September 24, 2020
Is faith always intimately tied to the nation? The historical fact is that the relationship of faith to the modern concept of “nation” was not always thought to be a legitimate question by the majority of evangelical Christians after the Second World War. In the Philippines, for example, most evangelicals did not raise such a question at all, even though by the late 1990s the term “bayan” was popularized in a charismatic evangelical TV program. Prior to this, it is interesting that some nationalist-oriented groups have already claimed, at least since the 1970s, that the concept of “bayan” strikes a deeper chord in the psyche of the Filipino, than the foreign concept of “nation”.Nevertheless, given the above claim concerning the deeper cultural register of “bayan”, it is striking that very little theological reflection has been done by evangelicals on the relation of their faith to their “bayan”. This is generally true in both the evangelical seminaries and churches in the Philippines. As one observer puts it: “Do Christians sincerely believe that in prioritizing the concerns of church multiplication, such an approach will automatically solve the problems of their bayan?” And this, to say the least, may initially frame the problematic evangelical view on “faith and bayan”.In response to this, we are happy to announce that a group of evangelical scholars and practitioners have come together precisely to tackle the multidimensional theme of “faith and bayan”. We therefore invite the public to join us in this series of webinars, as our presenters respond to some of the key theological questions and social issues raised in relation to our central theme. We hope that this will spark a sustained conversation, not only among evangelicals, but also among our kababayans.Join us, every Monday of October and November, at 7:30 PM as we come together in conversation to talk about this important issue. We will stream live on the following pages:
Faith and Bayan
KapeTheo
TruthorDare
LAPIS
CrossCurrents Philippines
Bawat Isa Mahalaga
Coalition for Justice
