The religious and non-religious communities were stirred recently by the Department of Education's department order (D.O.) number 36 which changed it's vision and mission statements, and removing the phrase "God-loving" from it's vision statement. It was a response by the department to a "request" made by a local secularist group called Filipino Free Thinkers (read their open letter to the DepEd here).
As expected, people from the religious group responded to the issue (first from Cross Currents' Nation Watch and followed by a blog post by Pastor Dennis Sy). Yesterday, Dr. Sylvia Claudio, an adviser to the secularist group and a contributor to Rappler, replied in defense to the open letter and to the subsequent action by the DepEd. It was immediately answered by Rei Crizaldo, the writer of Cross Currents' article, through another blog post that same day.
The on-going discourse on the department order can go on for days and weeks. And sadly, in this progressing society that we are in today, we won't see the end of this discussion. Like oil and water, no matter how hard you mix both things, will not become one.
But I'm not going to the same direction these well-intended writers went. I desire that Christians should not respond condemning the unbelievers. Rather, I want us to take a reflective approach on the situation. I see this as a wake-up call for Christians to realign our lives to how God has called us to live. Asking ourselves "what can we learn from the DepEd's department order" and then respond properly with a goal of making the greater impact in the society.
So what can we learn from this? Well, I have thought of the following:
1. Secularism and atheism are gaining ground. Years ago, we can still hang on to the traditional and conservative norms of the society and had the clout to suppress any ideas and practices that are contrary to the Roman Catholic belief system. But with the advent of freedom and rights came openness to other thoughts, ideas, and practices. With our unquestionable adulation of anything West, it is inevitable that what happened with them will sooner or later happen to the Philippines. In the past, secularist and atheistic views are best kept in the shadows, and people just pretend to be religious just to evade antagonistic glances and criticisms from others. But the situation has changed, they've become open, more vocal, and actively recruiting and converting others to join their ranks.
2. We have to accept this fact and that we are one of the parties to be blamed. In the past, the country basks under the glory of being "the only Christian country in Asia" as the Philippines was the only predominantly Roman Catholic country in the region. Although this is true, we have seen over and over again that in both Roman Catholic and Protestant churches we have not been good examples of living according to what we preach. There were many reports in the past that the clergy and used their influence to do immoral things. And we know that we at the Protestant leadership are not exempted from unbiblical practices. Ordinary believers were also living their lives like there's no God to judge their actions. We have made a bad witness for our Lord towards other people that led them to believe that there's no God.
3. Not only that we are contributors to the problem, we even tend not to address our own omissions and then direct the blame on the non-believers. Our common response to these issues are counter-attacks against their ideologies. But I consider these as "belated actions" for the church could have done something in the past to preempt these scenarios.
What must the church do to address this? Well, I have to admit, there are certain limits as to what we can do. If the President, religious as he is, would notice the impact of the changes, might direct the department secretary to rethink the new vision and mission statements or revert back to the old version. Someone from the religious group may want to make another open letter like what the secularist group did. But that will only lead to submissions of never ending open letters from both groups.
These actions are possible, and someone has to do them.. But I would like to rally all Christians (whether Roman Catholics or Protestants) to do an internal action of our own.
1. We have to change the way we live our lives. In Phil. 1:27-28, Paul encourages the Philippians "only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God." Though this is an encouragement in the face of oppression and persecution, the principle remains the same. It is sad to note that many people who profess to be Christian live almost the same like anybody else. The way how we live out our lives is a reflection of what we truly believe inside. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." If we truly believe in Jesus Christ, in the holy and righteous God, then changes has to occur. We are to turn and run away from any sinful practices. We have to have true conversions in our habits, from bad to good. Our testimonies are vital in convincing them that God exists and there will be a time that He will judge both the living and the dead. We also have to remember that most of them live by "to see is to believe" motto.
2. We have to make true disciples of Jesus Christ. Proclaiming the gospel of Christ and biblical preaching of God's word is a must. With the popularity of self-help, prosperity, and feel-good messages and books, no wonder that the church is producing more synthetic than authentic Christians. These messages have led Christians to become self-absorbed, self-satisfying individuals. Churches also have become too focused on numbers and therefore have resorted to these type of messages. If the church attendance is getting low, the leadership will have to demand that the pastor preach on shallow messages than preaching the gospel. People have shun away from deeper teachings of the faith and just satisfied themselves in the thought that they are already saved, and that's enough for them. Also, the gospel of Christ is, by nature, offensive to us. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 states, "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, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God." If we try to sugarcoat the message of Christ just to invite more people in, then we're not making a true disciple of Christ. We're only deceiving people that they are saved. We're only adding members to a club or an organization. It's like declaring to God, "I want to be saved, but I don't believe in the power of the Spirit and of your word."
3. We have to address the offending sheep by the proper administration of church discipline. The proper administration of church discipline is vital to the preservation of the integrity of the church. If there is a wandering sheep who's gone doing what seemed right in their own eyes, the church has to lovingly address the offender, correct the wrongdoing, and help rehabilitate the person back into the right path. There are cases wherein churches have chosen to do away with church discipline in the spirit of love, peace, and order amongst the members. Or perhaps the involved are close friends, relatives, or associates of the pastor or leaders, using the Filipino trait a deep sense of debt of gratitude to escape responsibility or discipline. Church discipline is a necessity and the church has to practice it without compromise and hesitation. Jesus himself gave a specific instruction on how to do the process of disciplining a sinning brother (Matt. 18:15-17). And James 5:19-20 even gives this encouragement, "My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." In reality, we're not really helping and practicing love towards that wandering brother if we chose not to apply church discipline.
4. We have to realize that we need to equip ourselves to become better (if not the best) ambassadors of Christ. Many Christians are ill-equipped in apologetics. Many Christians, once came face to face with someone who is truly searching for the truth of the Bible, will not be competent enough to lead others to Christ. Some see it as the role only for the pastors and missionaries. Some tend to have an agnostic attitude towards the deep truths of the Scriptures saying, "I'd rather not know these since I won't be able to understand them," or "I'd rather not study them since my brain can't handle difficult things." But Peter, addressing Christians in general, said, "but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame" (1 Peter 3:15-16). How can we then be called representatives and ambassadors of Christ if we don't know anything about Him, His gospel, His work, and everything about God? Paul sets a good example for all leaders and pastors who will do the same task and ministries after him, "Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me" (Colossians 1:28-29).
These are just some of my thoughts on the matter and how we can turn things around. If churches, from the leaders down to the members, will seriously and prayerfully and depend on the Holy Spirit to do these, we might be able to not only save the next generations but also convince those who are seeking today or those who have renounced anything to do with faith and organized religion. As one popular cliché says, "changes in the society should start from a change from within oneself."
