Jose Ventilacion: Iglesia Ni Cristo Apologist Expert on Textual Criticism?

WHO IS DR. EUGENE ULRICH?
By Bro. Duane

Dr. Eugene Ulrich teaches and writes in the areas of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Septuagint. A member of the translation teams for both the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible and the New American Bible: Revised Edition, he also co-authored The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible. He is one of the three General Editors of the Scrolls International Publication Project and Chief Editor of the Biblical Scrolls.

He was twice elected as President of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies and was invited as a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Recently, he was elected as President of the Catholic Biblical Association and as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Here is my question to Iglesia ni Cristo:

Why is it that up to now, the iglesia ni Cristo of felix manalo does not have its own bible translated by an Iglesia ni Cristo minister specially Mr. Joe Ventilacion who claim to be someone who studied textual criticism?

An INC™ Writer Debunks the Claims of the Iglesia Ni Cristo® and Felix Manalo, reducing it to nothing but a Fake Church!

Eduardo V. Manalo (EVM), the son of Eraño G. Manalo and Cristina "Ka Tenny" Villanueva Manalo. EVM expelled his own mother, brothers and sisters from INC™ Church, therefore sending them to the "Lake-fire hell".  Eduardo V. Manalo and his chosen Ministers to head the notorious Sanggunian were accused of embezzling millions of dollars from the INC™ treasury.  [Photo Source:http://www.eaglenews.ph/iglesia-ni-cristo-evangelical-campaign-intensified-worldwide-as-its-centennial-nears/]

Debunking the claims of the Iglesia Ni Cristo® about the emergence of this fake church as a "fulfillment" of Biblical prophesies as opposed to common sense and God-given knowledge of TRUTH. As the author brilliantly exposes the in their claims, he/she said “We should never allow anyone, including our own church administration, to subvert our God given ability to think independently, to seek and share knowledge, and to discern the truth.”

On the INC Prophecy, Part One
[Source: Musing of An INC Member]

The suit winds its way uncertainly through a prejudiced political minefield as the advocates for truth tirelessly navigate the system, struggling to cast a final irrepressible light on the shadows of corruption, ceaselessly seeking both restitution and reformation, even as the hope for either grows increasingly slim.

Half a world away, in places far removed from the epicenter of the religious unrest, the remaining publicly vocal pockets of resistance are methodically and systematically silenced.

Amidst it all, the propaganda machine continues to churn, consistently albeit less vehemently, as it met and now maintains its purpose in deliberately shaping the perception, manipulating the cognition, and directing the behavior of our brethren.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, it seems we are inexorably fated to be ‘one with EVM’ and with a corrupt administration, left with little choice but to subvert our own conscience and understanding in order to blindly obey and submit, lest we and our loved ones incur dire consequences.

And yet many of us still persist in our pursuit of truth, even as our inquiries are met with faulty logic and irrationality, as the responses run the gamut from “because the Bible prophesied it” to “brother/sister, you and your household are now expelled.”

Consequently, a growing number of brethren are now asking an evolving series of questions that inevitably lead to an inquiry into the veracity of the church itself.
“Can our leaders become corrupted and lose God’s favor?”
“How exactly are the recent church events prophesied in the Bible?”
“Do these events possibly indicate that we are actually not the ‘one true church’?”

The one seemingly incontrovertible defense the church has consistently used to respond to every allegation and accusation, other than outright denial, is simply this:
“We are the one true church prophesied in the Bible. Therefore, we are the only means to salvation. If you do not obey and submit to our authority, you won’t be saved.”

As I stated in a previous entry, our pursuit of the truth is akin to arguing at the point of a gun, since it matters little whether they’re wrong or right- either way, you’re still getting shot (in our case, expelled) if you continue to persist.

But, what if we can prove that the gun was never loaded to begin with? Or that it doesn’t work?
Or that the gun itself isn’t even real?

In the same manner, for argument’s sake, what if we can prove that their expulsions have no merit? That their threats don’t work? Or that the church isn’t “real”?

This brings us to the fundamental inquiry many of us have already explored in our membership, an inquiry I recommend every active member pursue (ideally with an open-minded reasonable minister, if you’re fortunate enough to know one) in order to truly explore and ascertain the basis of one’s faith.

And so we come to that inevitable fundamental inquiry, which is simply-
“Is our church, the Iglesia Ni Cristo, and the last messenger, Brother Felix Manalo, truly prophesied in the Bible?”

Since the administration continues to employ the church’s divine prophecy as an all-encompassing defense that excuses whatever questionable actions they may take, be it their alleged financial misappropriation and questionable financial practices, their purely profit driven pursuits, their peculiar preoccupation with world records and entertainment, their embarrassing and immoral responses to the crisis, etc, then I feel that a simple inquiry and revisit into this prophecy is justifiably merited.

So let’s continue.

According to the doctrine, our church, which emerged in the Philippines in the Far East, was established in 1914 by virtue of the fulfillment of the prophecies of our Lord God (as per Isaiah 43:5, Moffatt translation) and of our Lord Jesus Christ (as per Acts 20:28, Lamsa translation) through the commissioning of the last messenger, Brother Felix Y. Manalo (as per Isaiah 46:11).

For today, I will primarily address the three verses used in the previous statement which are most frequently used by our ministers as prophetic biblical proof of our church and of the last messenger, namely:
1) Isaiah 43:5
2) Isaiah 46:11
3) Acts 20:28

First, let’s look at Isaiah 43:5.

On Isaiah 43:5 – “East, east and afar of, and the Far East”

Isaiah 43:5-6 in the New King James Version reads:
“Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west.”

Isaiah 43:5 in the Moffatt translation reads:
“From the far east will I bring your offspring, and from the far west I will gather you.”

The Old Testament, including the book of Isaiah, was originally written in Hebrew. In the original Hebrew translation of Isaiah 43:5, the church claims that the Hebrew word “mizrach” refers to the geographic term “Far East” and therefore consequently refers to the Philippines. The church uses Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, authored by bible scholar William Smith, to interpret the Hebrew word “mizrach” to mean “Far East.”

This is what our church claims Smith’s Dictionary says:

“While both terms, “kedem” and “mizrach”, can be translated as “east”, “kedem” is used in a strictly geographical sense to describe a spot or country immediately before another in an easterly direction, whereas “mizrach” is used of the far east.”

Essentially, the church claims that “mizrach” means “far east” according to Smith’s Dictionary.

Let’s examine exactly what it states:

“East. The Hebrew term, kedem, properly means that which is before or in front of a person, and was applied to the east, from the custom of turning in that direction, when describing the points of the compass, before, behind, the right and the left representing respectively east, west, south and north. Job 23:8-9.”