Εκκλησία του Παντοδύναμου Θεού: Διαφορά μεταξύ των αναθεωρήσεων

On May 28, 2014, six "missionaries" who claimed to represent the "Almighty God" sparked a national outcry when they attacked and killed a woman at a [[McDonald's|McDonald's restaurant]] in [[Zhaoyuan, Shandong|Zhaoyuan]], a city in [[Shandong]] Province of China.<ref>Gracie (2014).</ref> During an interview with a CCTV journalist, Zhang Lidong (張立冬/张立冬, Zhāng Lìdōng), the lead attacker in what became known as the [[Zhaoyuan McDonald's cult murder]], claimed that the subject rejected his daughter's request for her phone number and was called an "evil spirit" ({{zh|s=邪灵|labels=no}}靈), which prompted the six "missionaries" to attack. Zhang described in detail how they kept stamping the victim's head to the ground for about three minutes, and that "he felt great", but he deliberately avoided questions on the organization to which he belonged and his rank within the religious group.<ref>''Sina Video'' (2014).</ref> Five of the "missionaries" (the sixth was a minor) were tried and convicted and on October 10. Two were sentenced to death and executed in 2015, one to life imprisonment, and the other two to 7 and 10 years in prison.<ref>''BBC News'' (2014).</ref>

The McDonald's murder was later studied by scholars of new religious movements such as Emily Dunn,<ref>Dunn (2015), 204.</ref> [[David G. Bromley|David Bromley]] and [[Massimo Introvigne]].<ref>Introvigne (2017a); Introvigne (2018d); Introvigne and Bromley (2017), Introvigne (2019), which also includes a short video.</ref> They came to different conclusions with respect to earlier reports by most Chinese and Western media, and argued that the assassins were part of a small, independent cult not connected with Eastern Lighting, who used the words "Almighty God" to designate as a "dual deity" its two female leaders, Zhang Fan (張帆, Zhāng Fān}}; Zhang Lidong's daughter, who was executed in 2015) and Lü Yingchun (呂迎春, Lǚ Yíngchūn).<ref>Introvigne (2017a); Introvigne and Bromley (2017).</ref> At trial, the defendants stated explicitly that, although they both used the name “Almighty God,” their group and The Church of Almighty God led by Zhao Weishan were two different organizations. One of the leaders, Lü Yingchun, declared, “the state labeled Zhao Weishan’s fake ‘Church of Almighty God’ as a[n] ''evil cult'', and we label them as ‘evil spirits.’ Only Zhang Fan and I … could represent the real ‘Church of Almighty God.’ Zhang Fan and I are the unique spokeswomen for the real ‘Almighty God.’ The government has been cracking down on the Almighty God that Zhao Weishan believes in, not the ‘Almighty God’ we mention. They are fake ‘Almighty God,’ while we are the real ‘Almighty God.’”<ref>''The Beijing News'' (2014).</ref>