Our Filipino Christianity and Our God-concept (UPDATED)

"I helped the poor and they called me a saint, I asked why they were poor and they called me a Communist’" – Brazilian Bishop Helder Camara

When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that's my RELIGION.” - Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865, Sixteenth President of the USA

"Many Filipinos are what I call Sunday-religious, that is they go to church every Sunday, take in confession and communion, but the rest of the week they bribe and do corrupt deeds..." - Dr. Pura Santillan-Castrence

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Hi All,

I do not consider myself religious in any way - lest someone charge me as riding the high morality horse; here-under  I only want to highlight many, if not most, believers' inconsistency to their professed Christian religion or belief system. 

I address all Christians, though Roman Catholics are the majority, our homeland. Not our Muslims who generally see their religion as a way of life and internalize their beliefs, and therefore not comparable to the "split-level" or compartmentalized Christianity exhibited by native Filipino Christians, i.e. Catholics and/or those of Protestant varieties..

Sometime ago, I attended a wedding ceremony. I normally do not attend such happenings but can not say no this time. During the Mass, I guess it's part of the churchy game plan, the officiating priest talked about what is labeled as the two greatest commandments of God, that is, love of God and of neighbor. 

I will not elaborate on the first love though I believe many so-called/professed Christians concentrate on that. God is supposedly all-knowing, all-powerful, all-good, etc. (as I remember my grade school Baltimore Catechism rote); therefore God must be so self-sufficient and thus should not want more love and attention.

My interest is in the second love, the teaching of loving one's neighbor. This exhortation refers to loving in the Good Samaritan-sense, per one of Jesus' parables. This parable teaches and encourages Christians to be helpful or charitable (to total strangers that is, beyond family, relatives, friends). It is on this account that many self-proclaimed Christians, native Filipino Christians, fail.

One sees inconsistency or outright hypocrisy when people, especially those who have "made it," i.e. attained material success or wealth and thus ability to help, claim that they love their God, but at the same time not really care about their neighbors, most importantly, the neighbors in need.

It seems many native Filipino Christians (Catholic, Protestant, Evangelicals/Pentecostals, Fundamentalists, etc. varieties) spend so much time on God trying to buy their "salvation" by saying "Praise the Lord", "Love God", "Jesus is Lord", mouthing special prayers or incantations, etc. Such exercises remind me of the biblical Pharisees and Sadducees.

Our so-called Christians seem to remember their God when they feel the need to directly ask for more favors; or appeal for intercessions by their favorite saints,  praying -for more financial "blessings," to be free of sickness, etc. (such impressions remind me of the Bruce Almighty movie character which made me really have LOL). 

Native Filipino Christians see their God as a sort of granddaddy or Santa Claus and their saints as facilitators (when saints should be seen as role models to be emulated). Essentially Filipino Christianity as escape from reality.

Thus, if our so-called Christians are materially successful or other, they attribute it to their being "blessed," same if they are physically normal, unharmed in an accident, etc. It makes one wonder about those who are sick, harmed in accidents, born physically abnormal, killed/murdered, etc. Are these latter ones, not blessed? And those Africans, young and old, dying of hunger or being massacred; are they not blessed that they therefore suffer or die prematurely? All those victims of natural disasters, i.e, earthquakes, floods, etc.

With these mindsets, those who have become wealthy or have attained upper middle class or higher economic status, seem to profess, knowingly or unknowingly, a sort of "prosperity theology." They think God loves them because they are successful in their material pursuits. 

Those who have "made it" are oftentimes enthusiastic supporters of Globalization or Neoliberalism in the homeland, and often suggest or imply that the poor are poor either because these latter folks do not work hard enough, or are sinners; or at best, deservingly destined to be impoverished and to suffer. I have personally heard this sort of statements from people I know who are either Catholics or "born again.".

Such claims exaggerate and twist the Bible's teaching on blessings by God, affirming and upholding the rich --without analyzing systematically why in our kind of society some are rich and many others are poor. This individualistic and self-centered distortion of beliefs soothes the conscience of the affluent, but poses radical challenges in the articulation of social and economic justice.

Overall, the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) hierarchy and its lay leaders in our homeland to date, have failed to properly send the Christian message -- called the "good news."  Remember, the RCC as an institution has historically been identified as a chief defender of the status quo and as part of the Establishment. It has been and is mainly a church of, for the rich and educated elite and left the impoverished to bear it.  While being very influential as a cultural and sociopolitical force, potentially for good or bad. 

However, I qualify that it is not equal to or as powerful as the Catholic hierarchy during our Spanish colonization or vis-a-vis Spanish Catholic Church during "El Caudillo" Generalissimo Franco's 37-year fascistic rule in Spain (whose legacy and memory are still controversial since his demise in 1975; and present-day Spanish dislike of the Catholic Church as an institution, in sharp contrast to its historical prominence.).

The Church teaches its starving faithful that they will inherit the kingdom of God via the "beatitudes". I see that teaching as disgustingly cruel, a perpetuation of the God-concept that is cruel and narcissistic, of creating and expecting humans to spend their time praising God and asking for salvation while they suffer in their existence.

I do not think the present church leaders and ministers conspire to mislead the poor. But it appears these men-of-God learned erroneously or inadequately themselves and therefore taught badly throughout the centuries.

It is only after Vatican II in the 1960s (and thanks to then Pope John XXIII a saintly priest with an authentic, simple peasant background) that some in the hierarchy became concerned about social realities, especially the predicament of the poor and tried to impart social consciousness for the ignorant masses and social action, e.g. through Basic Christian Communities in the Philippines and even more radically, Liberation Theology as widely preached and practiced in Latin America in the late 1960s-1980s. 

Unfortunately the long reign of Pope John Paul II and now succeeded by his former "dogma-hit-man" (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) Pope Benedict XVI,  turned back all these enlightened beliefs or interpretations of Christianity and the gains of Vatican II. 

Thus, the Roman Catholic Church in general and the hierarchy in our homeland is back to being for the status quo, more a church for the rich despite its lip-service of being the church of the poor.

If one is to believe that man was created in the image of the christian God, then that God in the preceding must be discarded since it is a cruel and distant God -inasmuch as many of his supposed creatures are left to suffer. 

It is therefore the urgent and primary task of the Catholic Church in the Philippines to emphasize and demonstrate the "love of neighbor," of the neighbor in need; to teach more fully this critical or major part of Christian teachings.

It behooves the RCC hierarchy to stress the need for internalizing this teaching so that each native Filipino Christian, and especially those who have power to change or influence the direction of the homeland will actively lead with honest, utmost social concern and moral ethics in their governance and business dealings, but most especially towards the poor native majority.

The world is not just a stage on which man works out the eternal salvation of his "soul." Forget the emphasis on loving God with incantations and formulas or staying within the confines of otherworldly or afterlife concerns, or spending most time protecting the church as an institution. 

Instead the Catholic Church in the Philippines and its members should be responsible and put emphasis on loving one's neighbors, that is, by seeking and fighting for social justice, by informing themselves and teaching the ignorant mass about their rights for a just society.

For no social system is just if it deprives its people of those earthly goods which are necessary for a truly human existence, whether the system is market-driven capitalism or socialism or Marxist-Leninist-Maoist-what-have-you communism. It is by teaching/informing. striving and acting for a just society can believers demonstrate their love of their christian God.

Oftentimes in the history of man, cults or movements led by great men with their great teachings/ideas are revolutionary. But as they proliferate and become a major part of society, of the Establishment, those movements become reactionary and pillars of the status quo, if not moribund. That is how Christianity since the 4th century started to gradually change, that is, when Constantine made it the official religion.. 

To me, much of the authentic Christian followers were from that long past earlier era.

- Bert

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" Fear history, for it respects no secrets" - Gregoria de Jesus (widow of Andres Bonifacio)

THE RISE OF THE "RED BISHOP" - Liberation Theology et al

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During the Marcos' Martial Law years, I read much about Latin America's Banana
Republics and latters' various military dictatorships that seem to endlessly result in coups and countercoups; where the military rulers essentially were subservient to the foreign companies (mostly Americans) and their local oligarchs.

I used to tell myself then that we Filipinos were still in a better sociopolitical and economic state than all of them. Fast forward today, we find that we Filipinos and our homeland have now retrogressed into a worse socioeconomic-political state in comparison to most of these Latin American peoples/nations!

The dominant Catholic Church, via its CBCP (we can throw in the other Christian churches/varieties) has not really worked for fundamental reforms that should have emanated from its social teachings highlighted by the Vatican II Council . Instead, it has withdrawn to its usual excuse "give to Caesar.." ad nauseam.

Our Filipino Catholic Church and its members essentially retreat to its shell or bunker of religiosity/piety and therefore by default, maybe unconsciously, selfish individualism. Maybe their God wants our majority to suffer now for the happiness in the hereafter.

Now let's look at Paraguay (I just remember Amado!) a not-so-often mentioned country in Latin America, and we find a former Catholic Bishop doing what none of ours apparently would be willing to do. That's how by default our Catholic hierarchy has become pro-establishment, its continuing saga of ala-Spanish friars of old.

Below article talks about the new President of Paraguay, a former Roman Catholic Bishop.

“I helped the poor and they called me a saint, I asked why they were poor and they called me a Communist’ – Brazilian Bishop Helder Camara (1909-1999)

“Nations, whose NATIONALISM is destroyed, are subject to ruin.” - Colonel Muhammar Qaddafi, 1942-, Libyan Political and Military Leader)

“There is no literate population in the world that is poor; there is no illiterate population that is anything but poor.” – John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006)

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Rise of the Red Bishop
The Guardian, Thursday August 14th 2008

For 61 years the Colorado Party has ruled without interruption through democracy and dictatorship. But on August 15 the former bishop Fernando Lugo will take over as the first 'different' president of Paraguay. Known as 'The Good', 'The Bishop of the Poor' and 'The Red Bishop', for many he is seen as part of the new Latin American left that includes regional leaders such as Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Evo Morales of Bolivia and Rafael Correa of Ecuador. But most of all, for many Paraguayans he represents the change they have been waiting for.

Fernando Lugo says he still belongs in the Catholic church. Photograph: Courtesy of the Alianza Patriotica para el Cambio/Rafael Urzua

I am convinced Fernando Lugo has a public path that started in the church. A path the people have known of me, as a student, as a professional, as a teacher, as priest, as a missionary, as a bishop. And I think Paraguayans have discovered in this man a person, somebody that, above all, has put all his attitude of serving at the service of everybody. That includes his love for his country, its people, and most of all the excluded ones, the humble, the poor. -

From the church I started helping the most disadvantaged. I think that is one of the reasons why the people gave me their vote of confidence. Most of all, I think they placed their vision, their desire for change, on me. And I don't want to let them down. I believe that the credibility I have shown is what made the people reply with so much love, appreciation and affection.

First, I want to tidy up the house. Here in Paraguay we have chaos. There are things that make one want to cry. For ages we have been giving the impression of not being a serious country. We have to change that. We have to show all citizens how the country really is. Transparency and honesty will be two of the fundamental characteristics of what I want to do. And the change will be to clean the face and the interior of the country. For Paraguay to recover its dignity as a nation, to be credible as a country, we have to erase the stigma of being a pirate country, a country of traffickers, a corrupt country.

Bad administration and corruption have grown strong roots and are widely developed in our society. Poverty in Paraguay is another clear stigma. Paraguay has not been giving opportunities and equity to people so they can show their potential.

We have to create conditions for more solidarity, more equality. I strongly believe Paraguay is a rich country with many poor. And that is simply scandalous. I strongly believe that in Paraguay we can no longer avoid starting a process of agrarian reform. Land tenancy here is scandalous. We need to start a proper development plan that will help all Paraguayans.

When I was elected president, Bolivia’s president [Evo Morales] welcomed me to the "axis of evil". I always asked where that expression came from. I do believe there is no such "axis of evil" but simply countries that have been labelled like that, countries that simply want the best for their people, for the people that have been excluded for so long. So we are going to be part of those progressive governments that always go for the benefit of their people.

I want a serious country. If we want a serious country we will then, regionally speaking, have to follow Uruguay and Chile closely. I want a country with big development, with equality, so then we will have to follow Brazil closely in that great search. I want a country that is respected in its sovereignty, then maybe we will be close to Venezuela or Bolivia or Ecuador. I will have to take into consideration the positive points other Latin American leaders have. But we re-affirm that we want to have our own process, and there will be elements that will differentiate me from other Latin American leaders. But I am sure I will coincide in many elements. This is our process and we will do it ourselves, from the inside but with the justice and solidarity of other countries.

I became a priest in the late 1970s and served as a missionary in Ecuador and there I embraced "liberation theology" and its focus on the poor. Yet, despite Rome's suspicion of what for some was viewed as a subversive movement, I slowly moved up the hierarchy to become a bishop in 1994. In my 11 years as bishop of San Pedro [central Paraguay], I worked closely with peasant movements. Gradually, though, I came to feel that I could change more as a politician. But I was and still am a member of the Catholic church.

A lot of disinformation or simply lack of information makes people think I am not part of the church any longer. I feel that, more than ever, I belong to this church. Today, with a new role, as a laic, but the pope himself recommended me never to abandon the faith in which I was formed, and less so the evangelic values. I take those words to heart. I will still be inside the church and inside the framework of a church that is a community, that speaks out the values of the kingdom of God.

Before I felt there were lot of constrictions and due to various situations my decision to get into politics was a process in which the citizens themselves asked me to jump into a more political role. I do believe the church does an excellent job, an evangelical mission, but if we are pushing for change that is not enough. We have to take the unfair structures of society and push for change from there in order to start a change in the whole of society. The liberation theology is an element of my formation. But it is not all. There's also a philosophical, political, sociological formation in me. Human sciences put the human being at the centre and that has an influence on my relationship with people. And we are going to do this now from the presidency.

Without doubt it is possible to resurrect a country like Paraguay. We are people of hope, of faith, and I won't be the one killing that hope of the people. I do believe we will resurrect this country, a country deeply drowned in misery, poverty and discrimination. Because I do believe Paraguay could be different. I do not lack faith in this flock. Where there is a scream coming from the poor people, where there is sweat, where people are shoeless, we will be there. Because in such people there is a resurrection; if that exists there, then there is resurrection for Paraguay. Here there is a Guaraní [indigenous person] saying: "The padre has spoken, and so be it."

• Fernando Lugo was speaking to Andrés Schipani in Asunción.

Source: http://www.guardianweekly.co.uk/?page=editorial&id=691&catID=1

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Invitation to Join: CO-SPONSORS: SOA WATCH & TASK FORCE ON THE AMERICAS Endorsed by YALE UNIVERSITY FIRST DELEGATION TO PARAGUAY May 31 - June 10, 2009

Explore the challenges facing new president Fernando Lugo.
Fernando Lugo’s triumph in the Paraguayan presidential election on April 20, 2008, is historic because it marks the end of the Colorado Party’s hegemony after more than 60 years. Known as the “Bishop of the Poor” by his supporters and the “Red Bishop” by his right-wing opponents, Lugo formed a coalition made up of 10 political parties, mostly left or center-left, 20 social organizations, trade unions, small farmers and indigenous associations.

The central theme of his campaign was poverty reduction and land reform. His agrarian reform policy was most significant because it addressed Paraguay’s highly unequal distribution of land that, after Bolivia, is the second most unequal in Latin America, where 40% live in poverty and 20% in absolute poverty. 77% of the country’s fertile land is controlled by one percent of the landowners. One of his first acts as president was to apologize in the name of the state to the victims of human rights violations during the 1954-1989 Stroessner dictatorship.

While Paraguay remained a backwater for most of the colonial period because of the absence of natural resources for international trade, now the country’s enormous water resources are being coveted by transnational corporations like Coca Cola and its hydro-electric power being generated by Itaipu plant 10 km north of Iguassu Falls currently provides cheap energy for Brazil and Argentina. The Guarani Aquifer, is one of the world’s largest reserves of water.

In recent years the resistance to multinational agro-producers of soy like Monsanto, Dupont, Cargill, and ADM have led to repression of social movements. Paraguay is the world’s fourth largest exporter of soybeans, and every year more than 24 million liters of hazardous pesticides are sprayed on soy crops alone. Illness and deaths in communities located near the soy plantations have resulted in migration to cities without jobs to support the influx.

This delegation will meet with social movement leaders to explore the controversy around mono-crop soy production. In addition we’ll talk to indigenous groups, small farmer associations, trade unionists and government officials to learn about the inequalities and corruption that the new president is facing. We hope to address the issues of US militarization (largest military base in Latin America) as well as the anti-terrorism law that criminalizes protest.

[The $1000 delegation fee (subject to change) will include itinerary, guides, housing, at least two meals a day, and in-country transportation. It does not include travel to and from Paraguay. For more information and an application, contact: Dale Sorensen, 415/924-3227 or geodale1@earthlink.net.]

Source: http://soaw.org/docs/ParaguayDel2009.pdf