IS THE "IGLESIA NI CRISTO A CULT OR CULT OF CHRISTIANITY?"
(Examining The True Definition Of A Cult)
MANY PEOPLE, particularly Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) detractors, label us as a “cult” or use the term “Cult of Christianity” when describing the Iglesia Ni Cristo or the Church of Christ. Using the derogatory term “cult” unfairly portrays the Church in a negative light and sends a negative message to others, especially to those who are not yet familiar with the church or its teachings. This misinformation has led people to form a negative perception and opinion about the Church without properly studying or seriously inquiring about it. This page aims to clarify that these derogatory allegations are unfair, baseless, and unfounded and encourages people to study, explore, and compare the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) for themselves.
Before we continue, let us clarify the word “Cult” from the following excerpt of various information sources:
“The word cult pejoratively refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered strange . . . . It is also a result of the anti-cult movement which uses the word in reference to groups seen as authoritarian, exploitative and that are believed to use dangerous rituals or mind control. The word implies a group which is a minority in a given society. . . In the mass media, and among average citizens, ‘cult’ gained an increasingly negative connotation, becoming associated with things like kidnapping, brainwashing, psychological abuse, sexual abuse and other criminal activity, and mass suicide. While most of these negative qualities usually have real documented precedents in the activities of a very small minority of new religious groups, mass culture often extends them to any religious group viewed as culturally deviant, however peaceful or law abiding it may be… the term cult often carries derogatory connotations. In this sense, it has been considered a subjective term, used as an ad hominem attack against groups with differing doctrines or practices. As such, religion scholar Megan Goodwin defined the term cult, when it is used by the layperson, as often being shorthand for a ‘religion I don’t like.“
(Reference: http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/cult, Emphasis Mine
“The high profile crimes perpetuated by the the so-called cults are exemplified by the following: The mass suicides committed by members of the People’s Temple and their leader Jim Jones in Jonestown, Guyana, when on 18 November 1978, more than 900 people died in the largest mass murder/suicide in American history. The other case is of the Branch Davidians who are best known for the 1993 siege of their Center near Waco, Texas, by the ATF and the FBI, which resulted in the deaths of eighty-two of the church’s members, including head figure David Koresh. The publicity of these crimes, as amplified by the Anti-cult movement, influenced the popular perception of new religious movements.”
(Reference: http://listverse.com/2007/09/15/ top-10-cults/ as of 10/20/2011, Emphasis Mine)
“The term ‘cult of Christianity’ is used of a group, church or organization whose central teachings and/or practices are claimed to be biblical or representative of biblical Christianity, but which are in fact unbiblical and un-Christian. . . A cult of Christianity is a group of people, which claiming to be Christian, embraces a particular doctrinal system taught by an individual leader, group of leaders, or organization, which (system) denies (either explicitly or implicitly) one or more of the central doctrines of the Christian faith as taught in the sixty-six books of the Bible. Certain Christian doctrines constitute the core of the faith. Central doctrines include the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the bodily resurrection, the atoning work of Christ on the cross, and salvation by grace through faith. These doctrines so comprise the essence of the Christian faith that to remove any of them is to make the belief system non-Christian.”
(Reference: http://www.apologeticsindex. org/c45.html, Emphasis Mine)
It is important to note that the term “cult and cult of Christianity” has been clearly explained. Please take note of the following important points:
• The word cult, pejoratively or negatively, refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered strange.
• Anti-cult movement uses the word in reference to groups seen as authoritarian, exploitative, and that are believed to use dangerous rituals or mind control.
• In the mass media and among average citizens, the word “cult” gained an increasingly negative connotation, becoming associated with things like kidnapping, brainwashing, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, and other criminal activity, and mass suicide.
• The term ‘cult of Christianity’ is used of a group, church, or organization whose central teachings and/or practices are claimed to be biblical or representative of biblical Christianity, but which are in fact unbiblical and un-Christian. . . is a group of people who claim to be Christian and embrace a particular doctrinal system taught by an individual leader, group of leaders, or organization, which (system) denies (either explicitly or implicitly) one or more of the central doctrines of the Christian faith as taught in the sixty-six books of the Bible.
• Certain Christian doctrines constitute the core of the faith. Central doctrines include the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the bodily resurrection, the atoning work of Christ on the cross, and salvation by grace through faith. These doctrines comprise the essence of the Christian faith that to remove any of them is to make the belief system non-Christian.
Thus, when Iglesia Ni Cristo detractors call the Iglesia Ni Cristo a “cult” or a “Cult of Christianity,” they are in effect declaring to the media and other people that:
• The church beliefs are considered strange.
• The church is seen as authoritarian, exploitative, and that are believed to use dangerous rituals or mind control.
• The church is viewed negatively by becoming associated with things like mass suicide, brainwashing, and other criminal activity.
• The church’s teachings and practices are unbiblical and un-Christian because the church embraces particular doctrines that deny (either explicitly or implicitly) one or more of the so-called “central doctrines of the Christian faith,” which include the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and salvation by grace through faith.
The Truth:
The Iglesia Ni Cristo is a legitimate Christian religion and is not in any way a “cult” or a “Cult of Christianity” as alleged by detractors. Iglesia Ni Cristo (Tagalog for Church of Christ), also known as INC, is the largest entirely indigenous Christian religious organization originating from the Philippines and the largest independent church in Asia. In 2024, the Iglesia Ni Cristo has an international membership comprising 151 racial and ethnic backgrounds. It maintains nearly 7,000 congregations and missions grouped into more than 178 ecclesiastical districts in 166 countries and territories on six of the world’s inhabited continents.
First: The Church’s beliefs and practices can not be considered as “strange” because all the Iglesia Ni Cristo doctrines and beliefs are biblical and are fully and clearly supported by the verses of the Holy Bible. . . What should be considered as “strange” are doctrines and beliefs that are unscriptural or not fully supported by the verses of the Bible, such as some of the popular doctrines that originated from traditions of men and beliefs that are considered mysteries because they can never be explained using the verses of the Bible.
The following are some comments from people who have studied and written about the doctrine of the Trinity:
“The Trinity is a wonderful mystery. No one understands it. The most learned theologian, the holiest Pope, the greatest saint, all are mystified by it as a child of seven.”
(Reference: Martin J. Scott, S.J., God and Myself, p. 118)
“…when we try to think of God as Three Persons possessing one and the same nature, we find ourselves batting our head against the ceiling.”
(Reference: I Trese, Leo J. The Faith Explained. Nihil Obstat: Louis J. Putz, C.S.C., University of Notre Dame. Imprimatur: Leo A. Pursley, D.D. Bishop of Fort Wayne, Notre Dame, Indiana. USA: Fides Publishers Inc., 1969, pp. 25-26)
“We are dealing a mystery of faith: no one, not even the greatest theologian, can hope in this life to really understand it. At best, there will merely be varying degrees of ignorance.”
(Reference: I Trese, Leo J. The Faith Explained. Nihil Obstat: Louis J. Putz, C.S.C., University of Notre Dame. Imprimatur: Leo A. Pursley, D.D. Bishop of Fort Wayne, Notre Dame, Indiana. USA: Fides Publishers Inc., 1969, p. 29)
“It is true that before the advent of Christ the Trinity of Persons was not known., not even to the inspired authors.”
(Reference: Gratsch, Edward J. Principles of Catholic Theology, p. 50)
“It cannot therefore be seriously maintained that the mystery of the Divine Trinity was clearly revealed in the Old Testament.”
(Reference: Pohle, joseph, Ph.D., D.D.. The Divine Trinity, A Dogmatic Treatise, p. 20)
Why is the doctrine of the Trinity a mystery? The following Jesuit Priest has these to say:
“God, of course, cannot perform an absurdity, a contradiction in terms. He cannot, for instance, make two and two equal five.”
(Reference: Walsh, John. This is Catholicism. New York: Image Book, 1959, p. 25)
“the dogma of the Blessed Trinity is a mystery in the fullest sense’ . . . ‘it cannot be proved by reason, . . . nay, it cannot even be proved to be possible.”
(Reference: Rev. C.F. Blount, S.J., The Blessed Trinity, London: Catholic Truth Society, p.2.)
Here is what an Iglesia Ni Cristo convert says about his experience in the church:
Marco Boni Story
Rome, Italy
For exactly 20 years, I listened to the words of God under different ministers who were always ready to answer my questions about the tiresome praises of priests on the mysteries of the Catholic faith. In 1990 Brother Rizalino Santos, the resident minister at that time, started to teach me the fundamental biblical doctrines of the Church of Christ. Any question I asked him he answered by reading verses in the Bible, never in his own words and neither did he pronounce the prophetic sentence of the Catholic priests that it is a “mystery of the faith”! One of the doctrines that touched me deeply is the truth regarding God and Jesus Christ who, according to some religions are one, but in the Bible, they are two and are entirely different. Also, I was amazed at how all members in the Church of Christ from the youngest to the oldest—receive the same teaching from the Bible. What determined my choice to become a member of the Church of Christ was when I asked Brother Santos to show me where in the Bible we can read that Jesus Christ is not God. He took by hand the Bible and read to me different verses, among which are: John 17:3, John 20:17, and I Timothy 2:5. These verses left me surprised, especially John 20:17 wherein Jesus Christ makes clear that He is not God. In the light of this truth, I asked where the Catholic Church draws the origin of the teaching regarding the so-called Trinity. He read two passages from the book “Discourses on the Apostles Creed” written by a Catholic priest in which it says that in the Council of Nicaea, in 325 A.D., the Catholic Church defined that it was an article of faith that Jesus Christ is God; and in the Council of Constantinople, in 381 A.D., that the Holy Spirit is God. There are no biblical basis of the teaching of the so-called Trinity. This fact made me deeply upset, so much that I asked a priest whom I recognized then for an explanation. But rather than answering me in a calm manner, he was outraged and sent me away…
Innocent E. Okekeh Story
Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria
So, why did I leave my former church and join the Iglesia Ni Cristo? First, I was spiritually convinced that the Iglesia Ni Cristo is the only true Church. It does not hide the truth. It does not add to or subtract teachings from the Bible. It is not a Church wherein the doctrines and practices are a mixture of beliefs where anything can go in. The Iglesia Ni Cristo is unique, the only Church I have seen in my life that is biblical. . . . . The Iglesia Ni Cristo does not worship idols or graven images. There is nothing like human tradition imposed in worship. . . . . One major component of my conversion to the Iglesia Ni Cristo is its clear and precise doctrines regarding the true nature of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Unlike other churches that have confusing doctrines such as the Trinity. . . .
Second: The negative perception that the Church administration is authoritarian, exploitative, and uses mind control is absolutely not true. The Church administration is strict but fair because all its rules are based on the teachings of the Bible, and every rule is clearly explained to the members using the verses of the Holy Bible. The unfair allegation that the Church administration uses mind control or is brainwashing its members is entirely wrong. The Church members, of their own free will, follow the teachings or doctrines of the Church because they clearly understood the teachings, which were clearly and patiently explained to them using the verses of the Bible.
Here is what an Iglesia Ni Cristo convert says about his experience in the church:
Louis John Vecchitto Story
Norwich, Connecticut, U.S.A
While I was attending worship services, I had so many questions in my mind. I was amazed of how the ministers preached. I noticed they did not produce their own Bible, they used various Bible translations. All the questions I asked were finally answered. I’d been with different religions, but I said to myself that this one was so different and the teachings were so clear, direct from the Bible. I thought it was kind of strange since the minister just gave me the answer without telling me a story or interpreting from his own. He could prove to me that this is really the Lord God’s one and only true Church. I finally decided to enlist as a Bible student. The minister who taught me God’s words was Brother Praxidio Ramboyong Jr. He would always ask me at the end of the lesson if I understood it and he would make me answer questions to make sure that I really did. I clearly understood because of the fact that they came from the Bible. . .
What sets the Iglesia ni Cristo apart from other religions is that the members willingly follow the church’s doctrines or teachings because they are fully convinced and biblically sure that they are following God’s teachings, which are unlike some mysterious doctrines and beliefs that are based on the traditions and commandments of men.
Third: It is very clear that the purpose of church detractors in calling the church a “cult” is to demean or degrade the Church. It is entirely unfair for the Church’s detractors to call the church a “cult,” knowing fully well that it will have a negative connotation in the mass media and among the average citizens because it will be associated with the high profile crimes previously committed by a handful of so-called cults.
Fourth: It is entirely wrong and unfair for the Iglesia Ni Cristo detractors to declare that the church teachings and practices are “unbiblical and un-Christian” just because the Iglesia Ni Cristo does not follow their so-called “central doctrines of the Christian faith,” which include such doctrines as the Trinity and the deity of Christ. Why?… Because they must first prove that their doctrine of the Trinity and the deity of Christ is biblical and clearly supported by the verses of the Holy Bible and not explain the Trinity as a mystery. Thus, if they say that the Iglesia Ni Cristo church’s beliefs are unbiblical or biblically wrong, they must first prove that their doctrine of the Trinity and the deity of Jesus is biblically correct.
Therefore, it is essential that you study the Bible by comparing the popular doctrine of the Trinity with the Iglesia Ni Cristo doctrines about God and Jesus Christ to determine which doctrines or teachings are unbiblical and un-Christian.
You owe it to yourself to find the truth.
The search for the true Church is of utmost importance, as a false religion can have dire consequences for the salvation of ones soul.
How to make a comparative Bible study so you will come to know whose doctrines or teachings is unbiblical and un-Christian?
Doctrines of the Iglesia Ni Cristo
The only true God is the Father
Jesus Christ is not God but the Son of God, Savior, Lord, Mediator, and a very special Man
Trinitarian Doctrines
The only true God is the Triune God
Jesus Christ is truly God and truly Man; the Father, Son & Holy Spirit are one in number
Verify the scriptural basis of the doctrines. Check the verses in your own Bible or the online Bibles on the internet from which we quote. Determine if the verses presented clearly and conclusively support their doctrines.
After a thorough comparative Bible Study, make your decision.
Decide whose doctrines are unbiblical and un-Christian and “‘Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32, NIV)
IGLESIA NI CRISTO WANTS YOU TO KNOW THE TRUTH WRITTEN IN THE BIBLE.
Iglesia Ni Cristo does not hide the truth because her teachings are not hidden in mystery.
• Iglesia Ni Cristo’s doctrines and beliefs are clearly written in the Bible. All questions are answered using the Bible verses. The teachings are so clear that you will never hear the word “mystery” as an answer to any of your questions.
• Iglesia Ni Cristo does not add or subtract teachings from the Bible. All teachings are strictly biblical, as they do not include teachings from traditions and commandments of men.
You are welcome to study and examine the doctrines and beliefs of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) and compare them to your religious beliefs or those of other religions. Then, based on your thorough biblical study, you can fairly decide who is the real “cult of Christianity” ― the pseudo-Christian religion whose beliefs are unbiblical and un-Christian because their doctrines are not supported or in accordance with the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles as recorded in the Holy Bible, or the Church of Christ who bases all her teaching solely from the bible without adding any private personal interpretation or adopt invented man-made doctrines such as the “Trinity” then claim its as a “wonderful mystery!”
To give you an idea of why the Iglesia Ni Cristo believes that it is the doctrine of the Trinity that is unbiblical and un-Christian, please read the following…
The doctrine of the Trinity lacks direct scriptural support as declared by the following encyclopedias and Bible dictionary:
“The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not taught [explicitly] in the [Old Testament]…’ ‘The formulation ‘one God in three Persons’ was not solidly established [by a council]… prior to the end of the 4th century”.
(Reference: The New Catholic Encyclopedia)
“The doctrine is not taught explicitly in the New Testament, where the word God almost invariably refers to the Father. […] The term trinitas was first used in the 2nd century, by the Latin theologian Tertullian, but the concept was developed in the course of the debates on the nature of Christ […]. In the 4th century, the doctrine was finally formulated.”
(Reference: Encyclopedia Britannica, Emphasis Mine)
“Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord’ (Deuteronomy 6:4). […] The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. […] by the end of the 4th century, under the leadership of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus (the Cappadocian Fathers), the doctrine of the Trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since.”
(Reference: Encyclopedia Britannica, Emphasis Mine)
“One does not find in the NT the Trinitarian paradox of the coexistence of the Father, Son, and Spirit within a divine unity.”
(Reference: The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Emphasis Mine)
From the above Encyclopedias and Bible Dictionaries, it is very clear that the doctrine of the Trinity is explicitly not taught in the Old and New Testament of the Holy Bible.
This is the basic reason why “Nontrinitarians” reject the doctrine of the Trinity: It lacks direct scriptural support, or simply, the doctrine of the Trinity is not taught in the Bible.
Thus, the argument that the Trinitarian doctrine is a “mystery” is essentially an inherent irrationality. The perplexity of the Trinitarian arguments, which have included the use of philosophy, is contrary to the Biblical principles of simplicity and clarity in doctrine. Their failure to explain the doctrine using the verses of the Bible does not make the Trinity a mystery, for how can anyone explain a supposedly biblical doctrine that is simply not taught in the Bible?
More commentaries about the Trinity Doctrine from various sources:
“The Christian doctrine of God (q.v.) as existing in three Persons and one Substance is not demonstrable by logic or by scriptural proofs.”
(Reference: The Dictionary of the Bible – Edited by James Hastings, 1963, p. 1015, Emphasis Mine)
“The Trinity of persons within the unity of nature is defined in terms of persons and nature which are Greek philosophical terms; actually the terms do not appear in the Bible.
“The Trinitarian definitions arose as the result of long controversies in which these terms and other such as essence and substance were erroneously applied to God by some theologians.”
(Reference: Dictionary of the Bible by John L McKenzie S.J., 1965, p. 899, Emphasis Mine)
“Christianity derived from Judaism, and Judaism was (and still is) strictly Unitarian (Oneness – believing that God is only one).
“The road which led from Jerusalem to Nicea was scarcely a straight one. Fourth century Trinitarianism did not reflect accurately early (Originally Apostolic) Christian teaching regarding the nature of God; it was on the contrary, and deviation from this teaching.”
(Reference: The Encyclopedia Americana – 1956, VOL. XXVII, p. 294L, Emphasis Mine)
“Exegetes and theologians today are in agreement that the Hebrew Bible does not contain a doctrine of the Trinity.
“Further, exegetes and theologians agree that the New Testament also does not contain an explicit doctrine of the Trinity.
“Some theologians have concluded that all post-biblical Trinitarian doctrine is therefore arbitrary (based on or subject to individual judgment or preference). While it is incontestable (obviously true) that the doctrine cannot be established on scriptural evidence alone.”
(Reference: The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 15, 1987, Emphasis Mine)
Are you still wondering why the doctrine of the Trinity became so popular today even if it is not taught in the Bible?
• “THUS, It took about 300 years (after the death of the last apostle) for the Roman Church to give official endorsement to the concept of the Trinity. When the Church, through the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD, gave its decision regarding the divinity of the Holy Spirit, it also gave official endorsement to the concept of the Trinity. Thus, by the end of the 4th century, Emperor Theodosius ‘issued a decree that the doctrine of the Trinity was to be the official state religion of the Roman Empire and that all subjects shall adhere to it.”
• “All nontrinitarians take the position that the doctrine of the earliest form of Christianity (see Apostolic Age) was not Trinitarian. Typically, nontrinitarians believe Christianity was altered as a direct and indirect consequence of the edicts of Emperor Constantine I, which resulted in the eventual adoption of Trinitarian Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Because it was during a dramatic shift in Christianity’s status that the doctrine of the Trinity attained its definitive development, nontrinitarians typically consider the doctrine questionable. Nontrinitarians see the Nicene Creed as an essentially political document resulting from the subordination of true doctrine to state interests by leaders of the Catholic Church so that the church became, in their view, an extension of the Roman Empire.”
(Source: Wikipedia, Nontrinitarianism, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki /Nontrinitarianism (as of Apr. 9, 2010, 18:49 GMT)
For more than 1600 years, people have been taught that the doctrine of the Trinity is biblical, and many people have unwittingly accepted it as the biblical truth, but with the advent of the internet, it is now very easy to examine the events that transpired a long time ago, starting from the death of the Apostles by the end of the 1st century, when the books and letters of the New Testament were already written, to the time before the end of the 4th century, when Emperor Theodosius “issued a decree that the doctrine of the Trinity was to be the official state religion of the Roman Empire and that all subjects shall adhere to it.”
Now is the time to find out who are the real “cults or cults of Christianity” ― the pseudo-Christian religions whose beliefs are unbiblical and un-Christian because their doctrines are not in accordance with the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ that are recorded in the Holy Bible by His Apostles and disciples.
Our 'Fundamental Beliefs'
WITH THE AIM of aiding others in achieving a more comprehensive understanding of the Iglesia Ni Cristo, a series of readings has been developed. These readings encompass a range of significant topics, from the nature and work of Christ to apostasy. We encourage all those who are curious or in search of truth to engage with these articles. They are designed to encapsulate the comprehensive doctrines and beliefs of the Iglesia Ni Cristo.
Reach Out
If you wish to acquire a deeper understanding of our Church Doctrines and have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We would be delighted to direct you to one of our local resident ministers in your vicinity. Kindly include any queries you may have so that we may forward your inquiry in advance. Thank you.
Please note, we only read and respond to messages that do not contain hate speech or insults...
“Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak].”
(Eph. 4:29, Amplified Bible)
“Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured.”
(1 Corinthians 13:4-5, Amplified Bible)