An ADD Inquires About Catholic Practice of Kneeling Before Graven Images

By Fr. Abe Arganiosa

Link: http://thesplendorofthechurch.blogspot.com/2009/11/add-inquires-about-catholic-practice-of.html

ARK OF THE COVENANT, replica

Anonymous said…

why do you kneel on graven images?

November 25, 2009 1:18 AM

Fr. Abe, CRS said…

Because God ordered Moses and Solomon to make graven images to be put inside the Temple, the Altar, the Sanctuary, the Tabernacle and the Holy of Holies.

The Bible has presented a lot of passages describing the Temple designed by God as full of images of Cherubims, Flowers, Palms, Fruits, Bulls, Lions, etc. These are all images in the Temple of God. One of which and the most popular is the ARK OF THE COVENANT with two large graven images of Angels sculpted in wood and gold.

You can check my presentation on Sacred Images, in the topics listed on the right side of this blog.

Then Solomon KNELT in front of the Altar [1 Kings 8:54] while Joshua KNELT before the Ark of the Lord [Joshua 7:6].

ELI SORIANO IS TEACHING THAT THE ADD MEMBERS KNEEL BEFORE THE SUN. THEIR WORSHIP IS FACING THE EAST. NOW, WHERE CAN YOU FIND IN THE BIBLE THE TEACHING THAT THE BELIEVERS OF GOD MUST KNEEL FACING THE SUN? He, he, he…. Where? Chapter and Verse please. He, he, he…

If we will use your reasoning, the ADD members are PAGANS. They are worshipping THE SUN. They are doing exactly what the worshippers of the Sol Invictus before the coming of Christianity. He, he, he…. INTERESTING ISN’T IT?

November 25, 2009 9:17 AM

The Splendor of the Church TV Program: “The Primacy of Peter, part 1” Feb. 16, 2008

Bro. Obeth Apin and Bro. Franz Luigi Lugena during the program

Last February 16, 2008 The Splendor of the Church team started discussing THE PRIMACY OF PETER using 50 Biblical passages given by the American Catholic apologist Dave Armstrong. We started discussing the passages one by one starting from the 3 basic ones. Although each one shared their own research and studies on each passages here are some of the highlights:

1. Matthew 16:18-19

18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Fr. Abe interconnected this passage with Isaiah 22:15-25 wherein the key of the kingdom of David was passed from Shebna to Eliakim. The passages speaks of the keeper of the key as the steward or caretaker or major domo of the royal palace. Just like the Kings of the Old Kingdom of David having their Prime Ministers by giving them the royal key of power, Jesus the New and Everlasting King of Israel made the Apostle Peter the Steward or Prime Minister of the New Kingdom of David which is the Church.

Bro. Obeth added that the power to bind and to loose is a rabbinic terminologies which means having authority on faith and morals. To have the power to teach with authority, to determine what is right or wrong doctrinally and morally and to be the spiritual and administrative leader of the people of God. Such power is given to all the Apostles in Matthew 18:18 but it is given first and foremost and definitively to St. Peter. He argues that since Jesus is God He has to return to His glory in Heaven and the Church here on earth necessitates a leader to guide it in the right path. So the Lord had chosen Peter to be His steward or president of the Church to keep it in unity, harmony and peace.

2. Luke 22:31-32

31And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Here, Bro. Franz argued that in verse 31 he noticed that the pronoun ‘you’ is plural in many translations. He consulted the great Biblical scholar of the Bicol Church, Msgr. Noe de los Santos and he said that the original Greek text really shows that it is in plural form. It means that Satan wants to destroy all members of the Church. Yet when Jesus spoke in verse 32 He prayed only for Peter. Peter’s strength is enough to strengthen all the brethren. This categorically shows that Peter is the head of the Church after Jesus and that he is the leader of all the believers.

3. John 21:15-17

15So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Franz continued discussing the topic and had a hearty sharing of ideas with Fr. Abe even after the program.

One texter sent a question: Yes, it is written in Matthew 16:18-19 that Peter was given the Keys of the Kingdom. But it is not stated there that the Keys were handed later on to the Popes. Where in the Bible does it says that other people also received the power handed to Peter?

First, we have to bear in mind once again the connection between Matthew 16:18-19 and Isaiah 22. In Isaiah 22 the Key was transferred from Shebna to Eliakim. For us Filipinos it is not so obvious but for Jews who were the first beneficiaries of Matthean Gospel it was clear as the sun that Jesus re-established the Kingdom of David in Matthew 16 and that He had chosen St. Peter to be the Prime Minister of the Kingdom and that authority just like in the Old Testament must be passed on from one keeper to the other. Much more the Bible is clear that the BISHOPRIC of the Apostles must continue after their death, that a successor must be chosen to continue their works and their authority:

Acts 1:15-20

15And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) 16Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. 17For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. 18Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. 19And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. 20For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take.

If the traitor Judas Iscariot must be replaced by another who must takeover his BISHOPRIC, then it must also be for PETER THE KEEPER OF THE KEYS. Thus, we Catholic calls every Bishop of Rome as THE SUCCESSOR OF PETER.

CONVERSION OF FORMER ADD PREACHER/ GREETINGS & REACTIONS RECEIVED FROM E-MAIL

Sounding the Horn of Jubilation

Ever since the appearance of Bro. Obeth Apin in The Splendor of the Church the program and its host received a lot of congratulatory words from the faithful of Sorsogon and from friends accross the nation and even some from abroad. First of all, our gratitude must be directed to God, who is the only one who can convert the heart of men and the only one who can transform the heart of a lion into a lamb.

However, the reason for rejoicing even for just a single soul returning to the Mother Church must be a balm to the heart of each Filipino Catholics because we are used to hear or see a fellow Catholic who had left the faith of our fathers and rarely see one who has returned and shout it on mountain top. We at Defensores Fidei Foundation http://www.defensoresfidei.com/ experienced the same joy for Sis. Shirley Montreal, for Bro. Jojo and many others who crossed the Tiber. This sense of jubilation is not original of us but coming from the Greatest Father of all who, in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, looked at the window and seeing His returning son showered him with Paternal embrace and kisses.

Thus, with the Queen-Mother and all the clouds of witnesses [Hebrews 12:1] I say: “MY SOUL PROCLAIMS THE GLORY OF THE LORD, MY HEART REJOICES IN GOD MY SAVIOR. FOR HE HAS LOOKED WITH FAVOR ON HIS LOWLY SERVANT!” [cf. Luke 1:46-48]

Also, I want to thank those who had sent their heartfelt message of joy and thanksgiving for the wonders that the Lord has done.

A Knight in Battle Gear

On the other hand, being a minister of God and a bearer of His gospel I have to keep in mind that I am a soldier of Christ – His warrior and knight. A knight doesn’t just sit on his laurel and victory but someone who immediately proceed to another stage of the struggle until he reached his ultimate destination: JERUSALEM – The Mother Zion, The Mother Church and The Heavenly City!

Just like the countless missionaries working in different mission fields in the world, just like the innumerable faithful priests and nuns working in the vineyard of the Lord and just like the indefatigable Catholic apologists in the world I must not rest until the Holy Mother Church will truly shine before the eyes of every people and nation as THE SPLENDOR OF GOD!

Revelation 21:9-11 One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal.

As a Somascan religious this is of primary importance to me because regularly we recite the spirit-filled prayer composed by our father and founder, ST. JEROME EMILIANI: “Lord Jesus, sweet father of us all. In your infinite goodness restore the whole Church to the holiness of life during the times of the Apostles. Hear us O Lord because You are kind and merciful…”

A shepherd on a narrow path

A shepherd is not satisfied on the fact that his sheep is ninety-nine. He climbs the hills to find the missing. He surveys the surroundings and exert every effort to seek the lost. Once they are complete he will once again cross the narrow path and climb the same hill to seek a greener pasture for his flock. He will survey the surroundings again to check and better defend them from any attacks. THIS WE MUST DO UNTIL THE GREAT SHEPHERD RETURN, AT LAST!

THE GREETINGS: [My response is written in blue]

As a sign of gratitude to our greeters who sent their messages through e-mail I hereby post here their words without giving their full names because it will be very difficult for me to ask their permission one by one. Hope they will not be angry. If ever there will be complain I will be very willing to offer apologies and immediately remove their statement. Here they are:

Check out Fr. Abe’s blog. We have another ADD convert to Catholicism. A former ADD Pastor who was trained in Apalit Pampanga and a card carrying Pastor now a Catholic. A product of Fr. Abe’s dedication to his Splendor of the Truth TV and radio programs in Sorsogon.Keep it up Fr. Abe. from Henry S.

wow, tHANKS the Lord and FR.Abe,THIS IS GREat news from PRINZ LUV

CONGRATS FATHER! The Holy Spirit does work in mysterious ways! May God continue to bless and use you as instrument for His works. from Filipino Catholic

That’s great! I think maybe they have the same testimony with Sis. Shirley Monreal why he left ADD. Prayer works! I have read Fr. Abe’s blog and it is God’s blessing to have a priest like him, he defends the church against the accusations of other religions. One thing that amazed me is he can still managed the radio and TV station in Sorsogon despite of the region’s economic condition. In Sorsogon, there are only two TV stations, one is AITV 5, which where he operates and Channel 11 which is owned also by the local Diocese but right now is operated by ABC 5, other major stations are received from Legaspi, Albay. Media is one of the effective tool to spread the truth, I hope that we have also our own free TV station here in Manila. The National Telecommunications Commission granted Channel 35 (Which near Channel 37 of ADD and Channel 39 of Quiboloy), to be used by the Church under the operation of Delta broadcasting System of El Shaddai but unfortunately, it is still inactive until now and let’s pray for its operation. Your brother in Christ and in the truth, James B.

ALL GLORY BE TO THE LORD JESUS, WHOSE SPIRIT IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN CHANGE MINDS AND CONVERT HEARTS TO GOD OUR FATHER! Mr. Apin already left the ADD even before we met. He left them for doctrinal reasons after realizing that the major doctrines that they were previously proclaiming had been changed by Soriano to suit to his or his relatives personal needs. The contribution of our apologetic program, The Splendor of the Church, was to inspire him to come out into the open and proclaim to the people of Sorsogon that he had indeed left the ADD and that now he has returned to the Catholic Church but still on the process of studying its history and doctrines. The guy is voluntering to be trained as a Catholic apologist. Like Shirley the Lord will perform wonders out of this guy. Yes, there are two TV stations in Sorsogon. One is AITV5 which is running for the past 7 years and Channel 11 of the Diocese of Sorsogon, that opened only about 2 or 3 months ago, run by ABC 5. Our AITV5 refused to deal with the big media corporations because to have a partner is to have a master. AITV5 is an educational media arm of the Aemilianum College and is not commercial. Our reporters, researchers, cameramen, technicians and staff are 99% students of Electronics Engineering, Mass Com, Information Technology, Education, etc. We don’t want the media moguls to dictate our programs and we will not allow their anti-Catholic programs penetrate our station. Three of our Somascan priests are also helping the Diocesan media, serving as radio hosts of the call in radio program at DZGN-Spirit FM: Hello, Father! They are Fr. Augusto Dingal, CRS, Fr. Lino Juta, CRS and Fr. Abe, CRS. Let us pray that more Catholic TV & radio stations will be successfully opened in the entire archipelago. Fr. Abe, CRS

Kudos to Father Abe! Congrats po for this conversion. God must be well-pleased! I agree with bro. James and Sir Henry.. Keep it up Fr. Abe! We’re proud of you and happy too. You are always on my prayers, the DFF and Apologia and our apologetics work.Hope to see you soon. God bless po sa inyo. Your sis,Lou

To Fr. Abe: Congrats! What’s your secret? from Cristina M.

Sis. Cristina, GRACE AND PEACE! Here is the secret! St. John the Beloved called the attention of St. Peter and shouted: ‘IT IS THE LORD!’ [John 21:7]. The proclamation must be focused on the Lord, not on the person of the apologist and the apostolate must be motivated by deep love of the Lord and of His Church. Yes, IT IS THE LORD! Fr. Abe, CRS

Amen, Fr. Abe.Thanks for the inspiring message. I always get inspired by your posts. God bless you and Mary keep you! Claire N.

Kudos to Father Abe! Congrats po for this conversion. God must be well-pleased! I agree with bro. James and Sir Henry.. Keep it up Fr. Abe! We’re proud of you and happy too. You are always on my prayers, the DFF and Apologia and our apologetics work.Hope to see you soon. God bless po sa inyo. from Sis, Lou

Dear Fr. Abe,Defensores Fidei is indeed blessed to have you in our little ‘sheepfold.’You know one of my DFF pipe dreams is to have a Philippine and/or Asian editionedition of Marcus Grodi’s “Journey Home.”Surely, the return to Holy Mother Church of Sis. Shirley and now this ADDPreacher ought to be included in this future series… from Tom B.

Praise the Lord. Indeed, if I would have the chance to meet the former manggagawa, I would be very glad to and perhaps we can share each others’ testimonies. I am definitely intrigued. It was for the same reasons as to why I left that sect: the ever-changing doctrines that for through the years have beguiled countless members. I have endured countless tribulations, and I personally believe it is now time for me to work more actively for the glory of God. By the way, his name is kinda familiar.St Catherine of Siena, pray for us.UIOGD,Shirley

Fr. Abe, Its a great work you have in Sorsogon, I have read the book published by these Born Again Christians featuring Gary V. and co. it was given to me by my wife hoping that I would convert to their faith, the book was nothing compared to Surprised by Truth and which I also gave her to read, their conversion stories were purely experiential and they seldom refer to the bible verses unlike the Surprised by Truth there were so many references to the bible why they convert to the Catholic Church they have seen that the Catholic teachings and practices are in the bible and they will say that the Holy Spirit guided them to the truth some refererred to history of the Church which they traced back to the apostles. Maybe these Born Again Christians did not know someone who came back to the Catholic Faith a revert for short. We really need to publish our local version of Surprised by Truth or Journey Home. Fr. Abe, I might be visiting the Bicol region this year, my wife is from Legazpi City her parents were still Catholic. Maybe I could visit you. How long is it to travel from Lagazpi to your location? Yours in Christ, Rosel

Dear Bro. Rosel, GRACE AND PEACE! Our school, Aemilianum College [pronounced Emilianum] is an hour away from Legazpi City. Hope to see you soon here in Sorsogon. If you want we can tape an interview with you or you can appear with me on our TV for apologetic discussion or simply narrate your apologetic apostolates. What do you think? Fr. Abe, CRS

Fr. Abe, Thats a nice idea! Maybe I can share my experiences to you listeners in Sorsogon. We are planning this December during the Christmas break, we will be in Bicol for two weeks. Thanks Fr. Abe may your work in Sorsogon bear many fruits! May God bless us! Always in Christ,Rosel

Dear Father Abe,Like Sir Tom, you are indeed a (great) blessing to us. I’d like to ask your permission to include your blog site to my own website. Is it ok?You’re always in my prayers po. God bless you and your fruitful apostolate in your place! Claire

Thanks be to God! He should really be writing about itand let ADD members and the others who read it. Somepeople now are thinking that there are just twochoices left, one is INC and the other is ADD. This isreally something to be written about.Thanks,Rogie

May God be upon him who has found the path back to God’s flock. May the Holy Spirit dwell with Father Abe and continue to be God’s instrument to call more of God’s lost sheep back home. The Angels and the Saints of heaven are all rejoicing with God our heavenly king, because one of his sons who was lost is now in communion with His kingdom. More blessings to you Father Abe! from Patrick C.

Magandang araw po sa inyo Father Abe. Una sa lahat gusto ko kayong pasalamatan sa patuloy na paglilingkod ninyo sa bayan ng Diyos sa pamamagitan ng inyong programang Splendor of the Church. Sana ay dumami pa ang mga tao na nagtuturo ng mga doktrina ng ating simbahan sa paraang vernakular at madaling maunawaan ng mga tao. Upang sa gayon ay lalong tumibay sa pananampalataya ang mga kapatid natin sa Iglesia. Sana ay magpatuloy pa ang inyong mabuting gawain. Maraming Salamat. from Franz Luigi L.

Check out this link folks, Bro. Obeth narrates the reasons why he converted to the Catholic Faith. Medyo bitin lang yun story. ABANGAN ANG SUSUNOD NA KABANATA.hehehe. .Fr. Abe has a good way to excite us..hehehe. from Filipino Catholics

Return to the Faith of Ang Dating Daan [ADD] Preacher

Mr. Angeles Apin, former ADD preacher

Through the grace of the Holy Spirit my posting has finally resumed after four days of slumber due to failure of our internet server to provide service. Here in Sorsogon the company providing the service, Digitel, is still so antiquated; it still relies on wirings for connections. Unfortunately, thieves frequently cut those wire and in effect we are also frequently deprived of internet connections. Imagine, Digitel only has one line to rely on; once that line malfunctions then the entire city suffers. May the Lord grant them the grace to establish an alternative line so that in case of emergency they can switch to another as soon as possible.

Anyway, so much for that!

Last Saturday September 1, 2007 our religious program The Splendor of the Church has finally presented to the public the much expected convert or revert to the Catholic Faith. For several days his identity was kept top secret but now he courageously revealed himself. He is Mr. Angeles Apin, a Sorsoganon who left the Catholic Church way back the early 80’s to join the charismatic movements, then he was baptized to the Iglesia ni Cristo [INC] and later, in 1989 he converted to Iglesia ng Dios, Haligi at Suhay ng Katotohanan or more popularly known as Ang Dating Daan [ADD].

from left to right, Mr. Apin, Ms. Tess de Ramon [co-host] & Fr. Abe [host]

As a member of ADD, Mr. Apin stayed at Apalit, Pampanga and was personally trained by Mr. Eliseo Soriano together with other young men to be ADD preacher. Mr. Apin graduated with flying colors in that training and was sent to Bulacan, Rizal and the Bicol region to preach, teach, train new recruits and debates pastors of other faith for ADD.

The guy is highly educated and fluent in Bicol, Filipino and English. He served as radio host for several years, local radio and TV manager and now an instructor in Electronics Technology.

Mr. Apin or Kapatid na Obeth [Bro. Obeth] showing his ADD I.D. bearing the personal signature of Mr. Eliseo Soriano [ADD’s head minister]

Bro. Obeth’s eloquence, oratorical skills, self-confidence and knowledge of the Word of God are living manifestation that his testimony is true. Even his intonation attests that the guy was truly a disciple of Soriano. He knows a lot of inside info about the group and knowledgeable in the who’s who of the organization. Moreover, he strengthened his credentials with documents and photos showing his close relations with the top echelons of ADD. Those documents and photos were shown on TV and were focused on camera. But, sadly they cannot be posted here yet at this point in time.

He also gave us a taste of his apologetic skills when he shared to the viewers how to refute the doctrines of the INC, the Born Again, the Baptists, Jehova Witnesses and Mormons by refuting their main doctrines the ADD way.

On the other hand, Bro. Obeth sincerely stated that at this point in time he is still not fully prepared to explain the Doctrines of the Catholic Faith and asked Fr. Abe to explain to him the doctrines of Necessity of Baptism, Original Sin, Infant Baptism and others. What is great is that he expressed his eagerness to know the Catholic Faith and to learn Catholic Apologetics. I assure you that I will personally handle his studies of the faith, not only on Biblical foundation of the Catholic Faith but also of the Catholic Morals and the History of the Church, with care.

Since he expressed already his willingness to share his time and talents for The Splendor of the Church we will still invite him from time to time especially when we are answering the attacks of other religions against the Catholic Faith and also to reveal to Catholics the defects of the teachings and doctrines of these sects.

Yesteday’s program was only the opening salvo. In fact, it was a mere interview about his journey of faith from charismatic, Jesus is Lord of Eddie Villanueva, INC and ADD to the Roman Catholic Church. More will be coming from him.

I requested Bro. Obeth to write a summary of his conversion story by request of my good friend Bro. Henry Siy, owner of the best Catholic bookstore in Metro Manila TOTUS BOOKSTORE and head of DEFENSORES FIDEI FOUNDATION [DFF], the most active Catholic apologetic group in the Philippines. With joy in my heart I am blessed to say that I am an associate member of DFF and one of its seminar speakers – a great honor for me since among the members of its stable of apologists, I am the least qualified. The DFF site can be visited in this blog’s apologetic website links but for a shortcut, here it is http://www.defensoresfidei.com/ .

Once Bro. Obeth finished his short biography I will post the general information here. Also, at the end of this month, he will be back in the program in order to explain in detail the doctrinal reasons why he abandoned the ADD. Abangan!

It is really a great blessing from the Lord to hear him give his personal testimony. Actually, for the past 2 years I have met people, either in the confessionary or during personal encounters, telling that they are former members of other sects who returned to the Catholic Church. But, Mr. Apin is the only one among many who had the courage to approach me personally to testify for his Journey Home. Those that I had invited declined but this one personally came to offer himself. God loves a cheerful giver!

At this point in time, Bro. Obeth and his wife are asking me to prepare their Church wedding and the Baptism of their children. His decision to go open was not easy. The guy was teary eyed most of the time in the 2 hour long duration of the program. He knew that many family members who are still members of ADD will be hurt by his move. For sure this will create friction and tension in their relationships but after weighing the pros and cons he decided to go on.

Let us praise the Lord for His great love is without end. Let us praise the Holy Spirit the only One who can genuinely convert and transform human hearts. Let us praise the Father Almighty for making us His children.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen-Mother, guide and support, uphold and protect Bro. Obeth and his family. May the Lord continuously bless The Splendor of the Church and the Defensores Fidei Foundation for the Glory of His Name. Amen.

St. Gregory the Great, intercede for us! St. Michael, the Archangel, please be at our side! Amen!