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Iglesia Ni Cristo
Cults · Doctrinal study

Iglesia Ni Cristo

A last messenger, a Jesus who is only a man, and the Savior who calls the ends of the earth to Himself

Theologica Editorial16 min read
Overview

An Invitation from a Coworker

“Maybe a friend or coworker invited you to attend a Bible study or worship service of the Iglesia Ni Cristo,” says the group's own media site (incmedia.org, “What is Iglesia Ni Cristo?”). In Hawaii that friend may be a nurse on your shift, a neighbor across the fence, or your own cousin. He is likely to be kind, disciplined, and quick with his Bible.

Iglesia ni Cristo means Church of Christ in Tagalog, and the short form is INC. The 2020 Philippine census counted about 2.8 million members, and its magazine, Pasugo, reports a presence in 169 countries and territories. Members call one another brother and sister, guard their marriages, and take worship very seriously. The INC has no tie to the American Churches of Christ. Nor is it another word for Filipino: most Filipinos are Catholic, and the INC itself says, “We are not a Filipino church.”

Two questions matter most: who is Jesus, and what saves a sinner? The INC says of Jesus, “He is not God but a man,” and it says that “membership in the Church Of Christ is the only means” of receiving His salvation.

Where We Stand

We regard the INC's teaching as a cult in the sense defined in What Is a Cult?: it teaches another Jesus, another spirit, and another gospel. The INC answers, “We're not a cult,” and in the sociologist's sense of the word we make no charge. We are weighing a system of doctrine from its own publications, and we leave every member's heart to God. Labels do not save, and they do not damn.

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Further reading

For Deeper Study

  • Understanding the Iglesia ni Cristo: What They Really Believe and How They Can Be ReachedAmazon Anne C. HarperA missionary scholar in Manila describes the INC's history and teaching with respect, and she asks how Christians can best reach its people. Evangelical. *Pasugo* itself has quoted the book.
  • Iglesia ni Cristo: A Study in Independent Church DynamicsArthur Leonard TuggyA history of the movement's early decades and growth, published in Quezon City in 1976. Hard to find, and best read as history.
  • Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of ChristAmazon Robert M. Bowman Jr. and J. Ed KomoszewskiA clear, positive case from the whole New Testament that Jesus is God. Evangelical.
  • The Forgotten TrinityAmazon James R. WhiteA clear explanation of the Trinity from Scripture, written for church members. Reformed Baptist; we differ on election.
  • Pasugo: God's MessageThe primary source: the INC's magazine since 1939. Its articles are free at pasugo.com.ph, and its statement of beliefs is at iglesianicristo.net. Read what your friend actually believes before you answer it.
  • Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.

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What Is a Cult?

A cult, as this section uses the word, is a group that uses Christian words while denying the Gospel or the God it reveals, preaching another Jesus, another spirit, or another gospel.

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