In recent years, there are a few western scholars who have written some literature asserting that CAG is true Christianity. Notably, Italian sociologist Massimo Introvigne wrote an article, The Church of Almighty God / Eastern Lightning: 10 False Myths, in which he tries to debunk Myth 9: The Church of Almighty God Is Clearly Not Christian. In this article, Introvigne asserts that deciding who is a Christian is unlike determining who is American or Chinese. When in doubt, a governmental authority can certify a citizen of its country. He argues, “Who is or isn’t a Christian is a theological statement, and there is no universally recognized authority that can certify this status.”[1] Introvigne continues, “different denominations and theologians use different definitions of Christianity, some broad and some very narrow. Catholics until the mid-20th century called Protestants non-Christians. Some fundamentalist Protestants still claim Catholics are not Christians. Who is Christian? Who decides?”[2] Obviously, he does not believe that the sixty-six books of the Bible itself and any Christian organizations individually or collectively have any objective standards to assess whether a newly formed group a true Christian church or not. Perhaps, the Bible is not an authoritative document as a measure of standards to do the job. Remarkably, Introvigne endorses a research done by a religion professor as if she has met the authoritative requirements. He says, “American scholar Holly Folk, who has studied CAG theology, has found in it a number of “Protestant continuities.” As a conclusion, she declared it “a new Christianity with deep Christian roots,” “a real Christianity.””[3]

[1] Massimo Introvigne, “The Church of Almighty God / Eastern Lightning: 10 False Myths,” (Bitter Winter – A Magazine of Religions and Human Rights, April 9, 2019), accessed August 16, 2024.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.