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 Here lies the contradiction: how can the Catholic Church say it accepts the Bible and yet embrace teachings different from what it contains?
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  Interesting Questions-41

Whom to believe and why?


Letter to the Editor:
PASUGO, March-April 1993, p.3

I WAS SURPRISED when I read the article entitled "Whom to Believe and Why" printed in Pasugo which was handed to me by my Iglesia ni Cristo friend.

I was amazed. How could an ex-Catholic seminarian make a horrible comment on the faith which he had embraced and loved since birth and even patiently studied for eight (8) years? How sad!  What you've learned as Catholic did not reach your heart.  How easy it was for you    to accept and-even believe what the Iglesia ni Cristo is teaching and forget what the Fathers and Doctors of the Catholic Church have shared with you.  If it is hard for you to accept the teachings of Ignatius of Antioch; Tertullian, a theologian; and Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, then, why is it easy for you to accept the teachings of the Iglesia ni Cristo when Manalo, too, is not an eyewitness to Jesus?

I know that this piece of paper is enough for me to write what I want you to know (like, our little brain is not enough to understand the greatness of God's Wisdom), but whatever your answer will be, always remember that God, Jesus and Mary hear all those.

Helen G. Paule
Metro-Manila, Philippines


Editor's reply:

     I’M NOT SURPRISED at all by your letter. I lived in the convent in Marihatag, Surigao del Sur throughout my elementary years as sacristan and in the seminary throughout my high school (Saint Peter’s Minor Seminary in Butuan City) and college (San Carlos Seminary in Makati, Metro Manila). It was not hard for me to accept the teachings of Ignatius of Antioch, Tertullian, Cyril, Augustine, Aquinas, and the rest of the great minds of the Catholic Church so much admired by the world. I was convinced that Jesus was the true God, that God was a Trinity, that Mary the Mother of Jesus was my Mama, too. These I believed because they said so and I showed these beliefs in action with devotion.

     The Iglesia ni Cristo simply showed me that such doctrines are contrary to the words of God as stated in the writings of the prophets of God and of the Apostles who witnessed the deeds and teaching of Jesus. Such teachings are compiled in the Bible, a book also recognized by the Catholic Church as inspired. Here lies the contradiction: how can the Catholic Church say it accepts the Bible and yet embrace teachings different from what it contains?

     Brother Felix Manalo and the Iglesia ni Cristo ministers simply repeat – without neither addition nor subtraction – what the prophets of God and Christ’s apostles taught. Although Brother Felix Manalo is not an eyewitness to Jesus' deeds and teachings, the Bible contains prophecies of him who would restore God’s teachings to its pristine purity because such teachings have been changed, distorted, and mangled beyond recognition by Ignatius and company.

     It was heart-rending for me to have to discard the Catholic doctrines I had embraced so lovingly and for so long, but then I had to make a choice. Should I believe Ignatius and company who teach doctrines different from what the prophets of God, Christ and the apostles taught or believe Brother Felix Manalo and the Iglesia ni Cristo ministers who teach exactly – I mean exactly – what the prophets of God, Christ and apostles taught?

     We glorify God by believing and following His words totally and without any alternation for that it His divine will. We become His enemy by following doctrines of men who distort, change, and mangle His words to suit their own wisdom.

     Don’t be God’s enemy by following doctrines of men, even if such men have the stature and fame of Ignatius, Augustine, and Aquinas. Glorify Him by following His words even if such words are taught by men despised by the world. The prophets of God, Christ and the apostles were also despised by the world but their advantage lay in their being entrusted with God’s message.

___________________

 

Bible Study Suggestion: If you have further questions, please feel free to visit the Iglesia ni Cristo congregation nearest you. A minister or an evangelical worker would be happy to answer any biblical question you have in mind. For the latest Worship Service Directory of Iglesia ni Cristo Locales and Congregations outside the Philippines, please visit www.iglesianicristoworshipservice.com or just click link at home page.

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