The Catholic Church and Iglesia ni Cristo: Major differences

JUL 23, 2014 11:00 AM PHT

ARIES RUFO

MANILA, Philippines – About 2,000 years separate the Roman Catholic Church and the
homegrown Iglesia ni Cristo. While both claim to be of divine origin, the former traces its
authority to St Peter and the succession of popes, while the latter, from the late Felix Manalo,
its founder.
A wide gap of doctrinal differences also separates the two faiths, and in the Philippines, leaders
of the Catholic Church and the INC do not see eye to eye – even politically.
Sometimes, they even find themselves on opposite sides of the political fence, obtaining mixed
results in the process.

How different is the Catholic Church from the INC, and vice-versa?
In anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the INC, Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Cardinal
Quevedo prepared a primer to act as a catechesis guide for Filipino Catholics. Quevedo, a
Canon law expert and a Church scholar, stressed that differences in religious belief should not
hinder unity and harmony.

“The respect we give to the religious belief of others should motivate us to get to understand
those deep beliefs, as this is demanded by the requirements of sincere dialogue. Differences in
what we believe do not make us distant from those who hold those beliefs…among ideas
contradictions are inevitable, but not among persons,” Quevedo said in the foreword.
Rappler summarizes the main points in the primer.

1) The divinity and humanity of Christ.

To the Catholic Church, Jesus Christ “is the Son of God” and the “Second Person of the Blessed
Trinity.” He is the central figure in the apostolic teaching.
For the INC however, Christ “remains man in His state of being. Christ is never the true God. He
is a true man.” That Christ “was subjected to the experiences and circumstances of human life”
is proof that Christ was never God.

2) Central teaching about God.

To the Catholic Church, the Trinitarian Faith guides its belief in the oneness of God. That there
are 3 Persons in God: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, that “equally possess the fullness
of the one and indivisible human nature. This mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity forms the
central mystery of the Christian faith and life.”
To the INC, however, “there is only one God. He alone is God (Ps. 86:10).” Another Bible verse
says “For I am God and there is no other.” As such, “the INC interprets these as proofs against
the Trinity of Persons in one God.”
3) Sources of divine revelation.
For the Catholic Church, there are two: Apostolic tradition and the Holy Bible. Apostolic
tradition “is the transmission of the message of Christ brought about from the very beginnings
of Christianity by means of preaching, bearing witness, institution, worship and inspired
writings.” It occurs in two ways: through living transmission of the Word of God and through
Sacred Scripture.
To the INC, however, only the Bible is the source of divine revelation. “They believe that the
words of God are written in the Bible; that when the Bible speaks, God himself speaks. So when
the Bible is silent, the INC is silent too, for it recognizes no other basis and authority in serving
God except the Bible.”

4) What’s in a name?
The Roman Catholic Church began to be called as such in the 4th century. St Ignatius, the
bishop of Antioch and a disciple of St John, is credited for it when he said, “Where there is
Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church.” The word “Catholic” is from the Greek word
katholikos, which means universal.
The INC, using the *Lamsa version of the Bible, took its cue from various verses in the Holy
Book, where the Church that Christ built is called the Church of Christ, or Iglesia ni Cristo in
Filipino. To them, the INC is the only true Church.
(*George Lamsa authored “The Holy Bible from ancient Eastern Manuscripts.” He based his
translation on Aramaic, not Greek. The Lamsa version is also accepted by the Jehovah’s
Witnesses and the Christadelphians. Apart from the Lamsa version, the INC also adheres to
James Moffat’s version of the Bible. It is the Moffat version that INC founder Felix Manalo “used
as source of the identity of God’s last messenger. “From the Far East will I bring your
offspring.”)

5) Path to salvation.
The INC adheres to the exclusivist doctrine that outside of it, there is no salvation. “To be
reconciled and to be saved, one must become a member. Unless he becomes a part of the
Church of Christ or the Body of Christ, he is not embraced by the redemptive death of Christ.”
In comparison, the Catholic Church teaches that eternal salvation is also granted to “those who,
through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who
nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do His
will as they know it, through the dictates of their conscience (from the encyclical Lumen
Gentium).”
6) Apostate Church.
The INC accuses the Catholic Church of “unfaithfulness” or apostasy. Citing the prophesy of
Apostle Paul, the early Church strayed away from the teachings of Christ. They cite the words of
St Paul, who said that after his death, “men will arise who will speak perverse things to draw
away the disciples of Christ after them (Acts 20:30).” The INC also cites St Peter, who said that
false prophets will preach heresies “denying the Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, by rejecting him
as Head of the Church…and by rejecting His name.”
The INC believes the descriptions squarely fit the Catholic Church. “The Catholic Church denied
the Lord Christ’s headship by putting Peter and the Popes in His stead. It rejected His name,
Christ, by sporting such an unscriptural name as Roman Catholic Church.”
The Catholic Church however, counters that it “has been faithful at all times to the Revelation”
amid erroneous teachings and persecutions. The martyrdom of early Christians in the first 3
centuries is proof of the fidelity of the Catholic Church to Christ’s teachings.
In the first place, if the Catholic Church committed apostasy, “why does the INC use the Holy
Bible that was ratified by the same Church in the 4th century?”
7) Heretical Church.
For the Catholic Church, the teachings of the INC “are a mere repetition of the ‘heresies’ of the
early centuries of Christianity, in particular, Monarchianism (from the Greek word, monarch,
which means principle/source) of the 2nd century.” Monarchianism taught that God “is only
God the Father, thus it denied the Trinity, the eternity of the Logos (The Word, the Second
Person), and reduced the Holy Spirit to a mere force of God, the Father.”

8) Prophecy.
The INC believes that founder Manalo was the Last Messenger of God as prophesied in the
Bible. Isaiah 46:11 said: Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far
country. I have spoken and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed and I will do it.”
The INC considers Manalo “as the bird of prey because the sons and daughters of God from the
Far East are being hindered by the north and the south (the north representing Protestantism
and the south, Catholicism) and the messenger of God has to bring them out of these 2
religions (Is. 43:6)
Manalo also supposedly fulfilled the prophecy in Revelation 7:2-3: “Then I saw another angel
rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God.” – Rappler.com

https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/64045-catholic-church-iglesia-ni-cristo-differences/

Profile photo for James Hough

James Hough
, Studied in the seminary, teach Catholicism to converts.
Answered 3 years ago · Author has 28.9K answers and 12.4M answer views
Well, it’s pretty simple really, the Catholic Church was founded by God, in Person, before He left
this earth. He founded it on St. Peter and his successors, the Popes (Matthew 16:17–19) and
promised to be with it until the end of the world. And He would send the Holy Spirit to guide it
always. Also, He established its seven sacraments six of which are streams of God’s grace -
God’s own life given to you to deify you.
The seventh, the Most Holy Eucharist, is Our Blessed Lord Himself. And so this is how God is
united Himself to us, and us to Himself.
The Iglesia ni Cristo is a sect that was formed in the early 20th century by a man for his own
purposes. Although it calls itself the “Church of Christ”, it is a unitarian sect which does not
acknowledge Our Blessed Lord as God.

All three are "Christian" religions

Catholics believe in the Trinity, LDS and INC churches do not.
Catholic and LDS churches see Christ as a God (although in very different ways). INC does not
see Christ as a God, but as a mediator between man and God the Father.
The Catholic church professes to be the same continuous church that Christ founded while he
was on the earth. LDS and INC churches believe that the church Christ founded fell into
apostasy after the death of the apostles, and therefore profess to be a restoration of the church
Christ founded while he was on the earth.
According to each sect: The Catholic church has a Pope, who has the authority of God, passed
all the way down from Peter. The INC was restored by a Prophet (Felix Manolo) with the
authority of god, but he was the last that will be seen on the earth. The LDS Church claims to
have been restored by a Prophet as well, but claims that the authority of God carried by that
man (Joseph Smith Jr) has been passed down (similar to Catholic authority) and that the Church
today is still led by a living prophet and twelve apostles.
There are plenty more things to compare. These are the biggest.
(imho).

Isabella Flores
Isabella Flores
Apr 25, 2019
https://medium.com/@isabellaf_2020/what-is-the-differences-and-similarities-between-
catholic-and-christian-9f2a97509a63

What is the differences and similarities between Catholic and Christian.

The differences between Christianity and Catholicism are their place of worship. Catholics place
of worship is the Church, chapel, cathedral and basilica. For Christians it's a little different,
Christians place of worship is the , chapel, cathedral, basilica, home bible study, and personal
dwellings. What Catholics believe happens after you die is that they believe you are cast into
Eternal Salvation in Heaven or Eternal Damnation in Hell or Temporal third state before Heaven
for those who desire purification, known as Purgatory. Eternal Salvation in Heaven; Eternal
Damnation in Hell; Temporal third state before Heaven for those who desire purification,
known as Purgatory. Christians believe that you would be cast eternity in Heaven or Hell, in
some cases temporal Purgatory. Some similarities are they both believe that the birth of Jesus
was a virgin birth through god. And that the Promised holy one is the Second coming of christ.
And lastly they both believe that god is the father of all mankind.

What is the difference between Iglesia ni Cristo and Catholic?

To the Catholic Church, Jesus Christ “is the Son of God” and the “Second Person of the Blessed
Trinity.” He is the central figure in the apostolic teaching. For the INC however, Christ “remains
man in His state of being. ... To the Catholic Church, the Trinitarian Faith guides its belief in the
oneness of God.
2 Ways Iglesia Ni Cristo and the Catholic Church are the Same
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHd4BTIas78
Trinity Apilogetics
The INC are guilty of doing the same horrible things the Roman Catholic Church has done many
centuries ago. Not only the two mentioned in this video but both are guilty of corruption,
abusing political influence and violence against protesters. We know the Roman Catholic
Church has killed millions of people throughout its history. There are also serious allegations of
murder and execution towards the so-called Iglesia Ni Cristo. Both churches are man-made
religions which abuse their political power and advance their own selfish agenda.

Both churches change the gospel of grace into a gospel of works. They treat the eternal life—
which the Bible explicitly says as a free gift of God into a reward, not something free from the
mercy and grace of God, not a gift at all, but a reward for the good things you have done. Both
that teach that good works are an essential instrument of salvation. Both teach that you can
merit your own salvation through your good works, that good works are a necessary intrument
of salvation and justification. To be made right with God, you must perform well and you must
be faithful to your church membership whereas the bible says, salvation is by grace through
faith not from yoursleves, but it is a gift of God, not of works. So, just like the Church of Rome
and the INC, the world religions teach that salvation and eternal life as a rewad, not a free gift
of God.