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Sunday, December 30, 2018

The Daily Guardian: Why INC members don’t celebrate Christmas


By: Ma. Beatriz Monteverde
The Daily Guardian

(The author is a Grade 12 student-intern of the Iloilo National High School)

IT is irony, some may say, the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), a church that preaches to be of Christ does not celebrate His birthday every December 25. After all, the birth of Christ the Savior was a day which brought great joy to all people.

The INC is often accused of refusing to remember and glorify Christ, but its members do remember Christ, glorify God, and wish peace- but in accordance with the biblical mandate.

Thus, it is known to everyone that Christmas is considered as special holiday for Roman Catholics, but for the INC members, it is just another normal day.

[Christmas is NOT about the "DATE" (December 25), but rather it IS the CELEBRATION of CHRIST'S BIRTH, nothing more, nothing less.  Thus Christians (of all denomination) and non-Christians UNDERSTOOD it very well that CHRISTMAS is not about the "date" (December 25) but it's about the birth of the SON OF GOD MADE FLESH.  This is why most Islamic jurisprudence DO NOT directly celebrate Christmas as it "goes against the tenets" of their belief ~ that GOD BECAME MAN. 

In the following summary of a YouTube video it says, "It’s no coincidence that this holiday period happens around Christmas, as traditionally it was a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus."

No sane person would think that Christmas is a celebration OF the date (December 25) but rather it is a "coincidence" that the Church of Christ marked HIS BIRTHDAY on December 25. If we celebrate LIFE by celebrating our birthday, what's stopping Christians to celebrate the BIRTH OF THE SON OF GOD MADE FLESH (John 1:1-4,14; Phil. 2:2-11)]

According to an article published at God’s Message, the official magazine of INC, there is nothing wrong with birthday celebrations, but INC stands firm that there is no biblical verse that says Christ demands for His birthday to be celebrated.

The apostles also made no mention of Christmas celebration but taught how Christ wanted to be remembered.

[True to His Word, God did not command us everything. His commandment is simple: LOVE. It's all about love. If celebrating one's birthday is all about love, then there is nothing wrong with that.  Birthday celebration no matter how simple or extravagant it may be celebrated always boils down to one thing: OUR LOVE OF LIFE. God has given us LIFE and out of this we are able to LOVE because we live.  Do you think, God in his immense wisdom would enumerate to us every detail of what should we do? If God would have done that then even we combine all national libraries in the world, the Bible couldn't fit. 

Our God is NOT DUMB as these false preachers of Manalo's Church would imply. Logic would lead us to the TRUTH. How could the evangelists record the EXACT DATE of Christ's birth when HIS BIRTH precedes the GREGORIAN CALENDAR which was only introduced by POPE GREGORY XIII in October 4, 1582. This 2019, the Gregorian Calendar is just 436 years old while His birth has been remembered for more than 2,000 years. Take note, the Gregorian Calendar is the "most widely used civil calendar in the world" according to Wikipedia and it is so convenient for the INC™ to use it as their tool in measuring date including their birthdays and even their founding anniversary.

Let me throw the same question back to these false preachers: If it was not in the Bible, and the Apostles DID NOT teach Christians to remember Christ's birth then (a) Why are they celebrating Felix Manalo's birthday every May 10th of each year, Eraño Manalo every January 2 each year and Eduardo V. Manalo every October 31 every year? (b) Why are they celebrating every July 27th of their founding anniversary if God or the holy apostles DID NOT command them to celebrate?

I am sure, their answer would be the same as OUR ANSWER. Birthday celebrations are all celebrated out of LOVE which is the very heart of the Gospel.]

Jesus Christ commanded to remember Him in his death, not on His birthday, it stated.

[If this would be our very basis on how to know which among the many churches claiming to be Christ's "true" Church including the Iglesia Ni Cristo®  (INC™) they would fall short.  In their own liturgy, INC™ celebrates Christ's death (Santa Cena) ONLY ONCE A YEAR which coincidentally celebrated on December 25 (see Rappler).  Their December 25 too was not even in the Bible.  Was December 25 randomly chosen as their "Santa Cena (Huling Hapunan)" celebration or sinasamantala lamang nila ang malaki at kilalang okasyon sapagkat ito ay araw na may pagdiriwang na ang sankakristianuhan? Who would buy their shallow reasoning while Catholics and non-Catholics (including non-Christians) are celebrating CHRISTMAS as Christ's birthday, they'd celebrate Christ's death instead!

True to Christ's commandment the CATHOLIC CHURCH faithfully remembers His Passion and Death EVERYDAY in EVERY PARISH around the world "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes" (I Corinthians 11:26). And the TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST ~ which is the CATHOLIC CHURCH (according to history and the Pasugo 1966, p. 6; July-August 1988 p. 6, March-April 1992, p. 22) will CELEBRATE HIS DEATH as He commanded UNTIL HE COMES AGAIN.]

Moreover, the article said that “there is no reliable historical that exists pinpointing the exact date or month of Christ’s birthday.”

[That was because there was no calendar yet when He was born but that does not stop us from appointing a fitting date to celebrate THE OCCASION OF HIS BIRTH.]

It claimed that the focus of Christmas had shifted from Christ to Sta. Claus and from “so-called spirituality to materialism.”

[The Iglesia Ni Cristo® shouldn't fault the Catholic Church if some people are replacing Christ's birth celebration to Santa Claus or it turned to be focused more on materialism.  The truth remains that CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT THE BIRTH OF THE SON OF GOD MADE FLESH, not Santa Claus or the snow or Reindeers or Yuletide.]

December 25 isn’t specified as the exact birth of Christ but is originally called ‘Birthday of the Sun’ and the great pagan religous celebration of the Mithras cult celebrated all through the Roman Empire, an article published at Iglesia Ni Cristo blogspot said.

[The Iglesia Ni Cristo® hates the Catholic Church and they accuse her as a PAGAN CHURCH. There is nothing good in the Catholic Church as the Iglesia Ni Cristo® looks at it in any angle even they benefited a lot from the Catholic Church. Evidently, they attack the Catholic Church in radio, TV or in print. Wala nang bago sa kanila. Instead we pray for our persecutors and bless those who hate the TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST which is the Catholic Church.]

Members of the INC continue to abide with the teachings of the Holy Bible.

[Every member of the INC™-1914 should know that WITHOUT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH there is no Bible. And they should always remember that THE CHURCH CAME FIRST BEFORE THE LIST OF THE BOOKS IN OUR PRESENT BIBLE WAS FINALLY FORMULATED IN 382 A.D.]

Eureka Rodriguez, 13, stands firm with her faith.

“Sa age ko, makita ko ang iban nga sadya sa Christmas Party nila. Pero sa bata pa nga edad, natudluan na kami sang insakto nga duktrina. Wala man ko mahisa kay may paagi man kami magpasalamat kag mag-glorify through Year End Thanksgiving namon. Amo na ang ginaka-excitedan namon kung December,” she said.

Saturday, December 29, 2018

INC™ Was Founded By Felix Manalo Says Manila Times

"Manalo is the eldest son of the late INC executive minister Eraño Manalo. His grandfather, Felix Manalo, founded the influential religious group in 1914."  -Manila Times December 18, 2018

Associated Press (AP) & Fox News: Iraq officially declares Christmas Day a national holiday

Sa mga kaanib ng Iglesiang tatag ni Ginoong Felix Y. Manalo noong 1914, ang ipinagdiriwang ay hindi petsa kundi ang OKASYON kung saan GINUGUNITA ng mga tunay na Kristiano na MAY BATANG IPINANGANAK sa atin at TATAWAGIN siyang 'EMMANUEL' SUMASAATIN ANG DIYOS! (Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:23)

Iraqis attend Christmas Mass at Mar Youssif Chaldean Church, in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018. Although the number of Christians has dropped in Iraq, Christmas, a national holiday, is very popular in the capital. (AP Photo/Ali Abdul Hassan)
(Fox News) Iraq's Cabinet formally declared Christmas to be a national holiday as the country's Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus amid tight security more than a year after Baghdad declared victory over ISIS who sought to eradicate all who did not follow the group's strict interpretation of Sunni Islam.

"We extend our warmest wishes to Christians in Iraq and around the world for a very happy and peaceful Christmas," the government said in a Tuesday morning tweet.




According to Reuters, Iraq's Christian population dropped from 1.5 million to approximately 400,000 after the American invasion in 2003 and that number has likely fallen further after ISIS swept across the north of the country in 2014. Iraq declared victory over ISIS last year, but the effects of the fighting are still visible.

In Baghdad, more than one hundred congregants attended Christmas mass at St. George Chaldean Church, led by Father Basilius.

"Of course we can say the security situation is better than in previous years," he told Reuters. "We enjoy security and stability mainly in Baghdad. In addition, Daesh [the Arabic acronym for ISIS] was beaten."

In an acknowledgment of the improved security situation, Pope Francis has dispatched his trusted secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to Iraq to celebrate the Christmas season.

Parolin met Monday in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi and celebrated a Christmas Vigil Mass at the Chaldean Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Baghdad's Karrada district, which has a significant Christian community. He is scheduled in the coming days to travel to northern Iraq to meet with Kurdish leaders in Irbil and to celebrate Mass in Qaraqosh in the Nineveh plains, near Mosul, according to the Vatican.

Christian communities have existed in Iraq since the first century and the Vatican has urged Christians who have fled persecution in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere in the Middle East to return to their homes when security conditions permit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Thursday, December 27, 2018

How Judas Iscariot, Arius and Felix Manalo died?


Judas Iscariot

"He bought a parcel of land with the wages of his iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his insides spilled out." (Acts 1:18)

Arius

"Soon after a faintness came over him, and together with the evacuations his bowels protruded, followed by a copious hemorrhage, and the descent of the smaller intestines: moreover portions of his spleen and liver were brought off in the effusion of blood, so that he almost immediately died." -Socrates and Sozomenus Ecclesiastical Histories, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Series II, Volume 2

Felix Y. Manalo

"As a result of his sacrifices, Felix Manalo again felt his health deteriorating rapidly. His ulcer relentlessly seized him with severe pain that medicines procured from drug stores could not assuage. Consequently, he decided to seek treatment in the United States.

After bidding goodbye to his brethren, he enplaned on August 17, 1955 for the United States, accompanied by his son Eraño and nursing aide Librada Enriquez. Legions saw him off at the airport, among them President Ramon Magsaysay. In the United States, they stayed in a hotel not far from the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, where he would seek treatment. There he continued to receive reports from Manila. President Ramon Magsaysay phoned his concern and best wishes. Then Manalo changed his mind and decided to proceed to New York instead, and entered the Presbyterian Medical Center on September 2, 1955. The doctors who examined him advised surgery of the stomach after curing his diabetes. On September 9, he was successfully operated on for ulcers.

A month later he returned to manila and was once again welcomed by a huge throng led by President Magsaysay. Without having fully rested, Manalo, then 69, resumed the killing pace of his work attending and addressing rallies.

It was only after many years later, in February 1963, that Manalo fell gravely ill. He was rushed to St. Lukes hospital in Quezon City where doctors decided to remove immediately “an intestinal obstruction”. Manalo rejected the surgery, saying, “Doctors can cure only those who are not yet to die, not those whose time has come.” By March 21, 1963, his incapacitation was total and he was transferred to Veterans Memorial Hospital. Doctors operated on him but failed to give him relief from pain.

On April 2, the doctors worked on Manalo again to sew back part of his intestines which had burst and hemorrhaged. On April 11, they performed a third surgery on him. It proved to be the last.

The following day, April 12, 1963, at 2:35 oclock in the morning, the brilliant, tireless and courageous Filipino religious leader who had brought the Iglesia ni Cristo to great heights of glory and prominence, breathed his last. He was 77 years old. It was his 49th year as chief steward of the Church.” -Isabelo T. Crisostomo, Pasugo May-June 1986

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Di raw Nagdiriwang ng 'Christmas' ang mga INC™

WALA RAW PASKO pero tumatanggap ng CHRISTMAS BONUS at CHRISTMAS GIFT sa EXCHANGE GIFTS at nakikinabang sa CHRISTMAS VACATION! Ang daming INC™ ang sumasali pa sa Christmas Parties hindi lang sa Pilipinas kundi kahit sa ibang bansa! #Ipokrito



Maligayang Pasko ng Pagsilang ng Diyos na Nagkatawang-Taong Mananakop!





Thursday, December 20, 2018

'Thinking Members' daw ng INC™ Susuway sa Bloc Voting ng Iglesia Ni Cristo®-1914

Photo Source: PDI
INC ‘thinking’ members to defy group’s practice of bloc voting
By: Ma. Ceres P. Doyo - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 12:04 AM December 14, 2015

SAYING they are “willing to break from tradition,” members of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) who call themselves the INC Thinking Voters have decided to defy the long-held bloc voting practice inside their church and vote in the 2016 national elections for the candidate who they feel “will stand for what is right.”

No longer observing “blind obedience to corrupt INC officials,” the INC Thinking Voters vowed to “speak loudly and clearly” during the elections.

They also exposed the INC’s hand in the government bureaucracy while accusing previous presidents and administrations of “creating a monster.”

In a strongly worded letter to all presidential candidates dated Dec. 11, the INC Thinking Voters said it represented the majority of INC members “who are rebelling inside because we could no longer close our eyes to what is happening in our church.”

INC is known for voting as a bloc that politicians eagerly woo during elections. But the INC Thinking Voters will no longer be silent and passive, the letter said. In other countries, such as the United States, INC members are not compelled to vote as a bloc, according to the group.

The group said it was looking for “a strong-willed President” whose platform would prioritize the eradication, among others, of three evils: bribery and corruption in government, endorsements by special interest groups of political appointees and the “padrino” culture.

‘Root of all evil’

Over the years, the INC Thinking Voters said, its church “has been allowed to grow in size and influence, but as proven by recent events, it now wields more power than the State. At the root of all EVIL is the precious BLOC VOTES (emphasis supplied). The monster is not INC per se but the people who now run our church. The INC doctrines remain pure; it is how they are used and abused by the current INC leadership that has destroyed what was once pristine.”

INC was founded in Manila in 1914, or 101 years ago by Felix Manalo. It is said to have 2 million members worldwide. The present executive minister, Eduardo Manalo, is Felix’s grandson.

Recently, INC was mired in controversy when Eduardo’s mother (wife of the late Eraño Manalo, who had served as INC’s second executive minister after Felix), brother and sister, along with several ministers, were expelled from INC for allegedly airing grievances and issuing pleas for help because of alleged danger to their lives.

Monday, December 10, 2018

May Pagdiriwang pala ng "PASKO" ang INC™ - 1914 (Pasugo Dec. 1956, p. 10)

Ang Pasko Natin…
Tula ni Kapatid na EMILIANO I. AGUSTIN
Pasugo Dec. 1956, p 10

Sumilang si Hesus sa abang sabsaban
Tinubos tayo sa dilim ng buhay…
Tayo’y nagkasala at mga naligaw
Nawalan ng Diyos at kapayapaan…!

Si Hesus ang ating Maligayang Pasko
Ang Kapayapaang dapat na matamo…
Liwanag ng buhay sa patay na mundo
Biyaya ng Diyos sa handog na Cristo…!

Tanggapin ni Cristo ng buong pag-ibig
Tanging Aginaldo ng Diyos sa Langit…
Sa salang marumi’y mabisang panlinis
At magiging dapat sa dugong natigis…!

Sumunod kay Hesus ang mga naligaw
Maamong pasakop sa Kanyang paanan…
Tumatawag Siya’t lagging naghihintay
May laang PATAWAD sa magbagumbuhay…

Iwan na ang sama at magbalikloob
At buong pagsuyong lumapit kay Hesus…
Kung hindi sa Kanya na Dakilang Handog
Walang kaligtasan sa Hatol ng Diyos… !

Oh ! ang PASKO natin, puno ng pagsuyo
Ang Dakilang Cristong sa sala’y umako…
Sa Paskong marilag tanggapin sa puso
Ang Kapayapaang mahigit sa ginto… !

Ang Kapayapaan o tunay na Pasko
Tatanggapin nating Iglesia Ni Cristo…
Iglesya;y Katawan at Siya ang Ulo
Sa sumpa ng utos tinubos na tayo…!

Maghari sa puso ang KAPAYAPAAN
At sa MANUNUBOS huwag hihiwalay…
Sa Kanyang Iglesya’y manatiling saklaw
May buhay at langit pagdating ng Araw…!


Friday, December 7, 2018

The Solemnity of Mary's Immaculate Conception Explained

On December 8, 1854 Pope Pius IX defined the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception as dogma that Mary of Nazareth was conceived without original sin. By this dogma, the Catholic Church confesses: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.” (CCC #491-492, 508)


A brief overview of the history and significance of the feast of the Immaculate Conception which is celebrated during Advent on Dec. 8th throughout the whole Church. The video is not-for-profit, and is intended for religious teaching, scholarship, and research purposes only (Fair Use Doctrine: Title 17, para. 107).

Addendum: "Theotokos" literally means God bearer.

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Iglesia Ni Cristo® ~ "My Church" ayon kay G. Felix Manalo

Madalas na ipinagmamalaki ng mga kaanib ng samahan ni Felix Manalo sa larangan ng palitan ng kuru-kuro sa social media, maging sa kanilang mga programa sa telebisyon o radiyo, maging sa kanilang limbag na Pasugo, na ang "Iglesia Ni Cristo®" o INC™ raw ay hango sa pag-aangkin mismo ni Cristo sa Mateo 16:18 ng "AKING" iglesia o "MY" church. Kaya't nararapat lamang daw itong tawaging "Iglesia Ni Cristo®" tulad ng paliwanag ng isang INC™ sa ibaba:




JESUS CHRIST said so (Mt. 16:18)
"And so I say to you, you are Peter [not Felix Manalo], and upon this rock  I [not Felix Manalo] will build my [not Manalo] church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it."[Christ's original Church will not be re-established!!! Hell shall NOT prevail! It's CHRIST'S CHURCH!]
Wala tayong dapat na pagtatalo-talo rito sapagkat sa kasaysayan ng ating kaligtasan, may IISANG IGLESIANG kilala sa buong mundo bilang TATAG ni Cristo.

Ang pagpapakilala ni Cristo ng "AKING IGLESIA" sa Mateo 16:18 ay hindi po nangangailangan ng PAGPAPAREHISTRO sa anumang gobyerno noon o hanggang sa kasalukuyan sapagkat WALANG IBANG IGLESIANG KILALA na itinatag si CRISTO kundi ang IGLESIA KATOLIKA  (Gk: καθολική Εκκλησία) noon hanggang ngayon.

Ayon sa Wikipedia, ang Iglesia Katolika ay ang PINAKAMATANDA sa kasaysayan...

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with approximately 1.3 billion baptised Catholics worldwide as of 2016. As the world's "oldest continuously functioning international institution", it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilisation. The church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope. Its central administration, the Holy See, is in the Vatican City, an enclave within Rome, Italy.
Ayon naman sa BRITANNICA ENCYCLOPEDIA, ang Iglesia Katolika raw ay katumbas ng pagkakakilala sa buong ka-Kristianuhan sa buong kasaysayan nito:

At one level, of course, the interpretation of Roman Catholicism is closely related to the interpretation of Christianity as such. By its own reading of history, Roman Catholicism originated with the very beginnings of Christianity.

Paano tayo nakakasigurado na ang IGLESIA KATOLIKA nga ay siya pa ring TUNAY NA IGLESIANG tatag ni Cristo at magpahanggang ngayon sa kasalukuyan ay HINDI ito NATALIKOD tulad ng BINTANG ng mga Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints) at ng mga kaanib sa Iglesia Ni Cristo® - 1914?

Sa pamamagitan ng mga turo nitong HINDI nagbabago sa libong taon na itinuro ng mga Apostol sa pangunguna ni Apostol SAN PEDRO na siyang UNANG PAPA ng Iglesia. Sa nakaraang mahigit-kumulang na 2,018 taon ng Kristianismo, si PAPA FRANCISCO ay ang ika-266 Papa ng Iglesia Katolika ~ ang tunay na Iglesiang tatag ni Cristo!


Source: Britannica Encyclopedia
"MY CHURCH": ANG PAG-AANGKIN NI FELIX MANALO SA IGLESIA NI CRISTO®

Wala na tayong pagtatalo-talo pa sapagkat ayon sa PAMANTAYAN ng mga kaanib sa INC™ na kapag SINABI ni Cristo na "AKING IGLESIA" o "MY CHURCH" para mapatunayang may Iglesia si Cristo mula pa noong una (at hindi ito matatalikod kailanman ayon sa Kanyang ipinangako "hindi mananaig ang impierno (Mt. 16:17)" ito rin ang gagamitin nating PAMANTAYAN sa Iglesia Ni Cristo®-1914.

Sa lathala ng The Free Press noong  Pebrero 1950, INANGKIN ni G. Felix Manalo ang INC™ o IGLESIA NI CRISTO® bilang "MY CHURCH" o "AKING IGLESIA"

Samakatuwid, ang Iglesia Ni Cristo® ayon sa REHISTRO nito ay nilagdaan ni G. Felix Manalo bilang TAGAPAGTATAG gamit ang pangalang "Cristo" ngunit sa katunayan ay IGLESIA NI MANALO.

FELIX MANALO said:
Add caption

"Why, who is Quirino? He is a man just the same as I am. I am not afraid of him. Show fear to no man--that is the best way to defend your rights. Member of MY CHURCH were beaten up..." [Confirmation came right from the mouse of the horse! It's MANALO's CHURCH!]

PASUGO November 1940, p. 23:
“There is only one who could build a Church worthy for God.  Who is He-- Only Jesus Christ.  No man-- whether wise or fool, whether small or great-- has the right to build a Church." [FYM is a man, fool, made himself great has no right!]

PASUGO August-September 1964, p. 5, "Ang Katotohanan Tungkol sa INK-1914"
“When was the INK recorded or registered in the Philippines?  It was in July 27, 1914.  Truly the registration says Brother F. Manalo founded the INK."

PASUGO May 1968, p. 7:
“The true Church of Christ is only one.  This is the Church that Christ built.  If there are established (founded) churches today that claim to be the Church of Christ too, these are not real but fakes only." 

READ MORE: MY CHURCH

Sa pamamagitan ng kanilang lathala ay lalong lumilinaw na ang Iglesia Ni Cristo®-1914 ay HINDI  kay Cristo kundi sa mga MANALO lamang. Ito ay HINDI NAGMULA sa Diyos kundi nagmula sa mga Protestante! Hindi sila tunay na Kristiano kundi mga kulto! Hindi maka-Diyos kundi makasanlibutan!

Hanggang sa kasalukuyan, ang mga mamamahayag ay NAGPAPAKILALA pa rin sa INC™ bilang TATAG ni G. FELIX MANALO at hindi si Cristo! Sapagkat ito ay isang KATOTOHANANG hindi mapapalitan ninuman sa mga pahina ng kasaysayan ng tao!

GISING! Habang may panahon pa kayong magtika at bumalik sa tunay na Iglesia ni Cristo. Ito ang panawagan natin sa mga nasa ka-Diliman pa hanggang ngayon na lumapit na sa kaliwanagan ng tunay na Iglesia. 

Sa pahanon ng Adbiento (Advent), ihanda natin ang ating mga sarili sa pagdiriwang ng Kanyang kapanganakan upang sa Kanyang kaluwalhatian ay tayo'y dalisay na makikibahagi rito.

MALIGAYANG PAGDIRIWANG NG UNANG LINGGO NG ADBIENTO!