Felix Manalo: Alam niyo ba?

Larawan mula sa Splendor of the Church

Dating Sabadista ngayo'y kaanib na ng Iglesia ni Cristo - Kwento ni Jason Liske

Si Felix Manalo po, ang nagtatag ng kanyang sariling Iglesia (INC) na minsa'y naging pastor ng mga Sabadista ay maraming mga patotoong hango kay Ellen G. White, ang tagapagtatag ng The Seventh-Day Adventists o mas kilala sa pangalang "Sabadista".

Narito po ang kwento ni Jason Liske mula sa Ascent of Carmel blog kung saan inilalahad niya ang lasong sumira sa kanyang tiwala sa tunay na Iglesia ni Cristo-- ang Iglesia Katolika!

My Journey From Seventh-Day Adventism to the Catholic Church

Ellen G. White

I've been told that to go from being a Seventh-Day Adventist to a Catholic Christian is quite the leap. It really is - the Adventist movement is so very Protestant that it even views Protestants as in error.

If you're unfamiliar with Adventism, let me give you a brief primer: it has essentially morphed into an evangelical movement, but it originally began as a restorationist-style outgrowth of its time. Its chief distinguishing marks are the observance of the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday), vegetarianism and healthy living, a heavy focus on the Second Coming of Christ and apocalyptic eschatology, and a peculiar prophetess named Ellen G. White. All of these aspects of the tradition one can search out for themselves.

But what is highly bizarre when I look back on it is the fact an Adventist would become a Catholic. A quick investigation into the history and doctrines of Adventism reveals it at once to be extremely antagonistic towards the Catholic Church. In fact, it is so very much so, that it refers to the Church in all manner of malicious terms - the Beast, the harlot, Babylon, the antichrist, and the like. Moreover, I remember being taught that the Catholic Church would enact Sunday laws that would force Adventists to worship on Sunday.

This is the faith that I grew up in. Over time, the Catholic Church turned into a terrifying and dark force in my view. The imagery of it all I viewed as garish and gorey, guilt-inducing and meant to frighten. As a child, I viewed the Mass as a place of bizarre repetitious chanting where the laity wore white robes and understood very little of what was going on. Catholics drank and smoked, and for an Adventist like myself, this I viewed as shocking for Christians to do. To top it all off, there was the Pope, sitting on his evil throne in Rome, just biding his time before launching some kind of world-wide new world order of persecution.