What is cult? The Oxford dictionary refers to it as: 1) A system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object; 2) A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister; and 3) A misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing.
The first point is on directing one’s worship to one that is not God; the second one is focused on its small quantity, and the third is about undeserved worship.
The Catholic Church clearly satisfies Points 1 and 3, but not Point 2 because of their large number. As we have earlier pointed out, the Catholic Church has many false doctrines; and secondly, true and direct prayer to God is being hijacked by their Rosary tradition of prayer. But we are going ahead of the story.
The question is, does number indicate whether one’s belief is true or false? The point is that calling one’s group a cult is an easy way out to denigrate another’s group without the benefit of an argued assessment. Hence, whether one is cult or not is not a safe measure at arriving at truth. The best is still to measure one’s beliefs against biblical truth or the word of God.
But let us disabuse the mind of this Catholic priest who keeps calling the Members Church of God International (MCGI) as cult for the meantime. This was his answer to the many discussions I had, pointing out that the Catholic Church is fake as it is faking Christ and its followers too low.
I pointed out earlier that the Catholic Church is already a fake church, but it does not mind doing the faking good. To explain, I gave the example of those who might fake Nike products so would try their very best to imitate the product from design, material, flexibility, support to the body, stitching, and sound or looks when used. They would try their very best to approximate the real thing. But this priest was not answering the points I raised. He mainly called the MCGI cult. He even gave his own definition – and later, you will see how he amounts to, because we will be applying his definition against his own church, the RCC.
Originally and etymologically, the word (cult) has nothing evil to imply, but our present day’s fundamentalists and surprisingly even the Catholic Church, existing beyond the fundamentals of the gospel, are using the word to denote something evil. Steve Shott (@FrShott), whom I want to call a lying priest, implied something evil using the same to describe MCGI.
CULT
[Early 17th century. Directly or via French (Latin cultus “worship” < colere “cultivate” ]
Source: Encarta Dictionary
In the beginning, it only pointed to worship. If I, as a writer, were to leave behind for the mean time the etymological meaning of the word “cult” was at work and apply the definition used by this priest, it would not work.
To give him the benefit of the doubt, he describes the word as “denial of even one central doctrine.” These exchanges can be found in Twitter. Here’s Steve Shott tweeting his own definitions -
Delving into the preferred meaning of this priest, let us consider our analysis from the Bible.
The central doctrine of the gospel of Christianity and of Christ is definitely one that is to make known the grandeur of the Father of the Lord!
JOHN 7:17-18
17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
Nothing else can do. What is clearly to be spoken of is the central doctrine of the gospel of Christianity and of Christ, making known the grandeur of the Father of the Lord! Therefore, if you are a preacher, that is what you must do. You must preach Christ and what He has passed down from the Father. If you are a Church, your doctrines must be of Christ – not of Mary, not of the saints who are also human beings.
MATTHEW 11:27
All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
Since the time of the existence of the first man and woman who inhabited this earth, the Father was unknown to everybody until the time of the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ whose central intention is to make known the Father Almighty, the Supreme Being, and Creator of the universe and all those things that exist beyond it.
JOHN 1:18
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. He made known His being.
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. He made known His being.
JOHN 4:23-24
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Christ revealed God’s name and told Christians to worship it – and nothing else.
JOHN 17:6, 26
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
MATTHEW 6:9
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
One sent, like the Lord Jesus Christ, doesn’t seek His own glory. So if you were sent, you should not seek your own glory. You do not perpetuate the practice of people who try to embed their names to be glorified.
JOHN 7:17-18
17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
Christ wants the glory of the Father to be known unto all creatures.
JOHN 14:28
Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
JOHN 10:29
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
To conclude, the central doctrine of the gospel of Christ and of the entire Bible is built on making man realize the greatness of the Creator.
PSALMS 100:3-5
3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
If a cult is a group or a church that deviates or denies the central doctrine of the gospel (accommodating Steve Shott's definition), then by analysis we will find out which truly is a “cult” among the main religious groups that exist nowadays.
Claiming primacy since time immemorial is the Catholic Church. Let us put them in our bathtub of hot water first. Does the Catholic Church adhere to the central doctrine of the gospel in acknowledging God as the most powerful Supreme Being that exists?
The answer is a very big NO! The RCC has placed the Father in equal category with the Son and the Holy Spirit against the central doctrine of the BIBLE.
Here are excerpts in English -
The following verses speak of Christ submitting the Kingdom to God at the end. How can Christ now be greater than the Father? The Holy Spirit is sent, so the sender should be greater than the sent one. How can they be equal then? Elementary! But the RCC cannot see that truth.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:24-28
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
JOHN 13:16
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
They even call Mary “God almighty” and what a fantastic lie! This Tagalog Catholic prayer translates Mary into God Almighty.
Translated in English, this is the prayer to Mary: “Have mercy, my Mother, to us to desire to worship you, honor and glorify you with total love above all, because you are God that is merciful and powerful of all. Bestow unto us, O, my God, your protection and blessings of heart and soul in life and death until forever. Amen.”
Take note that there are two authorities mentioned here, allowing for printing and publication. Take note also of the extreme similarities with extollation of Mary as found in “The True Devotion to Mary” by Saint Louis de Montfort. (We have earlier mentioned this book in relation to rosary).
The tradition of calling Mary as Mother of God is explained as follows: Two hundred Catholic Priests met at Ephesus at their Frist Council in 431 AD and decided upon calling Mary the Mother of God. Their reason is on account of her son, Jesus who is both God and man, divine and human. (Ref: “The Canons of the Two Hundred Holy and Blessed Fathers Who Met at Ephesus.” ChristianClassicsEtherealLibrary.Org June 1, 2005). See? Only their predecessors said so – not God.
They didn’t only demote the Father to the rank of the Son, even worse to the rank of Mary, who confessed in the Bible to be a humble servant of the Lord.
LUKE 1:38 (Bible in Basic English)
And Mary said: I am the servant of the Lord; may it be to me as you say. And the angel went away.
They placed the Father in a situation not found in the gospel in their doctrine that the Holy Spirit is the husband of Mary.
Here’s an excerpted English version of a Catholic teaching that Mary is the spouse of the Holy Ghost. This was taken from “Introduction “ in the book, “True Devotion to Mary” by Saint Louis de Montfort. The site says the book was translated from the original French by Reverend Frederick William Faber, D.D. The book was originally published in 1863. The book was commended by 8 popes and the Vatican Council (1962–1965). (http://www.ecatholic2000.com/montfort/true/devotion.shtml)
ROMANS 1:25
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
John 8.44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
The RCC worships angels utterly prohibited in the Bible. Angels themselves give this prohibition. Angels of God did not want to be worshipped! If you place honor to angels as if they could do something that God can do, isn’t that a form of idolatry?
REVELATIONS 22:9
Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
What is worse is to teach that saints, their persons, their image, and their relics must be worshipped also. Here’s part of their Catechism -
Another truth is that the Father offers salvation without money – and that is at the central doctrine of the Bible.
REVELATIONS 3:17-18
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
ISAIAH 55:1
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
But here comes the Catholic Church that collects money at every turn. The RCC does the opposite of what the Father does. In fact, with the RCC, even forgiveness of sin can be bought by the doctrine of indulgence.
MATTHEW 10:8
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
2 CORINTHIANS 11:7
Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
In the cities, even in malls today, you can see people selling Mass Cards. That is because with the Catholic Church, everything is being sold. Salvation is not free. Below are receipts showing that among their rites, baptism is being paid in the Catholic parishes. And yet Baptism to them is with babies – people who have no need of repentance and who do not understand what he or she is undergoing.
PROVERBS 23:23
Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
The RCC is full of general merchandise.
REVELATIONS 18:12-13
12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
Those that sell doctrines must not only be called “cult” but are charged by the Bible as “false prophets” and “false teachers.”
2 PETER 2:1-3
1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
The idea of praying, kneeling down to and worshiping graven images is just one of the most abominable doctrines of the RCC.
ACTS 17:29
Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
1 PETER 4:3
For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
PSALMS 115:4-8
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
DEUTERONOMY 5:7-9
7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
Just consider these few amid the surplus of invented doctrines of the RCC, with the evidences presented. So which really is a “cult,” the MCGI or the RCC?
Truly yours,
Brother Eli Soriano
