Iglesia ni Cristo (Tagalog for Church of Christ)

[Rescued One]

This organization's nontrinitarian views differ widely on the nature of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Iglesia ni Cristo was founded by Felix Manalo in 1914 in the Philippines. The phrase “Iglesia ni Cristo” is Tagalog (the language of the Philippines) for “Church of Christ.” Sadly, while claiming to be a church, Iglesia ni Cristo has all of the basic elements of a cult. The first and foremost is a single charismatic leader who claims to have a special revelation from God. Felix Manalo was a former Catholic who abandoned Catholicism in his teens. He experimented with several Protestant denominations and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Manalo finally started his own church, the Iglesia ni Cristo, in 1914. When a schism in the church appeared in 1922, he began claiming to be God’s prophet in an effort to accumulate power and re-assert his leadership over the church.
What is Iglesia ni Cristo?

 

[dzheremi]

My own father was briefly a member of this group a few years ago because he married a woman from the Philippines who was already in it, and so he had to convert for marriage. They absolutely are a cult. Totally creepy. He showed me once this card they gave him which he had to get punched or stamped (I can't remember which) every time he attended their meetings to prove that he was committed to them and attending their meetings twice a week or whatever. They practice bloc voting in the Philippines (not technically in the USA, as that's illegal here, but I read in their literature that he had laying around his house at the time some things that could've been interpreted as calling for it everywhere the INC is; I think it's one of those 'plausible deniability' type things where they can claim one thing but tell their members something else, like the Mormons do when their leaders lie by claiming that their church has nothing to do with polygamy, or that they don't know why blacks were denied the priesthood before 1978, etc.), they teach that their founder is God's final prophet, and even teach that specific passages in the Bible are really references to him, despite a notable lack of anything related directly to the Philippines anywhere in the Bible.

As you can tell from the above, they strongly resemble Mormonism in several respects (e.g., our founder is God's chosen prophet, and the Bible testifies to him/what he would do), though from what I remember theologically they are more standard unitarians than polytheists, reproducing similar arguments against the Holy Trinity as Muslims do. So they're kind of like a weird hybrid Mormon/Muslim Filipino knock-off cult. It's pretty horrifying stuff to see up close, honestly, and I thank God every day that my father's interest in this group abruptly ended with his divorce from the woman who was involved in it.

 

[Rescued One]

My own father was briefly a member of this group a few years ago because he married a woman from the Philippines who was already in it, and so he had to convert for marriage. They absolutely are a cult. Totally creepy. He showed me once this card they gave him which he had to get punched or stamped (I can't remember which) every time he attended their meetings to prove that he was committed to them and attending their meetings twice a week or whatever. They practice bloc voting in the Philippines (not technically in the USA, as that's illegal here, but I read in their literature that he had laying around his house at the time some things that could've been interpreted as calling for it everywhere the INC is; I think it's one of those 'plausible deniability' type things where they can claim one thing but tell their members something else, like the Mormons do when their leaders lie by claiming that their church has nothing to do with polygamy, or that they don't know why blacks were denied the priesthood before 1978, etc.), they teach that their founder is God's final prophet, and even teach that specific passages in the Bible are really references to him, despite a notable lack of anything related directly to the Philippines anywhere in the Bible.

As you can tell from the above, they strongly resemble Mormonism in several respects (e.g., our founder is God's chosen prophet, and the Bible testifies to him/what he would do), though from what I remember theologically they are more standard unitarians than polytheists, reproducing similar arguments against the Holy Trinity as Muslims do. So they're kind of like a weird hybrid Mormon/Muslim Filipino knock-off cult. It's pretty horrifying stuff to see up close, honestly, and I thank God every day that my father's interest in this group abruptly ended with his divorce from the woman who was involved in it.

Thank you for responding. I think some people are afraid to respond, but I've run into several non-Trinitarians in different cults.

The three largest nontrinitarian organizations claiming to embrace Christianty are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Iglesia ni Cristo. And there are a number of other smaller ones, including the Christdelphians, Christian Scientists, Dawn Bible Students, Living Church of God, Oneness Pentacostals, Members Church of God International, Unitarian Universalist Christians, The Way International, The Church of God International, and the United Church of God.

 

[Rescued One]

My own father was briefly a member of this group a few years ago because he married a woman from the Philippines who was already in it, and so he had to convert for marriage. They absolutely are a cult. Totally creepy. He showed me once this card they gave him which he had to get punched or stamped (I can't remember which) every time he attended their meetings to prove that he was committed to them and attending their meetings twice a week or whatever. They practice bloc voting in the Philippines (not technically in the USA, as that's illegal here, but I read in their literature that he had laying around his house at the time some things that could've been interpreted as calling for it everywhere the INC is; I think it's one of those 'plausible deniability' type things where they can claim one thing but tell their members something else, like the Mormons do when their leaders lie by claiming that their church has nothing to do with polygamy, or that they don't know why blacks were denied the priesthood before 1978, etc.), they teach that their founder is God's final prophet, and even teach that specific passages in the Bible are really references to him, despite a notable lack of anything related directly to the Philippines anywhere in the Bible.

As you can tell from the above, they strongly resemble Mormonism in several respects (e.g., our founder is God's chosen prophet, and the Bible testifies to him/what he would do), though from what I remember theologically they are more standard unitarians than polytheists, reproducing similar arguments against the Holy Trinity as Muslims do. So they're kind of like a weird hybrid Mormon/Muslim Filipino knock-off cult. It's pretty horrifying stuff to see up close, honestly, and I thank God every day that my father's interest in this group abruptly ended with his divorce from the woman who was involved in it.

Oh, so sad.

• Theology: Iglesio ni Cristo claims to be to only true church established by Jesus Christ.
  But while the movement says it represents Christianity, its theology deviates from the essential doctrines of the Christian faith (that which makes Christianity Christian, and not something else) to such an extend that it must be considered theologically a cult of Christianity.
  
  In other words, the vast majority of Christians and Christian denominations do not accept Iglesio ni Cristo’s claim that it is a Christian church.
  
  Iglesia ni Cristo’s false teachings include:
  
  • Denial of the divinity of Jesus Christ. The divinity of Christ is one of the essential teachings of the Christian faith — as is the doctrine of the Trinity, which in turn is also denied by the Inc. Rejecting one or more of Christianity’s core teachings places an individual or movement outside the Christian faith. Such an individual is referred to as a heretic, while an organization is said to be heretical.
  • Claiming that the Christian Church “was apostatized after the first century” and “was restored to its pristine purity by God by means of His last messenger, brother Felix Y. Manalo…” (Pasugo, the movement’s official organ, July/August 1988, page 7)
  • The claim that salvation comes only through this church (“This may come as a surprise to many, but the Biblical truth is, though all churches profess to preach God and Christ, there is only one true church that can bring people back to the good graces of God.” (Pasugo, November 1973, page 19)
  • The claim that not just anyone can teach or interpret the Bible. INC claims that only the late Felix Y. Manalo was — and Iglesia ni Cristo ministers are — given the authority by God to do so, because they “hold the seal” prophesies in Revelation 7:2-3.

The movement is considered to be theologically a cult, but it is not considered a cult from a sociological perspective.
Iglesia ni Cristo | Apologetics Index

 

[MJFlores]

This organization's nontrinitarian views differ widely on the nature of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Iglesia ni Cristo was founded by Felix Manalo in 1914 in the Philippines. The phrase “Iglesia ni Cristo” is Tagalog (the language of the Philippines) for “Church of Christ.” Sadly, while claiming to be a church, Iglesia ni Cristo has all of the basic elements of a cult. The first and foremost is a single charismatic leader who claims to have a special revelation from God. Felix Manalo was a former Catholic who abandoned Catholicism in his teens. He experimented with several Protestant denominations and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Manalo finally started his own church, the Iglesia ni Cristo, in 1914. When a schism in the church appeared in 1922, he began claiming to be God’s prophet in an effort to accumulate power and re-assert his leadership over the church.
What is Iglesia ni Cristo?

Yehey!!! The Church of Christ has a thread!

Thank you so much!

 

[MJFlores]

This organization's nontrinitarian views differ widely on the nature of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Iglesia ni Cristo was founded by Felix Manalo in 1914 in the Philippines. The phrase “Iglesia ni Cristo” is Tagalog (the language of the Philippines) for “Church of Christ.” Sadly, while claiming to be a church, Iglesia ni Cristo has all of the basic elements of a cult. The first and foremost is a single charismatic leader who claims to have a special revelation from God. Felix Manalo was a former Catholic who abandoned Catholicism in his teens. He experimented with several Protestant denominations and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Manalo finally started his own church, the Iglesia ni Cristo, in 1914. When a schism in the church appeared in 1922, he began claiming to be God’s prophet in an effort to accumulate power and re-assert his leadership over the church.
What is Iglesia ni Cristo?

Some of these historical events you mentioned are true. Cult is what cult does, isn't it? If having a charismatic leader is the definition of a cult, well becha-by-golly we are a cult! Include these religions as cults to because they have charismatic leaders, like:
List of 21st-century religious leaders - Wikipedia

"...have a special revelation from God." Ok!

Yep, Bro. Felix Manalo was Catholic by birth, like I was by birth. But tell you what - he did not have a vision about gold or silver plates or did he have any vision that God appeared or something like that.

 

[MJFlores]

My own father was briefly a member of this group a few years ago because he married a woman from the Philippines who was already in it, and so he had to convert for marriage. They absolutely are a cult. Totally creepy. He showed me once this card they gave him which he had to get punched or stamped (I can't remember which) every time he attended their meetings to prove that he was committed to them and attending their meetings twice a week or whatever. They practice bloc voting in the Philippines (not technically in the USA, as that's illegal here, but I read in their literature that he had laying around his house at the time some things that could've been interpreted as calling for it everywhere the INC is; I think it's one of those 'plausible deniability' type things where they can claim one thing but tell their members something else, like the Mormons do when their leaders lie by claiming that their church has nothing to do with polygamy, or that they don't know why blacks were denied the priesthood before 1978, etc.), they teach that their founder is God's final prophet, and even teach that specific passages in the Bible are really references to him, despite a notable lack of anything related directly to the Philippines anywhere in the Bible.

As you can tell from the above, they strongly resemble Mormonism in several respects (e.g., our founder is God's chosen prophet, and the Bible testifies to him/what he would do), though from what I remember theologically they are more standard unitarians than polytheists, reproducing similar arguments against the Holy Trinity as Muslims do. So they're kind of like a weird hybrid Mormon/Muslim Filipino knock-off cult. It's pretty horrifying stuff to see up close, honestly, and I thank God every day that my father's interest in this group abruptly ended with his divorce from the woman who was involved in it.

They absolutely are a cult. Totally creepy.
they teach that their founder is God's final prophet,
So they're kind of like a weird hybrid Mormon/Muslim Filipino knock-off cult


We have cards that act as attendance cards because we value our worship services

Block voting - this is right. We exercise unity in our votes - which is also in the bible.

The late Bro. Felix Manalo isn't a prophet, he is the last messenger of God. We don't have another gospel, the bible alone is our gospel.

Mormon doctrines are totally different from what Iglesia ni Cristo believes in. We don't have another set of doctrines. Just the bible, that is all. Maybe on design of houses of worship - because we have spires and steeples. But doctrines - nyet.

Muslims on the other hand believe that Jesus was

• not crucified on the cross
• should not be worshiped

We however believe that the Lord Jesus Christ

• died for the Church of Christ and was raised by God from the dead
• That he should be worshiped for the glory of God

The Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) does not believe in the Trinity because it is not taught by the Bible, the Lord Jesus and the apostles of Christ. Why would you believe such things when the teaching is not in the bible?

examine the Iglesia ni Cristo, too bad for your father though.

 

[jibreelhill]

INC is a true monotheist christianity

 

[Albion]

Some of these historical events you mentioned are true. Cult is what cult does, isn't it? If having a charismatic leader is the definition of a cult, well becha-by-golly we are a cult!

It's not.

But redefining the nature of God is.

Take it from there in your analysis.

"The Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) does not believe in the Trinity because it is not taught by the Bible, the Lord Jesus and the apostles of Christ."

 

[Hammster]

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