Religious group creates disturbances in Cuban Churches

José Aurelio Paz, HAVANA, Cuba, October 3, 2005

A group of individuals who identify themselves as members of the Growing in Grace Movement Taxi Heathrow Airport has recently burst into some Churches in this capital shouting and offending those present with aggressive statements like “what you preach is pure lies.”

The news was made public on the weekend in the La Mesa Redonda (the Round Table) television program, dedicated to analyzing statements by tele-evangelism Pat Robertson and in a letter of warning sent to all Evangelicals in the country by Pastor Rhode Gonzalez Zorrilla, president of the Cuban Council of Churches (CIC).

 Baptist Pastor Raul Suarez and Anglican presbyter Pablo Odén Marichal offered a detailed analysis of tele-evangelism, describing it as a means to dominate the masses for mercantile interests on the part of so-called North American fundamentalist sectors.

The Rev. Suarez cited three relevant aspects in this practice: sensationalism, pre-millennialism and something he called apocalypticism. The three elements, said Suarez, are part of a message that is divorced from the liberating message proclaimed by Jesus Christ. This strange and dark trend seeks to gain a foothold in Latin America through the so-called new movements and Cuba, said Suarez, has not been exempt.

He said that in recent weeks groups of people who claim they are members of the Growing in Grace movement have burst into Churches, interrupting services with aggressive, disrespectful expressions. 

These acts are corroborated in a letter sent to Evangelical Churches from the CIC president. 

The CIC president said that on September 25 an incident took place in two Baptist Churches in Havana. Demonstrators distributed printed material presenting their doctrinal points of view.

Growing in Grace is a Miami-based movement that supposedly seeks to spread doctrine about Grace, using methods that are extremely attractive methods for the so-called charismatic groups.

Puerto Rican Jose Luis De Jesús considers himself to be Saint Paul’s successor and offers the spiritual coverage of his apostolate and exclusive revelations he claims to have received from God to anyone who joins his cause. 

Among others, he claims that Satan is a myth, that believers existed before they were born, the doctrine of the small gods, rejection of the commandments of the Lord’s supper and Baptism and the doctrine about the creative capacity of the positive confession, among other elements.

The CIC statement called on the faithful to use prayer as a transforming instrument of God’s wisdom in the face of this aggression and called on people to close ranks and not allow these acts to break down the unity of the Cuban Church and faithfulness to its history and principles.

“We exhort everyone to continue acting with patience and to remain calm, to try and resolve the situation if it arises in a persuasive manner, avoiding violent confrontations and actions that could have a negative impact on the good witness of our Churches,” it concluded.