What is the difference of iglesia ni cristo from other religion?

Answer 1

The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) upholds the belief that the Holy Bible, consisting of the Old Testament and the New Testament, is the sole basis of faith; therefore, they reject the Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical books, which actually contradict several verses in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Islam believes that there is only one true God, whom they call Allah, and their sacred book is the Koran. The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) believes that there is only One True God as well; however, they call God the Father in Heaven, the LORD, the Almighty Father, the All-Powerful, and/or simply God, and not Allah, and the sacred book of the INC is the Holy Bible, not the Koran. Catholics and Protestants believe in the Trinity Doctrine: that the true God is made up of the Father in Heaven, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, whereas the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) believes that God is the Father in Heaven, the Son is Christ Jesus and a man (not a spirit, but a man that is made of flesh and bones), and the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, the Helper, and the Spirit of Truth that helps the people of God in their times of troubles and tribulations and helps God's true servants remain strong in the faith. Hindus have developed a caste system, which indicates that they believe in inequality among all human beings; the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) believes that all human beings are equal in the eyes of God. Muslims practice fasting, while INC members frown upon fasting, because they believe that God is not pleased if His people do not use their blessings wisely. Therefore, if a person has food and yet they do not eat the food, God would be displeased, because the food is a blessing given by God. Putting the food to waste is like putting God's blessing to waste. In the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ), baptism is done by immersion; there are other religions that sprinkle water on the head of the person that is being baptised, rather than immersing them underwater. Hindus and Zoroastrians believe in three gods; most Buddhists & Taoists believe in no god; Egyptians believe in more than three gods; ancient Greeks & Romans believed in more than three gods; Hebrews/Jews believe in one God, but they refer to him as Elohim, El Shaddai, and other kinds of names. Eating of blood is forbidden for INC members to do. The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) ministers use only and ONLY the Holy Bible as the sole basis of faith. Whenever a person asks him a question regarding biblical, religious or spiritual matters, the minister would answer the question by citing verses from the Bible, rather than giving their own personal opinion. The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) is ORDERLY. Before the worship service, the INC members go inside the chapel and take their seats, and after the worship service, they go outside without rushing, but at a casual or sometimes even slow pace. The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) does not worship graven images or idols; Muslims do not do this either, but Islam is still nowhere near to the same as the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ). INC holds worship services, Bible studies, blood donation drives (INC members may volunteer to donate blood to those who need it), calamity preparation and family planning seminars (they make preparations and plans for the families, in case a calamity, such as a typhoon or an earthquake, occurs), community clean-up drives (they clean the environment by ridding the roads/sidewalks of litters and such), evangelical missions (evangelical missions are made for people who are non-INC members to have the opportunity to hear the teachings of God), special worship services (this occurs occasionally), unity games (sports games are played between different locales and/or districts, such as chess, basketball, volleyball, badminton, etc.), and meetings. Before a man is ordained as a minister, he needs to enroll in the College of Evangelical Ministry (CEM) and as a result, he will be called a Bachelor of Evangelical Ministry (BEM) student. Before a person may be baptised in the Church, they need to undergo 27-28 lessons that regard the basic doctrines and teachings of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ). After that, they need to fill in some information, such as their name, age, gender, the reason why they are joining the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ), etc.. Then, they need to pass the screening test, where a minister asks them a question or two about anything regarding the beliefs of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ). Finally, all they will have to do is just wait for the day of the event of the baptism. On this particular day, they are to be dressed in a white sort of robe and they line up with the other people are going to get baptised, too. When it is their turn, they walk into a pool of water, which is rather shallow, and then there, they get immersed, with the aid of two people who are assigned to immerse the people. In each pool, there are more than three pairs of people who are assigned to do this. After being immersed, the now baptised person may be released and is to change into different formal clothes. But the thing is, one needs to have faith; they need to personally accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, but that is not it. Faith alone cannot save man, and faith alone is considered dead. Therefore, faith needs to be coupled with works; they shall prove that they have faith through actions. INC members are expected to be united and not separated from one another, for brotherhood is a belief that is upheld by the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ). The INC members who are married are part of the BUKLOD group; those who are 18 & over but are not married are part of the KADIWA group; members who are 17 & under are part of the BINHI group; the people who are young and have not been baptised are regarded as children, and these children are required to attend the Children's Worship Service (CWS) every week, particularly on Sundays. There are various offices a member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) may take, such as a BUKLOD/KADIWA/BINHI officer (president/vice president/secretary/auditor/treasurer/other(s)), a choir member, a CWS teacher (allowed for both men and women), a CWS watcher (a person who watches over the children during the CWS and occasionally collects the voluntarily offerings given by the children),a deacon (male), a deaconess (female) (deacons and deaconesses collect the voluntarily offerings from INC members during the worship service), a finance officer (a person that counts the offerings given by the INC members), a minister (exclusively male), etc.

And the list goes on.