![]() Five years later, he is prayed over by leading ministers of other churches including the Catholic Church, like so many kings solemnizing his formal elevation to knighthood. From a small simple congregation in Felix’s native barrio of Tipas, Taguig, his preaching reaches far and wide so that by Jhe is able to register it as a religion with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is enough for Felix to cite these Biblical verses to convince followers that Iglesia ni Cristo is the one true church in the Bible. You are greeted by all churches of Christ.” Binabati kayo ng lahat ng Iglesia ni Cristo (Greet one another with a holy kiss. Kaninong Iglesia (Whose Church)? Iglesia ni Kristo (the Church of Christ).” And he proceeds to prop up his first quotation with Romans 16:16: “Mangagbatian kayo ng banal na halik. Thus Felix sets out to preach: “At sinasabi ko sayo, ikaw ay Pedro, at sa batong ito ay itatayo ko ang aking Iglesia (I tell you, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I shall build my church). Felix argues that he does not have to belong to any church, or any of the existing churches anyway what he will be preaching is the Church of Christ as stated in the Bible. Ata points out that they have no church to preach in, a contention echoed by colleagues in the churches he formerly belonged to. And he expresses a resolve to preach this finding to the world. At the end of this episode, he barges out of his room, announcing to Ata that he has found the church he has been looking for: Iglesia ni Cristo. He spends three days closeted in his room scanning the Bible for answers to his questions. ![]() Into his marriage with Ata (his first wife Tomasa dies earlier), his search for the true church becomes most intense (or that’s how it is supposed to be). Thus Felix goes on a circuitous journey from one church to another. It is in this episode of his father’s death that “Manalo” raises the question: How is man to be saved? Felix is castigated both by his mother and Amo but insists that the last sacrament, like worship of graven images, is not Biblical, therefore, unnecessary and evil. His particular condemnation of the Catholic Church finds a most profound expression in his staunch objection to the Catholic priest Amo giving his dying father extreme unction, resulting in the man dying without receiving the last sacrament. He is thus depicted as a zealous believer in God but unable to find God’s one true church. Into his maturity, he is attracted to a series of study sessions in Protestant churches (Baptist, Methodist, Seventh Day Adventist, Presbyterian, Misyon Kristiyana, among others). At the same time, he is reared as a sacristan of Amo, thereby honing him up on the values of a devout and priestly Catholic. A priest, whom the family calls Amo (a term certainly couched in derisive connotation), takes interest on the boy Felix and brings him to Manila, there to pursue studies. Manalo is depicted as hailing from a poor family steeped in Catholicism. In INC, the words of its Prime Minister are the words of God. What’s left with me is bare self-respect and the right to speak, and if these were still denied me, then what’s there still left to live for? I’ve gone through so much travail in life that I’ve been divested of all my worldly possessions. ![]() The minister cited the case of Ananias and his wife as depicting the sin of “di pagpapasakop” and proceeded to stress repeatedly: “Ano ang ginagawa ng Diyos sa mga hindi nagpapasakop (What does God do to those who refuse to obey)? Pinapatay (They are killed!) Pinapatay!” That emphasis sent chills running down my spine and since then I refused to listen anymore. ![]() In punishment for the offense, God killed the couple. The story went that the couple Ananias and his wife set aside for themselves a certain portion of those proceeds. The last “teksto (term for ‘sermon’)” I listened to told of a Biblical passage in which in the olden Iglesia ni Cristo a directive was agreed upon for members to sell all their belongings and offer the proceeds to God. How do I go about reviewing the film when my rights are limited to achieving supreme acquiescence: “Opo, opo, opo?” To say otherwise is to commit a most heinous offense: “Di pagpapasakop (defiance, simply put).” And the punishment for the sin is horrendous. ![]()
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