ARE WE INDEED CHRISTIANS?

I was inspired by Grimwalds previous article that I felt I want to delve into it and try to add my own insights.
It is a Sunday and as Grimwald puts it, time to deliver a sermon.

We go to God whenever we are in crisis but generally no one really bothered to examine our relationship
with him as a nation.

The Philippines is a predominantly Christian country in the South East Asia and actually East Asia.
Catholicism dominates the Christian religion in the Philippines and, as Ninoy Aquino added in the quoted
interview below, we were instinctively Catholics. There are other sects established in the Philippines
who claims they are more improved and are Bible-based than the dominant religion but I have a few friends
there too that says otherwise. But the bright side of it is that there are still Filipinos who are continually
seeking his righteousness.

However, I am wondering. If we are indeed one of the most Christian country in the whole world, why does
it seem that Gods blessings are not reaching the Philippines despite centuries of prayers and pleas? We
are his only believers in this region of the world so we should get a divine priority, right? Is he not hearing
us? He is too powerful that no sound audible to humans or not that he cannot hear. Are we not praying
enough? In the Bible, God explained in many ways that praying have certain requirements. Are we not
complying those requirements? And, lastly, how much do we know about the person we are praying to?

1. Do we have accurate knowledge of God?

85% of Filipinos are Christiansbut we never really read the Bible (referring to the Catholics).
I dont know why An excerpt from the interview of the late former senator Ninoy Aquino in The
700 Club sometime in 1981.

The primary source of information about God for us Christians is the Bible. Some may cling to other
literatures but ultimately it is the Bible as the Muslims to their Quran. I studied in a Catholic
elementary school and I somehow proved to myself Aquinos statement about not reading (or
reading less) of the Bible. We had books about religion but those literatures tell more about saints
and their miracles, and about the rituals of the Catholics. None of those literatures discussed Gods
personality, his sense of justice, proof that he is love, a giver, an all-knowing, all-loving, all-caring
person in detail. I graduated from that school carrying an understanding that we have a very strict
and unforgiving deity that it once led me to conclude that he is unfair and I preferred being an
atheist rejecting the possibility that such a powerful person as God is too impossible.

I just wondered, if we do not have an accurate knowledge of God, his personality, what makes him
happy, what kinds of prayer he hears, then I guess we need to reexamine our understanding of
him first. Otherwise, dont you agree that its like we keep calling him but we kept dialing the wrong
numbers?

2. How much do we follow the Ten Commandments?

(Note: I will not discuss all of the commandments)

a. Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3)

How many of us Filipinos are still star struck ignoramuses that our minds are very occupied by
the affairs of our showbiz idols almost 24/7 instead of gaining accurate knowledge of God?
How much time is spent on studying religious matters compared to watching TV for some
popular show, browsing the internet to see what is and is not trending or just to get an update
on showbiz news. As Christians, we all agree that God created us. If that is so, why are we
 spending only an hour of an entire week to worship our Creator while we spent the rest of it on
some actor, actress, or politician that doesnt even know us and will fade eventually in a matter
of years? To who do we owe our existence? To our government officials? Que horror!

If we are to construe Exodus 20:3, dont you think that God also means I must have your
undivided focus which was actually put as Love God with all your heart, with all your strength
and with all your mind.?

My point is if we are not giving God much attention, then perhaps he is doing the same to us.

b. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou
shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous
God (Exodus 20:5)

What is it exactly that we do not understand about thou shall not make a graven image and
thou shall not bow down to them, nor serve them? In fairness to the INC, (one time I watched
of their programs on TV) I understood this commandment more when I saw one of their
commercials. Let me describe to you what I saw:

- Comes in the scene a man holding a chunk of timber

- Waiting at the setting is a chisel and hammer (no other tools, just that)
- He began working on the wood
- Done! Finished product a figure.
- Lit candles (two based on my memory)
- Final scene: puts the figure and the candles on top of a table, kneels down and pray.

My feeling after seeing that Disgusted. Im sorry my Catholic friends. Why? Because I
suddenly remembered when I was around 7 years old, one Christmas Eve, we kids were told
to fall in line and kiss the Baby Jesus figure.

If we are praying to God but does this with an image considering that he explicitly told us not
to do so, do you think hed hear us?

c. Thou shall not commit adultery

Adultery is defined by dictionary.com as the voluntary sexual intercourse between a married

person and someone other than his or her lawful spouse. In the Bible, I recall Christ preaching
against adultery twice and in one he said that a mere lustful look at a woman is already
adulterous.

What do we have in society now? Dont we have leaders that are known philanderers? Who
voted for them? Isnt it the majority? What is their basis? The performance as a previous official
and potential to do good could be the answers but then again, being a philanderer should at
least made us think twice about these men with respect to the commandment thou shall not
commit adultery. Or is it just the Filipino males sexuality and ego comes to play in choosing
who to vote for?

Ilang babasahin ba meron tayo ngayon na sa bungad nito ay mga litrato ng mga babae na
naka-posturang akala mo e (patawad sa paggamit ng salita) naglalandi. Some will say this
is art or freedom of expression. To those who will say that, please explain where do you draw
the line? When do you say it is pornographic and when it is art? And please explain when this
has become freedom of expression because, according to thelawdictionary.org, it is The
 right to say what one wants through any form of communication and media, with the
only limitation being to cause another harm in character or reputation by lying
or misleading words. The definition did not include posing almost naked in the media. I can
see one word in the mentioned definition that applies to my contention: misleading. It
somehow sends a message that women are pleasure objects waiting to be devoured anytime
which leads to lust then to adultery.

Imagine this: God is about to grant our prayers and travels from his realm to Malacanan for it
but along the way he saw magazine and tabloids with barely clothed women on its covers?
Do you think hell proceed or will have his convoy turn back?

d. Thou shall not steal (Exodus 20:14)

How many leaders have we elected to office that had previous records of plunder or suspected
of amassing millions while in office? Have we learned our lessons? I dont think so. Some of
them have been tried and proven guilty but somehow found a way to crawl back to rise again.
Others are suspected and under investigation but cannot prove their innocence in any forum
and yet they have quite a number of supporters.

If you are god and you have your people praying for economic progress with such leaders that
will supervise the benefits of economic progress how will you hear the prayer?

Could it be the one of the reasons why we are still so Third World?

e. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. (Exodus 20:16)

Lately, I have been seeing and hearing claims that former president Marcos was merely
maligned in history as if we were wrongly informed about him. On another note, Ive seen a
blog telling the scandals of the Aquino/Cojuanco family. Totally different from the way media
has projected them. At any rate, reputations have been damaged and public image has been
tainted. But I am certain that there are lies in either or both stories.

Mudslinging wow!

In an election one candidate will definitely rise from the mudslinging where he himself took part
and win. Then he will take the oath in which the last statement he will say So help me God.
Knowing what he did to get there So help me your face!

By the way, how sure are we that the winner won fair and square? (Bear false witness)

Vox Populi Vox Dei And God was like not in your elections.

Finally, am I expressing a lack of faith in God? Im not. I am questioning, as I have mentioned, our
relationship with him as a nation and our collective means of communicating with him. Remember the
Biblical story of Nineveh? It took them only one warning and they repented and God forgave them. What
about us?