Posted on 10/14/2013 6:29:06 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
More than 1.5 million people converged on the Philippine capital on Monday for a powerful Christian sect's evangelical event, causing traffic chaos that shut down large parts of the megacity.
The gathering of the secretive and politically influential Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) in the historic district of Manila forced all schools and some government offices to close.
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The Supreme Court, as well as some basketball games in the highly popular college league, were also suspended, while Manila's governing authority urged private employers to give their staff a paid day off to avoid the traffic.
"We really apologise for those who were inconvenienced. Maybe they can just pass this off as a minor sacrifice to help their countrymen," Iglesia ni Cristo spokesman Edwin Zaballa told AFP.
Iglesia ni Cristo, which is believed to have about three million members, held the event ostensibly as a medical and charity mission, with its followers giving aid to residents of huge slums.
Zaballa said it was also part of year-long celebrations across the country to mark the lead-up to its centenary in 2014, and "to spread the word".
Between two and three million people attended the event either as a church follower or aid recipient, according to Manila's police chief, Isagani Genade. The organisers estimated the crowd at between 1.5 million and two million people.
The event is one of many ostentatious displays of faith in the mainly Catholic Philippines, where religious leaders also wield heavy political influence.
However, not everyone attending was celebrating.
In a square fronting Manila's central post office, tempers frayed during the fierce afternoon heat as men, women and children jostled while waiting for medical care offered by the group.
"This is madness. I have been here since dawn to get a free medical check-up...."
(Excerpt) Read more at theherald.com.au ...
In all seriousness they have many similarities with a criminal operation. I can’t say more, but I have lived it.
If one of their members does something illegal they will protect them, including committing more crimes to cover it.
They are on the outs with Aquino now and are stirring up trouble. I wouldn’t be surprised if the U.S. drops some dirt on them in Aquino’s lap.
Protestant Group...People over there are starving for Jesus...
I’m not as familiar with their doctrine as their reputation. They rub a lot of other Christian sects the wrong way as you might gather from some of the other posts on this thread. I’m not sure what’s true and what’s hyperbolic. Probably a little of both.
Author stressed it is now an enterprise making some $200 million a year.
Doctrinally they are seen to be like the SO-CALLED JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, in that they deny, among other things, the Deity of the Lord Jesus
And the similarity to that cult is warranted .
>> I wouldn’t be surprised if the U.S. drops some dirt on them in Aquino’s lap. <<
From what you write, I wouldn’t be surprised if the US ousts Aquino in their favor, considering:
1. they are murderous and corrupt.
2. they seem to hate traditional Christianity but are relatively silent on Islam.
3. they are the most conspicuously Masonic religious sect I have ever seen. (Masons normally avoid identifying with a sect; this group’s logo incorporates the most famous and visible Masonic symbols around.)
I don't know enough about this particular sect which is the topic of this thread to offer an observation, but I do know that it probably isn't a coincidence that sects which own a lot of business enterprises (Amish, Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, certain Evangelical sects) in the U.S.A. tend to be very conservative valued, pro-free enterprise voters whereas those who do not tend to put more value on "partnerships" with big government (prime examples are Islam and, of course, Al Sharpton/Rev. Wright type churches).
What's next . . . trailer parks? [/sarcasm]
Iglesia ni Cristo is not a Christian organization. They deny the divinity of Christ; basically a home-grown Filipino version of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
They aren't rednecks, they aren't fundamentalist Christians, they aren't Christians at all, and practically all of their converts are former Catholics.
Joseph Smith was a Mason, was he not?
That is blatantly Masonic. Just wow.
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