(Regarding the picture: I don’t have any good pictures, so I just put a photo I took of daffodils. I deleted it because it affected the visual experience)
My mother is a member of a minority group that has lived in the mountainous areas since childhood. Although she is from a minority, she believes in Christianity. There are also pastors in the village, and because of her family’s education, she became a Christian.
She is illiterate but owns a Bible and can sing hymns. Before I was brought to my foster father’s family, she still believed in Christ.
For 12 years, she brought me here, but shortly after I arrived, I developed a high fever. Someone came to my house and said I was possessed, with evil spirits attached to me. They claimed that my mother’s faith could save me from evil spirits.
Since then, my mother changed her Christianity and converted to “Almighty God” (全能神), and as her child, I was also forced to follow this faith as a “beneficiary” of “miracles and wonders”.
At first, I paid no attention because I was too young to understand the meaning. I just watched videos recorded for my mother during leisure time. These videos included various movies and animated shorts they made, summarized in one sentence: your suffering is because you haven’t believed in Almighty God; your happiness is because you have believed in Almighty God; the police are arresting us because they work for evil spirits, specifically to prevent people from believing in Almighty God and to let them enter heaven in the end times.
I just saw it as entertainment. My mother believed it. She began to think that the suffering she endured in my foster father’s house was a test from the pastor, and she should accept and endure these hardships. Also, during gatherings and prayers, electronic devices were not allowed in front of her because the government would eavesdrop on their prayers and arrest them. I was not allowed to speak the name of God directly on the phone; I could only communicate in minority languages.
They also gave my mother a booklet that said “evil spirits” are rampant among humans, and only believing in Almighty God is the only way to save people. It was filled with terrifying pictures, such as scenes of car accidents with evil spirits, ghosts appearing, and a video of a ghost crawling out of a TV eating instant noodles. I was stunned. Then they showed a face through a camera, which was terrifying for me as I was under ten years old! Can children see this? (I really couldn’t help it because these videos and booklets scared me so much I didn’t dare sleep alone or with the lights off for years, and I was even afraid to stay in a room with electronic screens)
It scared me a lot. My mother said it was because I lacked prayer and asking for God’s protection, and as long as I prayed, I wouldn’t be afraid.
Since my mother believed in Almighty God, daily prayers became essential. She would wake me up to pray, pray before sleeping, and every week, someone would come to our house for gatherings. As a “beneficiary,” I was pulled into these meetings. They asked me to read those books. At first, once or twice was okay, but over time I started to resist and tried various ways to escape. My mother scolded me several times because of my weak faith, but I didn’t listen. Finally, due to my indifference and the change in meeting schedules, the persecution stopped. In the end, she just told me to pray to God and ask for His protection when I faced difficulties.
However, they didn’t give up on me, this new blood. After the pandemic ended, they finally held a long-awaited gathering. By then, I had been exposed to Marxism and materialism. At first, I showed respect but did not agree or accept. They tried to persuade me with kind words. I cried because I had suffered various persecutions at home and had no outlet to vent. Hearing their praise and comfort, I couldn’t hold back.
But after crying, I still said I wouldn’t accept. I believed in Marxism. What shocked me was that among the crowd was a man who also read Marx and said that former public officials, unable to bear the darkness, chose to believe in Almighty God. I was shocked.
Fortunately, after that, I completely cut ties with them. Only my mother still believed. Those people also regularly visited my mother until my foster family and I parted ways. I thought they wouldn’t be anxious anymore, but I underestimated them and my mother’s faith.
After renting a three-bedroom apartment, my mother said a sister (a believer of Almighty God) was living at home. My first reaction was collapse because this place is not like the countryside, where there are surveillance cameras everywhere. If the police find out, my mother and I will be finished. But I couldn’t do anything about her since she lived alone at home. I didn’t live with her because of work. She was old, and it was good to have someone with her.
I suggested moving away with her to a farther place, to completely escape my foster father’s harassment. She gave various reasons, saying the place was bad and hard to find work. I suggested she go to my sister, but she said she thought my sister would dislike her. (sigh)
Regarding her reluctance to leave due to physical reasons, family reasons, and faith reasons, that is the entire content I have encountered about my mother’s faith. It’s a bit abstract because my memory is a bit chaotic. Sometimes I suddenly remember things, then forget.
What’s going on? Is that sister supporting herself? She wouldn’t make your mom pay money to the church, right?
No, I paid for the rent, he just lives there and is independent. My mother does not pay. It’s just that she will stop my mother from shopping online for them because she’s afraid of being monitored; they don’t use smartphones.
There might be hidden dangers with this, and it’s too outrageous. I think you still need to learn more Marxism, and have a good talk with your mom. If you can’t communicate, learning Marxism well might help you live independently.
Narcissus blooms are so beautiful, and the photos are excellent. When the narcissus is not blooming, it looks like a large green onion, with the roots and stems soaking in water, but it doesn’t rot. Instead, as the years pass, it grows stronger, and finally can bloom such pure white and gracefully spread petals. The most incredible thing is its fragrance, sweet but not overwhelming, rich yet always dispersing, and when the wind blows, even the sand seems to smile.
Why do you focus on water lilies when talking about her family’s harassment by Almighty God?
Same question. And it reads like bourgeois prose.
From a botanical perspective, the scent of daffodils may cause insomnia, and plants should not be placed indoors in the bedroom at night, as they only perform respiration at night.
(Daffodils look like scallions because they are plants of the Amaryllidaceae family. If the temperature is high and the oxygen content in the water decreases, aquatic plant roots can rot as well, so water should be changed carefully.)
Mainly because my materialist philosophy is not good, I can’t give him advice, only to affirm his behavior of拍水仙and sharing 
I won’t waste space, sorry everyone, accepting criticism.
I don’t think it’s that simple. By saying it this way, it becomes purely a technical issue. But as long as you’re willing to do it, even with limited ability, you can still contribute a bit. When the working people help others, they might not have as much Marxist guidance. I feel like your view is a manifestation of petty bourgeois ideology—on one hand, you’re not concerned about the real suffering of others; on the other hand, you’re doing some things detached from the people, thinking you’re clever.
What do you think?
I think so too, it’s just superficial concern rather than directly helping others.
Cult groups deliberately use such methods to scare their followers. I have seen cults threaten with terrifying images, saying that followers who leave will face retribution like this, or even be murdered. This must have caused you a lot of psychological trauma, truly harmful.
It should be “not afraid,” right? They use this method to control people. If you deceive yourself into believing in the cult, then you are exactly fulfilling their purpose. Very malicious.
If your mom wants to keep you, it’s also for her own benefit.
No wonder! I’ve been having severe insomnia lately, thank you so much.
It’s okay. I’m glad I could help. I am particularly interested in biology, especially botany. If you encounter any problems, feel free to ask me, and I will do my best to help.
I also think so. Now I believe that the most immediate need is to study Marxism well. Only by mastering Marxism can we better understand things correctly and carry out struggles. Your family situation is indeed concerning, and related to cults, it could even develop into a personal safety hazard. Can you save money from your current job? Does your mother need your care? How are things with household chores and daily life?
Does your mother have any chronic physical illnesses, or? I see you mentioned that your mother is not in very good health.
I remember that the government also monitors and keeps statistics on cult members, including who they are, how many people, and what types of cults they belong to. Because my father is a police officer, I recall that several years ago he mentioned that a certain colleague of his went to join this cult, and the Public Security Bureau just turned a blind eye, only asking them to do some ideological work to get him back.
I want to ask, what was Tianlan’s mother’s previous job? I remember my mentor said that religion is the opium of the people, and the Almighty God is also a religion, but it is an “evil cult” opposed by the official Chinese government. It is also soaked in reactionary bourgeois ideological toxins, which the liberals use to exploit the current situation where many people suffer under the dark rule of the Chinese Communist Party, fabricating a idealist “Almighty God,” falsely claiming that believing in the Almighty God can bring happiness. In reality, it is about turning lower-level believers into tools to extract huge wealth for themselves, opposing the Chinese government and enabling liberals to come to power. It is about building their own luxury and indulgence, and better exploiting the happiness of the working masses on the basis of others’ suffering.
Tianlan’s mother believes in the Almighty God, and there must be some dissatisfaction in real life. Tianlan can think about what those dissatisfaction points are, and also share them with everyone. Tianlan can analyze the social root causes of her mother’s dissatisfaction, and try to explain to her mother, also aiming to have a positive influence on her. If your mother is truly determined to believe in the Almighty God and it affects your life, you should think about how to detach from your mother and live independently. If you reach this point, Tianlan can talk about the difficulties involved, and everyone can help think of solutions.
Because I am not very clear about the specific situation, I will try to analyze logically.
“Religion is the sigh of oppressed spirits, the sentiment of the unfeeling world, and the spirit of the soulless state. It is the opium of the people.” Marx’s attitude towards religion is undoubtedly critical, but on the other hand, there is also compassion involved. Before opium became a widely condemned drug today, it was also used as medicine to alleviate patients’ pain, but opium is only an anesthetic and cannot solve the real problems. You say your mother believes in the All-Powerful God because she hopes to be protected from evil spirits, and she sees the hardships of life as tests from God, which is a manifestation of oppressed suffering. Since she is oppressed, it makes sense that she might accept Marxism.
As for transforming your mother’s thoughts, I believe the most fundamental step is to shift her from idealism to materialism. I do not know the root cause of her idealist beliefs—whether she accepts the logical idealism in the so-called missionary scriptures, or if she prays to a transcendent “God” because of life’s hardships. The first solution is to debate scriptures; the second is to analyze specific problems in life, identify what causes her suffering, analyze who brings about this suffering, which issues can be resolved through struggle, and what solutions exist. As long as one issue is resolved, I think the illusion of “God’s test” can be shattered, because this is not a miracle bestowed by divine intervention, but happiness fought for by oneself.
Finally, regarding your mother’s fear of government persecution and her fear of electronic products, this is actually a useless precaution, because persecution has already occurred. As for how the government persecutes the Three-Self Church, I believe you have many things to say.
The above ideas may be somewhat detached from your actual situation and might seem naive; consider them as some suggestions.
I can’t save money; I spend money extravagantly and very luxuriously.
My mother doesn’t need my care; she can take care of herself for now, but she is already 58 years old and has a heart condition. I don’t live with her, but if something happens to her, I will go home immediately.