Why the Iglesia Ni Cristo Organization (Like Every Anti-Catholic Rival Cult) Should NEVER Be Considered a Protestant Denomination

I’m amazed at how the term Protestant is so loosely applied. Encyclopedias get updated every now and then because errors do enter into historical records. When looking at the history of Protestantism, how many groups are erroneously categorized as Protestant? I remember the entry putting the likes of the Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons (and by the way, Catholic Answers already debunked that idea), Jehovah’s Witnesses, and some people have considered both Aglipayanism (which is diet Roman Catholicism) and the Iglesia Ni Cristo as Protestant? It should be noted that the term Protestant was given to the reformers. The reformers didn’t want to be reformers–they only wanted to be biblical. The term Christian wasn’t even a term of endearment in Acts 11:26 either. Baptists were called Baptists by the enemy, not by themselves.

A Look Back at the Fifth Estate and the Iglesia Ni Cristo Intimidation

I may devote either Thursday or Friday to reviewing some random past events in this blog. I remember being intimidated by arrogant INC ministers some time ago. Fortunately, by God’s grace and intervention, the event never turned bloody. However, the encounter tempted them to punch them which could’ve escalated things. They thought I was a Baptist pastor. One of the ministers warned about punching me. Looking at this interview at CNBC, it’s really frightening. I was lucky not to be at Taft Avenue where one of Felix Manalo’s grandchildren, Eraño Manalo is the current executive minister. INC still denies they did this and let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. However, listening to this, I have my stand that the punched holes were approved by the INC. Take note that I’m writing this out of love for the lost people of the INC.

Nehemiah’s Prayer

As I begin my study on Nehemiah, I remember when I first encountered the subject. I was still a Roman Catholic when I was exposed to the topic. The Bible was something I disliked compared to talking about sacraments, the rosary, and the like. I had a copy of The Children’s Bible written for Catholic children. Now, with a better insight into Nehemiah as a Christian, I’d like to give a better study on the person. Ezra was a priest. An interesting note is that Nehemiah was the personal cupbearer of the king, Artaxerxes I Longimanus. It can be debated by some scholars if Artarxes I was Esther’s child (and hence, was half-Jewish) or Vashti’s son since Amestris’ identity can be hard to figure out. Also, either Hanani was a brother or just a term used by the Jews.

Ezra 10 and Divorcing Foreign Wives

As I’m about to wrap up Ezra 10, this can be a difficult topic. I Googled “Ezra divorce” to help me understand this topic. First, we need to look at some important details in Ezra 10 before going for the divorce. Ezra was a priest and he knew his responsibility. Ezra probably kept remembering what he was told such as how the prophets and priests of Jeremiah’s day, several decades ago, went to judgment. How many negative verses about priests in Jeremiah outweigh the positive. Ezra was seen praying and confessing, weeping, and throwing himself down. Ezra’s contrite spirit before the people was evident and they joined him. It was time for a national repentance. Israel, as a nation, must repent of the interreligious marriages they got themselves into.

Ezra Dealing with Unequal Yokes in Israel

As I’m about to wrap up on Ezra (and one more chapter before Nehemiah), I’m now on Ezra 9. Many times, I hear from my ethnic Chinese folks that I should marry only Chinese because the Jews only marry Jews. However, they fail to get the spiritual context of why God forbade the people of Israel to intermarry with Gentile nations. I’d like to make it clear that a Christian Gentile can marry a Christian Jew. Believers of two different ethnicities can marry. The issue with the people of Israel was that they married heathen women. Many times, the people of Israel fell into this sin when they intermarried with pagan nations. During the wilderness, we had Israelites mingling with Midianite pagan women. During the Judges, the problem of Israel rose when a new generation intermarried with the Canaanite women. The worship of Yahweh has always been incompatible with pagan worship.

Reviewing Dr. James R. White’s Debate with INC Minister Jose Ventilacion

Even if an incident I had with some arrogant Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) ministers was already more than a decade ago, there are times I wish I threw my fist. I was rebuked by a Baptist pastor not to stoop down to their level. Funny enough, those arrogant INC ministers thought I was a Baptist pastor a that time. I watched the three-hour formal debate between Reformed Baptist preacher James R. White (who I admired even while I was a KJV Only) and INC minister Jose Ventilacion.

Ezra’s Call for Fasting and Dedication

Ezra 8 starts with a genealogy, goes to finding Levites in the middle, and from verses 21-36, we read Ezra’s calling for fasting and dedication. A time for fasting and dedication goes for this reason. Verses 21-23 give us an introduction to Ezra’s calling for fasting at the Ahava River. For the location of Ahava, the river isn’t exactly known and may have a different name today. Some commentators believe that Ahava was one of the streams of numerous canals of Mesopotamia that communicated with the Euphrates. Robert Jamieson, a co-author of the Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible comments that it was perhaps the place appointed for general rendezvous in the neighborhood of the town of the same name. The emigrants encamped there for three days, according to Eastern custom, while the preparations for the departure were being completed and Ezra was arranging the order of the caravan.