What is the New Apostolic Church, and what do they believe?
The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a religious group that perverts Christian doctrine, teaches the existence of modern-day apostles and prophets, and promotes a works-based salvation. Like Mormonism, the New Apostolic Church was founded in the 19th century with the claim that all other Christian denominations were in error. Also like the Mormons, the New…
Is the Rastafarian / Rasta god “Jah” the same as the Christian God?
Rastafarianism, Rastafari, or Rasta is a religious movement originating in Jamaica in the 1930s. Rastafarianism takes elements of the Bible and combines them with the ideology of Marcus Garvey and the belief that Haile Selassie I, emperor of Ethiopia (1930—1975) was the second advent of the Messiah. Thus, Rastafarians believe that Emperor Selassie was God.…
What is the Odu Ifa?
Ifa is a Yoruba religion. Yoruba religions are a group of systematized beliefs and practices that originated in West Africa and were brought to the New World by enslaved people who further developed and adapted them to their situation, including some influences from Christianity. (Other more well-known Yoruba religions include Haitian Vodou and Santeria.) Yoruba…
What is Messalianism?
Messalianism was a Christian sect in Mesopotamia that existed from around AD 360 to about the ninth century. The name Messalian—one of many for the group—means “one who prays” in Syriac, as it also does in the Greek version of the name: Euchite. Their beliefs and practices were heavily influenced by Eastern mysticism. Messalianism taught…
Is it wrong for a Christian to have a dream catcher?
Dream catchers have long been a part of Native American religion, lore, and art, originating with the Ojibwe, or Chippewa, and the Lakota, a confederation of seven Sioux tribes. Dream catchers are webbed and beaded circles hung with feathers from the base of the circle. As one might suspect, the purpose of a dream catcher…
What is The Old Path / Members Church of God International / Ang Dating Daan?
The Old Path is the radio and TV program of Eliseo Soriano, the founder of the Members Church of God International (MCGI), based in the Philippines. The Tagalog name of The Old Path is Ang Dating Daan (ADD). The Members Church of God International should be considered a Christian cult, due to its denial of…
What is the Brotherhood of Light?
The Great Brotherhood of Light clearly expresses its teachings at its primary website, sanctusgermanus.net. It claims to be dedicated to Sanctus Germanus, identified as someone who “works under the Planetary Logos, Sanat Kumara, who millions of years ago, came to earth with seven other beings, including the Archangel Michael and the Goddess Kwan Yin, to…
What is the True Jesus Church, and what do they believe?
The True Jesus Church (TJC) is a Pentecostal Chinese denomination and part of the Latter Rain and Restorationist movements. The True Jesus Church is not a part of the Three-Self Church, and it works independently of the Chinese Communist Party. For this reason, the TJC faces persecution in China. In 2020, the True Jesus Church…
What is Zoroastrianism?
Zoroastrianism is based on the teachings of Zoroaster, a 6th-century BC Iranian prophet and philosopher. Zoroastrianism is almost identical with Mazdaism (the worship of Ahura Mazda, the supreme deity exalted by Zoroaster). Zoroastrianism survives today in isolated areas of the Middle East, primarily Iran, but more prosperously in India, where the descendants of Zoroastrian Persian…
What does the Bible say about Voodoo?
Voodoo is a name for several religious practices derived from West African Voodoo. The original West African Voodoo is a polytheistic religion called Vodon (also spelled Vodun, Voudoun, Vodou, Vaudoux, Vodoun or Voudou). This religion honors a god with a dual nature, both masculine and feminine, and spirits that rule nature as well as spirits…