To sign or not to sign: The “Manhattan Declaration” controversy

The Manhattan Declaration released on November 20, 2009 is a document which essentially affirms (1) the sanctity of human life; (2) the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife; and (3) the rights of conscience and religious liberty. The declaration was drafted by Robert George (Professor, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University), Timothy George (Professor, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University), and Chuck Colson (Founder, the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, Lansdowne, VA).

Among the declaration’s prominent signers are Rev. Jonathan Falwell (Senior Pastor, Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA), Albert Mohler Jr (president, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), Ligon Duncan, Richard Land, Jimmy Draper, Bob Reccord (former president of the North American Mission Board), Daniel Akin, Gary Bauer, James Dobson, Harry Jackson, Marvin Olasky, Tony Perkins, Alan Sears, Mark Tooley, George Weigel and nine Catholic archbishops.

Anyone can sign the declaration using your name and e-mail address

Since its release three weeks ago, the declaration has been signed by more than 283,000 people from around the world. There are however questions about the signature collection process used by the declaration’s website. While the process filters out robots, it does not provide for e-mail verification (through what is called “double opt-in” procedure). This means that any mischievous or malicious person can sign the declaration using your name and e-mail address!

The crux of the controversy: how do you define “Christian”?

Alex Crain (Editor, Christianity.com) in his article “The Manhattan Declaration Controversy” has noted that “significant debate has erupted over the fact that the Manhattan Declaration has garnered the signatures of a number of leaders from Evangelical, Anglican, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. Voices of protest have been raised as to the propriety of identifying these varying traditions all together as ‘Christians’ in the same document.”

In the FAQ section of its website, the people behind the Manhattan Declaration address this issue:

By signing the Manhattan Declaration am I somehow endorsing the theology of other faith traditions or compromising my understanding of the Gospel?

There are serious differences between the Catholic, Protestant evangelical and Orthodox traditions on many theological issues and devotional practices. However, none of those differences are alluded to in any way in the Manhattan Declaration, nor do any of the original signers believe they were compromising their respective positions by signing it. The drafting committee was careful to achieve complete harmony of all three traditions—Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant evangelical—on the critical issues addressed in the declaration, and on those issues only. This was accomplished by making sure every assertion in the declaration is rooted in the Holy Scriptures they share in common. In the final analysis, the Manhattan Declaration is simply a declaration of the signers’ common stand on life, marriage, and liberty. To read anything more into it would be contrary to the intention of the drafters and the nearly 150 leaders who signed it originally.

Some Christian leaders who are against the Manhattan Declaration and their reasons why

[1] “The Manhattan Declaration: Why didn’t you sign it, R.C.?” from Ligonier Ministries

In answer to the question, “R.C., why didn’t you sign the Manhattan Declaration?” I offer the following answer: The Manhattan Declaration confuses common grace and special grace by combining them. While I would march with the bishop of Rome and an Orthodox prelate to resist the slaughter of innocents in the womb, I could never ground that cobelligerency on the assumption that we share a common faith and a unified understanding of the gospel. (Read the complete article)

[2] The Manhattan Declaration, by John MacArthur

Here are the main reasons I am not signing the Manhattan Declaration, even though a few men whom I love and respect have already affixed their names to it:

• Although I obviously agree with the document’s opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion, and other key moral problems threatening our culture, the document falls far short of identifying the one true and ultimate remedy for all of humanity’s moral ills: the gospel. The gospel is barely mentioned in the Declaration. At one point the statement rightly acknowledges, “It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season”—and then adds an encouraging wish: “May God help us not to fail in that duty.” Yet the gospel itself is nowhere presented (much less explained) in the document or any of the accompanying literature. Indeed, that would be a practical impossibility because of the contradictory views held by the broad range of signatories regarding what the gospel teaches and what it means to be a Christian.

• This is precisely where the document fails most egregiously. It assumes from the start that all signatories are fellow Christians whose only differences have to do with the fact that they represent distinct “communities.” Points of disagreement are tacitly acknowledged but are described as “historic lines of ecclesial differences” rather than fundamental conflicts of doctrine and conviction with regard to the gospel and the question of which teachings are essential to authentic Christianity. (Read the complete article)

[3] The Manhattan Declaration, by Alistair Begg

In accord with others who have chosen not to sign, my reservation is not with the issues themselves, or in standing with others who share the same concerns, but it is in signing a declaration along with a group of leading churchmen, when I happen to believe that the teaching of some of their churches is in effect a denial of the biblical gospel. I wonder whether it might not have been more advantageous for evangelicals to unite on this matter, rather than seeking cooperation with segments from Rome, Eastern Orthodoxy and the Latter Day Saints. The necessary co-belligerence, as far as I’m concerned, can never be rooted in a Gospel other than that which has been given to us. (Read the complete article)

[4] A Review of the Manhattan Declaration, by Michael Horton

The error at this point is not marginal. It goes to the heart of the more general confusion among Christians of every denominational stripe today, on the left and the right. The law is indeed the common property of all human beings, by virtue of their creation in God’s image. As Paul says in Romans 1 and 2, unbelievers may suppress the truth in unrighteousness, but the fact that they know this revelation makes them accountable to God. However, in chapter 3, Paul explains that a different revelation of God’s righteousness has appeared from heaven: God’s justification of the ungodly through faith alone in Christ alone.

When we confuse the law and the gospel, there is inevitably a confusion of Christ and culture, and there is considerable evidence in Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and evangelical histories to demonstrate the real dangers of this confusion. In this otherwise helpful declaration, the confusion is evident once more. Alongside the theological claims that witness to the dignity of all people created in God’s image, Christianity seems to be defended as a major stake-holder in Western culture and society. By tending to confuse the gospel with the law, special revelation with general revelation, and Christianity with Western civilization, the document actually undermines its own objective—namely, to defend the dignity of human life as a universal moral imperative. Not only Christians, but non-Christians, are recipients of this general revelation. (Read the complete article)

Posted below are excerpts of the Manhattan Declaration (you can also download a PDF summary)

We, as Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical Christians, have gathered, beginning in New York on September 28, 2009, to make the following declaration, which we sign as individuals, not on behalf of our organizations, but speaking to and from our communities. We act together in obedience to the one true God, the triune God of holiness and love, who has laid total claim on our lives and by that claim calls us with believers in all ages and all nations to seek and defend the good of all who bear his image. We set forth this declaration in light of the truth that is grounded in Holy Scripture, in natural human reason (which is itself, in our view, the gift of a beneficent God), and in the very nature of the human person. We call upon all people of goodwill, believers and non-believers alike, to consider carefully and reflect critically on the issues we here address as we, with St. Paul, commend this appeal to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

While the whole scope of Christian moral concern, including a special concern for the poor and vulnerable, claims our attention, we are especially troubled that in our nation today the lives of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly are severely threatened; that the institution of marriage, already buffeted by promiscuity, infidelity and divorce, is in jeopardy of being redefined to accommodate fashionable ideologies; that freedom of religion and the rights of conscience are gravely jeopardized by those who would use the instruments of coercion to compel persons of faith to compromise their deepest convictions.

Because the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage as a union of husband and wife, and the freedom of conscience and religion are foundational principles of justice and the common good, we are compelled by our Christian faith to speak and act in their defense. In this declaration we affirm: 1) the profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every human being as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, possessing inherent rights of equal dignity and life; 2) marriage as a conjugal union of man and woman, ordained by God from the creation, and historically understood by believers and non-believers alike, to be the most basic institution in society and; 3) religious liberty, which is grounded in the character of God, the example of Christ, and the inherent freedom and dignity of human beings created in the divine image.

We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right—and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation—to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence. It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season. May God help us not to fail in that duty. (Read the complete declaration)

Remember a missionary this Christmas

Missionary Christmas

Christmas was special when he was a child,
food and presents and carols and smiles.

Tree decorating was great family fun,
and cold nights by the fire watching old reruns.

But then one day God spoke to his heart,
and he gave up his culture to make a new start.

Now taking the Gospel to far off lands,
his Christmas is different than what he had planned.

The weather is sticky, with stench in the air,
the needs that surround him are terrible to bear.

Instead of carols and Christmas bells,
he hears chanting and the casting of spells.

The childhood dream of Christmas in the snow,
was left at the altar when he decided to go.

If only the ones who he left behind,
would remember his face during this special time.

And send him a note, or a word of thanks
or maybe even something he could put in the bank.

Then Christmas would not be so tough this year
and even for the missionary it would “good cheer.”

©Wayne Dillard 2004
www.prayercentral.net

If a husband and wife have not seen each other for more than seven years, is their marriage void?

Notes: (1) Pastors should beware of giving advice on this topic. I have been told that some pastors are advising their church members that if a husband and wife have not seen each other or have had no communication for more than seven years, then the marriage is void. This is wrong as you can read from the post below.

(2) Click the picture to download a free PDF newsletter on this topic.


It is wrong to say that if spouses have not seen or communicated with each other for more than seven years that the marriage is terminated automatically or is considered void. In situations where one spouse has not seen for a number of years or does not know what has happened to the other spouse, he or she must file a petition asking the court to declare the missing spouse as presumptively dead for purposes of remarriage.

The Family Code, specifically Articles 41 to 44, deals with the declaration of presumptive death for purposes of remarriage. There are a lot of misconceptions however about this part of the Family Code. Please let me explain.

[1] Article 40 provides that persons cannot take the law into their own hands and simply declare by themselves that their marriage is null and void. A person wanting to remarry must first obtain a court decision declaring the previous marriage null and void before getting married again.

[2] The Family Code only provides for a period of two years (extraordinary absence like in war, shipwreck, storm, etc) or four years (ordinary absence) for a person to be able to go to court and file a petition for declaration of presumptive death of the missing spouse. The seven years separation that people usually refer to was previously provided for by the New Civil Code.

[3] The court will however require the petitioner to present proof that he or she exerted earnest and diligent efforts to locate the whereabouts of the missing spouse. These efforts include asking the police or NBI for help in locating the missing spouse, using the media like newspapers or radio, etc. The court will deny the petition if the petitioner cannot present such evidence of earnest and diligent efforts to locate the missing spouse.

[4] If the court declares the missing spouse as presumptively dead, then the petitioner will be able to remarry.

[5] But the problem is if any person (friend, relative, barangay official, etc) discovers that the missing spouse is really alive, then that person can file an affidavit of reappearance with the Local Civil Registrar. If the petitioner had already gotten married, then that subsequent marriage is automatically terminated. This is provided for by Article 42 of the FC.

Posted below are the specific provisions of the Family Code on this matter:

Art. 40. The absolute nullity of a previous marriage may be invoked for purposes of remarriage on the basis solely of a final judgment declaring such previous marriage void.

Art. 41. A marriage contracted by any person during subsistence of a previous marriage shall be null and void, unless before the celebration of the subsequent marriage, the prior spouse had been absent for four consecutive years and the spouse present has a well-founded belief that the absent spouse was already dead. In case of disappearance where there is danger of death under the circumstances set forth in the provisions of Article 391 of the Civil Code, an absence of only two years shall be sufficient.

For the purpose of contracting the subsequent marriage under the preceding paragraph the spouse present must institute a summary proceeding as provided in this Code for the declaration of presumptive death of the absentee, without prejudice to the effect of reappearance of the absent spouse.

Art. 42. The subsequent marriage referred to in the preceding Article shall be automatically terminated by the recording of the affidavit of reappearance of the absent spouse, unless there is a judgment annulling the previous marriage or declaring it void ab initio.

A sworn statement of the fact and circumstances of reappearance shall be recorded in the civil registry of the residence of the parties to the subsequent marriage at the instance of any interested person, with due notice to the spouses of the subsequent marriage and without prejudice to the fact of reappearance being judicially determined in case such fact is disputed.

Art. 43. The termination of the subsequent marriage referred to in the preceding Article shall produce the following effects:

(1) The children of the subsequent marriage conceived prior to its termination shall be considered legitimate;

(2) The absolute community of property or the conjugal partnership, as the case may be, shall be dissolved and liquidated, but if either spouse contracted said marriage in bad faith, his or her share of the net profits of the community property or conjugal partnership property shall be forfeited in favor of the common children or, if there are none, the children of the guilty spouse by a previous marriage or in default of children, the innocent spouse;

(3) Donations by reason of marriage shall remain valid, except that if the donee contracted the marriage in bad faith, such donations made to said donee are revoked by operation of law;

(4) The innocent spouse may revoke the designation of the other spouse who acted in bad faith as beneficiary in any insurance policy, even if such designation be stipulated as irrevocable; and

(5) The spouse who contracted the subsequent marriage in bad faith shall be disqualified to inherit from the innocent spouse by testate and intestate succession.

Art. 44. If both spouses of the subsequent marriage acted in bad faith, said marriage shall be void ab initio and all donations by reason of marriage and testamentary dispositions made by one in favor of the other are revoked by operation of law.

Free PDF newsletters on legal matters affecting the Filipino family and local Baptist churches

Issue no. 001 June 17, 2008 "Can a husband and wife in a notarized document declare that they are free to marry other persons and that they will not file charges against each other?"

Issue no. 002 June 31, 2008 "Adultery, concubinage, psychological violence and marital infidelity"

Issue no. 004 July 31, 2008 "Financial support for abandoned woman and her children"

Issue no. 005 August 15, 2008 "What surname should illegitimate children use? Problems and issues with RA 9255 and its implementing guidelines"

Issue no. 006 August 30, 2008 "The right of a divorced Filipino spouse to remarry under Article 26 of the Family Code"

Issue no. 007 September 15, 2008 "SEC registration of local Baptist churches; corporation sole and religious society or aggregate"

Issue no. 008 September 30, 2008 "Visitation rights over illegitimate children"

Issue no. 009 October 15, 2008 "Due process in the termination of employment; employee must be given five days to answer charges against him"

Issue no. 010 November 15, 2008 "Property rights of foreigners married to Filipino citizens; Can foreign citizens own lands or houses in the Philippines?

Issue no. 011 December 15, 2008 Primer on Republic Act No. 9439 Hospital Detention Law

Issue no. 012 January 15, 2009 Procedures in domestic and inter-country adoption; simulation of birth is illegal

Issue no. 013 February 15, 2009 Can a mother be deprived of custody of her child? What determines the fitness of a parent in custody batlles over children?

Issue no. 014 March 15, 2009 Miss, Ms. or Mrs? Philippine law on surnames for married women

Issue no. 015 April 30, 2009 How to compute the legitime (share in the inheritance) of illegitimate children

Issue no. 016 May 31, 2009 Philippine law on household helpers

Issue no. 017 June 30, 2009 RA 9485 Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007

Issue no. 018 July 31, 2009 Void marriages

Issue no. 019 August 31, 2009 Voidable marriages

Issue no. 020 September 30, 2009 If a woman gets pregnant by a man not her husband, will the child be legitimate or illegitimate?

Issue no. 021 October 31, 2009 Can nephews and nieces inherit from grandparents, unmarried uncles or aunts?

The Atlantic, a respected secular magazine, evaluates the Prosperity Gospel

Note: The Atlantic is an American magazine founded as The Atlantic Monthly in Boston in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. Though based in Boston, it quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets, and encouraging major careers. It published leading writers’ commentary on abolition, education, and other major issues in contemporary political affairs. The magazine’s founders were a group of prominent writers of national reputation, who included Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., John Greenleaf Whittier and James Russell Lowell. (from Wikipedia)

Excerpts from Did Christianity Cause the Crash? by Hanna Rosin from Atlantic December 2009 (note: emphasis by boldfacing supplied)

America’s mainstream religious denominations used to teach the faithful that they would be rewarded in the afterlife. But over the past generation, a different strain of Christian faith has proliferated—one that promises to make believers rich in the here and now. Known as the prosperity gospel, and claiming tens of millions of adherents, it fosters risk-taking and intense material optimism. It pumped air into the housing bubble. And one year into the worst downturn since the Depression, it’s still going strong.

Among mainstream, nondenominational megachurches, where much of American religious life takes place, “prosperity is proliferating” rapidly, says Kate Bowler, a doctoral candidate at Duke University and an expert in the gospel. Few, if any, of these churches have prosperity in their title or mission statement, but Bowler has analyzed their sermons and teachings. Of the nation’s 12 largest churches, she says, three are prosperity—Osteen’s, which dwarfs all the other megachurches; Tommy Barnett’s, in Phoenix; and T. D. Jakes’s, in Dallas. In second-tier churches—those with about 5,000 members—the prosperity gospel dominates. Overall, Bowler classifies 50 of the largest 260 churches in the U.S. as prosperity. The doctrine has become popular with Americans of every background and ethnicity; overall, Pew found that 66 percent of all Pentecostals and 43 percent of “other Christians”—a category comprising roughly half of all respondents—believe that wealth will be granted to the faithful. It’s an upbeat theology, argues Barbara Ehrenreich in her new book, Bright-Sided, that has much in common with the kind of “positive thinking” that has come to dominate America’s boardrooms and, indeed, its entire culture.

On the cover of his 4 million-copy best seller from 2004, Your Best Life Now, Joel Osteen looks like a recent college grad who just got hired by Goldman Sachs and can’t believe his good luck. His hair is full, his teeth are bright, his suit is polished but not flashy; he looks like a guy who would more likely shake your hand than cast out your demons. Osteen took over his father’s church in 1999. He had little preaching experience, although he’d managed the television ministry for years. The church grew quickly, as Osteen packaged himself to appeal to the broadest audience possible. In his books and sermons, Osteen quotes very little scripture, opting instead to tell uplifting personal anecdotes. He avoids controversy, and rarely appears on Christian TV. In a popular YouTube clip, he declines to confirm Larry King’s suggestion that only those who believe in Jesus will go to heaven.

It is not all that surprising that the prosperity gospel persists despite its obvious failure to pay off. Much of popular religion these days is characterized by a vast gap between aspirations and reality. Few of Sarah Palin’s religious compatriots were shocked by her messy family life, because they’ve grown used to the paradoxes; some of the most socially conservative evangelical churches also have extremely high rates of teenage pregnancies, out-of-wedlock births, and divorce. As Garay likes to say, “What you have is nothing compared to what you will have.” The unpleasant reality—an inadequate paycheck, a pregnant daughter, a recession—is invisible. It’s your ability to see beyond such things, your willing blindness to even the most hopeless-seeming circumstances, that makes you a certain kind of modern Christian, and a 21st-century American.

Read the complete article

Reaching the world for Christ through Internet evangelism and cybermissions

Updated information as of February 2009:

[A] China had 298 million Internet users by the end of 2008, more than any country in the world, and among which 270 million surf the Web via broadband access. It had a 41.9 percent growth in Internet usage compared to the previous year.

[B] Google is backing a project called 03B which aims to give three billion people from Asia, Africa and the Middle East broadband Internet access by 2010. Together with Liberty Global and HSBC, Google is investing $750 million in 16 low-earth orbit satellites that will link with ground stations such as cell towers or WiMax stations and provide high-speed networking cable connection.

[C] The number of global broadband households will near 440 million by 2010 and top 1.2 billion by 2030. With such infrastructure in place, the opportunity for broadband-enabled services - especially video - will grow dramatically.

[D] Six in ten people around the world now have cell phone subscriptions, for an estimated 4.1 billion subscriptions globally, compared with about 1 billion in 2002. Thirty nine percent of Chinese Internet users adopt cell phones to surf the Web. Students are the main strength of mobile Internet users: 43.5 percent of them use their cell phones to read online news, download music, check email and perform a variety of other tasks.

[E] As of May 2008, according to Technorati (a popular blog search engine) there are more than 112.8 million blogs.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

We live in an increasingly wired world. More than a billion people now use the Internet on a daily basis for education, home and business purposes. Consider the following statistics and facts:

[1] In a recent study, Yahoo! and consumer information group Nielsen revealed that there are now 20 million Filipino users of the Internet. The majority of Filipino Internet users range in ages from 10 to 29. For more information, please surf to my post How the Internet is impacting Filipino society.

[2] China had 298 million Internet users by the end of 2008, more than any country in the world.

[3] According to Internet World Stats, as of September 2007, Asia has 459 million Internet users out of a total population of 3.7 billion. Africa, on the other hand, with a total population of 933 million, has some 44 million Internet users.

Internet World Stats provides the following figures of Internet users in the following Asian countries: Afghanistan - 535,000; Armenia - 172,800; Azerbaijan - 829,100; Bangladesh - 450,000; Bhutan- 30,000; Brunei Darussalam - 165,600; Cambodia - 44,000; East Timor - 1,000; Georgia - 332,000; Hong Kong - 4,878,713; India - 60,000,000; Indonesia - 20,000,000; Japan - 87,540,000; Kazakhstan - 1,247,000; South Korea - 34,120,000; Kyrgyzstan - 298,100; Laos - 25,000; Macau - 201,000; Malaysia - 14,904,000; Maldives - 20,100; Mongolia - 268,300; Myanmar - 300,000; Nepal - 249,400; Pakistan - 12,000,000; Singapore - 2,421,800; Sri Lanka - 428,000; Taiwan - 14,500,000; Tajikistan - 19,500; Thailand - 8,465,800; Turkmenistan - 64,800; Uzbekistan - 1,745,000; Vietnam -17,220,812

Internet World Stats provides the following figures of Internet users in the following African countries: Algeria - 2,460,000; Angola - 172,000; Benin - 700,000; Botswana - 60,000; Burkina Faso - 80,600; Burundi - 60,000; Cameroon - 370,000; Cape Verde - 29,000; Central African Rep. - 13,000; Chad - 60,000; Comoros - 21,000; Congo - 70,000; Congo, Dem. Rep. - 180,000; Cote d'Ivoire - 300,000; Djibouti - 11,000; Egypt - 6,000,000; Equatorial Guinea - 8,000; Eritrea - 100,000; Ethiopia - 164,000; Gabon - 81,000; Gambia - 58,000; Ghana - 609,800; Guinea - 50,000; Guinea-Bissau - 37,000; Kenya - 2,770,300; Lesotho - 51,500; Liberia - 1,000; Libya - 232,000; Madagascar - 110,000; Malawi - 59,700; Mali - 70,000; Mauritania - 100,000; Mauritius - 300,000; Morocco - 6,100,000; Mozambique - 178,000; Namibia - 80,600; Niger - 40,000; Nigeria - 8,000,000; Reunion (FR) - 220,000; Rwanda - 65,000; Saint Helena (UK) - 1,000; Sao Tome & Principe - 23,000; Senegal - 650,000; Seychelles - 29,000; Sierra Leone - 10,000; Somalia - 94,000; South Africa - 5,100,000; Sudan - 3,500,000; Swaziland - 41,600 Tanzania - 384,300; Togo - 320,000; Tunisia - 1,294,900; Uganda - 750,000; Zambia - 500,000; Zimbabwe - 1,220,000.

[4] Africa Online, a company based in Nairobi, Kenya is putting up Internet cafes all across that continent.

[5] South Korea, with an Internet user population of 34 million, now has 80% of homes with broadband connection.

[6] According to Andrew Careaga, pioneer e-vangelist, it took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users. Television hit the 50 million mark in 13 years while computers reached that many users in 16 years. But the Internet reached 50 million users in just 4 years.

[7] The first batch (some 250,000 units) of the $100 XO laptop is expected to be delivered to children in developing countries in October 2007. Various governments have ordered this Linux-powered laptop which has been designed to withstand high temperatures and moisture like in Libya, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay and Nigeria, can be recharged by foot-pump, pull-cord, or solar power, has built-in wireless Internet, and is equipped with a sunlight readable display. One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is a non-profit organization committed to providing educational opportunity, in the form of low cost laptops, to children worldwide.

[8] YouTube, the immensely popular publish your own video Internet service, reached more than ten million members in Japan in just 14 months. Of the total 70 million blogs in the world today, the largest language grouping is Japanese, with 37%. English is in second place, with Chinese third. (From Web Evangelism Bulletin, August 2007) Japan, with its highly-wired, tech-loving 127 million population has been described as one of the “major modern mission misses.” Please read "Japan and web evangelism: A missed mission opportunity."

[9] Facebook to the rescue: Please read “Coins flow in to help Indonesian Facebook Mum” by Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo of Agence France-Presse to learn how the Internet mobilized thousands of Indonesians in support of Prita, a 32-year old mother of two, who was convicted of defaming a hospital through her e-mail. The AFP story narrates how ordinary Indonesians collected a truckload of coins to help pay Prita’s fine of 204 million rupiah (about US $21,000). The coins as of the latest count weigh more than six tons.

[10] According to John Edmiston's website www.cybermissions.org, “religion seekers” are a major Internet phenomenon with 40% of Internet users regularly searching for religious information online. That is 400 million people seeking religious information.

What is cybermissions?

Cybermissions, as Edmiston defines it in his website, is the “intentional front-line use of computers and the Internet as tools for fulfilling the Great Commission, cross-cultural evangelism, discipleship, church-planting and training.” It includes websites, blogs, Flash movies, chat rooms, podcasts, Internet radio, e-mail, etc. Edmiston presents eye-opening statistics on the 43 nations where cybermissions could be the main missions strategy. His website has a Powerpoint presentation on the concept, opportunities and strategic use of cybermissions.

Videos and Powerpoint on Internet evangelism and cybermissions

In 2005, Liberty University (founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell) in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA hosted the “Internet Evangelism for the 21st Century” conference. The seminars by various Internet evangelism practitioners are available for viewing at http://ie-21stcentury.com/ as Google videos. The presentations can also be downloaded as an e-book (PDF format, 6 MB file size). Some of the topics tackled during the conference were: How is Evangelism Changing in the 21st Century? Communicating Christ Effectively to Secular Audiences; A Complete Internet Evangelism Strategy; Evangelistic Sites and Follow-up Systems; Internet Evangelism and the Third World; Podcasting and Internet Evangelism; New Media Technology and Trends for the Future; and Reaching the Connected Generation with Blogging.

Some of the web evangelism seminars from the Web Ministry conference held last September are now available to watch online (video and Powerpoint; best viewed in Internet Explorer). The seminar topics are:

• Evangelism and Mentoring: Building Relationships That Change Lives, by Karen Schenk, Truth Media
• The Power of Personal Testimony, by John Sorensen, Evangelism Explosion
• Reaching Your Community Through A Church Website, by Brent Purves and Cam Hall
• The Edges Of Cyberspace by John Edmiston, Antioch Internet Bible International
• Rethinking Internet Evangelism And Online Ministry by Robby Richardson, Gospel Communications, International
• Evangelism In SecondLife, by Debra Brown, Brown Governance
  
  

Understanding the nature of the Web as a communication medium (from Internet Evangelism Day)

It is vital to understand the nature of the Web as a communication medium, otherwise we can’t use it effectively:

[1] The web is not a ‘linear medium’, offering a sequential block of information or entertainment in the way that novels, videos or tracts do. It is ‘non-linear’, containing multiple blocks of material not linked together in a fixed order.

[2] Neither is the Web a ‘push medium’. Radio, TV, literature distribution or billboard advertising are largely ‘push mediums’ – that is, they send out a single indiscriminate broadcast message to anyone within range. The Web however is a ‘pull medium’. People only visit a web page if it draws them in because of something that interests them. The user is in complete control. A website therefore has no automatic audience. There is no magical ‘trickle-down’ effect whereby Christian websites will somehow be seen by non-Christians who have no wish to visit them.

[3] ‘Broadcast media’ (radio, TV, newspapers) are not really interactive, except perhaps for phone-ins or letters to the editor. The Web offers instant feedback, interaction and relationship-building. More than any other medium, it enables conversation, networking and relationships. Because the gospel flows most effectively through non-confrontational accepting relationships, two-way conversation and non-preachy open discussion, the Web fits very closely with evangelism.

[4] Do not think of the Web as ‘tracts on a screen’, or a static brochure. For many years, Christian radio suffered because it was often ‘church services on the radio’ – hymns, prayers and sermons. By trying to transfer one form of proclamation (a face-to-face Christian meeting) to the very different medium of radio, effectiveness and potential audience were reduced.

[5] It is also very important to understand the process by which people come to faith, online or offline (Gray Matrix).

If you want to know more about online evangelism, please surf over to Internet Evangelism Day for its well-written and valuable guide to web outreach. An introduction to the nature of the World Wide Web as a medium can be found in the portion entitled “Push or Pull.” The crux of the guide is “Web strategy to reach millions” while the article “Chat room, Instant Messaging, e-mail witness” discusses ways by which these technology can be used for online evangelism. You can also download a PDF handout on digital evangelism. Please read also Rusty Wright’s article “Could God use you in Internet Evangelism?”

The use of bridge strategies

Both Internet Evangelism Day and John Edmiston emphasize the use of bridge strategies, that is, identified needs around which website ministries can be created. My Family Matters website uses free legal information on the Family Code of the Philippines as its bridge strategy.

How effective are online evangelism and cybermissions?

The North American Mission Board, recognizing the impact of the Internet, appointed Siam Rogers in May 2000 as its first ever missionary to the Intenet. His website is http://www.accessjesus.org/.

Edmiston in his Powerpoint presentation cites the impact and success of the Internet ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ – Canada. He says,

TruthMedia (a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ - Canada) evangelistic websites receive 750,000 visitors each month. It is a ministry that's dedicated to help people come to know God in a personal way through the medium of the Internet and then helping them grow in their faith through discipleship sites. Its goal is to impact people around the world by using the medium and tools of the Internet. Truth Media has 450 volunteers doing the writing, evangelism and discipleship outreach.

In an average month the website has about 750,000 people who visit the related sites, of those approximately 1,400 people will indicate that they received Christ or have made some kind of significant spiritual decision like rededicating their lives to Christ.

TruthMedia's Women Today Magazine also has a Chinese language version with the millions of Chinese women as its target audience. An Arabic version of the website, meant for women in the Middle East, is also in the works.

Edmiston clarifies that cybermissions are not meant to replace or compete with traditional missions but to work hand in hand, synergistically with each other.

Mobile phone evangelism

Six in ten people around the world now have cell phone subscriptions, for an estimated 4.1 billion subscriptions globally, compared with about 1 billion in 2002.80% of the world's population live in an area where they can use mobile phones. One billion new camera phones were shipped in 2008.

Thirty nine percent of Chinese Internet users adopt cell phones to surf the Web. Students are the main strength of mobile Internet users: 43.5 percent of them use their cell phones to read online news, download music, check email and perform a variety of other tasks.

In Japan and several other countries, more people access the Web through mobile devices than fixed personal computers, whose usage and sales are declining. In recent years the cellphone industry has seen surging growth in outskirts of China and India, helped by constantly falling phone and call prices, with cellphone vendors already eyeing inroads into Africa's countryside to keep up the growth. (From Web Evangelism Bulletin quoting from Reuters / Helsinki)

There are many innovative ways to use mobiles, as a Nonprofit Technology Network article explains. The video below shows how people from around the world are using mobile phone technology for social change.



A November 4, 2009 Reuters news story “Cheap mobile calls help more young couples elope” by Abdi Sheikh relates how mobile phones are changing Somali society.

Somali courtship was different in Hassan Aden’s day. When he was a teenager, you gave the girl’s parents 11 camels and an AK-47 assault rifle as bride price and then waited respectfully.

Now, the 55-year-old said, a mobile phone service that seems to be the only thing working in the failed Horn of Africa state is helping drive a rise in elopements, pregnancies out of marriage and a steady erosion of Somalia’s conservative values.

“The youth of today enjoy modern technology, fast transportation and free-of-charge marriages,” Aden, a store owner, told Reuters at a coffee shop in the capital Mogadishu.

“Today, even reasonable boys pay just $50 bride price and a copy of the holy Koran after making the girl pregnant or seeing her secretly for months.”

In a drought-ravaged land where rebels are trying to topple a fragile government, gun battles break out almost daily and nearly 20,000 civilians have been killed since the start of 2007, cheap mobile communications are one happy diversion.

The entrepreneurial spirit of Somalis, born out of two decades of anarchy, as well as an absence of taxes, have helped domestic mobile companies thrive despite the chaos.

Many older residents say the prevalence of handsets and such cheap tariffs -- among the lowest in the world -- is making the lives of youngsters unrecognizable. A month of local calls costs about $10. International calls can go for $0.30 a minute.

The cheap calls and extended mobile network in the Horn of Africa nation make it easier for Somalis to get in touch with willing partners and arrange quick assignations. (Read the complete article)

Some of these could have specific potential for evangelism, including the use of Bluetooth. There is huge evangelistic potential for these devices, including video clips, Short Code text response numbers, and the mobile web (from Web Evangelism Newsletter, August 2007). Portable electronic book readers such as Amazon’s ‘Kindle’ are enabling people to store a library of books to read anywhere. This creates the opportunity to distribute free Christian books, Bibles or interactive presentations.

Flash movies

These are created either in the Macromedia Flash program or in Swish Max, and can be effectively used for Internet evangelism, Bible teaching and cybermissions. We are very familiar with the printed Gospel tracts distributed during visitation or saturation drives. Through Flash, we now have the Internet versions of these tracts known as "digitracts" or "e-tracts" (see for example the very familiar Roman Road). You can view the digitracts online, e-mail them to other people, download them to your computer or embed them in your own web pages to share with visitors.

Other good examples of Flash movies used in evangelism are: [1] The Kristo by the North American Mission Board; and [2] Father's Love Letter, an eight minute preview of the 25-minute video created by Barry Adams and which has been viewed by millions of people.

E-mail evangelism with Taiwanese students

ASSIST Ministries, founded by Dan Gooding and based in Garden Grove, California, has been running various pen pal programs for 13 years with people all over the former Soviet Union and China, and now is focusing on Taiwan. The e-mail program is called “Bridge of Friendship Taiwan”.

Wooding calls the aim of this e-mail project as 'Love Tucked Inside An E-Mail message.' He explains that the idea is “to establish a friendship with people (primarily students) from Taiwan who read and speak English and, as part of that relationship, be able to share their faith with them and also learn about their life and beliefs.” Wooding adds, “This is a wonderful opportunity for American Christians from all ethnic backgrounds, to become missionaries to Asia without leaving home.”

Blog: simplified form of a website

Internet Evangelism Day also talks about the possibilities of blogs. A blog is an easy to use form of a website, capable of posting pictures and text. As of May 2008, according to Technorati (a popular blog search engine) there are more than 112.8 million blogs. If you know how to use MS Word, you can create a blog in minutes. You can use a blog for posting pictures and articles of your church events, announcements, etc. Through a blog, you can keep your sending church and supporting groups and individuals informed about what’s happening to your ministry.

My blogs are "Legal Updates" at http://www.famli.blogspot.com/ (discussion of current issues affecting the Filipino family); "Salt and Light" at http://www.-salt-and-light-.blogspot.com/ (articles on marriage, family and relationships); "Campus Connection" at http://www.campusconnection.blogspot.com/ (youth-oriented articles, including articles on photography); and "Families of Faith" at http://www.families-of-faith.blogspot.com/. I created these blogs through Blogger.com, Google's free blog-creation tool. Just type "blogger.com" at the Internet address box and you will be guided through three easy steps, and in minutes, you can have your own blog (see the YouTube video below).

How serious can blogging be? According to a Christianity Today article by Ted Olsen, Mark D. Roberts, one of the most prominent "pastor bloggers," announced that he was leaving his pulpit at Irvine, California, Presbyterian Church to become senior director at the Laity Lodge retreat in Texas and concentrate on his blogging. "My blog now becomes a part of my primary work," Roberts told his congregation.

To learn more about how to create a blog for your church or ministry, please view the YouTube video below.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _



Free websites from Google Sites

Google Sites makes it easy for anyone to create and manage simple, secure group websites. Getting started is easy, and there are a number of helpful templates. More than just a visual theme, site templates can include site structure and navigation, custom page templates, embedded gadgets, and more. Google Sites is powerful enough for a company intranet, yet simple enough for a family website.

Help the victims of Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in the Philippines

(The 2:54 mark of this YouTube video shows the damage done to UERM, a medical school very near BBC Sta. Mesa, and the dramatic rescue of a female doctor being swept away by the flood.)

You can help the victims of last week’s Typhoon Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng (still devastating northern Philippines) through the Philippine National Red Cross.

Sermons on suffering, calamity, pain, revival and God’s gracious and merciful sovereignty (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

Habakkuk 3:2-19

O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.

I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?

Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.

The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.

The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.

Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.

Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.

[1] The Arrows of the Almighty, by Lehman Strauss, Litt.D., F.R.G.S. (also available in Indonesian)

[2] Living in Light of God's Providence, by Philip G Layton, Gold Country Baptist Church

[3] When All Hell Breaks Loose, by Michael Stark, New Beginnings Baptist Church

[4] Job-Suffering and Sovereignty Part 1, by Keith Crosby

[5] Job: Pain & Faith, by Noel Sterne

[6] Sermons by David Harp

• Trust God anyway - sermon from Job
• When will God bring Revival?

[7] Evidence of Revival, Jonah 3:4-10, by Jim McCullen

[8] A Revival of the Word, 2 Chronicles 34:22-32, by Ronald E. George Jr. at the Sand Fork Baptist Church

20th Fundamental Bible Conference and 1st International Partnership Ministries Far East Regional Conference

Dates and venue: October 27-30, 6 to 9:30 PM; Integrated Bar of the Philippines Bldg, no. 15 Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig City

Keynote speakers, Dr. Kevin Callahan (IPM President) and Dr. Tom Wolfe (IPM Director of Education)

Conference Chairman: Ptr. Roberto-Jose Livioco, DD, Foundation Baptist Church (Pasig City)

One time registration fee of 150 pesos; Christian literature and CDs for all registered delegates.

For more information, please contact 514-8340 and 829-4474.

Child spanking soon outlawed in RP? Is spanking a Biblically-endorsed way of discipline?

(Note: Jump to the sections “Is spanking a Biblically-endorsed way of discipline?” and “Practical considerations: spanking in church-based schools”)

Article 45 of Presidential Decree No. 603 “The Child and Youth Welfare Code” states that parents have the right to discipline the child as may be necessary for the formation of his good character, and may therefore require from him obedience to just and reasonable rules, suggestions and admonitions.” This right to discipline includes corporal punishment which is moderate in degree.

However, House Bill 6699 “The Anti-Corporal Punishment Act of 2009”, principally authored by Tarlac Rep. Monica Prieto-Teodoro (wife of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro) intends to prohibit the use of physical force to reprimand children, and deems as illegal verbal assaults and placing children in degrading or humiliating situation to correct their behavior.

HB 6699 also covers corporal punishments in schools, institutions, youth detention centers, and the workplace. Penalties range from one month to six months imprisonment, or suspension of parental authority over the children. The bill is co-authored by 56 other representatives and is expected to be approved by Congress before the year ends.

HB 6699 identifies forms of corporal punishments as:

1. Use of physical force (hitting any part of the body, pinching, twisting joints, pulling of ears or hair, shaving of hair, dragging or throwing a child, or cutting or piercing the skin)
2. Forcing a child to perform physically painful or damaging act (holding weights with arms stretched, kneeling on stones, salt, or pebbles or squatting)
3. Deliberate neglect of a child’s physical needs (starving a child if he doesn’t want to eat vegetables)
4. Use of external substance to punish a child (putting hot pepper in the mouth when he curses, placing him in a container of water, or exposing him to smoke)
5. Use of hazardous tasks and punishments (sweeping in the rain or under the heat of the sun)
6. Confinement (being shut in a confined space, tied-up, or forced to remain in one place for an extended period of time)
7. Verbal assaults, threats, or intimidation

Rationale for the law

Rep. Prieto-Teodoro explained that although laws trying to protect children from violence are already in place, some of their provisions are unclear: “The present laws lack the explicit prohibition on the use of corporal punishment, especially in the home and family setting, except for children in conflict with the law and children in detention who are now adequately given protection and more humane treatment under the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act”.

Statistics on child abuse

[1] Many of the children who experience verbal abuse show anxiety, lack of concentration, thoughts of rejection, and low self-esteem among others, according to a 2006 study, “Parental Verbal Abuse: Culture-Specific Coping Behavior of College Students in the Philippines.”

[2] A 2005 study by Save the Children showed that 85 percent of the children interviewed in cities of Caloocan and Cebu were being punished in the home, with spanking as the most common. Eighty-two percent said they were hit on different parts of the body.

[3] A recent data of Plan Philippines showed that 500 to 800 child abuses each year are committed by teachers.

[4] For more facts and statistics on child abuse, please surf to “Child Protection in the Philippines, Philippine Resource Network”. Though unofficial, this is the first website that features organizations in the Philippines, both state-run and non-governmental, that work on the issue of child protection. This is a project supported by the Arci Cultura E Sviluppo, Save the Children (UK) Philippines, and UNICEF Manila with the participation of 8 more organizations. This undertaking aims to present to the world the situation of abused children and the roles of these organizations in addressing the issues through the World Wide Web.

Proposed penalties under HB 6699

With the proposed Anti-Corporal Punishment Act, children or concerned individuals may directly file complaints with their barangays, police stations, or local offices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Authorities are expected to file a case in the regional trial court, or if not conduct an investigation within 8 hours from the time they receive the complaint.

Violators may face a month of imprisonment or suspension of their parental authority over the children, depending on the penalties provided by existing laws to protect children. If the penalty is just a month of imprisonment, the court prosecutor may just order the offender to attend seminars on children’s rights, positive and non-violent discipline, and anger management. Six months of imprisonment await those who will be found guilty of offenses under HB 6699 that are not covered by laws like the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act (Republic Act 7610) and Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act (RA 9262).

Positive discipline: a proposed alternative to spanking

Child rights advocates say that, instead of spanking, parents and other individuals responsible with a child should practice positive discipline. Wilma Banaga of Plan Philippines said “positive discipline” involves:

• Identifying the values and life skills that they want the child to adopt.
• Expressing affection and support (a hug, a pat on the back, or appreciating their accomplishments), but at the same time giving clear guidelines for their behavior.
• Understanding how children think and feel.
• Discussing the problem with the child and identify effective approaches to solve it.
• Listening carefully and helping children learn the use of words to express their feelings.
• Giving children quality time.
• Becoming a good example on how to react when faced by undesirable situations.

The Child Rights Information Network provides a 2.1 MB, 356 pages long PDF download from Dr. Joan E. Durant on what positive discipline is all about. CRN also provides “A to Z of child rights” available in English, Arabic, Spanish, French and Russian.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is an international convention setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. Nations that ratify this international convention are bound to it by international law. Compliance is monitored by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child which is composed of members from countries around the world. Once a year, the Committee submits a report to the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which also hears a statement from the CRC Chair, and the Assembly adopts a Resolution on the Rights of the Child. (from Wikipedia)

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child defined corporal (from the root word corpus, referring to body) as any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light. However, other forms of punishment may also be considered corporal punishment even if they re not physical in nature. They are word and actions that belittle, humiliate, denigrate, threaten, scare or ridicule the child.

The UNICEF website provides photo essay on the “Rights of the Child” (Part I and Part 2). It also provides a helpful article “Definition of key terms” and a PDF download of children’s rights.

Is spanking a Biblically-endorsed way of discipline?

The following points must be clearly established and emphasized:

[1] I am strongly opposed to violence or abuse against children. Fundamentalist and evangelical Christian parents who do believe in spanking would also affirm that they are opposed to violence or abuse against children.

[2] “Spanking” understood and implemented correctly is a form of loving discipline that the Bible endorses.

Dr. James Dobson of “Focus on the Family” has ably and eloquently articulated the bases for spanking as a form of loving discipline in his books “The New Dare to Discipline” (read a sample chapter) and “The New Strong-Willed Child” (read a sample chapter).

Dobson’s three concepts on Biblical discipline are:

(1) The authority of parents is endorsed;

(2) Discipline is in the best interest of children;

(3) Discipline must not be harsh and destructive to the child’s spirit.

In his printable article titled “Approaches to Discipline”, Dobson discusses issues such as Does Spanking Work for All Kids?; To Spank or Not to Spank; When Kids Run You Over; Handling Disrespect; and Behavior and Consequences.

Related issues which Dobson discusses in his website are:

• Effective Biblical Discipline
• Why Kids Misbehave
• The Strong-Willed Child
• What is the most common error made by parents in disciplining their children?
• Should I discipline my child for every little thing he does wrong?
• How do you discipline a difficult teen?
• At what age should discipline begin?
• Should parents with abusive tendencies avoid corporal punishment?
• What specific Scripture verses do you base your views of discipline on?
• Is it healthy to spank a child?

Practical considerations; spanking in church-based schools

[1] What should our stand be towards HB 6699? While we believe in spanking as a Biblical form of discipline, fundamentalist and evangelical Christians must also take a strong stand opposing violence and abuse against children.

Instead of a complete repeal, Article 45 of Presidential Decree No. 603 “The Child and Youth Welfare Code” allowing corporal punishments as long as these are “just and reasonable” and “moderate in degree” must be clarified or fine tuned instead.

[2] Churches, numbering perhaps in the hundreds, have established schools based on the School of Tomorrow program. As I have been told by several school administrators, part of the SOT’s requirements is that parents must sign a document allowing teachers to spank misbehaving children. On the contrary, someone who claimed to be an SOT consultant told me that such is not a requirement of the SOT and that it is up to the schools to ask parents to allow the spanking of their children by the teachers.

(As you can read, my information on this matter is second hand. I would appreciate any correction from the SOT, school administrators and the parents.)

In the legal seminars I have given for churches and groups of pastors, people have always raised the issue of this alleged SOT requirement. I have always replied by pointing out Article 233 of the Family Code (take note especially of the second paragraph) which states:

The person exercising substitute parental authority shall have the same authority over the person of the child as the parents.

In no case shall the school administrator, teacher or individual engaged in child care exercising special parental authority inflict corporal punishment upon the child.

(emphasis by boldfacing supplied)

The phrase “in no case” means that even with the SOT document signed by the parents, teachers are not allowed to spank the students. I have always said that if the students needed to be spanked, the school administrators should call the parents who will do the spanking themselves.

[3] Have the provisions of the Family Code on parental authority, specifically Articles 209 to 233, already repealed Article 45 of Presidential Decree No. 603 “The Child and Youth Welfare Code”? These articles do not mention anything about the right of parents to discipline their children as PD 603 provides. Large portions of PD 603 have been repealed or modified by the Family Code of the Philippines and numerous other laws. In our legal system, however, implied repeals are frowned upon and therefore, it can be argued that Article 45 of Presidential Decree No. 603 is still good law.

Forming a theology of music; should Baptist churches sing “Majesty”?

Music - contemporary versus traditional, praise and worship versus hymns and Gospel songs - has become a very divisive issue. Two significant things we should not forget though:

[1] There isn’t a single reference to music in Luke’s account of what happened during Pentecost in Acts chapter 2.

[2] Colossians 3:16 emphasizes the teaching or didactic function of music: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Pastors must retake responsibility for doctrinal content of music

Seldom do we find pastors who are good in music (singing, conducting or playing any instrument). Thus, pastors often leave the choice of music to the choir director or the song leader. As the 1996 Cambridge Declaration of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals observed, “Pastors have neglected their rightful oversight of worship, including the doctrinal content of the music.” Leonard Payton in “How Shall We Sing to God?” mentioned below says that “pastors must retake ecclesiastical authority over the music and over every word sung in corporate worship and in small groups.”

Some resources that can help you in developing your church’s theology of music are the following:

[1] Building a Christian Philosophy of Music, from Free Sunday School Lessons (Baptist/Reformed), with a critique of “many serious weaknesses” of Contemporary Christian Music:

Some guiding principles that should shape congregational singing and hymnody:

1. Theo-centricity (God-centered): songs that focus on the character of God, such as “Immortal, Invisible” or “Holy, Holy, Holy”

2. Gospel-centricity: songs that focus on the person and work of Jesus, such as “Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners!” or “Oh the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus”

3. Theologically accurate: songs that convey the truths of the Scripture accurately and clearly, such as “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” or “And Can it Be?”

4. Simplicity (ease of singing): songs that are easy to understand and memorize, such as “Amazing Grace” or “The Old Rugged Cross”

5. Beauty: songs that use imaginative and compelling poetry, such as the lyrics from Isaac Watts, “Am I a Soldier of the Cross?” – “Must I be carried to the skies, on flow’ry beds of ease, while others fought to win the prize, and sailed through bloody seas?”

6. Musical excellence: substantial tunes of majesty and nobility, such as “Austrian Hymn” (Glorious Things) by Haydn, “Ode to Joy” by Beethoven, “Aurelia” (“The Church’s One Foundation”) by Samuel Wesley

[2] “How Shall We Sing to God? Recovering the authority of Scripture in worship music” by Leonard Payton, from The Coming Evangelical Crisis by John H. Armstrong (Moody press, 1996):

The lyrics in many of the praise choruses often contradict Scripture. Consider the chorus “Highest Place” directly associated with Philippians 2:9: “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.” (NIV)

We place you on the highest place,
For You are the great High Priest;
We place You high above all else,
And we come to You and worship
At your feet.”

The trouble is that these lyrics indicate it is Christians – not God – who exalt Jesus to the highest place, directly contradicting the Scripture on which the song is based.

[3] “Enjoy Your Worship” (free PDF download), from the book “O Worship The King” by John Macarthur, Joni Eareckson Tada, Robert and Bobbi Wolgemuth, (Wheaton, IL, Crossway, 2000):

Praise choruses are meant to be sung as simple personal expressions of worship, whereas hymns are usually corporate expressions of worship with an emphasis on some doctrinal truth. A hymn usually has several stanzas, each of which builds on or expands the theme introduced in the first stanza. By contrast, a praise chorus is usually much shorter, with one or two verses, and most of these choruses make liberal use of repetition in order to prolong the focus on a single idea or expression of praise.

Few modern praise choruses teach or admonish. Instead, most are written to stir the feelings only. They are too often sung like a mystical mantra—with the deliberate purpose of putting the intellect into a passive state while the worshiper musters as much emotion as possible.

There is certainly nothing wrong with the simple, straightforward personal praise that characterizes the best of today’s praise choruses. Neither is there anything wrong with the evangelistic and testimonial thrust of yesterday’s gospel songs. But it is a profound tragedy that in some circles, only contemporary choruses are sung. Other congregations limit their repertoire to hundred-year-old gospel songs. Meanwhile, a large and rich body of classic Christian hymnody is in danger of being utterly lost out of sheer neglect.

Obviously, then, neither the antiquity nor the popularity of a gospel song is a good measure of its worthiness. And the fact that a gospel song is “old fashioned” is quite clearly no guarantee that it is suited for edifying the church. When it comes to church music, older is not necessarily better.

In fact, these same “old fashioned” gospel songs that are so often extolled by critics of modern church music are actually what paved the way for the very tendencies those critics sometimes rightly decry. In particular, the lack of substance in so much of today’s music is the predictable fruit of the wholesale shift away from hymns to gospel songs, which began sometime in the late nineteenth century.

[4] “The Music of Worship, Pleasing God or Pleasing Ourselves?” by Becky Maceda, FaithWalk Vol. 3 No. 1:

To evaluate worship biblically is to be willing to step back from our own preferences and experiences and ask, “What pleases God in worship?” We know that not all worship and music please Him (see Ex. 32:4-6). We therefore need to examine three aspects of worship music if we are to bring it in line with Scripture: 1) the words that we sing. 2) the melodies of the words we sing, and 3) the instruments we use to accompany the singing.

True worship is faithful to the doctrine of God as revealed in Scripture. Even the most well-intentioned believer may unwittingly end up in idolatry--worshiping a god he has fashioned in his own image.

Kim Riddlebarger argues: “This is not to say that worship is not to be emotional or that one is not to experience God during worship, but worship must be based on a correct knowledge of God, not an ecstatic experience of God. Worship has a doctrinal, and not experiential, context. This intellectual priority in worship is also seen in the prohibitions against idolatry.”

We need to be careful then of such lyrics as these:

I just want to be where You are
Dwelling daily in your presence
Take me to the place where you are
I just want to be with You.

Is God omnipresent? It is not clear from the words of this song, specifically the third line, even when the entire song is considered.

[5] “Music and the Worship of the Living God” by Dan G. MacCartney, Adjunct Professor of New Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary (discussion of the principles of correspondence, holiness, regulative, holistic and excellence):

The worship of God, and thus, also the music of worship, should correspond to God’s character. How we worship should reflect the kind of God He is.

[6] “Reformation in Doctrine, Worship, and Life” by James Montgomery Boice (Reformed theologian and pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia from 1968 until his death; former chairman of the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy for over ten years; founding member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals):

Whereas the old hymns expressed the theology of the church in profound and perceptive ways with winsome, memorable language, today’s songs reflect a shallow or non-existent theology … songs that merely repeat a trite idea, word or phrase over and over again. Songs like these are not worship, though they may give the churchgoer a religious feeling. They are mantras which belong more in a gathering of New Agers than among the worshiping people of God.

[7] “Why Johnny Can’t Sing Hymns: How Pop Culture Rewrote the Hymnal” by T. David Gordon

“In such communions, worship had previously been understood as a meeting between God and His visible people. Worship was a dialogue, if you will: God speaking through Word and sacrament, and His people responding in prayer, praise, and confession. The decisions that governed such worship revolved around this dialogical conception of worship as a meeting between God and His people.”

“The failure to make such a distinction creates an unintended irony: that those who are genuinely seeking for God are often repulsed by the so-called seeker-friendly services, which seem to be more about fun than answering life’s most serious question.”

“Young people who attend church see a group of fifty-year-olds playing their guitars in front of the church in order to reach the young will perhaps politely appreciate the gesture, but they frankly regard the music as being fairly lame.”

“Biblically, the goal of youth is to leave it as rapidly as possible. The goal of the young, biblically, is to be mature…1 Cor 13:11.” “Extended adolescence is part of what our youth need to be delivered from.”

“The most common argument for employing contemporary worship music is the strategic argument: to reach a culture captivated by pop music, the church must employ such music. But this argument, as we have just seen, is far from cogent.”

“When the church approaches an individual as a consumer to be pleased, rather than as a recalcitrant sinner to be rescued, the church is no longer doing what it is called to do.”

“The question of what constitutes a suitable or appropriate prayer or song for Christian worship is as old as the apostolic church. Paul addressed the Corinthians on the matter, for instance (1 Cor 14:14-17).”

“We don’t disagree with the past; we just don’t pay attention to it.”

“Johnny hasn’t been persuaded that hymn-singing is wrong; Johnny simply cannot relate to anything that doesn’t sound contemporary. He cannot shed his cultural skin, the skin of contemporaneity, of triviality, of paedocentrism. He thinks he prefers contemporary worship music forms to other forms, but in reality he prefers contemporaneity as a trout prefers water; it is the only environment he knows.”

“Johnny is monogenerational outside the church; so he is monogenerational inside the church.”

Should Baptist churches sing “Majesty”?



Question: What do the term “kingdom authority” and the expression “Kingdom authority flows from His throne” mean? The answer determines whether Baptist churches should consider singing “Majesty” or not.

Jack Hayford (prominent pastor of Church-on-the-Way Foursquare Church, founded by Aimee Semple McPherson, and with prominent members such as Pat Boone, TBN founders Paul and Jan Crouch) wrote this song in 1977 after he and his wife visited England.

In Kenneth W. Osbeck’s book “Amazing Grace 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, Hayford explains what his song is all about:

“Majesty” describes the kingly, lordly, gloriously regal nature of our Savior – but not simply as an objective statement in worship of which He is fully worthy. “Majesty” is also a statement of the fact that our worship, when begotten in spirit and truth, can align us with His throne in such a way that His Kingdom authority flows to us – to overflow us, to free us and channel through us. We are rescued from death, restored to the inheritance of sons and daughters, qualified for victory in battle against the adversary, and destined for the Throne forever in His presence.

“Majesty” teaches Pentecostal kingdom doctrine

Ptr. David Cloud in his book “Contemporary Christian Music Under the Spotlight” (1998) argues that “Majesty” teaches Pentecostal kingdom doctrine. Ptr. Cloud is an oftentimes controversial figure and we should not take his view as the final word in this matter. However, considering Hayford’s Pentecostal theology, how else can we explain what the line “kingdom authority flows from His throne” means?

The “Apologetics Index” in its article “An Examination of Kingdom-, Dominion-, and Latter Rain Theology” describes what Pentecostal “Kingdom Theology” is all about:

The basic premise of Kingdom Theology is that man lost dominion over the earth when Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan's temptation in the Garden of Eden.

God “lost control” of the earth to Satan at that time, and has since been looking for a "covenant people" who will be His “extension,” or “expression,” in the earth and take dominion back from Satan. This is to be accomplished through certain “overcomers” who, by yielding themselves to the authority of God’s apostles and prophets for the Kingdom Age, will take control of the kingdoms of this world.

These kingdoms are defined as all social institutions, such as the “kingdom” of education, the “kingdom” of science, the “kingdom” of the arts, and so on. Most especially there is the “kingdom” of politics or government.

This naturally implies the concentration of military and police power in the hands of those in control during the Kingdom Age. They are referred to as the “many-membered man child,” whom Kingdom Theology adherents believe will be the fulfillment of Revelation 12:1-5: “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars....And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron.”

Those who hold to Kingdom Theology assume that the Church (some believe only a small group within the Church, called “overcomers”), under submission to the latter day apostles and prophets, is that man child, and that it has the responsibility to put down all rebellion and establish righteousness. This necessitates the utilization of supernatural power and the full implementation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

This theory is based upon the idea that all authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to Jesus. Since believers are indwelt by the same Holy Spirit that indwelt Jesus, we have all authority in heaven and on the earth; we have the power to believe for and speak into existence things that are not, and thus we can bring about the Kingdom Age.

The many-membered man child must take control of the earth before Jesus can return. Necessary to the Kingdom Age is “the Restoration of the Tabernacle of David,” defined as the completion of perfection of the Bride of Christ - a Church without spot or wrinkle.

During the Kingdom Age (or after all else is subdued during that time) Satan and all enemies of God will be put under the feet of the many-membered man child. This will be the fulfillment of I Corinthians 15:25-26: “For he (Christ) must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”

Note: I do not wish to nor can impose on anyone my view about “Majesty”. I do believe in the Biblical distinctives of Baptists, specifically, autonomy of the local church (download PDF) and individual soul liberty (download PDF).