Well, this is a sensitive topic and I might hurt someones feeling especially for those who believe and follower of this religion. I will just state my own thoughts and opinion regarding this matter.

This is about a sect or a religion (internationally known) where the name has a miracle on it. I rather not state the name but how and what is happening inside their church and between their members. Some family members of my husband are members so I know about this matter. Some of it, told by my mother in law when she tried attending their church when they tried recruiting her. But she decided not to continue joining them due to her dismay of their teachings.

According to my mother in-law, during their long hours gathering (3-4 hours), any member is not allowed to go out to buy some food outside. Instead, they are selling snacks and bottled water inside which is 2x higher than its price should be.

Their teachings: Heard it from their member trying to recruit us.
1. Do not send your kids to school since the end of the world is near, it will just be useless.
2. Do not send any relatives abroad since the end of the world is near, you must stay together.
3. Do not take any medicine, even how worst your sickness is - just rely only on prayers and your faith. (The leaders actually got mad when the member  I knew was hospitalized when she fell of the tree and injured her spine.)
4. When members get sick, they will stay in their church for days and do fasting ( the one I knew got really weak instead of getting well after days of fasting while terribly sick.)
5. Give up everything material including business (give it to their church) since the end of the world is near, you won't need it and all you have to do is save your soul.
    (-Actually, the family member of my husband gave up their business and give it to one of their members when one of their leader told them to do so.)

Okay, this is the questionable part for me which made me think its some sort of organized syndicate.

It's their collection of money from their members. They collect money from their members, it is a must and 20 pesos is the minimum and they collect more than 2 times during their 3 times a week mass or gatherings or how they call it. They encourage the member to give everything what they have to their church. According to word of mouth of some of their members, the more you give, the more you will receive. According to my in law when she attended their church for a couple of times, she seen huge amount  of money counted by some of their leaders after their gathering.

No, that is not the questionable part. Okay, all of other churches collects money, some are voluntary and others obligatory. In this religion, they obliged their member to give money. Where are those collected money being used when they require their member to:
1. Do not send your kids to school: That means, they never sponsor anyone of their members going to school.
2. Do not take any medicine or go to hospitals when sick: That means, they never spent a cent helping their sick members. They just told them to do a fasting for days and rely purely on prayers,faith and miracle.
3. Unlike other religion, they build their own church. I have never seen one for this religion, instead they meet and worship on rented places. If there is, I never seen one in our place.

Okay, so where are the money that they collected when they never used it to help their members and to build their church? You think of it and decide yourself. It is still too much for their large banners encouraging people to join them.

Looking at their banner, they especially entice and encourage those who are sick, having cancers or incurable diseases. They are claiming that there will be a miracle if  they join their church.

For me, it is like a psychological manipulation for those who are sick and hopeless. Those sick who are willing to give everything hoping their illness will be healed. They believed that the more they give, they more they will receive and their sickness will be healed. Just giving more and hope for a miracle in return.

I am not an atheist. I believe in God but not all the teachings of a church or religion. Regarding the matter that all you need is faith and nothing but faith. For me, I believe in the saying that, "Do your best and God will do the rest".
Pray to God for help but you have help yourself also.

Well, I do not have the right to judge about someones beliefs but there is just something not right on this religion that makes me think of these negative things about them. That there is this thoughts and feeling that I see them as a sort of organized syndicate using faith, God and miracles to deceive other people.

Anyway, this are just purely my thought and opinion of what I have seen, heard and observed about them.  If this is not true and I am entirely wrong with my judgement, someone will prove to me I am judging them wrong, then maybe I might think twice and reconsider my impressions and opinions about them.

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