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Iglesia del Dios Vivo Columna y Apoyo de la Verdad La Luz del Mundo
La Luz del Mundo's temple in Guadalajara, México
Classification	Restorationist (Christian primitivism)
Orientation	Charismatic
Structure	Hierarchical
Leader	Samuel Joaquín Flores
Region	>40 countries
Founder	Eusebio Joaquín González
Origin	1926 Guadalajara, Mexico
Congregations	11,000
Members	7 Million

The Iglesia del Dios Vivo Columna y Apoyo de la Verdad La Luz del Mundo (Church of the Living God, Column and Ground of the Truth, The Light of the World) is a controversial Christian denomination with international headquarters in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

History

Beliefs and Practices

Worship

During religious services male and female members are separated during worship with women sitting on the left side of the temple and men on the right (from the perspective of the preacher at the front of the congregation). They do not use musical instruments during their religious services and use the biblical passage found in Amos 5:23 to justify this. Women cover their heads during religious services and there's also an absence of dancing and clapping. Their places of worship are void of images, saints, crosses, and anything else that can be considered objects of worship given that they believe that worship should be done "spiritually" and only to God. As a result they have the tendency to have plane walls and wide clear windows. Since they do not use music in their meetings, they sing hymns acapella. They believe that their voices should be instruments that should be used to fulfill what Jesus Christ spoke about in John 23:24. Despite this, they do listen to instrumental music and members even have composed what is known today as "Christian Music". When signing all congregants sing at the same time. Congregations practice the songs to maintain proper melody and uniformity during their religious meetings.

The Bible

Members of La Luz del Mundo believe that the bible is the only source of Christian Doctrine. It is used as the source of talks made by ministers and lay persons alike during the prayer meetings since Ministers believe it is their duty to take care of the congregation that it doesn't diviate from set doctrine based Paul's letters that usually include reproaches aimed at the primitive Christian church. In light of the letters and talks made by the Apostle of God. The rationalization is that biblical truths are discovered with the aid of the Apostle of God since he receives direct word from God himself. The Bible is the only historical reference used by La Luz del Mundo during religious services. Members of the church are able to find cited verses of the bible quickly regardless of their level of education. It is also seen as the only and "sufficient rule of faith for salvation".

Restorationism

The Church teaches that from the death of the last Apostle (Apostle John) circa 96 AD, until the calling of Aarón Joaquín in 1926, there was no salvation on earth. The full name of the church is "Iglesia del Dios Vivo Columna y Apoyo de la Verdad, La Luz del Mundo" ("Church of the Living God, Column and Support of The Truth, The Light of The World" in English) which is derived from two passages in the Bible, Matthew 5:14 and 1 Timothy 3:15. They believe that the Church itself was founded by Jesus Christ approximately two thousand years ago. The Church became corrupt and was lost with the deaths of the Apostles of God.

The Church claims that, via Aarón Joaquín, the church is the restoration of the Primitive Christianity church that was lost during the formation of the Catholic Church. Salvation can be attained, in the Church, by following what they believe are the Bible based teachings of their leader. Revelations 12:14 is used to support this belief noting that the times that Revelations speaks about represents the time that the Church did not exist. After those times passed, the beginning of Joaquín González's ministry is seen as the restoration of the original Christian Church.

The Calling of the Servants of God

The Church states that they believe in "the calling of the Servants of God, sent to express the will of God and Salvation. Acts 13:47 "I have made you a light to the gentiles..." The Church teaches that Samuel Joaquín Flores was elected by God as Apostle and the new leader of the church after Aarón Joaquín died in 1964. As a result of having the only true Servant of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ, Samuel Joaquín, La Luz del Mundo is the only true Christian church founded by Jesus Christ. The "Apostolic Authority" allows members to find peace and closeness to God and help them attain meaning of their lives in the hopes of joining with Christ to reign with him for all eternity.

Christology

The church is nontrinitarian and therefore baptizes in the name of Jesus Christ instead of the Trinity. Hugo G. Nutini from the University of Pittsburg describes La Luz del Mundo as trinitarian.

Women in La Luz del Mundo

According to Timothy Wyatt, "in the tradition of Pentecostalism, women do not cut their hair or wear makeup or jewelry and are instructed to wear long, full skirts." Women can have their cut as short as their shoulder blades, according to Fortuny. These restrictions do not apply when members are involved in recreational activities where wearing things such as bathing suits is permitted. Women also use a head covering throughout religious meetings. According to an interview of one adherent, women in the church are considered equal to men in social spheres in having equal capacities for obtaining higher education, social carriers, and other goals that may interest them.

Aarón Joaquín established the 9 AM prayer early in the church's history after hearing about one of his followers who was being abused by her Catholic husband. This prayer became a prayer led by women. These prayers are seen as a religious activity equal to all other activities. Women who direct these prayers show an understanding and speaking ability equal to male members of the Church in other religious services. This prayer provides space for empowerment in which women are able to express themselves and develop a status within the church's membership. Patricia Fortuny said, concerning the 9 AM prayer, that, "I infer from this that, if the membership considers this as female , they would be giving authority to women in the religious or ecclesiastical framework of the ritual, and this then put on a plane of equality or absence of subordination to men." She claims that women of the church may be "playing" with their subordinate roles in the Church in order to acquire certain benefits.

Women of the church personalize their attire via a variety of available fashions to express a separate form of beauty, according to Patricia Fortuny. The veils are either rebozos for indigenous members or specially designed veils for other female members. Anthropologist Patricia Fortuny says that, "In this regard, wearing long skirts does not negate the meaning of being a woman and, although it underlines the difference between men and women, they say that it does not make them feel like inferior human beings". Fortuny points out how women describe their attire as part of obeying biblical command found in 1 Timothy 2:9 (And 1 Corinthians 11:15 for long hair) and how the Bible states that men and women shouldn't be dressed the same. The female members of the church say that it makes them feel like they are honoring God and that it is part of their "essence". She also states that dress codes are still sign of a patriarchal organization since men are only forbidden from growing their hair long or wearing shorts in public. Women, at times, can be more autonomous than the general population of women in Mexico. Fortuny says that the growing trend of educated women having husbands in supporting roles is also seen within the church both in the Guadalajara (Mexico), and Houston (Texas) congregations. In the field of education, many young female members have expressed their goals of obtaining post secondary education, many that spoke with Fortuny were already in the process of getting their degrees. Both young men and women are equally encouraged to gain post secondary education, and in the case of La Luz del Mundo the fathers are more likely to push their daughters towards going to a university than their mothers.

Other Beliefs and Practices

The church also teaches moral and civil principles such as community service and that science is a gift from God.

The church also stresses the importance of community service via the Association of Professionals and Students founded by Samuel Joaquín Flores with the intent of helping high school students and others complete a college education and attain a professional career.

Members of La Luz del Mundo do not celebrate Christmas or Holy Week. The most important yearly rituals are the Holy Supper (Santa Cena in Spanish), held yearly on August 14, and the anniversary of Joaquín Flores' birth (held on February 14).

Organization

Ecclesiastical organization

The organization of La Luz del Mundo is highly hierarchical. The supreme head of the church is Samuel Joaquín Flores, who holds both the spiritual authority as Apostle and Servant of God, and the organizational authority as General Director of the Church. Below him are ranks of Pastors. Pastors are expected to develop one or more of the qualities as Doctor, Prophet and Evangelist. All pastors are Evangelists, expected to carry out missionary tasks, as Doctors, pastors explain the word of God and as Prophets they interpret it. Below them are the Deacons, who administer the sacraments to the congregational members. Below the Deacons are the Managers, who have responsibility for the moral conduct and well-being of certain groups within the congregation. Managers grant permits to congregational members who wish to leave their congregations for vacations or to take jobs outside of the church district. The lowest rank within the ministerial hierarchy is that of "Worker", with responsibility for assisting everyone above them in the hierarchy with menial tasks.

Territorial organization

A church, or group, that is not able to fully provide for the religious needs of its members is called a mission. Missions are dependent on a congregation which is administered by a minister. A group of several congregations with their missions together form a district. The church in each nation is divided into multiple districts. In Mexico several districts form together into five jurisdictions that act as legal entities.

Women in the hierarchy

Unlike men, women are not allowed to obtain religious leadership in the Church's hierarchy much like Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons. According to Patricia Fortuny, "if a woman so desires, she can hold the position of 'encargada', or worker or evangelizer, since it constitutes the lowest tier of the hierarchy". Furthermore, she states that "the rank of deaconess is not a position which common women could aspire to". The only two deaconesses have been Samuel Joaquín's mother Elisa Flores and his wife Eva Garcia de Joaquín. Dormady states that the first two deaconesses were Elisa Flores and Francisca Cuevas. Since then, women who are wives of important members of the church usually get the rank, according to Dormady.

Women are active and play key roles in organizing activities and administering them in the Church. Women can serve as legal representatives of the church. Female office holders are always head of groups of women, and not groups of men. A Deaconess can help the Pastors and Deacons, but cannot herself administer the sacrament. All members of the ministerial hierarchy receive economic remuneration for their services, paid as part of the tithe by the congregational members.

Demography

The Church has reported having over five million members worldwide in the year 2000 with 1.5 million in Mexico. Mexican census, however, reported about 70,000 members nationwide in 2001. In 2010 another Mexican census reports a total of 188,326 members. Anthropologist Hugo G. Nutini estimated the size of the church to be at around 1,125,000 members in the year 2000 in Mexico. The US State Department International Religious Freedom Report for 2011 states that, "Official statistics sometimes differ from membership figures of religious groups." Anthropologist Ávila Meléndez says that the membership numbers reported by La Luz del Mundo are pausible given the great interest it has generated among "religious authorities" and the following it receives in Mexico.

In El Salvador, as of 2009, there are an estimated 70,000 members of La Luz del Mundo with 140 congregations with a minister and 160 other congregations that range from 13 to 80 members. As of 2008 there was an estimated 60,000 members of La Luz del Mundo in the United States.

Discrimination

La Luz del Mundo is treated as a second class religion in Mexico and has a lower social status than the Catholic Church. As is the case with other Christian religions, according to Patricia Fortuny, members of the church are treated as "second class citizens". The church is referred to as a "sect" in an offensive manner in Mexico. In 1995 during the time that thousands of members of the church go to Guadalajara for their Holy Supper celebration several members of a neighboring community supported by Cardenal Juan Sandoval Iniguez protested the use of schools that provided temporary shelters for the Luz del Mundo pilgrims. Among their claims they stated that conditions that the schools were left in after the ceremony were worse than before, however church authorities presented photographic evidence to newspapers to rebuke accusations that the schools were left in worse shape. After the Heaven's gate suicide in 1997, the Church was accused in Mexico of having the potential to commit a similar act. Jorge Erdely accused the Church of having this potential for suicide in Mexican TV in March 27, 1997. The Church was one of many groups that were victims to, according to Bromley and Melton, "ideological enemies" accused La Luz del Mundo church and other groups of having potential for mass suicides using "Fraudulent claims". Bromley and Melton also pointed another source of these accusations, unsupported claims of former members of the groups who were accused.

According to Armando Maya Castro, many students who are members of the church have been discriminated against for refusing to partake in celebrations and customs dealing with the Day of the Dead in their schools and even have been punished for it. In one case reported by a Mexican newspaper, La Gaceta, a female member of the church was assaulted in a bus as a result of how she was dressed with a long skirt. In July 25 of 2008 a public official sealed the entrance to a La Luz del Mundo temple in Puero Vallarta, Jalisco trapping the congregation inside until other officials were able to remove the seals. This was a result of complaints from individuals who did not like the presence of the church in the area. Reporter Rodolfo Chávez Calderón stated the the church was in compliance with local laws.

Members of the church are treated badly in Guadalajara, Mexico especially when it comes to the women. Often times female members of the church are portrayed as oppressed and ignorant women regardless of the increasing number of women in the church who are obtaining and already have achieved professional carriers and higher education. Many women have faced discrimination and verbal abuse in busses, schools, and even hospitals. Church members who were patients in a Mexican hospital were denied access to their ministers in 2011. The hospital required permission to be granted by Catholic clergy so that LLDM ministers could visit patients that belonged to La Luz del Mundo.

Ministers of the church have reported that the site of a newly constructed temple in Silao has been subject to harassment of its members, vandalism, and physical threats as a result of religious intolerance which have caused them to request increased police protection. In February 2012 seventy ministers of La Luz del Mundo from different nations jointly appeared before Mexican authorities of Guadalajara to denounce the lack of police protection the church's residents receive in the city of Guadalajara after a series of attacks have left several members of the church hospitalized and injured.

Controversy and Criticism

Schism of 1942

Historian Jason H. Dormady says that, "rumors that LDM abuses its young women sexually have abounded for years. Ibarra and Lancyner found no incidence of such in their 1972 research, though the church narrative does carry a story of abuse carried out by one of its members." According to Dormady, these reports came during a time that various members were leaving the church to form their own religious group (The Buen Pastor Church). Dormady states that "The drama began, according to El Occidental...of November 30, 1942 when sympathizers of the schism in central Mexico challenged the authority of the LDM Gigantes congregation." The newspaper report stated that sympathizers made accusations of abuse perpetrated by Aaron Joaquin's followers. They attempted to have the congregation's meeting place shut down saying that it did not meet state safety requirements. However, the meeting place had been inspected and approved earlier that year. According to Dormady, the sympathizers were not successful in shutting down the congregation's meeting place. La Luz del Mundo representatives stated that the accusations were "only a pretext" used by this new religious group to authenticate its departure from the church.

Mass suicide

According to Gordon Melton and David Bromley the church La Luz del Mundo became subject to fraudulent accusations of planning acts of violence or mass suicide against its members as a result of the Heaven's Gate mass suicide. On March 27 1997, one day after the bodies of the 39 members of the Heaven's Gate that had committed mass suicide were found, Jorge Erdely accused La Luz del Mundo of being a "destructive sect" with the potential for mass suicide. The accusation was made on TV Azteca a highly popular channel in Mexico. This accusation unleashed a controversy in the Mexican media. Involved in this controversy were members and supporters of LLDM who defended the integrity of the church, intellectuals and academics who demanded a climate of tolerance for religious minorities, and two non-governmental organizations (el Departamento de Investigaciones Sobre Abusos Religiosos and el Instituto Cristiano de México) whose leaders were Hugo Elizalde and Jorge Erdely, respectively, who sustained the accusations against the church. Former members also joined this struggle and accused the leader of the church for alleged violations of human rights.

Accusations of Rape and violence against Samuel Joaquín

In 1998, 4 individuals accused Samuel Joaquin of rape and sexually abusing them in the past. After forwarding the complaints to a state prosecutor through the Religious Affairs Department of Mexico's Interior Ministry, Mexican authorities indicated that "because the alleged crimes occurred so long ago , it's unlikely any trial will take place".

One such individual, Moises Padilla, a former member of La Luz del Mundo had accused Samuel Joaquín Flores of forcing him to have sex with him as a teenager. Later, Padilla was kidnapped by gunmen and stabbed repeatedly with a dagger. Padilla blamed Joaquín Flores for the stabbing and for an earlier attack in which he was supposedly beaten by men who warned him against criticizing the "servant of God." A church spokesperson denied that the church or Joaquín Flores had any involvement in the attack and accused Padilla of orchestrating the attack to authenticate his previous charges.

In 2004 these allegations of sexual abuse against female members of the church were again raised on Mexican television spearheaded by a Mexican Anti-Cult group "The Christian Institute of Mexico", which again demanded that La Luz del Mundo should be stripped of its legal recognition as a religion. According to anthropologist Carlos Garma Navarro, the Mexican government was reluctant to take action in fear that this would open the door for sanctions against the Catholic clergy.

Silver Wolf Ranch

In 2008, Todd Bensman reported that the Joaquín family purchased a "lavish private zoo-themed family retreat for their father's enjoyment" in Seguin, Texas, known as Silver Wolf Ranch. The private zoo was scrutinized given that "IRS regulations require nonprofits to actively promote their tax-exempt purpose of benefiting the public and not the personal wealth of anyone". Silver Wolf Ranch, valued around $3 million dollars, was renovated with a private mansion and a "long rectangular warehouse" where, according to the ranch's manager Vapsi Coronado, the family's private collection of "restored vintage automobiles are kept". The church has stated that voluntary donations do not enrich the family's private holdings. A church lawyer, Maria Elena Castillo, has stated that the ranch benefits the public by rescuing and caring for "doomed or homeless" animals and that "veterinary and children's groups take educational field trips inside the nonprofit zoo." Vapsi Coronado says that the owners have been working with the United States Department of Agriculture since they purchased the ranch in rescuing abused and neglected animals.

References

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11. Ávila Meléndez, Luis Arturo. Entre las cosas de Dios y las preocupaciones terrenales: el camino contradictorio hacia la santidad en la “Iglesia de la Luz del Mundo”. ¿El reino de Dios es de este mundo? El papel ambiguo de las religiones en la lucha contra la pobreza. Edited by Genar. Bogotá: Siglo del Hombre Editores y Clacso, 2008. http://biblioteca.clacso.edu.ar/ar/libros/clacso/crop/zalpa/11avila.pdf (accessed September 13, 2012). pg 179
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53. ^ Bromley, David G.; Melton, J. Gordon (2002), Cults, religion, and violence, Cambridge University Press, p. 50, ISBN 978-0-521-66898-9
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62. Dormady, Jason H. (2007). "Not Just a Better Mexico": Intentional Religious Community and the Mexican State, 1940--1964. University of California, Santa Barbara: ProQuest. pp. 151–154. ISBN 0549152474, 9780549152477. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
63. De La Torre, Renée. (2000), Los hijos de la luz: Discurso, identidad y poder en La Luz del Mundo, ITESO, CIESAS, Universida de Guadalajara, p. 19
64. Masferrer K., Elio (2004). Es Del Cesar o Es de Dios?: Un Modelo Antropológico Del Campo Religioso. Plaza y Valdés, CEIICH-UNAM. p. 158. ISBN 9707223162, 9789707223165. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
65. Garma Navarro, Carlos. 2004. "The Legal Situation of Religious Minorities in Mexico:The Current situation, Problems, and Conflicts." In James T. Richardson (ed) Regulating religion: case studies from around the globe. Springer, 2004
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External links

• Official site
• Official affiliate site
• Official site in U.S.A.

• Christianity in Mexico