A Critical Analysis of Emperor Emmanuel Sect

 A Critical Analysis of Emperor Emmanuel Sect

Introduction

“The Church is a divine reality which has taken shape in history in interaction between the Christ event and a believing human community”[1] she is unique in her function and her endeavors and she is the true and real body of the Christ. She had been attacked by various external factors over many years. Recent years have witnessed the rise and the rapid growth of the numerous Pentecostal sects in India and the other parts of the world. “It is no secret that a large number of believers are leaving the church and other main line churches to join these sects. Reaction to this phenomenon has raged from fascination to consternation”[2].

Emperor Emmanuel Church is one of the protestant sects in India located at Muriyad in Thrissur district of Kerala state, India. It is an independent Church that believes only in the Word of God, the works of God and those sent by God. The face on the extreme right is not of Jesus, but of the Father, according to cult founder Joseph Ponnara. Formerly he was a school teacher. Most of members of this sect were the members of the charismatic prayer group. The teachings of the founder are not only dangerous but also filled with hate and revenge.

However like other sects they don’t reject Mother Mary rather they themselves have made a prayer equivalent to Hail Mary in the Catholic Church. It is as follows “Hail Mary full of God’s grace, the Lord is with us, Blessed are you among women and Blessed is the fruit of your womb Emmanuel. Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us your children that we be filled with immeasurable Love, Power and Grace. Amen.” It is written by John Thachil Francis- one of the prominent followers of the sect.

In order to have an admission in this cult people have to renounce their wealth of any kind like property, jewelry and they have to surrender the cost of it with Ponnara. There are two priests and few nuns who have jointed this cult leaving the church. Joseph Ponnara projects himself as the end time’s prophet. They also have made a church like the arc of Noah to protect themselves from the dangers of the end of times. As per their teaching the arc they have made will remain just like the arc of Noah after the destruction. One who wants to join this cult has to withdraw the membership from the church and renounce their family, their spouse for the sake of Zion. Anyone who rejects the Zion is an agent of Satan. “No interpretations, no speculations Pure Scripture Pure Truth.” This is what Joseph Ponnara claims about all his teachings, and which John Thachil Francis. The so called “retreats” that he conducts is just like brain washing and propagation of wrong interpretation of the scripture which he claims to be the “revelation” from the God the father

This Church is also known as Zion. There are certain characteristics for this so called “Zion” community they are; they consider themselves as a community believes in Jesus Christ and his incarnation, evangelization, passion death and resurrection. Having received the salvation he gave 2000 years ago, this flock called Zion waits for him as a savior.  And it believes that Jesus Christ will come again in flesh and he will transfigure and take them to the Eternal City in the New Earth. They strongly believe in the Maranatta experience. Zion waits for Holy Mother who is the Mother of Wisdom and the Seat of the Life-giving Law and for the second Pentecost during which they would receive the full fruit of the Holy Spirit. Zion believes in the visit of God the father and the culmination of Zion with him. Zion claims to be a community which is taught by the Heavenly Father and Holy Wisdom, instructed by the Holy Spirit and led by the Sprit of Jesus Christ (Emmanuel) to the fullness of Truth (Word of God). Zion is that flock to which the mysteries of the Kingdom of God are revealed by the Heavenly Father. Zion can read and understand the signs of times. Zion claims to be a flock that renounces all sin and evil through the obedience to the Word of God and thus being trained to reach the holiness of God.

According to this sect God shows different signs as an indication of end of times and they also put forward such signs as they understand it as the signs from God. The rapid growth and progress of the science and technology is one of the signs from God and they prove it with the help of science itself. They say that if the speed of anything increases continuously, it will break down when it reaches to a certain limit. For them Tornadoes, excessive cloudbursts, rain of fire, famines, volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis, the depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, the irrevocable changes in the climate, the depletion of underground water, cracks in the tectonic plates etc are all warnings of God the Father to the human beings. Practically all these things cannot be considered as a warning from God but merely it is the after effect of human interventions and exploitation. As per their understanding those who failed to perceive these signs rejects the Savior and those who receive it receives the savior and only those who have wisdom will be able to discern this signs. They claim that the true word of god had disappeared from the church therefore the people are not able to discern the truth as a result they understand the evil as good, good as evil light as darkness and vice versa. This is another sign from God for the end of the ages.  As they criticize technological developments in one hand, on the other hand they tell that T.V and internet are the mediums by which God shows his people the various signs that take place in the different parts of the world. As per their teaching, claim “On the basis of the Word of God” written in the Holy Bible, seven things must be completed before the End of Ages.

1. All human beings whom God, from the Beginning, destined to be born on this earth must be born (Acts 17/26-28, Is. 26/18-19).

2. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, must come in flesh again to this earth (Jn. 14/1-3).

3. Prophets must come to this earth again in order to pave the way for Jesus Christ (Is. 41/25-28, Zech. 4/5, Mt. 23/34).

4. The man of lawlessness, who is to become the Antichrist, must be born (2 These. 2/3-4).

5. The dead must resurrect (Dan. 12/2)

6. The Good News of the Third Kingdom of God must be preached all over the world as a testimony (Mt. 24/14).

7. The Son of God, Jesus Christ (Emmanuel) has to destroy all rule, power and authority and present the Kingdom to God the Father (1 Cor. 15/24).

As per their teachings the signs from God are the outcome of the love of God the father to the human kind to let know the human race about the end of the times. But to ‘see’ these signs we must know and believe in the Word of God written in the Holy Bible; we must have the Wisdom to know the true meaning of these Words of God and the willingness to subject ourselves to the Works of God; we must be able to discern those who are sent by God and receive them. As per their understanding all these signs have their base in the word of God. They also make clear criticism regarding philosophies. For them people of this era is blinded in their intellect therefore they understand the signs of times are natural phenomena. They believe in blind obedience rather than an obedience purified by the reason.

They have a fundamentalist view towards the science and its inventions. They introduce their followers about a god who is righteous and just rather a God of love and mercy. They have the understanding of a God who is in the Old Testament, who punishes the people for their wrong doings and still hide a face of God who is compassionate and loving. 

Nullification of this sect according to catholic teachings

According to Catholic teaching, “No new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.”[3] Any spirit or teaching that contradicts Holy Scripture is in error. The spirit lead by this sect is error because it contradicts the teachings of scripture.

Interesting Observations:

In most of the cases they won’t teach in public rather they keep thing in dark.

They have the gospel of Enoch which is not the part of the catholic bible.
First they predicted the end of the world as 2012 later they shifted it to 2024.

They teach mostly the rich people not the poor.

Bibliography

Pathil, Kuncheriya. Indian Churches at the Cross Roads. Bangalore: Dharmaram Publications, 1994.

Parathazham, Paul. Christianity in India: Sociological Investigations. Bangalore: Dharmaram publications, 2013.

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[1] Indian churches at the cross roads, 1

[2] Christianity in India, 65

[3] 66

Relevance of Religions in Contemporary India

Relevance of Religions in Contemporary India

1.     Introduction

“Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do - they all contain truths” says Muhammad Ali.  India is the cradle of many religions and spirituality: it gave birth and pampered many religions in its lap. According to swami Vivekananda all the religions are different paths to the ultimate reality: the creator of everything. And promotes the same principle that is “love”: the foundation of human life on the earth. Religions that exist in India are Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism etc…

2.     A Glimpse through the Religions of India

The most leading religion in India today is Hinduism. Almost 80% of Indians are Hindus. Hinduism is a colorful religion with a gigantic gallery of Gods and Goddesses. It could be also considered as one of the ancient religions in the world. It is a natural religion and said to have developed about 5000 years ago. “The concept of Hindu trinity comprises of three gods they are Vishnu, the preserver Siva, the destroyer and Brahma, the creator it is in them that the god becomes capable of action, and he partakes of the three “qualities” of goodness, passion, and darkness, subtle principles that pervade everything, and in which the ancient Samkhya philosophy sums up the energies of the nature.”[1]

Buddhism is another religion that exists in the contemporary India. As we speak of Buddhism it has got its emergence from the land of India and which became a missionary and carried to distant lands in various directions by its missionaries. It is also can be titled as the social and religious reform movement within the Hinduism. “It is also considered as the first religion in the history of the man kind to spread far beyond the boundaries of the country where it is originated.”[2] It has Gautama Buddha as its founder even though he never announced it as a religion.

Jainism was born in India about the same period as Buddhism. It was established by Mahavira in about 500 B. C. Mahavira like Buddha belonged to the warrior caste. Mahavira was called ‘Jina’ meaning the big winner and from this name was derived the name of the religion.

“Jainism is similar to Buddhism. Jainism like Buddhism, developed as a dissention to the Brahmanic philosophy that was dominant during that period in north- east India.”[3] Mahavira just like Buddha isn’t the first prophet of his religion. In Jainism like Buddhism there is a belief in reincarnation which eventually leads to liberation. Both these religions don’t center in religious philosophy around Almighty worship. But Jainism is different than Buddhism in its ascetic beliefs. Both these religions emphasis on non-violence, but in Jainism non-violence is its main core.

Of all the religions professed by the human kind, Christianity is the most wide spread: it has the largest number of the followers. Christianity arrived in India almost about the same period as it arrived in Europe, meaning about 2000 years ago. Christianity originates in Israel. St. Thomas, a disciple of Jesus arrived in Kerala, in south India in 52 AD and many of the localities were converted to Christianity by its richness and meaning. His converts were called Syrian Christians. Foreign missionaries also made a great impact in bringing Christianity to India. The British who invaded India for long years contributed largely in its expansion in India.

Sikhism was established by Guru Nanak. Nanak was born into a Hindu family in 1469 in the Punjab region. Since childhood he loved to travel, learn and preach humanity. So “Guru Nanak developed a new religion and it also included beliefs from the two dominant religions in the Punjab region, Hinduism and Islam”[4]. A Sikh place of worship is called Gurdwara. Sikhism does not support pilgrimage to holy sites because according to Sikhism, God is everywhere and not in any certain place. But Sikhism has a few important sites, of which, the Hari Mandir, also known as the 'Golden Temple' in Amritsar in Punjab is the most important site and is considered the holiest shrine of Sikhism.

“Islam came to India with the invasions of Amhumud Gaznavi and Mohammad Ghori a Muslim empire was established in the country which came to an end with the rise of the British power.”[5] The process of converting Indians to Islam began in the 8th century, when the Arabs began invading north India and present day Pakistan. After the Arabs other Muslims invaded India. Islamic religion in present scenario of India can be considered as the most growing religion of the country.

Zoroastrianism is a small religious community, which exists mostly in Mumbai, is Zoroastrianism. The follower is called Parsi because the religion arrived in India from Persia. This religion was established by Zarathustra in 6th or 7th century BC. The followers of this religion exiled from Iran in the 7th century AD. Because of religious persecutions by the Muslims. They arrived in Gujarat region of India.

There are several other religion who has placed a mark on the land of India such as Judaism, Parsis etc… in one or another way they have contributed to the culture of the country in vast.

3.     Relevance of Religions in the Present Scenario of India

In the present condition of India all the religions has a spiritual entity in the mind of the people of India. All the religion is mostly based on some spiritual entity. This spiritual entity gives a sense of spirituality to human being who has got faith in it. It also nourishes the people with the virtue of faith. Jaspers says “faith is the way to withdraw from the world and to resume contact with the being that is beyond to the world”[6] here the blend of human being happens with the absolute being in the rope of faith.

 “Religions in their essence make a dogma of value in the mind of its believers.”[7] Sin and atonement are the two concepts that we see in most of the religion. By the expression of these concepts the religions urges us to lead a good life. This principle is purely based on the natural law “do good and avoid evil” if all the people of India were spiritual and true religious we could long for an India that is out of fault. Religions promote this same idea but in different ways for example; Christians have 10 commandments in which all the laws are blended. In the time of Jesus these 10 commandments were further composed into the simple idea of “love” one who follows this rule will never do any harm to other human beings. When we take the example of   Hinduism it is obligatory for human being to do good to get rid of the circle of rebirth. “There was no other cause by which this child came by its death. It was killed as a result of its own Karma” says Mahabharata. Likewise the principles like monotheism, life after death etc… are the common points that we could see in most of the religions.

Another phenomenon or a threat that has been observed in recent decades in India is the politicization of Religion; Process bringing of religion to the politics. This could be considered as the one of the worst thing happens in the present scenario. Some of the political parties come to the power holding the name of the religion based on their ideals in fundamentalism. Politicization of religion will definitely damage the democratic structure of India, and it will surely create hatred of other religions in the mind of people. Humanitarian values like Tolerance, mutual understanding and respect for the other's religion become suffer in such a political process. In this scenario, if the extremist groups of any religion go hand in hand with political parties, it becomes more dangerous for the peace and harmony of the Indian society as a whole.

Above all the religious leaders must strive to propagate and teach their religion keeping the humanitarian aspects and giving respect to each and every religion. This will create in the people a sense of unity and mutual understanding. There by we also could say along with Mahatma Gandhi "I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth."

Bibliography

Barth, A. The Religions of India. Varanasi, Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office: 1879.

Suda, J. P. Religions in India: a study of their Essential Unity. New Delhi, Sterling Publishers Pvt Ltd: 1978.

Verma, Rajendra. Comparative Religion: Concepts and Experience. New Delhi, Intellectual Publishing House: 1984.

           

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[1] The Religions of India, 181.

[2] Religions in India, 143.

[3] Religions in India, 199.

[4] Religions in India, 221.

[5] Religions in India, 325.

[6] Comparative religion, 3.

[7] Comparative religion, 10.