[BBell]

This is an older article but the story was picked up by my local paper and printed today.

I have never heard of Iglesia Ni Cristo before but it sounds like a Christian cult. This is an excerpt about the Church from another article:

The church, which translates in the language Tagalog to Church of Christ, has been steadily spreading west since it was founded in the Philippines by Felix Manalo, a former minister of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church who experienced what he claimed to be a call similar to those of ancient prophets. He died in 1963.

Often described as one of the fastest-spreading international religions, its foothold in the Philippines grew from about 1.4 million followers in 1990 to 1.7 million in 2000, according to the 2011 figures released by the National Statistics Office in Manila.

Iglesia ni Cristo rejects the Christian doctrine of trinity and believes Christ is one of several prophets. The church is focused on the end times, believes Manalo is a prophet and considers the Catholic Church apostate.

It has a divisive reputation. The church's backing has been viewed as crucial in Filipino presidential elections, and it has been accused of organizing bloc voting in that country. It also is known for its secrecy, rarely commenting on its activities.

[Pilgrim's Progress]

I experienced people from the iglesia ni cristo firsthand . . . yes, they are a cult, and a dangerous one at that.

[MinuteGal]

As the article states, the group is described as a cult. Does this mean it WON'T qualify for IRS tax-free status when they build a church town? Or will the "clergy" go to court to prove they're a "religion" and half the properties should be tax-exempted.

This could be interesting. There could be hordes of illegals heading there all claiming they are members of the "church" and chanting "Sanctuary, Sanctuary!" while building the Wall of Jericho around the town limits.

Leni

[Alex Murphy]

A variety of sources describe the church as a sect estimated to have nearly 2 million members in the Philippines, a majority Catholic nation, and millions more worldwide. Based in Quezon City, the largest city in the Southeast Asian island nation, the church was founded in 1914 by former Catholic Felix Manalo, and leadership passed to his son and now rests in his grandson, executive minister Eduardo Manalo.

The church’s website shows congregations in dozens of countries and 42 states. It includes a listing for a congregation meeting in Rapid City, but the phone numbers were no longer working.

Ping for later

[max americana]

>I have never heard of Iglesia Ni Cristo before but it sounds like a Christian cult. This is an excerpt about the Church from another article: <

I do. I have Fil in-laws and one of those in-laws is Iglesia. Here’s the summary of what he, the Iglesia member told me previously when I was in the RP: unlike Christians they go to church on Wednesday and or Thursdays and they have their own sect. The one point to know is that Iglesia does “respect” the Virgin Mary, but question why Christians venerate her. Draw your own conclusions.

In the RP, they ALMOST win the presidential elections because most people know that 90% of the Philippines is Christian, the only one in Asia. They are so fanatical they are almost banned in the Philippine Army. WHY? The Muslims insulted their sitting leader and the Iglesia-Army commander burned down 5 Muslim cities to the ground. They even have their own university in Manila. Very damn influential. Unlike the robot Scientologists whom I meet in L.A, they are not close behind..

[TurkeyLurkey]

How about just saying “cult”...Christian is Christian and cult is cult. This right here tells you it isn’t Christian:

“Iglesia ni Cristo rejects the Christian doctrine of trinity and believes Christ is one of several prophets.”

[ApplegateRanch]

Just what we need; this does not bode well.

Scenic is a crossroads, less than 10 miles outside the Pine Ridge Res. It sits on one of the two main roads (SD-44) into & out of Badlands National Park; and a main road out of the Res.