A Manifesto for Holy Cross Day

An Appeal to the Philippine Nation

We are Christians of various backgrounds and traditions. We are bound by a common confession in God who is one and triune, and who has loved us so much that in Christ God has destroyed death and made possible the redemption of this world. Through the Spirit which has been given to us, we have the courage to profess this love to all men and women.

Today is a date special to many Christians. It honors the Cross, which is the sign by which Christ conquered death, defeated sin, and challenged the powers of this world. This sign of powerlessness was so powerful that it has transformed the world.

Even the things we hold dear were started by people of faith, especially those who affirmed faith in the Cross of Christ: democracy, freedom, the rule of law. The achievements of our civilization were achievements of those who also found comfort, peace, and above all, freedom in that redeeming Cross.

In our time, however, this whole story is being challenged by those who believe that our nation should, in its public life, not be founded on any form of religious belief. They further assert that the Christian faith, whatever its manifestations, has been harmful to us as a nation. To suggest that it should be disregarded because of the tragic legacies of colonialism neglects the way by which the Cross of Christ has so transformed our nation that we are now witnessing to it even in nations where Christianity seems to be in decline.

We confess that we have not been truly faithful to this Cross of Christ. We have neglected its power to transform our nation and thus surrendered our future to the forces which threaten to undermine faith in God.

This is the same Cross which Paul the Apostle spoke about more than two millennia ago, when he wrote to the believers in Corinth:

“Jews look for signs but Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

 Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (1 Cor 1:23-31)

These are words of hope for our struggling nation. Our hope is not in renouncing God as the center of our lives and our world. Our hope is in God, who loves us so much that we cannot help but return this love.

Regardless of where we disagree on the little things, we hold fast to this common confession.

Against those who say that God has no place in public life, we say that God is ultimately the Lord of all, even our politics.

Against those who say that faith ought to have no role in how our economy and our society works, we say that Christ redeemed even our economic and social structures.

Against those who say that we must alone rely upon science and technology without the guiding hand of faith-based ethics, we affirm that by the Cross, all our human endeavors will be judged.

But most of all, we affirm that all is not lost.

We appeal to Filipinos of faith, especially in God and in Jesus Christ, whether here in the country or abroad, to work for a society where there is space for the spiritual.

We appeal to our brothers and sisters who do not share our faith to join us in this endeavor, for this will only make possible the freedom of belief that you seek.

We appeal to our churches to set aside animosity and hatred and to work together to create a new and transformed society shaped by the Cross of Christ, where all are truly equal, truly free, and truly human.

Finally, we appeal to those who have lost faith in Christ and in God. We pray that you will discover once again how God has loved you first and that you will find that only in Christ can you truly think free.

May God’s Name be glorified. May the Cross of Christ triumph in our nation and in the world.

14 September 2011
Holy Cross Day

Renato Paolo V. Aguila
writer/researcher, Philippine Bible Society

Romel Bagares
Elder, Christian Reformed Church in the Philippines

Benjamin Vallejo Jr.
Associate Professor, UP Diliman

Rei Lemuel Crizaldo
Pastor, Norzagaray Christian Church

An Anglican in Japan joins the Catholic Church

I'm a sucker for conversion stories. I'm always interested in why one person changes churches or religions. I find that my knowledge and my thinking are greatly improved by looking at and reading about the area that divide beliefs, worldviews, and paradigms. Different beliefs and denominations can have very different ways of looking at the world, and reading about those that change often clarify the differences.

Russell Stutler is one person who has gone on such a journey. He writes:

I live in Tokyo. I was born in Japan to an American father and Japanese mother, and was raised in Ohio.

In 1987 I was sent to Japan by a small missionary board (sort of a renegade organization comprised of evangelical Episcopalians). I was their only missionary assigned to Japan, and my task was to find a place to live, learn Japanese, and find a way to serve God here.

On August 14, 2011, I joined the Catholic Church. I had previously been a member of the Anglican Church and was a non-denominational evangelical Protestant before that. I'm still thoroughly evangelical, and always will be. Why did I do such a crazy thing? I wrote an explanation for those who are curious.

That explanation is here. It is a detailed intellectual exploration of the issues and that appeals to me. While lengthy for a blog post, it is not overly long and is broken into different sections.  To give you a fair idea of all the various sections would require much too much space, but here is an excerpt from one:

But can I trust them?

When I first took a serious look at the Catholic Church I had the major obstacles that all Protestants have, such as the pope, Mary and the saints, and I began my investigation like any Protestant would, by looking for evidence in the Bible. Then I turned to the early Church Fathers, church history, and also a big fat book called The Catechism of the Catholic Church to see what the Catholic Church actually taught about these issues. Even as I came up with enough evidence to overcome some difficulties, other issues popped up that I needed confront. I suspected that even more issues might surface later on, and the quest could go on forever if my goal was to pursue every difficult teaching to a satisfactory conclusion.

My problem was I was going about it the wrong way because I had missed the main issue which was whether or not the teaching authority of the Catholic Church is trustworthy. I wouldn't have to prove every doctrine that I came across if I could just trust the Church and accept that it has been guided all along by the Holy Spirit...

If you are like me and like such stories or if you are interested in an intellectual and Bible-based summary of a key Catholic-versus-Protestant issues, read the whole thing.

Report shows Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world

Christianity is now the most persecuted religion. 

When did Christianity arrive in the Philippines?

Ren Aguila and I had an interesting discussion on early Christianity in Asia. And naturally this led to some talk on when the first Christians arrived in the Philippines.

Conventional history says that the first Christians came with Magellan in 1521. Here we can't contest for there was Antonio Pigafetta to record all of that in a journal which became a book. It is the first rather accurate (and thus modern) depiction of a voyage to Asia. The earlier works like the one of Marco Polo may be viewed as fantastic. Sceptics say that Marco Polo went to China. mentioned the use of paper money and yet did not even mention the Great Wall (and even dumplings they say)! Pigafetta's journal's mention the Easter Sunday Mass (March 31) celebrated in the Philippines. This "first Mass" (which is the first act of Christian worship in the Philippines) is a bone of contention. Where exactly in the Philippines was the first Mass celebrated?

Pigafetta records an island called "Mazaua" as the site. The problem is that  there is an island in Leyte called "Limasawa" and a place near Butuan as "Masaua". Pigafetta mentions a port with many boats. Today's Limasawa has no anchorage and definitely is not a busy port. Butuan has been proven by archeologists as an ancient trading port (the oldest balanghai boats were dug up there). But Butuan is not an island at all. However it could have been in 1521 since it sits on a river delta.


I won't delve much into this controversy that has the Philippine National Historical Institute in a bind. But there are other places in the Philippines that claim as the site of the first act of Christian worship. The most famous of this is Bolinao, Pangasinan. This northern Luzon town famous for its "bagoong", powdery white sand beaches and  as the site of the University of the Philippines marine laboratory, claims to be as the site of the first Mass in the Philippines. In front of the Spanish colonial Church of St James is a marker documenting this event.

Bolinao townspeople claim that Blessed Odorico of Pordenone landed in Bolinao, Pangasinan and celebrated the Mass in 1324, one hundred ninety seven years before Magellan's priest celebrated his in Mazaua. Odorico is claimed to have baptized the natives and made converts.  The marker in the church plaza was donated by citizens of Pordenone, Italy.

There is no doubt that Odorico went to China, India, perhaps Tibet and Southeast Asia as a missionary. There is documentation to prove this This missionary effort happened during the last period of Eastern Christian flowering in Asia. There is a lot of research that now proves that the Nestorian Church had an extensive presence in China and India.

However, there is no definite proof the Odorico landed in the Philippines. Of course the word "Philippines" had never been coined then! But the historical accounts say that Odorico visited a place called "Thalamasin" somewhere in Southeast Asia. The name "Pangasinan" refers to the widespread activity of making salt, thus the province is literally "the land of Salt". However it is claimed that the creation myth of the Ilocanos of Luzon, "Angalo ken Aran"(put into writing by Godofredo Reyes) mentions "Thalamasin" as a place name in what is now Pangasinan!

Is Thalamasin Pangasinan? The historians will have to dig out the documentation. This is where the Episcopal presence in the Philippines intersects with these controversies. The Episcopalian lay missionary Dr William Henry Scott,  (1921-1993) fondly known as "Scotty" is considered as the authority on pre-colonial Philippine history and the history of the Cordilleras. Scott spent most of his time in Sagada and taught for a time at the University of the Philippines. Scott did his PhD at the University of Santo Tomas where he was supervised by another eminent Filipino historian, Fr Horacio de la Costa. Scott's dissertation demolished the historicity of the Code of Kalantiaw establishing that it is not precolonial but dates back to 1914. He also concluded that there is no evidence that a Datu Kalatiaw ever existed. In his study of the Maragtas, he concluded that while Bornean datus may have arrived in Panay, the account preserved  the memory of an actual event as an oral history.

Scott's "Discovery of the Igorots" remains as the definitive work on Cordillera history but Scott's essays on Igorot religion and belief as this culture meets Christianity is important reading for any missionary. I like what he writes in "Worship in Igorot Life"

"The practice of religion as a literal way of life is precisely what any Christian body must attain if it is to be a Christian community at all., and such a Christian way of life should flow from the Christian faith and not vice versa".... "Therefore however imperative it may appear to modify the pagan's daily conduct out of allegiance to Christian charity or dogma, the stones with which to build a new way of life dare not be confused with food for a children hungering after the Living Bread"

There is still much to learn about the first time Christianity was planted in the Philippines. It is not a far out idea that the first Mass may have been Eastern Christian rather than Roman Catholic. Nestorians or Malabar Christians may have wandered onto Pangasinan's white beaches for the islands were trading with Asia. We have archeological evidence that there were Hindu and Buddhist missions in the precolonial Philippines. We have written accounts of Islamic missionaries. So it is not far fetched if there were Eastern Christians. But like Scott would challenge historians, find the documentation first.