BARTLOME:

Have you tried the churches that have been responsible in the creation of a government that has now
     spawn a country like a "place of milk and honey?"...democracy? The founding fathers of what is now
     we call The United States of America, were unitarians and protestants who were persecuted when
     they were in their own countries bonded together to form a government of the people, for the people,
     and by the people. No masters but free individuals who will decide how to govern themselves. Most of
     them were British people from Welsh and scotland. When they came to America they established their
     religions according to their faith as influenced by their experience in the country they left behind. Out
     of their philosophy formed and influenced by their experience of injustice and persecution they
     suffered in their mother land, they established a form of government that will observe the principles of
     the separation of church and state, religious freedom (not freedom from religion but freedom to
     practice faith according to one's own choice)the pursuit of happiness..the equality of men and women,
     the inalienable rights of men to make their own decision, the freedom to speak, the right to privacy,
     and the process of government with built in checks and balances. They were guided by their faith in
     God through Jesus Christ. What this country had established is a system by which Jesus Christ
     teaching can be expressed. "Out of many, One." This is Christ and God's motto. Through his
     unconditional love, oneness in diversity, of all people coming together as one. Under the government
     of this country there is room for the Muslim, the Jewish religion, Budist, Bahai, and Christians. Slowly
     the idea of "I am the chosen one" is crumbling, and is replaced by ecumenical worshipping of one living
     God. Of course, the star leader of the enlightened Christian faiths is Jesus Christ. I said enlightened
     because through these days there are still those Christians who wants to claim exclusive rights to
     Christ promise. I have been praying that Pilipinos will eventually become free of their fanatical
     tendencies, of getting bog down by the specifics and details of the old religion instead of getting on
     with Christ's liberating truth. Of course, when a group of people get together, they will be confronted
     with the issue of organization. Like the government of the United States, there are built in preventive
     system of checks and balances, of preventive monitoring and accountability, of a system of elections
     by the entire members on issues of importance just as the constitution of this government. Recording
     and checks and balance are built in operational practices that any religious organization must also
     practice otherwise, temptations abound when money is involved. Power and money are two potent
     elements of corruption...more when one is talking of religion. The goal of any religious organization
     grounded on Christ must be to continue his mission: he said it right in his first sermon when he was
     just a young lad, in their synagogue. That would be his first and last sermon in that church. After
     that, he had become a marked man. Know his mission. "Out of many, One." You don't need to be
     affiliated with any foreign churches to become legitimate. Adherance to Christ's teaching and mission
     will be your guide. Worship the Lord with all our hearts, our minds, our spirit, and our strengths. Our
     country needs this kind of faith from her people. It is long overdue. Christ yoke is not heavy. His truth
     will liberate us from bondage. We will become an upright nation if we truly discern his truth and let his
     Holy spirit he had left in us before he went up (not the physical up and down)will be our guide. We all
     have it, and as he promised, has never left us and will stay in us. He is in us. God is in us. Not outside
     us and sitting on a throne like a king. This is the spirit that is waiting to be stirred in us so that we
     can see and learn what we must do to love others as we love ourselves. "If there are two or more
     people gathering in my name," Christ said, "I am in their midst." This must be the aim of every worship
     meeting of those who are looking for His truth and peace. No need to debate, no need to prove who
     has the truth and who has not. Center your faith on God, not on man or men who claims they are the
     messenger of God. Someday, I foresee a Philippines whose citizens would be singing hymns of praises
     for the creator in their little chapels, or even in their houses, communing with God and having their
     spirits stirred to rightiousness. God Bless my country, the Philipppines, Perlas ng Silangan. Goodnight
     Folks!

BROTHER MARK:

     let me air that DEMOCRACY is not equivalent or has no bearing in serving God. God's Government has never been
     DEMOCRACY, and will never be DEMOCRACY. It's always been MONARCHY, God being the very Ruler.
     HIS WORDS being the LAW, and nothing more, or even less; if you are willing to follow my trail, read
     the Old Testament and you will see that the REBELS, who seemed to have
     DEMOCRATIC stand, openly opposed MOSES sying 'will you lord it over to us...etc...' . What happened
     to them? They ALL DIED, the earth swallowed them whole INCLUDING THEIR WIVES AND CHILDREN,
     AND ALL THAT BELONGED TO THEM. It was a SIN TO OPPOSE THE CHOSEN MAN/MEN OF GOD to
     Govern his people, despite the odds that these men may have 'little' faults, for it is God HIMSELF WHO
     WILL JUDGE THEM. This is not tantamount to saying that these men are 'infallible'; INFALLIBILITY IS A
     LIE.

     Democracy has its great merits too, but when to imply that it has relevance to the Government of
     God, is another thing. THE INC NEVER FORCES ITSELF to the People, ITS THEIR CHOICE TO JOIN OR
     OTHERWISE. Never has it been the policy of the CHURCH TO COERCE PEOPLE TO JOIN THE CHURCH,
     Unlike the Catholic Church who used INHUMAN TORTURE DEVICES TO PUNISH the UNWILLING.
     To say that DEMOCRACY has any relationship with serving God, is definitely Untrue.

     The very line of the IGlesia NI Cristo is the same as those of the Original Christians. That Jesus Christ
     was sent for THE REDEMTION OF MANIKIND; but knowing that there are DIVINE LAWS that Christ
     Himself has no right to break, he ESTABLISHED A CHURCH, THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH - CHURCH OF
     CHRIST; the church is his body, and this is whom He will sav. Its heart being at JERUSALEM, under the
     leadership of ST. JAMES, and NOT PETER. But THIS CHRISTIAN CHURCH, fell into apostasy, the
     PROCESS WAS INSIDIOUS, gradually, after the demise of the Church of Jerusalem. the Roman Church,
     backed by empirial power, came into prominence and CLAIMED precedence over the entire christian
     church; the beginning of apostasy started with the rise of the EARLY CHURCH FATHERS OF THE
     CATHOLIC CHURCH, and culminated upon the event that the church officially changed its name to THE
     ROMAN CATHOLIC...

     The relevance of this INC to the Old Christian Church is the PROPHECY concerning its
     Re-establishment. This we believe IS THE IGLESIA NI CRISTO (CHURCH OF CHRIST/CHRISTIAN
     CHURCH; which is to rise in the Far East, upon the islands of the sea.

     As you can see, there are numerous detractors who JOINED FORCES TO DISCREDIT AND BELIE THE
     SAID PROPHECY to nullify and seed doubts within member's thoughts, and also those of the outside. It
     is not surprising at all. You can just IMAGINE HOW THESE PEOPLE WITH DIFFERING AND EVEN
     OPPOSING RELIGIOUS VIEWS HAVE UNITED TO DISMEMBER THE IGLESIA NI CRISTO. As you can see,
     one of them posts a MESSAGE THAT OPENLY ATTACKS THE IGLESIA'S TEACHING, AND EVEN THOSE
     OF OTHER CHURCHES I.E. CATHOLIC CHURCH, YET SURPRISINGLY THEY ALL UNITE TO GIVE PRAISE TO
     THE POSTER, notwithstanding the fact that the said post ALSO BELIED THEIR (ROMAN CATHOLIC)
     CLAIMS.

     You think it over, why do they UNITE AND ATTACK THIS CHURCH? There must be something to it. It
     must be the Truth, or maybe otherwise; then again, the Prophets, and early christians were maligned,
     humiliated, and stoned to death. This is the same with the INC, we are maligned, laughed at, charged
     with ridiculously, etc... Then you will say that even other Churches were treated the same, but ON
     THE WEB, TODAY, NOTHING BEATS THE INC, being the CHURCH UNDER ATTACK.

     You be the judge.