CATHOLICS BY COUNTRY AS OF 2016 (Wikipedia)

TOTAL NUMBER OF CATHOLICS (2016) 1,253,926,000

Catholic Church by country

Country	Total population	% Catholic	Catholic total
Afghanistan (details)	29,928,987	0.0003%	100
Albania (details)	3,020,000	10%[15]	302,000
Algeria (details)	32,531,853	0.14%[16]	45,000
Andorra (details)	70,000	88.2%[10]	61,740
Angola (details)	18,498,000	41.1%[9]	7,029,240
Antigua and Barbuda (details)	84,522	8.2%[9]	6,930
Argentina (details)	42,000,000	66%[17]-71%[11]	27,720,000 - 29,820,000
Armenia (details)	2,982,904	1%	29,829
Australia (details)	23,400,000	22.6%[18]	5,292,000
Austria (details)	8,823,000	57.9%[19]	5,112,000
Azerbaijan (details)	8,581,400	0.03%	2,574
Bahamas (details)	330,000	12%[9]	39,600
Bahrain (details)	800,000	8.9%[10]	71,200
Bangladesh (details)	158,000,000	0.07%	110,000[10]
Barbados (details)	250,012	4.2%[9]	10,000
Belarus (details)	9,500,000	7.1%[20]	674,500
Belgium (details)	11,200,000	58%[21]	6,500,000
Belize (details)	334,000	40%[22]	133,600
Benin (details)	7,460,025	26.6%[23]	1,984,366
Bhutan (details)	2,232,291	0.06%	1,339
Bolivia (details)	10,500,000	73%[17]	7,980,000
Bosnia and Herzegovina (details)	3,531,159	15.19%[24]	536,333
Botswana (details)	1,640,115	4.9%	80,365
Brazil (details)	208,000,000	54%[17]-61%[11]	112,320,000 - 126,880,000
Brunei (details)	372,361	5%[10]	18,618
Bulgaria (details)	7,450,349	0.5%[10]	37,251
Burkina Faso (details)	13,925,313	17%[9]	2,367,303
Burundi (details)	6,370,609	62.1%[9]	3,956,148
Cabo Verde (details)	512,096	77.3%[9]	395,850
Cambodia (details)	13,607,069	<0.1%	<10,000[10]
Cameroon (details)	16,380,005	25.6%	4,193,281
Canada (details)	35,770,000	38.7%[25]	13,843,000
Central African Republic (details)	3,799,897	25%[9]	949,974
Chad (details)	12,000,000	20.1%[9]	2,520,000
Chile (details)	18,000,000	45%[17]-55%[26]	8,100,000 - 9,900,000
China (details)	1,368,000,000	0.7%[10]	9,576,000
Colombia (details)	48,000,000	73%[17][27]	35,000,000
Comoros (details)	800,000	0.2%[10]	1,600
Congo, Republic of (details)	3,686,000	33.1%[9]	1,220,066
Congo, Democratic Republic of (details)	78,000,000	36.8%[12]	28,700,000
Costa Rica (details)	4,770,000	57%[17]-62%[11]	2,720,000 - 3,007,620
Croatia (details)	4,284,889	86.3%[28]	3,698,000
Cuba (details)	11,163,934	51.7%[10]	5,790,000
Cyprus (details)	1,100,000	1.0%	11,000
Czech Republic (details)	10,500,000	10.2%[29]	1,071,000
Côte d'Ivoire (details)	23,800,000[30]	21.4%[10]	5,093,000
Denmark (details)	5,630,000	0.7%[31]	40,000
Djibouti (details)	476,703	0.2%	953
Dominica (details)	71,540	58.1%[10]	41,564
Dominican Republic (details)	10,400,000	48%[17]-57%[11]	4,992,000 - 5,928,000
East Timor (details)	1,054,000	96.9%[32]	1,021,000
Ecuador (details)	15,223,680	77.0%[17]	11,265,523
Equatorial Guinea (details)	1,620,000	80.7%[10]	1,410,000
Egypt (details)	77,505,756	0.1%	77,505
El Salvador (details)	7,000,000	39%[17]	2,730,000
Eritrea (details)	4,561,599	3.3%	150,532
Estonia (details)	1,332,893	0.3%	3,998
Ethiopia (details)	73,053,286	0.7%[9]	584,426
Fiji (details)	893,354	9.1%[10]	80,401
Finland (details)	5,451,270	0.2%[33][34][35]	12,434
France (details)	66,600,000	<51%[36] - 63–66%[37]	34,000,000–44,000,000
Gabon (details)	1,389,201	50%	694,600
Gambia (details)	1,593,256	2.1%	33,458
Georgia (details)	4,677,401	0.8%[9]	84,193
Germany (details)	82,750,000	28.2%[38]	23,311,321
Ghana (details)	21,029,853	12.9%[10]	2,712,851
Greece (details)	11,170,957	0.4%	44,683
Grenada (details)	89,502	44.6%[9]	39,917
Guatemala (details)	15,773,000	43%[17]	7,000,000
Guinea (details)	9,467,866	2.6%	246,164
Guinea-Bissau (details)	1,416,027	8.9%	126,026
Guyana (details)	765,283	8.1%[9]	91,833
Haiti (details)	10,000,000	54.7%[9]	5,470,000
Honduras (details)	8,800,000	37%[17]-46%[11]	3,256,000-4,048,000
Hungary (details)	9,877,000	37.2%[9]–53.0%[21]	3,674,244
Iceland (details)	355,277	3.9%[39]	13,799
India (details)	1,280,000,000	0.9%[10]–1.5%	11,520,000–19,200,000
Indonesia (details)	255,000,000	2.9%[40]	7,395,000
Iran (details)	68,017,860	0.02%	13,603
Iraq (details)	38,000,000	0.35%[10]	133,000
Ireland (details)	4,762,000	78.3%[41]	3,729,000
Israel (details)	7,746,000	1.2%[10]	92,952
Italy (details)	60,800,000	83%[10]	50,474,000
Jamaica (details)	2,889,000	2%	57,780
Japan (details)	127,417,244	0.3%[10]	382,251
Jordan (details)	5,759,732	0.4%[10]	23,038
Kazakhstan (details)	15,185,844	0.6%	91,115
Kenya (details)	43,500,000	22.1%[10]	9,613,500
Kiribati (details)	98,000	55.8%[9]	54,684
Korea, North (details)	22,912,177	0.01%	2,291
Korea, South (details)	52,950,306	11.0%[42]	5,813,770
Kosovo (details)	1,920,079	3.4%	65,000
Kuwait (details)	2,335,648	6.1%	142,474
Kyrgyzstan (details)	5,146,281	0.1%	5,146
Laos (details)	6,217,141	0.6%	37,302
Latvia (details)	2,290,237	19.1%[10]	437,435
Lebanon (details)	4,800,000	28.8%[10]	1,382,400
Lesotho (details)	2,067,000	45.7%[10]	946,000
Liberia (details)	3,482,211	5.4%	188,039
Libya (details)	5,765,563	0.7%	40,358
Liechtenstein (details)	33,863	75.9%[9]	25,803
Lithuania (details)	2,944,459	77.2%[43]	2,311,722
Luxembourg (details)	538,000	65.9%[10]	369,600
Macedonia (details)	2,038,514	1%	20,452
Madagascar (details)	18,040,341	29.5%[23]	5,318,293
Malawi (details)	12,158,924	28.4%[23]	3,449,487
Malaysia (details)	23,953,136	3.3%	1,290,453
Maldives (details)	349,106	0.02%	80
Mali (details)	12,291,529	1.5%	189,289
Malta (details)	440,000	88.6%[44]	389,840
Marshall Islands (details)	62,000	8.4%[9]	5,208
Mauritania (details)	3,086,859	0.1%[10]	3,086
Mauritius (details)	1,230,602	23.6%[9]	289,314
Mexico (details)	122,000,000	80%[17]	98,820,000
Moldova (details)	4,455,421	0.5%	20,494
Monaco (details)	36,371	82.3%[10]	29,933
Mongolia (details)	2,791,272	0.04%	1,116
Montenegro (details)	625,266	3.4%	21,299
Morocco (details)	32,725,847	0.07%	22,908
Mozambique (details)	19,406,703	28.4%[9]	4,618,795
Myanmar (details)	42,909,464	1.1%	450,549
Namibia (details)	2,030,692	16.9%	344,202
Nepal (details)	27,676,547	0.03%	8,302
Netherlands (details)	16,970,000	23.3%[45]	3,943,000
New Zealand (details)	4,500,000	11.1%[46]	492,000
Nicaragua (details)	6,000,000	40%[17]-50%[11]	2,400,000-3,000,000
Niger (details)	11,665,937	0.1%	11,665
Nigeria (details)	190,000,000	12.6%[10]	23,940,000
Norway (details)	5,060,000	2.4%[47]	120,900
Oman (details)	3,000,000	4.1%[10]	110,000
Pakistan (details)	207,000,000	0.8%	1,656,000
Palau (details)	19,949	41.6%[9]	8,299
Palestine (details)	3,761,904	2%	80,000
Panama (details)	3,500,000	55%[17]-70%[11]	1,925,000 - 2,400,000
Papua New Guinea (details)	7,000,000	27%[48]	1,890,000
Paraguay (details)	6,800,000	89%[17]	6,000,000
Peru (details)	31,150,000	74%[17]-76%[11]	23,674,000
Philippines (details)	105,000,000[49]	81.4%[10]	85,470,000
Poland (details)	38,496,000	85.8%[50]	33,037,017
Portugal (details)	10,500,000[51]	81.0%[52]–88.0%[53]	8,600,000–9,240,000
Qatar (details)	863,051	5.8%	50,000
Romania (details)	22,329,977	4.7%[9]	1,787,408
Russia (details)	143,420,309	0.5%[10]	717,101
Rwanda (details)	11,000,000	43.7%[54]	4,807,000
Saint Kitts and Nevis (details)	51,000	6.7%	3,400
Saint Lucia (details)	165,600	61.3%	101,500
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (details)	106,000	7.5%	7,950
Samoa (details)	179,000	19.6%[9]	35,084
San Marino (details)	32,500	90.5%[10]	29,412
São Tomé and Príncipe (details)	163,000	73.5%[23]	119,805
Saudi Arabia (details)	26,417,599	2.5%	660,439
Senegal (details)	11,126,832	3.5%	389,439
Serbia (details)	7,120,600	6.1%[9]	433,167
Seychelles (details)	93,000	76.2%[55]	70,866
Sierra Leone (details)	6,017,643	2.9%	174,511
Singapore (details)	4,425,720	4.8%[9]	165,964
Slovakia (details)	5,397,036	62%[56]	3,347,277
Slovenia (details)	2,064,241	74.4%[57]	1,535,297
Solomon Islands (details)	523,000	19%[9]	100,000
Somalia (details)	8,591,629	0.001%	100
South Africa (details)	44,344,136	7.1%[9]	2,851,327
South Sudan (details)	10,000,000	30%	3,000,000
Spain (details)	46,700,000	66.0%[58]	30,720,000
Sri Lanka (details)	20,264,000	6.1%[59]	1,237,000
Sudan (details)	31,000,000	1%	300,000
Suriname (details)	551,000	21.6%[60]	119,000
Swaziland (details)	1,100,000	4.9%[10]	62,803
Sweden (details)	10,000,000	1.8%	180,000
Switzerland (details)	8,418,000	36.5%[61]	3,072,000
Syria (details)	18,448,752	2%	368,975
Taiwan (details)	22,894,384	1.3%	297,626
Tajikistan (details)	7,163,506	0.01%	<1,000[10]
Tanzania (details)	44,929,002	27.2%	12,220,689
Thailand (details)	65,444,371	0.3%[10]	196,333
Togo (details)	5,681,519	26.4%[10]	1,499,921
Tonga (details)	102,000	15.6%[9]	15,912
Trinidad and Tobago (details)	1,330,000	21.6%[62]	286,000
Tunisia (details)	11,000,000	0.2%	22,000
Turkey (details)	77,700,000	0.05%	35,000
Turkmenistan (details)	4,750,000	0.01%[63]	500
Tuvalu (details)	10,000	1%	100
Uganda (details)	35,000,000	41.9%[64]	14,665,000
Ukraine (details)	43,000,000	5.6%[10]	2,408,000
United Arab Emirates (details)	2,563,212	5%	128,160
United Kingdom (details)	63,100,000	9%[65][66][67][68]	5,700,000
United States (details)	327,000,000	20%[69]-20.8%[70]-22% [71]	65,400,000-71,000,000
Uruguay (details)	3,500,000	38%[17]	1,330,000
Uzbekistan (details)	26,851,195	0.01%	2,685
Vatican City (details)	842	100%	842
Vanuatu (details)	243,304	13.1%[9]	36,500
Venezuela (details)	32,000,000	67%[17]-73%[11]	21,440,000 -23,360,000
Vietnam (details)	83,535,576	6.8%[9]	5,658,000
Western Sahara (details)	273,008	0.06%	163
Yemen (details)	20,727,063	0.02%	4,145
Zambia (details)	14,300,000	21%[10]	3,003,000
Zimbabwe (details)	12,746,990	7.71%	982,792
Total	7,093,798,000	17.68%	1,253,926,000

Dwight Longenecker: Pagans, a Pope, & the Fall of Sauron: How We Got New Year’s Day

Article Source: The Imaginative Conservative
By Dwight Longenecker
Also featured at Patheos

Some atheists, Muslims and Christian fundamentalists like to grumble and gibe that the celebration of Christmas and Easter are “pagan.” They are right and they are wrong. They are right inasmuch as the wellsprings of our Western culture are deep in the pre-Christian cultures of Europe. They are wrong because the early Christians, like the Hebrews before them, saw their religion as a contrast and a corrective to the prevailing pagan culture.

Like cultural iconoclasts shall we seek to purge all vestiges of paganism from our modern world? Must we give up our Christmas tree and cast out our Easter eggs? If so, then we must also re-name the days of the week and refuse to honor the pagan deities Tiu (Tuesday) Wotan (Wednesday) Thor (Thursday) Frige (Friday) and Saturn (Saturday) not to mention the worship of the Sun and Moon (Sunday and Monday)

Our cultural cleansing must continue, and we must demand that the names of the months of the year be purged of their demonic and absurd pagan associations! Out Janus, the two faced god of January! Begone Mars for March, the goddess Maia for May and Juno to follow. New Years’ Day! The horror! That the beginning of the year should be celebrated at the beginning of January is pagan through and through!

Imaginative conservatism is never iconoclastic. It affirms the past as the foundation for the future. Our Western culture is deeply rooted in the classic civilizations of Greece and Rome, but also in the pre Christian pagan cultures of Europe. The ancient customs have merged, developed and adapted to changing times, but they are not to be scorned simply because they are pagan or because they are from the past. A good example of how an originally pagan custom has developed into a modern celebration is New Years’ Day.

The earliest records of a New Year celebration are from Mesopotamia around 2000 BC. Then about the time of Father Abraham, the new year was heralded not in mid winter, but at the Spring equinox in mid-March. Following these already ancient customs, the first Roman calendar had ten months and also recognized March as the beginning of the year. This is why September, October, November and December have their names: from March they were the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth months.

The second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius added January and February to the calendar and in 153 BC we have the first record of January first being celebrated as New Years’ Day. The change was decreed for civil reasons (the consuls began their term at that time) but many people still recognized March as the start of the year.

Enero Uno: Kapistahan ng Kadakilaan ni Maria Ina ng Diyos

Originally Posted at Iglesia ni Cristo 2000 Blog

MARIA, INA NG DIYOS.

Isang malaking balakid para sa mga kalaban ng tunay na Iglesia ni Cristo ang isa sa mga titulo ng Inang Birheng Maria bilang INA NG DIYOS. Sa mga Protestante, hindi parepareho ang kanilang pananaw tungkol kay Maria. Ang mga Lutherans ay hindi katulad ng mga Anglicans o mga Episcopalians. Ganon din ang mga Calvinist, Presbyterian, Methodist at iba pang mga sinaunang grupo ng mga Protestante. Sila ay maituturing nating iba rin sa mga evangelicals (o mga "Born Again") at hindi rin sila sumasang-ayon sa bawat isa sa mga Baptist, at hindi rin sila katulad ng mga paniniwala ng mga Pentecostals. Sa Pilipinas, ang mga kaanib sa iglesiang tatag ni Ginoong Felix Manalo ang madalas na kumakalaban sa Iglesia Katolika sa radyo man, telebisyon o sa mga limbag na magasin at aklat. Ang Iglesia Ni Cristo®-1914 ay kabilang sa sangay ng Protestante na kung tawagin ay "Restorationists" at kabilang sila sa mga ereheng sumasalungat sa Doktrina ng Trinidad na kung tawagin ay mga Unitarians (halos silang lahat ay sumulpot sa Estados Unidos o Europa).

Ngunit ang isang bagay na sila'y nagkakaisa, ito ay ang kanilang pagtutol sa mga parangal na ibinibigay ng mga Katoliko at mga Orthodox kay Maria bilang INA NG DIYOS (THEOTOKOS). 

Bakit nga ba si Maria ay tinatawag ng 'Ina ng Diyos'? 

Ang titulong ikinabit kay Inang Birheng Maria ay hindi parangal sa kanya bilang tao kundi ito ay PAGPAPATIBAY sa katotohanang si JESUS AY DIYOS!

Ang pagtawag kay Maria bilang 'Theotokos' (God-bearer) o Ina ng Diyos ay hindi na bago sa kasaysayan ng Santa Iglesia. Ito ay matagal nang pinaniniwalaan at sinasampalatayanan ng Unang Iglesia. At upang mapanatili ang pangkalahatang paniniwalang ito, sa Konsilyo ng Efesus (431 A.D.) ginawang opisyal ang titulo ng Inang Maria bilang "Ina ng Diyos".

"Kung ang sinuman ay hindi magpapahayag na ang Diyos ay tunay na Emmanuel (nagkatawang-tao), at sa saligang ito ang banal na birhen ay ang" Theotokos "(sapagkat ayon sa laman ipinanganak niya ang Salita ng Diyos, naging laman sa pamamagitan ng Kanyang pagsilang) siya nawa ay itiwalag." (If anyone does not confess that God is truly Emmanuel, and that on this account the holy virgin is the "Theotokos" (for according to the flesh she gave birth to the word of God become flesh by birth) let him be anathema. -The Council of Ephesus, 431 AD)

Bakit hindi na lamang tawaging 'Ina ni Cristo'?

Tanggapin man natin o hindi, hindi lahat ng mga taong nagsasabing sila'y mga 'Kristiano' ay naniniwalang si Cristo ay Diyos. Isa na rito ang mga kaanib ng INC™-1914. Para sa kanila, si Cristo ay TAO LAMANG.

“TAO rin ang kalagayan ng ating Panginoon Jesucristo sa Kanyang muling pagparito sa araw ng paghuhukom. Hindi nagbabago ang Kanyang kalagayan. Hindi Siya naging Diyos kailanman! TAO ng ipinanganak, TAO ng lumaki na at nangangaral, TAO ng mabuhay na mag-uli, TAO nang umakyant sa langit, TAO nang nasa langit na nakaupo sa kanan ng Diyos, at TAO rin Siya na muling paririto.” -PASUGO, Enero, 1964, p. 13 (Sinulat ni Emiliano Agustin)

Sa kanilang opisyal na limbag na magasing Pasugo na ating sinipi sa itaas, ang Iglesia Ni Cristo®-1914 ay pinagdidiinan ang pagka-TAO ni Jesus at TINATAKWIL ang Kanyang orihinal na kalikasan bilang Diyos.

Taliwas sa mga bagong sulpot na relihiyon sa Pilipinas, ang orihinal na Iglesia, si Cristo na ITINATAG NI mismo ni CRISTO ay naniniwalang HINDI LAMANG TAO ang Panginoong Jesus kundi SIYA AY DIYOS at NAPARITO ayon sa LAMAN (naging TAO). Kaya't sa maikling salita, si Cristo ay TOTOONG DIYOS at TOTOONG TAO at sa kabuuan ng kanyang 'essence at being' SI CRISTO AY IISA, hindi siya kalahating Diyos at kalahating Tao. O hindi siya dalawa (Jesus na Diyos at Jesus na Tao) kundi IISA ANG PANGINOONG HESUCRISTO. Si CRISTO ay DIYOS bago isilang; DIYOS pa rin hanggang ipinanganak ayon sa laman (sa pamamagitan ni Maria) at naging TAO (Juan 1:1-4, 14) at Diyos pa rin hanggang sa kanyang pagbabalik (paghuhukom)!

Iyan ang PINAGDIDIINAN sa SULAT sa mga HEBREO (13:8)  na ang Panginoong Jesucristo ay MANANATILING SIYA KAHAPON, NGAYON AT MAGPAKAILAN MAN.

Kaya't kung si CRISTO ay DIYOS noon, siya ay mananatiling DIYOS ngayon, at DIYOS pa rin MAGKAILANMAN hanggang sa Kanyang paghuhukom.

Malinaw itong sinampalatayanan ni Apostol San Pablo sa kanyang sulat sa mga taga-Filipos:

"Taglayin  ninyo ang mga damdamin na tinaglay din ni Cristo Jesus, na bagaman NASA KANYA ANG KALIKASAN NG DIYOS ay hindi niya inangkin ang matulad sa Diyos; sa halip ay pinawi ang sarili, kinuha ang kalikasan ng alipin at TUMULAD SA MGA TAO." (Ang Banal na Biblia)

Para kay Apostol San Pablo, si Cristo ay taglay ang KALIKASAN NG DIYOS ngunit sa Kanyang kababaang-loob ay KINUHA ang KALAGAYAN BILANG TAO, naging animo'y alipin, masunurin hanggang kamataya ~ oo, kamatayan sa Krus.

Kaya't sa mga KATOTOHANANG ating binanggit, ang IPINANGANAK ng Inang Birhen ay DIYOS NA TOTOO. Samakatuwid, si MARIA AY INA NG DIYOS! (CCC 963)

BABALA NG BIBLIA AT NG SANTA IGLESIA

Ang babala ay mula kay Apostol San Juan (1 Juan 1:2-3), ang sinumang HINDI TANGGAP si CRISTO (Diyos) na NAPARITO SA LAMAN siya ay ANTI-CRISTO!

Batid ni Apostol San Juan ang PAGDATING na mga EREHE at mga HUWAD NA MANGANGARAL mula noong IKA-16 SIGLO sa Europa hanggang dumating ito sa Pilipinas noong 1900's at umusbong ng husto noong 1914.

"Sapagkat nagkalat sa daigdig ang maraming mandaraya na ayaw kumilala na si Jesucristo ay nagkatawang-tao; ganyan nga ang mandaraya at ang anti-Cristo. Mag-ingat sana kayo..." (2 Juan 1:7-8a Ang Mabuting Balita)

Ang di-pagtanggap kay Maria bilang INA NG DIYOS ay katulad ng hindi rin pagtanggap kay JESUCRISTO bilang DIYOS na NAGKATAWANG-TAO.

"If anyone does not confess that God is truly Emmanuel, and that on this account the holy virgin is the "Theotokos" (for according to the flesh she gave birth to the word of God become flesh by birth) let him be anathema". -The Council of Ephesus, 431 AD

At sa mga katulad nila, ibilang sila bilang mga kampon ng kasamaan, mga bulaan, mandaraya, manlilinlang ~ mga ANTI-CRISTO!

The Daily Guardian: Why INC members don’t celebrate Christmas

Originally posted at Iglesia ni Cristo 2000 blog.

By: Ma. Beatriz Monteverde
The Daily Guardian

(The author is a Grade 12 student-intern of the Iloilo National High School)

IT is irony, some may say, the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), a church that preaches to be of Christ does not celebrate His birthday every December 25. After all, the birth of Christ the Savior was a day which brought great joy to all people.

The INC is often accused of refusing to remember and glorify Christ, but its members do remember Christ, glorify God, and wish peace- but in accordance with the biblical mandate.

Thus, it is known to everyone that Christmas is considered as special holiday for Roman Catholics, but for the INC members, it is just another normal day.

[Christmas is NOT about the "DATE" (December 25), but rather it IS the CELEBRATION of HIS BIRTH, nothing more, nothing less.  Thus Christians (of all denomination) and non-Christians UNDERSTOOD it very well that CHRISTMAS is not about the "date" (December 25) but it's about the birth of the SON OF GOD MADE FLESH.  This is why most Islamic jurisprudence DO NOT directly celebrate Christmas as it "goes against the tenets" of their belief ~ that GOD BECAME MAN. 

In the following summary of a YouTube video it says, "It’s no coincidence that this holiday period happens around Christmas, as traditionally it was a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus."

No sane person would think that Christmas is a celebration OF the date (December 25) but rather it is a "coincidence" that the Church of Christ marked HIS BIRTHDAY on December 25. If we celebrate LIFE by celebrating our birthday, what's stopping Christians to celebrate the BIRTH OF THE SON OF GOD MADE FLESH (John 1:1-4,14; Phil. 2:2-11)]

According to an article published at God’s Message, the official magazine of INC, there is nothing wrong with birthday celebrations, but INC stands firm that there is no biblical verse that says Christ demands for His birthday to be celebrated.

The apostles also made no mention of Christmas celebration but taught how Christ wanted to be remembered.

[True to His Word, God did not command us everything. His commandment is simple: LOVE. It's all about love. If celebrating one's birthday is all about love, then there is nothing wrong with that.  Birthday celebration no matter how simple or extravagant it may be celebrated always boils down to one thing: OUR LOVE OF LIFE. God has given us LIFE and out of this we are able to LOVE because we live.  Do you think, God in his immense wisdom would enumerate to us every detail of what should we do? If God would have done that then even we combine all national libraries in the world, the Bible couldn't fit.

Our God is NOT DUMB as these false preachers of Manalo's Church would imply. Logic would lead us to the TRUTH. How could the evangelists record the EXACT DATE of Christ's birth when HIS BIRTH precedes the GREGORIAN CALENDAR which was only introduced by POPE GREGORY XIII in October 4, 1582. This 2019, the Gregorian Calendar is just 436 years old while His birth has been remembered for more than 2,000 years. Take note, the Gregorian Calendar is the "most widely used civil calendar in the world" according to Wikipedia and it is so convenient for the INC™ to use it as their tool in measuring date including their birthdays and even their founding anniversary.

Let me throw the same question back to these false preachers: If it was not in the Bible, and the Apostles DID NOT teach Christians to remember Christ's birth then (a) Why are they celebrating Felix Manalo's birthday every May 10th of each year, Eraño Manalo every January 2 each year and Eduardo V. Manalo every October 31 every year? (b) Why are they celebrating every July 27th of their founding anniversary if God or the holy apostles DID NOT command them to celebrate?

I am sure, their answer would be the same as OUR ANSWER. Birthday celebrations are all celebrated out of LOVE which is the very heart of the Gospel.]

Jesus Christ commanded to remember Him in his death, not on His birthday, it stated.

[If this would be our very basis on how to know which among the many churches claiming to be Christ's "true" Church including the Iglesia Ni Cristo®  (INC™) they would fall short.  In their own liturgy, INC™ celebrates Christ's death (Santa Cena) ONLY ONCE A YEAR which coincidentally celebrated on December 25 (see Rappler).  Their December 25 too was not even in the Bible.  Was December 25 randomly chosen as their "Santa Cena (Huling Hapunan)" celebration or sinasamantala lamang nila ang malaki at kilalang okasyon sapagkat ito ay araw na may pagdiriwang na ang sankakristianuhan? Who would buy their shallow reasoning while Catholics and non-Catholics (including non-Christians) are celebrating CHRISTMAS as Christ's birthday, they'd celebrate Christ's death instead!

True to Christ's commandment the CATHOLIC CHURCH faithfully remembers His Passion and Death EVERYDAY in EVERY PARISH around the world "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes" (I Corinthians 11:26). And the TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST ~ which is the CATHOLIC CHURCH (according to history and the Pasugo 1966, p. 6; July-August 1988 p. 6, March-April 1992, p. 22) will CELEBRATE HIS DEATH as He commanded UNTIL HE COMES AGAIN.]

Moreover, the article said that “there is no reliable historical that exists pinpointing the exact date or month of Christ’s birthday.”

[That was because there was no calendar yet when He was born but that does not stop us from appointing a fitting date to celebrate THE OCCASION OF HIS BIRTH.]

It claimed that the focus of Christmas had shifted from Christ to Sta. Claus and from “so-called spirituality to materialism.”

[The Iglesia Ni Cristo® shouldn't fault the Catholic Church if some people are replacing Christ's birth celebration to Santa Claus or it turned to be focused more on materialism.  The truth remains that CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT THE BIRTH OF THE SON OF GOD MADE FLESH, not Santa Claus or the snow or Reindeers or Yuletide.]

December 25 isn’t specified as the exact birth of Christ but is originally called ‘Birthday of the Sun’ and the great pagan religous celebration of the Mithras cult celebrated all through the Roman Empire, an article published at Iglesia Ni Cristo blogspot said.

[The Iglesia Ni Cristo® hates the Catholic Church and they accuse her as a PAGAN CHURCH. There is nothing good in the Catholic Church as the Iglesia Ni Cristo® looks at it in any angle even they benefited a lot from the Catholic Church. Evidently, they attack the Catholic Church in radio, TV or in print. Wala nang bago sa kanila. Instead we pray for our persecutors and bless those who hate the TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST which is the Catholic Church.]

Members of the INC continue to abide with the teachings of the Holy Bible.

[Every member of the INC™-1914 should know that WITHOUT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH there is no Bible. And they should always remember that THE CHURCH CAME FIRST BEFORE THE LIST OF THE BOOKS IN OUR PRESENT BIBLE WAS FINALLY FORMULATED IN 382 A.D.]

Eureka Rodriguez, 13, stands firm with her faith.

“Sa age ko, makita ko ang iban nga sadya sa Christmas Party nila. Pero sa bata pa nga edad, natudluan na kami sang insakto nga duktrina. Wala man ko mahisa kay may paagi man kami magpasalamat kag mag-glorify through Year End Thanksgiving namon. Amo na ang ginaka-excitedan namon kung December,” she said.

Felix Manalo: Founder of the Iglesia Ni Cristo® says The Manila Times

"Manalo is the eldest son of the late INC executive minister Eraño Manalo. His grandfather, Felix Manalo, founded the influential religious group in 1914."  -Manila Times December 18, 2018

Korap nga Ba ang Iglesia Katolika?

Christmas Urbi et Orbi Blessings from Vatican City

SOLEMN MASS AT THE VATICAN FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE BIRTH OF CHRIST THE SON OF GOD MADE FLESH