Transcript Document

National Movement for Righteousness and Transformation (N-MRT)
God has a purpose for
our nation.
We can understand
God’s purpose
for our nation
• By reviewing prophetic words given to our nation
in the past
• By studying our history
– God’s purpose for our nation has been preset
– God has been preparing us for this purpose
– Our past will show how God has invested in our
country
Framework in studying our history
Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds
(Matt 13:24-30)
– When God is at work, the enemy is also at work.
– As we study our history, we should see God’s work in
preparing the Philippines for its destiny.
– But we should also discern what the enemy has planted
to hinder the fulfillment of God’s purpose for our nation.
Overview of our nation’s history
• Pre-colonial period
• Spanish period 1521-1898
• American period 1898-1946
• Philippine Republic 1946-1972
• 1972 (Martial Law) – to present
The Pre-Colonial Period
Pre-Colonial Period
“ From one man he made every nation of men, that they
should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the
time set for them and the exact places where they
should live” (Acts 17:26)
– God created the LAND
– God caused the land to be inhabited by PEOPLE
– God provided natural RESOURCES in order for the
people to live in the land
Pre-Colonial Period:
The Land
• An archipelago made up of 7,107 islands
• Total area of 300,780 square kilometers
•as large as Italy
•larger than New Zealand
•very much larger than Britain
• Rivers and seas all around
• A ‘crossroad’ in the migration and trade route
The World in Actual Size
Google Image of Asia
Google Image of the Philippines
Pre-Colonial Period:
The Resources
• extremely fertile agricultural land with potential
of 18 million hectares, only 1/3 of which is
currently cultivated
• teeming biodiversity in flora and fauna on land
and marine life on sea
• inexhaustible sources of energy – oil, natural
gas, deuterium
• minerals for the technological age - gold, silver,
copper, silicon, uranium
Map
by
Peter
Loud
<http:/
/users.
power
net.co.
uk/mk
marina
/philip
pines/p
hilippi
nes.ht
ml>
“The fusion fuels are deuterium
and tritium: These nuclei are
isotopes of hydrogen: they have
the same number of protons,
different number of neutrons.”
“Deuterium: One
gallon of water
contains 1/8 gram of
deuterium.”
“If fully burned in
fusion reactions, the
energy output would
be equivalent to 300
gallons of gasoline. “
“In other words, the available
energy supply of fusion fuel
is equivalent to filling the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans
300 times with gasoline.”
“If fusion can be successfully
harnessed, it could satisfy the
entire world's electrical
energy needs for millions of
years. Fusion can also produce
hydrogen which may be useful
for transportation.”
http://other.nrl.navy.mil/LaserFusi
onEnergy/fusionfuels.html
Pre-Colonial Period:
The People
• The land was peopled by a mixture of races;
these were not homogeneous in terms of local
culture and development
• Early Filipinos were greatly influenced (but
never conquered) by Asian countries
• Early Filipino culture was deeply-rooted
Early Filipino political economy and
culture were deeply-rooted
• Early Filipinos believed in a Supreme Being.
• Each tribe had a deep sense of consensual
democracy.
• Women were the equals of men, and played a
pivotal role in tribal society.
• Tribes had no intent of expanding their
territories or subjugating other peoples.
Early Filipinos believed in a
Supreme Being.
• He came by various names—Magbabaya,
Bathala, Manama, Kabunian
• But he lived in the seventh realm of heaven, too
awesome for early Filipinos to know
• The early Filipino was so humble s/he did not
dare to describe the Supreme Being.
• S/he needed someone else to describe it for
him/her.
Democracy permeated early
Filipino life
•Property was communal; no one person
owned the land.
•Therefore, no one ruled; a triad consisting
of datu, babaylan and panday LED the
tribe.
•All issues were settled by consensus.
Women were men’s equals
• They provided the pickings and horticulture to
feed the clan out of God’s bounty.
• Men needed to hunt wild boar and deer only
occasionally, because vegetation was already
bounteous enough for nutrition.
• This made the babaylan, often a woman, not
only a healer, but a counselor, historian, epic
chanter, and vice datu.
Early Filipinos never subjugated
others.
• God gave them such bounty that they did not go
to war to expand their territories or subjugate
others.
• Their wars were caused by petty disputes
between adjoining tribes.
• Visayas and Luzon communities, however, were
helpless against Muslim pirates who raided and
kidnapped one or two of theirs for the slave
trade.
Precolonial societies were ripe for
the Spanish conquest by 1521.
• They needed a better understanding of their Supreme
Being
• They had to be united into one nation
• They had to be brought into a more “modern” world—
• And suffer the consequences for these
Spanish Period (1521-1898)
Spanish Period:
Archipelago Named
• Magellan reached our shores on March 17, 1521—
 And gave the islands its first name, “The Archipelago of St.
Lazarus.”
• 21 years later, Villalobos reached the islands—
 And renamed the land “Islas Filipinas” in honor of Crown
Prince Philip, who later became King.
• Our land’s name tells our land’s purpose.
Spanish Period (1521-1898)
• Spanish colonization laid the
groundwork for our nation.
The Spaniards stayed 333 years.
The development of the
Philippines as a nation was
therefore greatly influenced by
the Spanish colonizers.
Spain’s effects on us
• It stopped Islamization of the
islands
• It brought Catholicism to our
shores
• It developed our economy, politics
and culture into a feudal one
• It unified our tribal societies
What Spanish colonization
did to our indigenous democracy
• Colonizers instituted a centralized form of government
– Uniting all barangays
– Excluding Muslim communities
• Datu families were gathered around town centers or
pueblos
• Peasant families lived in the old barangays, in the
peripheries
• This gave rise to classes and corruption of datu
families
The weeds of Spanish colonization
• Imposing a system of classes on Philippine society,
Spanish colonizers destroyed the indigenous Filipino’s
sense of consensual democracy and equality between
men and women.
• Spanish colonial structures of inequality produced a
sense of inferiority and low self-worth among Filipinos,
encouraging datu families to plow into public bin.
Birth of a nation through revolution
• The destruction of democracy incited revolts
throughout Spanish rule.
• More than a hundred major revolts took place
from 1565 to 1872
• Execution of GomBurZa in 1872 served as a
catalyst for a nationalist movement
• Filipino nationalism reached its peak during the
Philippine Revolution of 1896 to 1898.
Birth of a nation through revolution
Independence from Spain was
declared on June 12, 1898 at
Kawit, Cavite where for the first
time, the Philippine national flag
was hoisted and the Philippine
national march was played in
public.
Nevertheless,
the Spanish Period established
the Filipino Nation
• The nation was defined geographically
• The nation was given a name
• The nation was born – independence, flag,
anthem, constitution
• A national consciousness was formed
American Period (1898-1946)
Arrival of the Americans
• Industrialization led America to wage war against
Spain
• America’s victory brought out the issue: colonize
the Philippines or not?
• US decision to colonize the Philippines was
legitimized by:
– the decision of Pres. McKinley to colonize the
Philippines after seeking the Lord through prayer.
– the ratification by the US Senate of the Treaty of Paris
The Filipino-American War
• Pres. McKinley, issuing his benevolent assimilation
policy towards Philippines, declared it under Military
Control
• Filipinos rose up and fought hard in spite of their
scanty arms
• Before the war ended 200,000 Filipino lives taken.
– 4,000 American soldiers, 20,000 Filipino soldiers,
200,000 Filipino civilians dead
• The Anti-Sedition Law prohibiting display of Philippine
flag, among others, was passed .
Campaign for Independence
• Filipinos were defeated but never gave up.
– Some resisted American rule through arms, others
through legal means
• In May of 1934, the Tydings-McDuffie or
Philippine Independence Law was passed.
• This resulted in the granting of independence
on July 4, 1946, after World War II.
America’s contribution
to the Filipino nation
• The Americans trained the Filipinos in the
“democratic” form of political governance.
• Public education became a right of all people.
• The English language was extensively propagated in
the country.
• Public health was promoted.
• Major improvements were made in transportation and
communication facilities.
• Biblical Christianity was introduced.
Another American contribution:
One nation,
one national government
• Establishment of one national government
throughout the whole archipelago
• Approval of the 1935 Philippine Constitution
• Establishment of the Philippine presidency
The American tares
• American military conquest & suppressive laws
subverted growth of nationalism
• Filipino consensual democracy was further subverted
with introduction of a large middle class in the cities
• Corruption in top rung of government was covered up
by existence of this middle class
• The public school system induced Filipinos to regard
American culture as “superior”
• Filipinos, in becoming avid consumers of American
products, learned to despise their own
Japanese times (1942-45)
Independence delayed
• The War was a horrifying time for Filipinos, esp
women and children
• But despite their atrocities the Japanese
encouraged rediscovery of our culture
• We had already won the war when the
Americans arrived
• But we treated them as heroes anyway
Philippine Republic (1946-1972)
The Philippine Republic:
An independent nation?
•The Tydings-McDuffie Law of 1934 granted us
independence.
The question is: were we truly independent
during the Philippine Republic?
Philippine Republic:
An independent nation?
Economically
• After the war, we were Asia’s most war-devastated
country
• Economically bankrupt, we begged for financial
assistance.
• The conditions imposed for the rehabilitation and
reconstruction fund tied our agricultural economy to
the American economy .
Philippine Republic:
An independent nation?
Conditions
for US rehabilitation and reconstruction fund :
• Amendment of Philippine Constitution to give way to
American access to our natural resources
• Agreement to the Bell Trade Relations Act: free trade
relations for 8 years
• Institutionalization of foreign exploitation of our country
Philippine Republic:
An independent nation?
Militarily
– Military Bases Agreement was signed, giving U.S.
the right to an unlimited number of bases in the
Philippines for 99 years
– final agreement reduced number of years to 25,
renewable, during Marcos’ time
– However, since the count started in 1966, the U.S.
had already gained 44 years
Philippine Republic:
An Independent nation?
Politically & Culturally
•Government remained under US dictates
•People remained poor
•Diaspora started
•National resources were depleted
•Colonial mentality was fostered
American tares
in the Philippine Republic
• We developed a love for US products
• We had only one target market: the US
• American companies were our largest investors
• Our elite supported American interests
• We aped US foreign policy
• We adopted the American dream as our own
• We supplanted our bayahihan spirit with
individualism
But Filipino nationalism
never really went away
• 1930s: Crisanto Evangelista established the
Partido Komunista with help from UP students
• 1950s: Claro M. Recto campaigned for nationalism
• 1960s: anti-US demonstrations increased
– Youth took up struggle against one-sided economic
relationship with US
Simultaneously,
Revival in Philippine church
• 1948-60: 20+ new evangelical missions arrived
• 1960s: spiritual revival among students
accompanied demos
• Nationalism affected the Philippine Churches
– Protestant churches moved for autonomy from US
mother churches
– Catholic clergy revived Filipinization movement
– Liberation Theology spread
Martial Law
to Restoration of Democracy
(1972-present)
Martial Law Years (1972-1986)
•
•
•
•
•
Conjugal dictatorship of the Marcoses was
established
Crony capitalism spread corruption and politicized
military
Foreign debt reached $25 billion in 1983, 70% of the
population lived below the poverty line
CPP-NPA and MNLF forces grew
Human rights violations became rampant
Democracy Restored,
Corruption Democratized
(1986-1992)
Reconciliation
and the Cory Aquino Administration
–
– 1987 Freedom Constitution
– Coups, Crises and Calamities
Corruption spread to the middle and lower classes
Democrary Restored
(Corruption “Privatized”)
(1992-present)
The quest for nationhood continues
–
–
–
EDSA People Power became source of national
pride
Complete territorial sovereignty was attained;
political & economic sovereignty lags behind
But corruption remains unabated, spreading to all
sectors and classes
1991— the Year of Breakthrough
– Philippine Senate rejects the renewal of bases
treaty
– U.S. bases finally dismantled after the Mt.
Pinatubo eruption
– Split in Communist Party of the Philippines
(CPP) occurs
– Unity among born-again Churches seen
– Catholic charismatic communities arise
Corruption and lawlessness
on the rise
• This is how we can describe our situation today.
• Aren’t these tares planted by the enemy—
• To thwart God’s plan for the nation?
• Isn’t it our duty to bind these tares and burn
them?
Our Journey Towards
National Transformation
(PART II)
Love of Country: The main quality
of a Filipino Christian
• Without a deep love for our country, we cannot
serve God’s purpose for our nation.
• Love of country will cause us to overcome every
obstacle, every hindrance and every opposing
force to the fulfillment of God’s purpose for our
nation.
Love of Country: The main quality
of a Filipino Christian
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down
his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our
brothers.” (1 John 3:16).
• Looking after the interests of others, not only our own:
sharing our resources, skills, abilities and talents for the good of the
Filipino people,
• Willingly giving ourselves—our very lives—for this generation
and for the next generation.
Partnership between God
and the Filipino people
Jesus and the Raising up of Lazarus
(John 11:38-44)
• Jesus, though supernaturally capable of moving the
stone, asked the people to move it
• Jesus, though supernaturally capable of removing the
burial clothes, asked the people to remove it
themselves
In the same way, God is asking us to actively participate
in the miracle He will do for our country–
that of raising up the “Archipelago de San Lazaro”
The Urgency of the Situation:
“ The nation today is facing a critical
crossroad towards its destiny. Will it be
destruction or deliverance? Will it be
judgement or mercy? The nation hangs in a
precarious balance.”
IFP Philippine Prayer Alert
October-November 2003
Generating a National Movement for
Righteousness and Transformation
(N-MRT)
The movement that we want to generate
is a National Movement
for Righteousness and Transformation
(N-MRT)
Character of the N-MRT
• It has to be nationwide.
• It has to be a force meant to goad the
population towards righteousness in the eyes of
God.
• It will impel Philippine society towards social
transformation for the fulfillment of God’s
purposes for the nation.
Character of the N-MRT
It is the National MRT,
traversing the nation,
providing spiritual transport for God’s plan
for the Filipino nation,
cutting through the moral and spiritual
congestion that besets the land.
Our Clarion Call
“Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin is a DISGRACE to any people.”
Prov 14:34
Our Vision
To fulfill God’s purposes for the nation—
A nation, united as one in righteousness,
that is the world’s paradigm
for God-centered and pro-people
progress
Our Mission
I. To birth the purposes of God for this nation
II. To build the nation in righteousness
III. To send the nation as a Light to the world
Our Two-Fold Strategy:
Prayer in Action, Action in Prayer
Our Movement
The force at the core
moving our cause forward
is
Jesus Christ.
Our Movement
The embodiment of
Jesus Christ’s purposes on earth
is the Body of Christ.
We rely on the Body of Christ,
to be the core of
The National Movement
for Righteousness and Transformation (N-MRT).
Our Movement
The Coalition of Christian Forces
will represent
the force at the core moving our cause forward.
It will, however, aim to draw into its locus
all righteous forces in the land,
thereby pooling the resources of
the best in the population towards the spiritual battle
against evils stalking the land.
Coalition of Christian Forces
Other Righteous Groups
The Entire Filipino Nation
Thank you and God bless us all!