Growing in Grace ... cult?

[MarblesMom]

Unfortunately, the video of a 3 year old getting a tattoo showed up in my FB feed.  I had to google and find out WTH is this all about.  Is anyone else familiar with this sect- Growing in Grace?  It would appear the leader/founder at one time professed to being both God AND the Antichrist.... among other things.

I had never heard of them before today... but still digging for more info.  Some of these links are OLD.

Here a few links - TW for max grossness on the tattoo video. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/31/mother-tattoo-son_n_2591132.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/José_Luis_de_Jesús

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/02/16/miami.preacher/

Fantastic, another group ruining lives...

[seattlechic]

OMG the video has been made private. this is insane.

[smittykins]

I wonder where a THREE-year-old is allowed to get a tattoo(in New York State, you can't until you're 18, even with parental consent).

[MarblesMom]

Here is the video link I found while searching FB....

Spoiler

 

 

[seattlechic]

Dear gods, i can't even. i just can't.

[MarblesMom]

HOW does this stuff go unnoticed by most of us ... for years?!  I am just gobsmacked. 

I found another article where the founder is quoted as saying his church is the “Government of God on Earth.”  So disturbing.... on so many levels.

http://www.icsahome.com/groups/growingingrace

Frankly, I don't know anything about the ICSA - are they a reputable source?

[bingbangboom]

3 hours ago, MarblesMom said:

Here is the video link I found while searching FB....

  Hide contents

 

 

That poor baby. Little boom will be 2 at the end of the summer, BigBOOM is 5. I got all of ten seconds into this video before crying. That poor guy, he needs mama hugs and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I'm certain this little guy gets no medical treatment for anything. No shots, antibiotics and God forbid he breaks an arm or needs some other urgent medical care, the provider would see the tattoo and report the abuse.

 I am so saddened by his little face. I'm crying with you kiddo. You are loved, and I hope your parents get caught before they hurt you any further.

[PraiseDog]

That video is horrendous.  Does anyone recognize the language they are speaking? Not to call out other cultures or accuse them of abuse as a whole, just trying to figure out where and how this is occurring.

[Gimme a Free RV]

Growing in Grace, founded by Puerto Rican Jose Luis Jesus Miranda, who calls himself “Jesus Christ the Man,” encourages the tattooing of both children and adults with the number 666. A YouTube video made in Havana, where the cult has gained followers in recent years, shows a mother holding her 3-year-old son as he is being tattooed while crying hysterically. A member says that 666, which has apocalyptic associations in Christian traditions and sometimes represents Satan, identifies followers “as God’s people and with God.” Miranda says he started the movement in 1984 after a visitation of angels persuaded him that he was being chosen. Based in Miami, Growing in Grace has spread to more than 20 countries and has a strong presence in Latin America. (Huffington Post, 1/31/13) [IT 4.2 2013] 

I seem to vaguely recall seeing something about this on 20/20 or one of those Dateline-type programs a couple of years ago.  Disturbing, to say the least.