20150922100912religios imperialisme in the philippines

7/17/2019 20150922100912religios Imperialisme in the Philippines

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/20150922100912religios-imperialisme-in-the-philippines 1/11

AJT/3:2/89

RELIGIOUS IMPERIALISM IN THE

PHILIPPINES: SOME CRITICAL

REFLECTIONS·

Salvador D. Eduarte

Christianity in the Philippines, in its Roman Catholic form, is now more than

four hundred years old, while the ·Protestant variety is now more than four score

years. r u i t ~ d about as the only Christian country in Asia

i ootin

the Far East, the

Philippines can rightfully claim to be crucial point where East meets West, and

where Western pragmatism meets and blends with Oriental mysticism. The more

irreverent observers say that we spent four hundred years in a convent and about fifty

years in Hollywood.

C h r i s t i a n i ~ y an Importation

Before 1521, Christianity is practically unknown in the islands, although Muslims

antedated the religion of the Nazarene by at least three centuries. With the coming

of

Spain into world supremacy, and with the growing need for the expansion of

commerce and navigation, not to exclude the motivation for spreading the Catholic

faith, the Westeinnavigators ' set their sights into the then undiscovered lands. The

PhilIppines, by a quirk of history, belongs to

Portugal by

virtue of the Treaty

of

Zaragoza, signed with Spain

in 1529

since

the

former, under the terms and stipulation

of the accord, .claims all hinds 297 -1/2 leagues 'east of the o l u c c s I But then

Magellanclaimed the islands

forSpam

and as a concession to the Royal Crown who

was his employer. .

Thet Christianity was

n

importation is an historical fact that seems

incontrovertible. And herein lies the paradoxical situation which puzzles and baffles

·many seriousminded Christians. For as an observer

of

Philippine life has said, .

Two fundamental problems plagued the churches ... First, (it appears) that

Christiaruty is a potted plant in Southeast

Asia

t

has been transported without

. being transplanted. t is still viewed by Asian as a foreign importation. Secondly,

Christianity in both Catholic and Protestant forms, eventually became imperialistic

in nature and policy and failed to help substantially the native Filipinos in

attaining sovereignty and independence,

2

This charge is quite serious.

For

if; asthe dictionary defines it, imperialism is

the policy and practice of forming ' and maintaining an empire

by

' conquest,

colonisation, POlitical

or

economic doniination 3then Christianity in

both

Catholic

and Protestant forrru., has hindered more than helped in driving the spirit

6f

nationalism

into the psyche oftlle Filipinos. . .

1<

Salva:dor D Eduarte is assistant professor

of

ecclesiastical history ·and Christian dogmatics at Saint

Andrew's Theological Seminary, Quezon City. He is also an ordained minister

of

the United Church

of

Christ in the Philippines.

473



AJT/3:2/89

Causes

of

Imperialistic Power

.

The

root causes

of

imperialism

can be

seen in power and position of the friar

in

Spanish times. As an extension

of

Spanish Catholicism in the village and municipal

ievel, the friar is often more powerful than the civil officials. The Archbishop of

Manila

is ex oficio head

of

the Philippine GoverIlment ,and the

moment

the Governor

General becomes incapacitated or dies, he ipso f cto becomes the head

of

Government

until a replacement

is

made

by

the Crown. .

Sinibaldo de Mas describes the

power

of the Spanish priest during the Spanish

times.in these memorable words:

- The governadorcillo;

on

receiving an order from the

alCalde,goesfIrst

to the

(friar) to get his permission; and

it

is the latter, who,

in

strict terms, tacitly sees

to its fulfilment,

or

prevents its course.

The

Father concludes

or

directs the suits

o the village, makes ·the writs, goes '

up

to plead for his Indians, 'opposes his

petitions

;

and at times their threats, to the violence committed by the alcaldes

mayor

;

and

manages everything

by

the standard of his desire.

3

Since the friars were beneficiaries of wealth and power,

it

stands to reason that

they would promote colonialism and imperialism.

It was not strange, therefore, that the friars became the willing tools of suppression

of

the natives by the brutal arms of the Spanish military. Fa.ther Pedro V. 'Salgado,

O.P.,

trenchantly observes that

the missionaries importuned the Spanish government for soldiers to go

in

hot

pursuit of the natives

in

the hills.

Many

times, missionaries paid for the soldiers'

. wages and food, and supplied them with guns and blIllets to caPture or kill the

recalcitrant natives.

Many

times,

it

was t9 the

i s ~ l o n r y

heads that the militarY

heads reported the success or failure

of

their operations. Missionaries accompanied

the soldiers to see to it'that everything was done

accordingtoobjectives.

4

Fr. Jose Herrera, Provincial pf the Dominican Order, fmanced military expeditions

for

four years in a row, namely: in 1751, 7152, 1753,

and

1754.

5

In a

document in

which the provincial putshis imprimatur to the operation,dated April

12,

1755, ht;. .

said: . . . ,

. I certify that ... the said troops were ,made possible

at

:

my

expense ...

with

my

p r o v i n e ~ h o u l d e r i n g the food, gun-powder,and bullets, as well as the salary

of

one peso monthly for each soldier.

6

. . .

Not to be outdone, Fr. Francisco Rocamora,

O.P.,

parish priest of Dupax, in

Nueva Viscaya, masterminded military expeditions against the Ilonggots,

of

the

Sierra Madre mountains. This Dominican priest, who is supposed to be a servant of

God, designed as . head for this Qlission a Don

Tomas

Manuel,

who

headed a

contingent of soldiers and for 15 days burned the villages o Bin angan Casaguiman,

Butac and Guiyan.

7

Certainly, these atrocities were carried

out

in the

name

of

Christ

who said, fle who lives by the sword shall perish

by

the sword."8 . . .

But

the bravery of the indios, the Novo Viscayanos, amazed the.white conquerors,

and sUPP0l1ed

by

the military forces, they fInally overwhelmed organized resistance.

But ,

not

without cost to the Christian murderers. "Fr. · Diego Aduarte (not 'to

be

confused with this writer's surname ) spoke thus of the natives:

474



AlT 3:2 89

These natives were so warlike that not even a religious went out of town except

in the company

of

soldiers and with arms; nor did the encomendero go to collect

their tributes without an escort

of

many soldiers, coming back immediately with

anything that the Indians were pleased

to

give them.

9

Religion

o

Domestication

,' What seems even more disturbing was the method employed by the missionaries

to cushion the warlike traits

of

the natives. This was' done by emphasizing the

meekness

of

Jesus Christ, who meekly suffered the death on the Cross, and who

offered prayer for His tormentors.

It

was pointed out that as followers

of

the

Nazaiene; the natives must likewise be meek arid submissive, and im;tead

of

complaining against the oppression inflicted upon them, should be patient, obedient,

and meek.

Fr. Diego Aduarta, already mentioned above, tells us about a certain Siribian, a

chief

of

Cagayan' s northwestern town, who was formerly a ferocious warrior, but

who became meek

as

a result

of

Christian indoctrination. I wonder whether this friar

Aduarte does not have his tongue in cheek

as

he chronicles this example

of

domesticating religion:

The Spaniards grew angry at the answer and threatemed to ane the Indian

(Chief Siribian) unless he did what he was told (to bring a prostitUte). the Indian

turned his back and bending his head said, Give me

as

much of a caning as your

plelise, for I am not going to do what you ask. The Spaniard was so intemperate

and discourteous that he vented his anger upon him and caned him.

fbe

had

shouted to his followers, they would have cut the Spaniards to

i e ~ e s

But

as

he

was a Spaniard, nor would he avenge himself, nor would he

eVen

make use

of

a just defense.... He said nothing more and uttered not a word of ndignation. D

Great , ndeed was the developed and organized campaign toinddctrinate the

native indios in the virtue

of

meekness and obedience that in sermons, prayers,

novenas, and literature distributed by the Spanish colonial government the same

refrain

is

found. Jose Rizal,

'fu

his attack against the friars faulted them for teaching

the natives

to

look up

to

heaven and pray, while the greedy conquistadores prey on

the natives' ignorance, andgnibbed their land.

11

While religion pointed upward to

heaven,

Spmngot

what she wanted by appropriating hectares of land through the

encomienda. ' ,

-.l ,

griculture in the Service

o

Imperialism

Still another method employed by the friars and missionaries was to gather the

Filipinos into one compact community within the sound of a bell, the reducciones for

purposes of indoctrination and manageability. Such a community, composed of

Spanish soldiers, missionaries, and natives needs.ta huge supply of rice and lowland

agriculture. The colonialists knew that

if

they didn't maintain the Filipinos in a

community, the latter might go

back

to kaingin farming in the hills,

far

from their

influence, and thus revert to paganism. Thus, the missionaries introduced farm

implements, and even

cashcrops for

the natives. Under the guise o charity and

improvement

of

agriculture lurks the sinister desire to indoctrinate the natives so that

they will be uncomplaining victims

of

imperialism. '

75



AJT/3:2/89

There is, therefore, more than meets the eye in the account given by historian

Antonio

M o ~ o

For

this reason, and because it is

n e c e ~ s i l l y

to provide means by w h i h t h ~ s e

who are converted may obtain a suitable support, so that for lack of h e s e they

may not go around wandering, as soon as

we

begin to confer baptism

we

,

endeavour to find animals and other necessaries for the cultivationof land the

religious being often the first one to commence it in order that the people may

imitate them ...

12

Evidently,

the

Spanish friars and bishops were a great ally with the policies

of

the colonial government,

andthe

institutional Church, wealthy from

thepillageof

the e o p ~ e s

r ~ l i g i o u s

faith, reciprocated the power and privileges granted to itbythe

State by aiding and abetting the abuses committed against the victims

of

Spanish

tyranny.

it took another r()undofmartyrs before Filipinos finall ygathered enough courage

to xebel against the foreign tyranny.

t

took the death of the priests Fathers Burgos,

Gomez,

and

Zamora to shock the nation into a realization that they

had

been led by

self-styled propagators

of

the Gospel

of

Christ who were actually 'willing tools

of

Spain's colonial rapacity.

,Filipinos today seldom hear of the courage

of

Filipino clergy who withstood

against the institutional Church's imperialistic designs. But history has given us

names of individuals hitherto unknown Filipino.priestswhowere tortured for resisting

abuses. Among these was Fr. Maraiano Dacanay,

of

Ilocos Sur, one

of

the

9

detained

priestsaccuse;d

of

rebellion in 1897, who gives us an account

of

the beastly torture

he endured ul'the hands of the friars: '

Present during this heartrending and horrendous spectacle were the Provisor and

the seven superior of the Seminary who, instead of sympathizing with my

suffermgs and cruel torture, much to thecontrary, watched

my

martyrdom with

visible signs ,of pleasure, for they even went to the extent of encouraging the

guards to treat me even more cruelly - Fr. Gavino Olas9,'for one. Duringmy

._ orment, that Father said that i I died on account ofthose lashes, they would put

my

corpse in a ,box and

just

throw

it

in some corner; and when they saw me

mlirrnur a prayer

between

clenched

teeth

- because during

my

prayer kept

murmuring the

emorare

ofSaint Bernard to the Virgin t6 implore her protection

in those most cruel moments - they laughed at me and said, What can this

hypocrite be praying?' And when I fell over due to the blows andthe fatigue

caused by such a contorted posture, rolling over

on

the floor, they added to my

sufferings by kicking me roughly as

if

I were a football, and when I fell, I struck

my head against a post, causing a wound, and another time I rolled over near

F&therCavino, who was pacing quietly around the room, and he gave me

another tremendous kick in the head which completely stunnedme 13

Comes Now American Religious ,Imperialism

When, in the course of time, revolution finally broke,out between the Spanish

governnieni and some patriotic Filipinos, the latter thought that with the defeat

of

Spain, they would finally rid themselves

of

the hated religious iIllperialism. But this

was not to be. For it was mereiy a case of changing from one inasterto another, with

476



AJT/3:2/89

American imperialism coming to theislands in more refined, albeit more dangerous,

ways.

Emilio Aguinaldo, as head of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines,

had already raised the flag of rebellion against Spain when he declared independence

at his home in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. Before that, Andres Bonifacio and his

Katipuneros had already tom their cedulas arid declared war with Spain.

It was

at

this time that the Spanish-American

War

had already broken out in

Cuba, .when the USS Maine was blown to pieces while it was berthed at Havana,

Cuba. Promptly, Admiral George Dewey, then .a commodore, received a cablegram

from President William MacKinley to proceed from Hong .Kong ·and commence

hostilities with_he Spanish flotilla anchored at the Manila Bay. This

mock

battle"

brought

the Americans to our shores. With the defeat of Spain's naval fleet, and the

imminent collapse of the Spanish colonial government, it was only a matter of time

before Aguinaldo and his revolutionary forces would claim victory over Spain. But

then, the United States in the person of Dewey struck a deal, or so Aguinaldo later

claimed, that

if

the . atter would help in defeating .Spain, the Americans would allow

Aguinaldo to enter Intramuros and accept the surrender

of

Spain in the name of the

newly proclaimed Republic of the Philippines.;

But

Dewey denied this. And so.

t

was

that the American . forces entered Intramuros and' accepted the .surrender of the

Spanish forces, leaving AguinaldoandJhis men out in the cold.

14

Once again, the

Philippines was had.

This strange ~ t u t i o r i maybe undbrstood i we remember that back home in the

UnIted States,

h e a n t i ~ i m p e r i a l i s t

league was pressuring MacKinley to respect the

independence

o

he Philippines. o r ~ i n o s t s u p p o r t e r s of

his

movement include Jane

Adams, Mark Twain, and William James. William iennings Bryanbecame the

Presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, runningon an anti-imperialist platform.

The Anti-Imperialist League

was

first organized in Boston in November 1898

by

a

group of individuals who ' had been active in "

he

anti-slavery

movement

Spreading-rapidly throughout the country, the League held a conference in Chicago

. in October 1899 and adopted thisplatform: . .

_

We

hold that the policy known as imperialism is hostile to liberty and tends

. towards militariSm, an evil from.which

it

is our glory to

be

free

.... We

demand

the immediate cessation

of

the war against liberty, begun by Spain and continued

by us.

We

urge thatCongress be promptly convened to announce to the Filipinos

our purpose to concede to them the independence

f r

-which they have so long

_fought and which

of

right is theirs.

IS

• ButMacKinley and the Republican Party batted for American sovereignty over

the islands. This was motivated by two ignoble ';purposes-one religious and the

other cOmrilercial.

The religious motivation, which actually is but a cover up

r

front for the second

(business), took place during the visit to the White House of a delegation ofMethodist

church leaders, November 21 ; 1899. TheMethodist official organ hristian

d w ~ c a t e

gives us a detailed account of the ipcidentthus: -

Hold a moment longer (Said the President tothe delegation) Not quite yet,

gentlemen Before you go I would like to say just a word

about

the Philippine

477



AJT/3:2/89

.' business. 1 have been criticised a good deal about the Philippines, but don't

deserve it. The truth is, I don't want the Philippines, and when they came to us,

as a gift

from.

the gods, I did not know whatto do with them. When the Spanish

War broke out, Dewey was in Hong Kong, and I ordereq him to go to Manila and

to

capture and destroy the Spanish fleet, and he had to, because,

if

defeated, he

had no place to refit on that side of the globe ' When I next realized that

the

Philippines had dropped into our lap I confess I did not know what to do with

them. sought counsel from all s i es Democrats as well .as Republicans -

but got no help. I thought first we would only take Manila, then Luzon, then

other islands perhaps also. I walked the floor of the White House night after

night; until midnight; and I am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that I went

down onmy knees and prayed Almighty God for light and guidance more than

one night. And one night late it Came to me this way I don t know how it was,

but i t came: (1)

That

we could not -give them back to Spain '-'-, that would be

cowardly and dishonorable; (2) that we could not turn them over to France and

Germany---'

our

commercial rivals in the Orient that would be bad business

and dishonorable;

(3)

that we could not leave them to themselves -

they

were

unfit for self';govemment - '- and they would soon have anarchy andrnisrule

worse than Spain's was,and (4) that there was nothing left for us to do but to

take them all, and to educate the Filipinos; and uplift and civilize and Christianize

" them, and by 'God's grace do the very

best

we could by them, as our fellow men

for whom Christ also died. And then I went to bed, and

wentto

sleep, and slept

soundly, and the next morning I sent for the chief engineer ofthe

War

Department

(our map maker), and

l

told him

toputthe

Philippines in the

map

of

the United

. States (pointing to a IWge,map

on

the wall of his office) and 'there

they

are, and,

there they

will

stay while l m President. 16 . . .

With his undisguised ~ ' b e n e v o l e n c e clothed in the religious ' language of

nineteenth century Protestant jargon, MacKinley succeeded in armexing .the Philippines

to,

the United States. While not

a

professionrutheologian, an i therefore may not be

fauhed for his apparent belief in polytheism ("a gift from the gods"), henonetheless

must be held accountable for his couching his 'imperialistic motives in the guise'of

concern for people for whom Christ also died." This use of religious categories to

mask his global design for American business gives Protestantism its respectability

which, alas; is also its weakness. For

in

MacKinley hypocritical stance, which is

condescending'in the extreme, we find the height of Anglo"Saxon prejudice against

the .brown race, and the ' attitude ' that Filipinos are ·uncivilized, unchristian, and

perhaps as monkeys without tails. "

The second motivation is the real one: Amencais interested

to

extend her

hegemony to the Philippines, not

out

.of benevolence or because of 'altruism; but

because of the profits

in

trade and commerce that she will derive from the rich natural

resources.

Such motivation was clearly spelled out by Senator Alfred I. Beverage, a

Republican and one of the leading lights of the MacKinley administration. In a

speech before the US Senate on January 9, 1900, he said: .

Mr. President; the times call for candar. The Philippines are ours forever, ,'a

territory belonging to the United States,' as

the

Constitution calls them.'And just

beyond the Philippines are China's illimitable markets. We will riot retreat from

78



, AJT/3:2/89

either.

We

will not repudiate our duty in the archipalago. We will not renounce

our part in the mission of our race, trustee under God, of the .civilizations of the

world. And.we will move forward to our

work,not

howling our regrets like

slaves whipped to their burdens, but with gratitude for a task worthy of our

strength, and thanksgiving to God Almighty, that He has marked us as His

chosen people, henceforth to lead in the regeneration

of

the world,l?

Imperialism

in hilippine

Scene

Finally, given this behind the scene a c h ~ a t i o n of the United States government

and its foreign policy, it does not seem strange that the first missionaries who ,came

to the Philippines came with the Thomasites. Education is said t ~ the legacy that

the Americans have bequeathed to us, aside from the democratic form

of

government.

But whatkindof edllcationwas s ~ i n training us benighted Filipinos? Theuse of

English as a medium

of

instr,uction has been decreed by

thethen

Bureau

of

d u ~ a t i o n

Language is the soul

of the

nation; and when

a

ation's language is notit,s own, there

is every likelihood that whoeverowns that

language

willhave an undue advantage

over the other. This is cultural imperialism. Textbooks were printed in the United

States. Examples and stories are tailored in the USA. n Kindergarten, the Filipino is

taught hisA-B-C by saying, A is for Apple." when there are no apples in the

Philippines. '

The author 'remembers vividly, in the late forties, when we are .supposed to

be

independent already, he was taught to sing in Grade One:

God bless America Land thatTlove;

Stand beside

her

and guide her

Through the night with t h ~ light from above.

Throughthe

prairies, through the mountains

Through the ocean, white w,ith foam

God bless America, my horne sweet home

We did not even realize then that we are brown people,singing the song of the

white Anglo-Saxon, and that there are no prairies in the Philippines. Such cultural

imperialism persisted to this very day when commercials with States-wide bias, as

in

Marlboro commercials, reveal our penchant for everything made in U.S.A, One

listens to songs in the radio or TV and one discovers to one's horror ,that in. he,space

ofoqe hour, there are stations both in the

AM

and FM bands which never played

original ,Filipin,o Music W h ~ t has happened to our much vaunted nationalism?

Religious Symbolism

Much that is sacred in religion is often also borrowed from the West. Thus, we

'see Catholic saints

with

Caucasian features , blue eyes, and wearing a CastilIan

moustache. The Virgin Mary, inspite

of

the fact that she is Asian, is sometimes

pictured as having .blonde hair and blue eyes: Jesus Christ is more often thiul not

picturedas a sad-eyed Caucasian, reflecting a meek Christ, who seemed to beina

trance that He could not

seewhat's

going on in the stockinarket or in the sanctum

offices

of the

powers th,at be. No wonder we have an .anaemic Christ,

meek

and mild,

rather than n angry Christ - as we read often in the Gospels - driving the money

changers out of the temple.

79



AJT/3:2/89.

Until

only

recently, not more than

25

years ago, Latin was the language used in

the Mass. All documents in the areas

of

canon law, theology, and even in prayer

books are often written in a foreign tongue. Filipinos have a hard time pronouncing

Latin suffixes or Spanish subjunctives because the Filipino is an Asian, whose palate

and larynx are not made for dipthongs

of

the Western. world. Yet, like RizaI' s

charaCter Dona Victprina, in his

Noli

many

of us

ape anything foreign as though it

is a sign

of

being modem or even

s o p h i s ~ c a t e d

How tragic indeed

Among Protestants, religious imperialism is evident in the use

o

hymns and

church rituals that date back to

the revivalistic movement

of

the 1920s. Such hymns

seldom,

if

ever, reflect the Filipino problems and aspirations,

but

are written within

the framework

of

a Puritanical Calvinistic theology. n the United Church

of

Christ

in,the Philippines, where this writer is

art

ordained minister, there is

n

attempt to

Filipinize the hymns and the liturgical songs, including a Statement

of

Faith that

reflect the

s o c i o ~ p o l i t c a l

context

o

he Philippines in the

p o s t ~ E D S A

event.

l

But

stilL

there are a lot

of

vestiges

of

coloniaJismwhich ought to be exercised

if

not

excised" since amol1gthe Protestant denominations, the UCCP, along with the

UNIDAandthe

IEMILIF,

is

the most na'tionalistic.

This

is also evident in the textbooks in the theological seminaries. Written by

such famous European and American theologians

as

Karl Barth; Reinhold Niebuhr,

Paul Tillich and others, the Filipino seminarians are exposed to the theological '

method of the West, nottlj.e Asian

wayofdoing

theology. Fortunately, there is now

a growing theologicalcoI,lsciousness among Asian churchmen and theologians to

develop textbooks written by Asians and Filipinos which would eventually do away

with textbooks that are We,stemcoriented, and

be

able to do an Asian view

of

reality

with thought fonns and concepts that are rooted in Asian realities.

This nationalistic rennaisance in the field

of

religion in the Philippines is a

healthy sign

of

the growing assertiveness 'of the Filipino as he looks at his past and

endeavours to trace his roots and histpricalheritage. The

so

called identity crisis is

beginning to disappear. Now we

know' ~ o

we are and where we came from. We

also share in the vision expressed

by

that foremost Filipino nationalist Claro Mayo

Recto and his kababayail the late Jose

W.

Diokno that nationalism

is

not just a

. sentiment but it is

the ,detennination to uphold the sovereignty

of

the Filipino people, the right

of

all 'Filipinos - not just

of

a few and 'definitely not

of

foreigners - to freely

decide the destiny

of

the nation, what kind ofgovemment we should

have

and

who should run ' t, what is the common good and how

to

attain it, how ' our

society should be structured, the wealth

of

our land and seas used, developed

and shared, and how our culture should be preserved and enhailced.

19

.

.

. . .

.

Nationalism,

iri

the right context, could be the antidote if not the antithesis to

religious imperialism. But just

as

atrue

nationalist is also an intermitionalist,'so the

remedy against

th

onslaught

of

religious imperialism is not to shun the literature, the

music and the,culture

of

other nations,

butto

develop one's own approach to God, to

Christ, .and to , he Church using the models

of

other nations" but always within the

framework

of What is

useful and practical and appropriate for the Filipino Christian.

For

thebeliever

of

Christ in the Philippines today, the challenge is

not

to ape the

480



AJT/3:2/89

West, nor to shun the West, but to see

what s

good and creative in other cultures and

adopt

one s

own version

of

what it means to be a Filipino Christian in this decade.

Filipino Contextualization

Asian theologians have a word for it: They call

it

·'contextualiZation. This

simply means the Wlderstanding, interpretation, and application of the truths of the

Christian faith and how it fits into the time and age and situation of the Filipino

Christian. As a hermeneutical principle, therefore, it seeksunderstimdthe Faith in the

light of existing Asian realities, aware of he vast Asian complex that this part

of

the

world poses to.the Christian religion from the world's oldest religions.

o

This contextualisation will take into account Filipino expression

of

religiosity

and spirituality in terms of events that are takingplace

n

our country

with

the

Gospel, however, as something

that

does not change inspite of human aberrations.

Contex.tual theology will interpret the message

of

the Gospel,

not

incategOIlesthat

Western theology has imprisoned it, but in the living realities that areobtaiIlihg in

Asia and the Philippines.

Church people can express their deep religiosity by using Filipino materials and

Filipino thought forms that reflect our roots as Asians .and.at

the

same time the

heritage of the Christian Church that transcends geographical or regional locations.

Oneexa.mple of this is FatherBenVillote s bamboo chapel in Tipas, Taguig, Rizal

where basic Filipino materials and architecture express the meaning of the faith for

the Tipas parishioners. Sernions and homilies shoUld not use Amencan or European

examples where an equivalent illustration.can be obtained

in

the Philippine setting.

Hymns that are found in 'American hymnbooksshould :be revised to include only

those hymns that have relevance to Filipino life.

What is envisioned in this transformation of our religious values is not an.

American bias, but a pro-Filipino stance which seeks to recover the

ancient

heritage

of the Faith without sacrificing our national ethos. Thereis now a need to re-examine

whether much of our practices in worship, in the liturgy of the hours, and similar

exercises are influenced to a large degree by the Western form of Christianity -- be

it Catholic or Protestant - which are'alien

to

the native aspirations

of

Filipino

Christians. ... .

'

.

, .

0 _ 0 ·

Increasingly, there is a need to develop a core ofFilipinotheologiap.s who will,

without regard to religious denominations, evolve a common approach tonatiohalistic

Christianity which

will

remain, '

in

the words

of

Pope Paul VI, be both fully

Christian as well

s

fully Asian: 21,Unfortunately, this

is

not carried out in practice.

It is still evident that much of the rituals, practices, and symbolisms in .Roman

Catholicism remain vestiges of imperial Rome. Inspite

of

the winds

of

change

introduced and made possible by the

Second

VaticimCoimcil : : which changes

occasioned the split from. Rome led by .a traditionalist churchman ·named Cardinal

Lefbvre - this Christian tradition is still.heavily saddled by Western polity,ritual,

and canon law. '

Philippine Protestantism is not much different from Catholicism; Still a .virtual

duplication of Methodist and Presbyterian and Baptist churches in the Bible belt

South,Filipino

Baptists, Methodist,

and

Presbyterians (even withiii '

my

own

481



AJT/3:2/89

communion in the United Church ofChrist in'the Philippines) sing the sarrierevivalistic

hymns made popular by the Negros and honky tonk Americans in the years of

the

Depression in the late 20s. Sermons from most Protestant churches are a digest of

Bible commentaries written by American churchmen. Rural Protestantism's piety as

manifested in prayer meetings, testimonies, and emotionally laden hymns about the

old time religion and the hallelujahs heard in Pentecostal meetings (now adopted

by ,charismatic groups) are 'an imp()rted American practice of bush preachers ,and

illustrious but illiterate evangelists. '

Unless we recover a sense

of

nationhood, as long as we remain under the

shadow of Mother America, or under the care of Holy Mother Church based in the

Vatican, Christianity in the ,Philippines cannot hope to e ,truly of, by, and for the

Filipinos. Maybe a reform similar to the Aglipayan movement at the tumof ,the

centui-y is needed today, Hopefully, eveIl Indepenpents can ,also evolve a truly

nationalistic chQrch, free from foreign influep.c'e and domination; and truly reflective

'of the inmate spirituality of the Filipino , ace.

Footnotes

1 Peter G Gowing, Islands Un4er the Cross, QuezonCity: National Council

of

Churches in the Philippines, 1967, p. 25.

2 GeraldH. Anderson,ed., Christ and Crisis in Southeast Asia. New: York:

, Friendship Press, 1968,p.

11

,

3

Quoted by Pedro V: Salgado, O.P., Imperialism in the Church

in

Kalinangan,

Vol. 5, No. 4 (December 1985), 4.,

4

Loc.cit.

5. Ibid.

Cf

alsoGowing', pp. 61-62.

6

JUlian

Malumbres'; O.P.,

Historia de la babela, Imprenta de

la

Uni-versidad de

Santo Tomas,

Manila; 1918, p. 67.

.

-

, .

.

7

Juliam ~ u m b r e s

< : . ~ . Historia de Cagavan y sus Montanas desde el Principio

de su Pacificaacion Conguista hasta Nuastros Dias.

Imprenta de la Universidad

de Santo R Tomas, Manila, 1910, pp. 141-142. '

8 SaintMattbew26:52.

9

Diego Aduarte, O.P.,

Historia de

la

Provincia de SantoRosario de la Ordende

Predicadores;

Manila (1640), in Blair and Robertson,

The Philippine Islanos;

. Cincinnati:Ginnand Company, 1925, Vol. XXX. p.237 .

. .

.

.

10

Ibid., in Elair and Robertson, Vol. XXXI, p. ~ 2

11. Jose P. Bizalin Lettersto the Young Women of Malolos , Epistelario Rizalino,

Manila: La Solidaridad Publishing House,1965, p. 34. '

12

Antonio Mozo. Noticia Historico-Natural.

Madrid,

1763 in Elair and Roberstone,

, , Vo1.48, p. 77.

13 WilliamHenry Scott. Cracks

in

the Parchment9urtain nd Other Essays in

Philippine Historyl. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1982, pp. 186-187.

482



AJT/3:2/89

14 Read the interesting account of this infancy and treachery on the part of the

Americans inTo Agoncilloand M.Guerrero,

History of he Filipino People 6th

rev. ed., Quezon City: R.P. GarciaPublishing, 1977; pp. 1 9 1 ~ 1 9 5

15 Quoted in Daniel S Shirrnif and Stephen R. Shalom, eds.,

The Philippines

Reader

Quezon City: KEN Incorported, 1987, p. 30.

16

Ibid.

p. 22-23.

The Christian Advocate

is the official organ

of

the Methodist

Church in the USA. This writer prefers to quote Schinnir, et al for obvious

reasoris.

, ..

.

v

17. Bfeveridge s speech is Jound in

Congressional

ecord

of

the US Senate dated

January 9, 1900, pp. 704-711. See also Schirrnir, et

al, in Readers p.

23

18 See FelicianoV.Carino ed.,

Like A Mustard Seed: A Commentary on the

StatementoJFaith.

Quezon City: Faith

arid Order Committee, United Church of

Christ in the Philippines, 1988. Read the introduction by Bishop Erme Camba,

UCCP General Secretary.

19

Jose W. Diokrio, A Nationfor Our Children. Selected Writings and Papers of the

late lW. Diokno. Quezon City: Jose Wright DiokrioFoundation, Inc., 1977, p.

n · .

. 20. Douglas d Elwood Emerito, Nacpil, eds.,

What Asian Christians Are Thinking:

A Sourcebook. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1978, p. 12

21. From the Pope s sPfeech delivered at the Malacanang Palace, on the occasion of

his visit to the Philippines, Bulletin Today, Jan. 23,1980. The apparent disparity

between pronouncement and practice in Catholicism as regards.nationalism and

Filipinism may be appreciated by reading the critique

of

Vatican imperialism in

world affairs, and its politico-religious interference in State affairs, for which

seePaulBlanshard, American Freedom and Catholic Power New York: Beacon

Press, 1961, pp.

181

185, andAvro

Manhattan The Vatican in World Politics.

Chicago: Holt, Rhinehart and Faber, 1949, pp. 233-35.

483

20150922100912religios imperialisme in the philippines

Documents