluntarily and that they did nothing against his will (source)

• Accused of kidnapping a 27-year-old mother and 7-year-old son in 2005, causing members to be placed in prison without basic amenities, with one member contracting tuberculosis as a result. Charges were dropped when the woman presented an affidavit explaining that she was not kidnapped (source)

• Involved in several protests:

  • Offered to work for any family or business for free for a day in 1983 (source)

  • Burning money in 1984 to promote a message of relying on God rather than money (source)

  • Glued money to the ground to protest greed (source)

  • In 1985, five 12-year-olds and a 15-year-old walked through the desert for 1,000 miles without taking any money, provisions, or support vehicle (source)

  • In 1990, the group traveled to America to hand out booklets prophesying coming destruction (source)

  • In 1994, they volunteered to clean sewers and toilets in India. Members also stood in the sewers for a week to protest unsanitary conditions, causing one to contract Typhoid afterward. (source)

  • Converted an open sewer into a playground in 1994 (source)

  • Dressed as babies at the Royal Easter Show in 1997 and 1998 to draw attention to Jesus' comments about becoming like a child to enter heaven (source)

  • Over half the group donated their kidneys to strangers in 2003 (source, source)

  • In 2006, the parents of a member attacked another member of the group, resulting in bleeding in the brain, broken teeth, and a fractured spine. As an illustration of the crucifixion of Jesus paying for other people's sins, members voluntarily received lashings to pay the penalty for the crime that they didn't commit (source)

  • They received substitutionary lashings again in 2010 to draw attention to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China (source)

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