Tag Archives: Cults

Who’s That Knocking At Your Door?

Leave a reply

It was late afternoon when I arrived at my destination—a quiet, old cemetery on the outskirts of Pittsburgh.  I walked up a small hill to a stone pyramid about six feet high.  Each of the four sides had a carved image of an open book surmounted by a cross and crown.  Nearby was a headstone whose inscription read “Charles T. Russell…  The Laodicean Messenger.”  I had journeyed several hours just to see this grave of a man considered by many to be an end-time prophet of God. Continue reading →

Heresy? It’s Simple!

Leave a reply

Charles Taze Russell was nothing if not troubled.  Much of his life was motivated by fear.  It is said that as a young man he would walk the streets of Pittsburgh, writing “There is no hell!” on the sidewalks in chalk.  His fear of hell dominated his thinking and profoundly affected his theology.  He was also troubled by what he could not understand.  What could not be discerned through human reason was unacceptable to him.  For instance, the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity was nonsense to him.  It is no surprise then that when he founded the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in Pittsburgh in 1884 that the denial of hell and the rejection of the Trinity became hallmark doctrines of this organization.  To this day the Jehovah’s Witnesses reject what they cannot understand or accept as rational. Continue reading →

One Door, One Shepherd

Leave a reply

In John 10 we hear powerful and encouraging words from the Lord Jesus Himself: “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:7-10 NKJV). Continue reading →

Get ‘Em Lost!

Leave a reply

I heard a really good Bible lesson recently at the Community Bible Study at ANM.  A good friend, and excellent teacher, Eric Vess taught on grace, basing his study on Galatians 3.  Wonderful stuff.  In this lesson, Eric was talking about how the law causes us to realize that we are sinful and in need of a Savior.  It is so important that people understand this.  As Eric stated, people need to receive the bad news before they are able to receive the Good News. Continue reading →

Iglesia ni Cristo

Leave a reply

It is the third largest religious group in the Philippines, after Roman Catholicism and Islam.  It is known for its impressive church architecture, with ornate decoration and soaring spires.  It is a growing church, and now has congregations in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, China, Latin America, Africa, England, Italy and the U.S.  It is called the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), which in the Tagalog language means Church of Christ. Continue reading →