resbak - Right Back At You! » Iglesia ni Cristo

Iglesia ni Cristo buys historic Rylands Hall, Stretford, U.K.

resbak — Sat, 05 May 2012 15:02:49 +0000

Church buys Rylands Hall

reposted. Original is here: http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/archive/11529-church-buys-rylands-hall.html

30 Apr 2012, 13:48

Rylands Hall, Stretford has been bought by Iglesia ni Cristo the worldwide Church of Christ, which plans to return the building to its original use as a church with spiritual study centre, residential accommodation and ancillary offices.

The organisation paid vendor the Leck Group £750,000 for the building in Edge Lane, Stretford. Since its conversion into 7,378 sq ft of offices in the late 1980s, it has been occupied by St Vincent’s Housing Association. The housing association is now based in Brindley Road, Old Trafford.

Daniel Lee, of Regional Property Solutions, acted for the Leck Group. He said: “John Rylands took a leading role in the erection of this building for the Union Church for Congregationalists in 1867 so it is very appropriate to see it being returned to its intended purpose and as such the ‘change of use’ approval was quite straight forward.”

Carlito Apostol, a minister of the church, said: “This building will be used as a place of worship for the members of the Church’s local congregation of Manchester, District of Northern Europe. Members gladly share their faith to everyone and guests are welcome to attend bible study sessions and worship services.”

Doctrinal Comparison: Iglesia ni Cristo vs Roman Catholic church

rbadmin2 — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:18:45 +0000

Here you’ll see the difference between the doctrines adhered to and practiced by the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) and the Roman Catholic church and how they compare to teachings found in the bible. Here we go:

God, the Father

Bible: one God, the Father in heaven
Iglesia ni Cristo: one God, the Father in heaven
RCC: trinity, based on pagan Babylonian triune god

God, the Father

Bible: one God, the Father in heaven
Iglesia ni Cristo: one God, the Father in heaven
RCC: the Pope

Holy Father

Bible: God, the Father
Iglesia ni Cristo: God, the Father
RCC: the priest, bishops, cardinals, the Pope

Nature of the Lord Jesus Christ

Bible: Jesus Christ is man
Iglesia ni Cristo: Jesus Christ is man
RCC: Jesus is God as of 325 AD by order of the Council of Nicaea chaired by Emperor Constantine.

Head of the Church of Christ

Bible: Christ is the Head of His body, the Church
Iglesia ni Cristo: Christ is the Head of the Church of Christ, Iglesia ni Cristo
RCC: Pope is the Head of the Church.

Who to worship

Bible: Worship only God and Christ
Iglesia ni Cristo: Worships God and Christ. Only.
Roman pagan: Worships Mama Mary, St. Joseph, St. Peter, all saints, angels, including their statues, pictures, relics.

Mediator between God and man

Bible: one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ
Iglesia ni Cristo: one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ
RCC: “Virgin Mary” and all the “Saints” are intercessors

Prohibition in the eating of blood

Bible: prohibition on eating blood.
Iglesia ni Cristo: prohibition on eating blood
Catholic: No prohibition on eating blood

Abstain from eating meat

Bible: No abstinence from meat
Iglesia ni Cristo: No abstinence from meat
RCC: Abstain from meat at certain dates

Forbidding to marry

Bible: No prohibition to marry
Iglesia ni Cristo: No prohibition to marry
RCC: Priest are prohibited to marry once they take their vow

A Catholic wishes his church is the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ)

resbak — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:07:27 +0000

The combination “the Catholic Church” (he katholike ekklesia) is found for the first time in the letter of St. Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, written about the year 110.
newadvent.org – a catholic website

The proper name of the Church, then, is the Catholic Church. It is not ever called “the Christian Church,” either. – Kenneth Whitehead http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/churb3.htm

Catholicdefender2000 AKA Ivatan blogger AKA losav

Ivatan Blogger AKA Wakay AKA Catholicdefender2000 is jealous! Yup. And also furious. Why? Because his beloved church, the Roman Catholic church dropped the ball big time. In his blog post at catholicdefender2000.blogspot.com he’s asking if the name if the church is indeed Church of Christ. Well, that is what is written in the bible.

Acts 20:28 Lamsa version

Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.

Why is he jealous and furious? Well, he couldn’t understand why his beloved church, which claims to have compiled the bible named itself the Holy Roman Catholic church which does not appear even remotely in the bible or to put it bluntly, the name is unbiblical. It specially bothers him that some Catholic writers agree with the Iglesia ni Cristo that the name of the church built by Christ is indeed Church of Christ.

When did the Catholic church get its name? Around the year 107 AD, Ignatius of Antioch wrote the following “Where the bishop is present, there is the Catholic Church“. No steadfast follower of the Lord Jesus and the Apostles would allow themselves to be called by any other name than the name of the Lord Jesus himself. It was in the Council of Nicaea, however, that the name of the Catholic church became official.

And another funny thing with the Catholic is the confusion among Catholics themselves. Its simply hilarious. Catholics has a so-called “creed” which they recite every time they go to mass wherein the name they recite is “one holy catholic apostolic church” and some Catholics swear that this, “one holy catholic apostolic church” is the name of their church. But not all call themselves this. They would rather call themselves Catholics. Still others want to be called Roman catholics even if they not even from Rome. It’s a whole bowl of confusion. I’m not going to dwell on the how and when the confusion started but I can tell you it was caused by self-proclaimed infallible Popes (see Second Vatican Council). Still some Catholic writers insist the name of the church is Catholic church. Members of the Catholic church are mostly called Catholics and sometimes Romans.

We all know that church built by Christ is called Church of Christ, emphasis on Christ.

Aquino, sister in tow, begs for forgiveness

rbadmin2 — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:33:16 +0000

Well sure I am overstating. But you can’t help but think that it is a “begging expedition”. Given it was unannounced and he left his security outside the door, I’d say it was groveling

Aquino woos INC

Published : Wednesday, March 14, 2012 00:00

Article Views : 2,820

Written by : Jomar Canlas, Reporter

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/top-stories/19173-aquino-woos-inc

IT was a cordial meeting capped by a hearty lunch that the visitor thought could save what was left of their alliance. In the end, all he got was a “lecture” on poverty alleviation and judicious land distribution.

This was how an insider described a recent meeting between President Benigno Aquino 3rd and Iglesia ni Cristo (INC or Church of Christ) spiritual leader Eduardo Manalo after the former paid an unannounced visit to the latter recently in a bid to win back the group’s waning support.

An unimpeachable source of The Manila Times said that Aquino was accompanied by his youngest sister Kris when he went to see Manalo at the Sentral, the group’s headquarters in Quezon City (Metro Manila).

The Aquinos received a warm welcome from the host and left only after they had lunch. Members of the Presidential Security Group tasked to secure the President were kept outside the meeting area since it was deemed highly confidential.

The Times’ source claimed that Aquino decided to try to make amends with the INC after the group organized a big rally in front of the Supreme Court on February 21 to show support for impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona.

On February 28, the group held a Bible exposition at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila that was attended by close to a million members.

Many saw the supposed evangelical mission as a message to the President and a show of force against Malacañang, which has been working for the conviction of Corona by the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.

Agenda
Initially, the source said that Mr. Aquino congratulated Manalo on the success of the prayer rally at Luneta and thanked him for the INC’s support during his stint as representative of Tarlac province and senator, as well as when he ran for President.

Later, the Chief Executive brought up the issue on Corona’s impeachment, which the INC is opposing. He supposedly explained that he is pushing for the conviction of Corona only to pursue his principle of “daang matuwid [straight path].”

He told Manalo that he considers Corona as a stumbling block to his programs against corruption and good governance.

But the source claimed that Aquino’s explanations fell on deaf ears and got no positive response from the INC chief. Instead, Manalo stressed that Aquino should focus on improving the lives of poor Filipinos.

Manalo also urged Aquino to give his government a clear direction, arguing that the real problems right now are poverty and landlessness.

“Dapat siguro magkaroon ng direksiyon ang gobyerno para matugunan ang kahirapan. ‘Yan ang problema ngayon. Maraming walang lupa at maraming mahihirap [Maybe the right direction is for government to address poverty. That is the problem right now. Many are landless and many are poor],” the source quoted Manalo as telling Aquino.

The Aquinos are sensitive to the issue of land because they own the 6,000-hectare Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac that was recently ordered distributed to its tillers by the High Tribunal.

Corona, in recent interviews and speeches, pointed out that the reason why the President was very eager to have him replaced was because he supported the decision to distribute the sugar estate.

Rift
Aquino’s visit to INC headquarters, particularly to Manalo, was very significant following a perceived rift that was stirred by several controversies, including the impeachment of Corona and the sacking of INC members from the Aquino government.

Aquino, who was still a candidate for president in 2010, visited the Sentral along with his sisters to get the support of the group that commands the votes of some three million members.

The relationship became sour after Aquino won the presidency. He allegedly ignored the INC and the appointments in government of prominent INC members such as retired Justice Artemio Tuquero as Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) representative for the academe were junked.

Tuquero also gunned for the Office of the Ombudsman, but the post was instead given to retired High Court Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales.

Only recently, former police general Magtanggol Gatdula was relieved as chief of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Like Tuquero, Gatdula is an active INC member.

Mr. Aquino further drew the ire of the INC when he allegedly bragged that he could have easily won the presidency even without the group’s backing.

Gatdula was deemed to be the first casualty of war between Aquino and the INC since the impeachment of Corona, whose lead counsel is retired Justice Serafin Cuevas, also an active INC member.

The Times source pointed out that Gatdula earlier tendered his resignation to Aquino as a “graceful exit.” However, Gatdula was humiliated after Justice Secretary Leila de Lima held a press conference where she announced that Gatdula was sacked and that criminal and administrative charges were being readied against him in connection with the alleged extortion on Japanese woman Noriyo Ohara by NBI agents late last year.

Pressure
The INC leadership was reportedly pressured by Malacañang to ask Cuevas to withdraw from the case but when he refused, Gatdula was sacked.

Controversial Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Ronald Llamas allegedly approached a Spiritual Minister of the INC to talk to Cuevas to withdraw from his appearance as defense lawyer for Corona.

Llamas reportedly had a conversation with INC Minister Erano Codera to convince Cuevas to withdraw from the case. Codera is the chief liaison officer of the INC, replacing Resty Lazaro.

When Codera talked to Cuevas, the 83-year old lawyer refused by saying that he was already committed to defend Corona. He argued that as a lawyer, he should defend his client and not abandon him.

INC GEM vs RCC WYD: a question of numbers

rbadmin2 — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:22:06 +0000

“The size of the rally was bigger than the usual INC rallies in the recent past. It could even be said this rally nearly rivaled the visit of Pope John Paul II in the 90s.”
Malaya, March 01, 2012

Anti-INC Catholic bloggers are at it again. This time, jealous of the massive show of force the Iglesia ni Cristo display in its Grand Evangelical Mission on February 28, 2012, tried to spin it saying it wasn’t as big as promised. They then tried to compare it to the Catholic mass held by their future “saint” John Paul 2 in 1995 during what they call as World Youth Day. First of all, before starting to compare two things, you need to at first know some important details about what are being compared. So, let’s just see what we know about the two mass gatherings.

“World” vs Local. The RCC had a “World” Youth day. This means some the attendees were from other countries to attend. The Grand Evangelical Mission of the INC held at the Quirino Grandstand was limited to members who lives in the vicinity.
Percentage of the Philippine population that belong to each religion – RCC, 80%, INC 2%
The RCC did not limit the number of members who can attend the WYD. The INC limited the number to the GEM to 100 per local congregation around the vicinity of Quirino Grandstand.
The WYD was held in only one place, the Quirino Grandstand. The INC GEM was help not only at the Quirino Grandstand but also in Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu and Bacolod, San Jose town in Tarlac, Ilagan town in Isabela, and Pili town in Camarines Sur.

Now if the homosexual prostitute cum Catholic Apologetic insist in comparing, they I’ll gladly concede the RCC is larger than the INC. That does not bother me. Why? Having a huge number of adherents does not mean you are the true church. On the contrary even the Holy Scriptures state that those who will burn in hell are as many as the sands of the sea. So then, you can have the numbers if you want.

One on One brought to you by INC Media Services (incmedia.org)

rbadmin2 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:38:41 +0000

One on One: People telling their personal stories on finding the truth in the Iglesia ni Cristo enlightened them and set them free from spiritual confusion and uncertainty.

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INC Giving: Bringing a bit of aloha

rbadmin2 — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:46:28 +0000

NOTE: This is a repost of a blog post originally published here. All credits go to original poster and owner.

Bringing a bit of aloha to the residents of a local nursing home

Posted by incgiving on Jan 11, 2012 in Blogs

On a beautiful aloha Saturday morning, the devoted members from the local congregations of Honolulu and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii dedicated a portion of their time to the Hali Nani Rehabilitation & Nursing Center. With their heads held high, the young members of the Church of Christ stood and sang for a cause from their hearts to entertain the elderly residents and give one of the simplest but greatest gifts — music. With an inspirational songs list, the audience clapped, hummed and even mouthed the words to timeless classic songs, the oldies but goodies. One member of the audience was so touched by the event and said that the children were all very talented. These young Christians have proven that reaching out to the community creates a positive impact in the community and they intend on doing these types of events in the future. A Hali Nani staff member also stated that this event brought joy to their patients and they would love to see more of this in the future. This is not possible without the help of our children’s parents taking their time out of their busy schedules to diligently make sure our young members were well prepared and ready.

The visit to the care center would not be complete without the local congregation’s Resident Minister, Brother Luis Vergara Sr., and his closing speech thanking the audience for their attendance. All the members of Iglesia Ni Cristo that performed took a bow and said “Thank you and aloha” leaving an impression for a lifetime. The event was a success and has touched everyone’s hearts.

Arena builders confident of meeting deadline

rbadmin2 — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:34:50 +0000

“The Philippine Arena is one of the largest indoor arenas in the world. It covers 245 meters in length and 185 meters in width. However, I believe that this prestigious project means more than its size. It is going to be a historical monument of the Iglesia ni Cristo in celebrating 100 years of its history.”

Here’s a reprint of an article first published on Inquirer.net. All credits go to original writer and publisher.

Arena builders confident of meeting deadline

By Manolo R. Iñigo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

11:38 pm | Saturday, January 7th, 2012

The builders of the 50,000-seat Philippine Arena are confident of completing the billion-peso project by early 2014, the centennial year of Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ), owner of the multipurpose complex.
One of the major facilities in the planned city to be known as Ciudad de Victoria (City of Victory), the Philippine Arena, which I reported in an exclusive article, could very well be considered the world’s biggest indoor domed coliseum upon completion.
Built on a 75-hectare land located in the municipalities of Bocaue and Sta. Maria, Bulacan, the compound will also house the Eraño G. Manalo Medical Center and the New Era University Sports Complex and Stadium.
Construction of the Philippine Arena and its adjoining facilities will be undertaken by an international team of experienced engineers and contractors composed of leading firms from Korea (Hanhwa Engineering and Construction Co.), United Kingdom (Buro Happold) and Australia (Populous).
Said Kim Hyun-Chung, a top executive of Hanhwa Engineering: “The Philippine Arena is one of the largest indoor arenas in the world. It covers 245 meters in length and 185 meters in width. However, I believe that this prestigious project means more than its size. It is going to be a historical monument of the Iglesia ni Cristo in celebrating 100 years of its history.

Iglesia Ni Cristo continues its Giving

rbadmin2 — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:27:31 +0000

From the Philippines News Agency

PIA Press Release
Tuesday, October 18, 2011

INC plants 3,000 trees in Bayog

by Bernadine Astillero-Gabawan
BAYOG, Zamboanga del Sur Oct. 18 (PIA) – – The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) in coordination with the local government unit of Bayog conducted a tree planting activity on Sunday (October 16) at Sitio Quibranza, Barangay Kahayagan, this municipality.
The said activity was participated by approximately 2,000 members of the said religious group from the 62 local church of the 26 municipalities of the province including some municipalities from Zamboanga Sibugay. The group planted 3,000 rubber seedlings in a six hectare portion of Bayog EcoPark.
In his message addressed to the participants, Dermilo R. Pascua, Tagapangasiwa ng Distrito said, “we could no longer find tress in some of our forest, we will plant trees to help our fellowmen, nature and environment. With this activity, sooner it will minimize landslides, soil erosions and flooding to happen,” He further stated that “planting trees is not only for us but also for our future generation to come.”
He said, “after seven years, the tress that we are about to plant will be harvested and it will give livelihood to the people of this municipality.”
On the other hand, Mayor Leonardo Babasa, Jr. welcomed this initiative as this is in consonance with the National Greening Program of President Benigno S. Aquino III.
It can be recalled that sometime in August this year, Pascua coordinated with the local chief executive to hold the said activity in Bayog. The ministers of the district have chosen Bayog as its host in the tree planting activity.
The tree planting was facilitated by Mr. Pablito Matias, Municipal Economic Enterprise Officer and concurrent Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office with the Society of Communicators Network International (SCAN) of the INC. (JPA/BAG/CAL/PIA9/ZamboSur)

The Iglesia ni Cristo continues to show that it cares for the environment as much as it cares for its fellowmen.

World's Largest Domed Arena: The Iglesia Ni Cristo's Philippine Arena!

rbadmin2 — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:57:03 +0000

Reposted from Architect & Design

Populous builds thriller in Manila: world’s largest indoor arena

29 August 2011

Construction has commenced on the world’s largest indoor arena in Manila, Philippines, designed by the Populous.

The ground breaking ceremony was held last week for the 50,000 seat indoor stadium at Ciudad de Victoria.

With a construction value of AUD $200M, the arena has been commissioned by the Philippine religion, Iglesia Ni Cristo (the Church of Christ) and will be complete in time for the Church’s Centennial Celebration in 2014.

Populous has designed the arena with engineers Buro Happold, and construction will be carried out by Hanwha Engineering and Construction Corp.

Project Director, Populous senior principal Andrew James, said:“The building’s capacity pushes the boundary of Arena design and will eventually establish itself as the world’s largest indoor arena. The form uses simple geometry to create an elegant appearance, while also giving the venue a powerful presence within its setting.”

The arena has been master planned to enable a further 50,000 people to gather at a “live site” outside the arena, to share in major events.

While the arena will hold major church gatherings, it will also operate as a multi-use sports and concert venue, capable of holding a range of events, from boxing and basketball, to live music performances.

Images: Populous