DOCSLIB.ORG

Asia Adventist Seminary Studies for 2000

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Asia Adventist Seminary Studies for 2000 ISSN 0119-8432 AA ASia AdvCntiSt SS $QminaryStudieS VOLUME 3 2000 Preface 1-2 Popular Filipino Spirit-World Beliefs, with a Proposed Theological Response 3-23 REUEL ALMOCERA Paroimiai in the Fourth Gospel 25-34 HYUNSOK DOH The Theological Character of Gen 1-11 (The Primeval History) 35-49 KENNETH MULZAC Aesthetics in Christian Education 51-67 JOHN WESLEY TAYLOR V Adventist Encounter with Folk Religions 69-77 BRUCE BAUER Meeting the Challenge of Buddhism in a Changing World 79-87 JON L. DYBDAHL Urban Mission—The Forgotten Frontier 89-104 G.T. NG Serious about Secular Society? The Challenge of Secularism for Seventh-day Adventist Mission 105-19 BARRY OLIVER The Sun of Righteousness is Rising 121-36 ROBERT WONG Mission Strategy: Retrospect and Prospect 137-45 NKOSIYABO Z. ZVANDASARA Dissertation and Thesis Abstracts 147—Book Reviews 153 ASIA ADVENTIST SEMINARY STUDIES PUBLISHED ANNUALLY BY THE ADVENTIST INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES Asia Adventist Seminary Studies (AASS) is published once a year by AIIAS Publications under the auspices of the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (ALIAS), Silang, Cavite, Republic of the Philippines. It is the official scholarly journal of the AIIAS Theological Seminary. ALIAS is a graduate- level institution of Christian education operated by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, serving the world, but especially the Asia-Pacific region. EDITOR Edwin Reynolds ASSISTANT EDITOR Francisco Gayoba EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Anne Bissell EDITORIAL SECRETARY CIRCULATION MANAGER Glenice Joy Ondap EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS Ronald Bissell Hyunsok Doh THE MISSION OF AASS is to publish research findings and practical contributions from AIIAS Theological Seminary by which pastors, teachers, administrators, and other church members may be benefitted in carrying out more knowledgeably and effectively the mission of the church in the Asia-Pacific region and in the world. SUBSCRIPTION to AASS may be obtained by writing to: Asia Adventist Seminary Studies P.O. Box 038 4118 Silang, Cavite Republic of the Philippines Annual subscription cost is US$5.00 within Asia and US$6.00 elsewhere. This includes postage. Payment within the Philippines may be made in PHP at current exchange rates. Payment may be made by cash, check, or money order. Additional fees may be assessed if checks are not negotiable. Copyright (2000 by AIIAS Publications PREFACE Our apologies first for being very late in getting this issue to press. Extended absence of some of our personnel is the primary reason. We hope to do better in the future. We value your interest in our publication, and we aim to please. We trust that the quality of the contents of this issue will make up for the delay in getting it out to you. We would like to introduce the authors of our main articles to you once again. These are all AIIAS faculty this year, mostly from the Theological Seminary, with one representative from the School of Graduate Studies. Reuel U. Almocera, D.P.S., is currently the chair of the Applied Theology department and Associate Professor of Church Ministries. He also serves as director of the Doctor of Ministry program. He hails from Mindanao in the southern Philippines and has served at AIIAS since 1987. Hyunsok Doh, Ph.D., has been Assistant Professor of New Testament and Biblical Languages since 1998, but has just accepted a call to serve as a church pastor in New Jersey. We are very sorry to be losing him so soon. He comes from Korea. Kenneth Mulzac, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages. He is one of our newer faculty members, having come to AIIAS only within the last year. He is from Bequia, part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the West Indies. John Wesley Taylor V, Ph.D., Ed.D., is Associate Dean and Professor of Education and Research in the School of Graduate Studies. He also serves as director of the Division of Online Learning, which is just getting underway at AIIAS. He is from the United States and has been serving at AIIAS since 1995. Besides the major articles, we again are proud to present a variety of papers selected from the ALIAS Theological Forum 2000, held at ALIAS on 9-12 August 2000. Some of these are from ALIAS professors, while others are from specialists in their respective areas from around the world. The theme of the Forum 2000 was Adventist Mission in Non-Christian Contexts. No matter what your denominational affiliation, we believe you will find valuable principles for the practice of mission in the papers presented. We continue to publish abstracts of the theses and dissertations accepted for degree programs at the AIIAS Theological Seminary. We hope these may serve notice of the academic work being done by our students here. Critical book reviews submitted by our faculty are also included. We continue to solicit books 1 2 Asia Adventist Seminary Studies for review from publishers who would like their books to be highlighted in those parts of the world reached by our journal, which means every part. We continue to solicit also your regular subscription to the journal as a way of enabling us to continue producing it as more than just an academic exercise. If you are still receiving this on a complimentary basis, please consider subscribing. We only continue to send a number of complimentary subscriptions because we value your readership and hate to remove names from our mailing list. Every year, however, we have to remove more names from our mailing list because of failure to subscribe. Do not let this year be the last for you. We continue also to offer exchange agreements with other journals that specialize in biblical studies, theology, church history, church ministries, and world mission. We have entered into many such agreements already and are willing to consider other offers as well. We regret that we have to raise the subscription price. Last year we published a price hike in the journal, but in fact we continued the same rate as before. This year we have to implement the price increase due to the increased cost of publishing and mailing. The subscription price has been less than the actual cost per journal. If we can increase readership, we can help to keep per-copy costs down. With this issue we regret that we are losing not only Dr. Hyunsok Doh, one of our consulting editors, but also our editorial assistant and circulation manager, Joy Ondap, who has faithfully served as the backbone of the paperwork and computer work for getting out this journal since its inception. Joy has been reassigned as the assistant to Dr. John Wesley Taylor V in the Division of Online Learning. She is also now a full-time student in the Master of Arts program in Education, majoring in Curriculum and Instruction. We will miss her, but we wish her God's blessing as she improves her opportunities for service. We want to say special word of appreciation also to Dr. Kenneth Mulzac, who has volunteered to help when we were caught short-handed, in getting this issue ready, although he was not on the staff. He has lent his expertise to helping with peer review of articles as well as contributing material where we were short. Thanks, Ken, for going beyond the call of duty. The Editor AASS 3 (2000): 3-23 POPULAR FILIPINO SPIRIT-WORLD BELIEFS, WITH A PROPOSED THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE REUEL U. ALMOCERA Filipinos had a worldview and a religion of their own even before Spanish- Catholic Christianity came to the Philippines in the mid-sixteenth century.' They believed in the existence of a supreme creator being, whom they called Bathala.2 Aside from their own social structure, they also believed in an invisible society coexisting with their own. This society was believed to be inhabited by spirits which included dead ancestors, deities, and lesser gods. Pre-Hispanic Filipinos respected these spirits with rituals and feast days, because these supernatural beings were considered able to preside over the whole gamut of life, including birth, sickness, death, courtship, marriage, planting, harvesting, and death. Some of these spirits were considered friendly; others were viewed as tyrannical enemies.' The encounter with Spanish-Catholic Christianity did little to change the worldview held by pre-Hispanic Filipinos.' It resulted in the formation of a folk religion, namely Filipino "Folk Catholicism."' This syncretistic form of Christianity continues until the present. Catholic scholar, Father Vitaliano R. Gorospe, admits that "even today, especially in the rural areas, we find merely the 'For a larger treatment of the fundamental Filipino worldview, see T. Valentino Sitoy, Jr., A History of Christianity in the Philippines, vol. 1, The Initial Encounter (Quezon City: New Day, 1985), 1-22. 'Teodoro Agoncillo and Milagros C. Guerrero, History of the Filipino People (Quezon City: Garcia, 1977), 50. 'Jose Vicente Braganza, The Encounter (Manila: Catholic Trade School, 1965), 51-52. 4F. Landa Jocano, ed., The Philippines at the Spanish Contact (Manila: MCS Enterprises, 1975), 2. 5F. Landa Jocano, "Filipino Folk Catholicism," Philippine Educational Forum 15 (November 1966): 41-60. 3 4 Asia Adventist Seminary Studies external trappings of Catholic belief and practice superimposed on the original pattern of pre-Christian superstitions and rituals."6 The age of Enlightenment added another dimension to the Filipino's encounter with Christianity. This happened almost exclusively with the introduction of Protestant Christianity, which came to the Philippines in the context of a scientifically influenced worldview of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century rationalism. This type of Christianity, with its heavy dependence on scientific- explanations,' usually conflicts with or ignores the Filipino traditional beliefs about the spirit world. As a matter of fact, this type of Christianity essentially denies the spirit world as Filipinos know it.' The result of the confrontation between Filipino "anitism,"9 Philippine Folk Catholicism, and rationalistic Protestantism is confusing and even alarming.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Philippine Folklore: Engkanto Beliefs
    PHILIPPINE FOLKLORE: ENGKANTO BELIEFS HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: Philippine mythology is derived from Philippine folk literature, which is the traditional oral literature of the Filipino people. This refers to a wide range of material due to the ethnic mix of the Philippines. Each unique ethnic group has its own stories and myths to tell. While the oral and thus changeable aspect of folk literature is an important defining characteristic, much of this oral tradition had been written into a print format. University of the Philippines professor, Damiana Eugenio, classified Philippines Folk Literature into three major groups: folk narratives, folk speech, and folk songs. Folk narratives can either be in prose: the myth, the alamat (legend), and the kuwentong bayan (folktale), or in verse, as in the case of the folk epic. Folk speech includes the bugtong (riddle) and the salawikain (proverbs). Folk songs that can be sub-classified into those that tell a story (folk ballads) are a relative rarity in Philippine folk literature.1[1] Before the coming of Christianity, the people of these lands had some kind of religion. For no people however primitive is ever devoid of religion. This religion might have been animism. Like any other religion, this one was a complex of religious phenomena. It consisted of myths, legends, rituals and sacrifices, beliefs in the high gods as well as low; noble concepts and practices as well as degenerate ones; worship and adoration as well as magic and control. But these religious phenomena supplied the early peoples of this land what religion has always meant to supply: satisfaction of their existential needs.
    [Show full text]
  • The Truth of Diwa
    The Truth of Diwa Diwa is both the building block and the string upon which all of reality is spun. It permeates all things, and exists in varying states of matter. In a manner of speaking, that chair you see in front of you is Diwa, in a given form. Break it down to its most essential components and you shall see Diwa. However Diwa can be used more than that. It exists in four states: • Agos, Diwa echoing Water. This is the normal state of Diwa, the Diwa that makes up all things. • Tagos, Diwa echoing Air. This is the Diwa that binds things together. It can be manipulated at this level, and if one were to have some means of seeing the invisible machinations of the gods, they will see tiny strands that link everything to everything, as well as the Diwata that embody everything. Diwa in this state can be known as “Fate”, and indeed, the Agents of Heaven call this Tadhana. • Bala, Diwa echoing Fire. This is the Diwa that burns within every living being, and every thing is a living being because everything has a diwata. The Human Eight-Point Soul is made up of this Burning Diwa, and so are the powerful essences of the Karanduun. Burning Diwa can be used to affect other states -- most commonly by having a lot of Burning Diwa, you have more say in how reality works. Thus why Burning Diwa in all beings is known as “Bala”, or “Power”. It is their measure of capability, and it is well known that the Karanduun possess “Unlocked” Bala, which allows their Bala to transcend event that of Gods.
    [Show full text]
  • Deuteronomy 202 1 Edition Dr
    Notes on Deuteronomy 202 1 Edition Dr. Thomas L. Constable TITLE The title of this book in the Hebrew Bible was its first two words, 'elleh haddebarim, which translate into English as "these are the words" (1:1). Ancient Near Eastern suzerainty treaties began the same way.1 So the Jewish title gives a strong clue to the literary character of Deuteronomy. The English title comes from a Latinized form of the Septuagint (Greek) translation title. "Deuteronomy" means "second law" in Greek. We might suppose that this title arose from the idea that Deuteronomy records the law as Moses repeated it to the new generation of Israelites who were preparing to enter the land, but this is not the case. It came from a mistranslation of a phrase in 17:18. In that passage, God commanded Israel's kings to prepare "a copy of this law" for themselves. The Septuagint translators mistakenly rendered this phrase "this second [repeated] law." The Vulgate (Latin) translation, influenced by the Septuagint, translated the phrase "second law" as deuteronomium, from which "Deuteronomy" is a transliteration. The Book of Deuteronomy is, to some extent, however, a repetition to the new generation of the Law that God gave at Mt. Sinai. For example, about 50 percent of the "Book of the Covenant" (Exod. 20:23— 23:33) is paralleled in Deuteronomy.2 Thus God overruled the translators' error, and gave us a title for the book in English that is appropriate, in view of the contents of the book.3 1Meredith G. Kline, "Deuteronomy," in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p.
    [Show full text]
  • Creation and Fall
    Creation and Fall The Bible begins with God creating the heavens and the earth. Biblical theology and Biblical creation begin with God. The term ’el / , which means “god,” suggests power and authority. Some suggest that ’el derives from the root ’wl (strong), others suggest ‘eloah (God), and others see the root ‘lh together with ’eloah (implying fear). 1 Though there is disagreement in the etymology of the term, it is broadly recognized in its use ’el / means “god.” Here in Genesis it is used to describe a profoundly powerful God in contrast to the other cosmologies of the ancient Near East. So the effective power and authority to create swiftly and effortlessly helps to inform the grandeur of this God ’el. Many suggest that the plural, Elohim , extends these conceptions of power, authority and majesty beyond which a singular name can do justice. For example, Eichrodt developed this as an overwhelming monotheism. A similar design led the writer of Genesis 1 to use the term elohim for the Creator God. By choosing this particular name, which as the epitome of all embracing divine power excludes all other divinity, he was able to protect his cosmology 1 An example of a brief discussion of this etymology can be found in Laird Harris, Gleason Archer and Bruce Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980). 427 from any trace of polytheistic thought and at the same time describe the creator God as the absolute Ruler and the only Being whose will carries any weight. 2 It has become popular in certain contexts to see elohim as God’s court or angels.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Dynamics and the Church in the Philippines
    Mulzac: Cultural Dynamics and the Church in the Philippines Cultural Dynamics and the Church in the Philippines The. overwhelming. Christian. majority. makes. the. Philippines. By.Kenneth.D..Mulzac the.only.country.that.is.predomi- nantly.Christian.in.Asia..Chris- tian behavior, however, is influ- enced.not.only.by.the.convictions. The. Philippines. consist. of. of.the.respective.faith.communi- 7,250.islands..About.700.of.these. ties. but. also. by. certain. unique. are. populated. with. about. 89.5. values. held. in. common. by. the. million. people,. at. an. average. Filipino.people..In.order.to.un- population. growth. rate. of. 1.8%.. derstand.the.Filipino.Christian,. These.citizens.represent.a.unique. these. values. must. be. acknowl- blend. of. diversity. (in. languages,. edged. and. appreciated. (Jocano. ethnicity,. and. cultures). and. ho- 1966b).. This. is. especially. true. mogeneity..Despite.this.diversity,. as. has. been. noted. by. one. Fili- one.common.element.that.charac- pino.thinker,.who.believes.that. terizes.Filipinos.is.a.deep.abiding. we.must.“know.the.sociological. interest.in.religion.that.permeates. and. psychological. traits. and. all. strata. of. society:. Christian- values. that. govern. Filipino. life.. ity.92.5%,.(comprised.of.Roman. Together,.these.traits.and.values. Catholics. 80.9%,. Evangelicals. contribute.to.the.development.of. 2.8%,. Iglesia. ni. Cristo. [Church. the.typical.Filipino.personality”. of.Christ].2.3%,.Philippine.Inde- (Castillo.1982:106,.107). pendent. or. Aglipayan. 2%,. other. Since. I. came. from. the. USA,. Christians.4.5%,);.Islam.5%;.other. a. highly. individualistic. society,. 1.8%;. unspecified. 0.6%;. none. I.wanted.to.understand.at.least. 0.1%.(World Factbook.2006).
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Israel in Sinai: the Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness Tradition
    Ancient Israel in Sinai: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness Tradition JAMES K. HOFFMEIER OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Ancient Israel in Sinai This page intentionally left blank Ancient Israel in Sinai The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness Tradition james k. hoffmeier 1 2005 3 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright # 2005 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hoffmeier, James Karl, 1951– Ancient Israel in Sinai : the evidence for the authenticity of the wilderness tradition / James K. Hoffmeier. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13 978-0-19-515546-4 ISBN 0-19-515546-7 1. Bible. O.T. Exodus XVI–Numbers XX—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Bible. O.T. Exodus XVI–Numbers XX—Evidences, authority, etc. 3. Bible. O.T. Exodus XVI–Numbers XX—History of biblical events.
    [Show full text]
  • Philippine Mystic Dwarfs LUIS, Armand and Angel Meet Healing and Psychic Judge Florentino Floro
    Philippine Mystic Dwarfs LUIS, Armand and Angel Meet Healing and Psychic Judge Florentino Floro by FLORENTINO V. FLORO, JR ., Part I - 2010 First Edition Published & Distributed by: FLORENTINO V. FLORO, JR . 1 Philippine Copyright© 2010 [Certificate of Copyright Registration and Deposit: Name of Copyright Owner and Author – Florentino V. Floro, Jr .; Date of Creation, Publication, Registration and Deposit – _________________, 2010, respectively; Registration No. __________, issued by the Republic of the Philippines, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, THE NATIONAL LIBRARY, Manila, Philippines, signed by Virginio V. Arrriero, Acting Chief, Publication and Special Services Division, for Director Prudencia C. Cruz, and Attested by Michelle A. Flor, 1 Copyright Examiner] By FLORENTINO V. FLORO, JR. Email: [email protected], 123 Dahlia, Alido, Bulihan, Malolos City, 3000 Bulacan, Philippines , Asia - Cel. # 0915 - 553008, Robert V. Floro All Rights Reserved This book is fully protected by copyright, and no part of it, with the exception of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews, may be reproduced, recorded, photocopied, or distributed in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, or stored in a database or retrieved system, without the written consent of the Author/publisher. Any copy of this book not bearing a number and the signature of the Author on this page shall be denounced as proceeding from an illegal source, or is in possession of one who has no authority to dispose of the same. First Printing, 2010 Serial No. _____________ LCCCN, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: Floro, Florentino V., 2006, " Philippine Mystic Dwarves LUIS, Armand and Angel Meet Fortune-telling Judge", 1st edition, ____ p., FIL / ______ / ______ / 2010 2 ISBN ____________________ 3 Printed & Published by: FLORENTINO V.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sons of God and “Strange Flesh” in Genesis 6:1–4
    MSJ 31/1 (Spring 2020) 79–105 THE SONS OF GOD AND “STRANGE FLESH” IN GENESIS 6:1–4 Dr. David L. Beakley Academic Dean and Professor of Exposition and Biblical Languages Christ Seminary, South Africa The “sons of God” text in Genesis 6:1–4 often receives nothing more than a brief comment from the pulpit or commentary. Coming right before the great deluge and God’s covenant with Noah, the passage seems to be a minor glimpse into antedilu- vian history. There have been several major views proffered over the past two mil- lennia, and the view that the “sons of God” were demonic angels who cohabitated with human women is one. In 1981, William VanGemeren proposed a re-examination of the “ungodly angel view” as the identity of the “sons of God” in Genesis 6:1–4. This article intends to answer this call for further exegetical scrutiny by examining the text through the lens of a biblical-theological and exegetical methodology. By viewing the text using this methodology, and the understanding of a specific center, or constant theme throughout the corpus of Scripture—which is the idea of God’s grace given in the midst of judgment—then the answers to difficult questions such as the reason for the Flood, identity of the sons of God, and the purpose of the Nephilim become much more clear and harmonize with the immediate context of Genesis 1– 11. * * * * * Introduction After two millennia of intense study of the Scriptures, controversies still abound over select passages that generate intense debate among evangelicals.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural and Religious Dynamics of the Church in the Philippines1 Kenneth D
    Andrews University Seminary Studies, Vol. 46, No. 1, 109-119. Copyright © 2008 Andrews University Press. CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS DYNAMICS OF THE CHURCH IN THE PHILIPPINES1 KENNETH D. MULZAC Andrews University The Philippines consist of 7,250 islands. About 700 of these are populated with approximately 89.5 million people, at an average population growth rate of 1.8 percent per year. These citizens represent a unique blend of diversity (in languages, ethnicity, and cultures) and homogeneity.2 Despite this diversity, one common element that characterizes Filipinos is a deep abiding interest in religion that permeates all strata of society. Fully 99.3 percent of the population identify with a specific religion (see Table below).3 The overwhelming Christian majority makes the Philippines the only country in Asia that is predominantly Christian. Christian behavior, therefore, is influenced not only by the convictions of the respective faith communities, but also by certain psychosocial values held in common by the Filipino people. In order to understand the Filipino Christian, these values must be apprehended and appreciated.4 As one Filipino thinker has noted, we must 1I am writing as an outside observer. From September 2000 to November 2004, I taught religion at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, a graduate school owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church that is located in the Philippines. In an attempt to understand the Filipino mindset and possible response to teaching, preaching, and evangelism, I undertook this investigation. I discovered that this is a wide field that has been properly studied and documented, though in scattered places.
    [Show full text]
  • Kosher Helper KDP Eagle Lake Marcellus
    Messianic Kosher Helper Leviticus 20:22 -26 “Kosher as Holiness” “You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out. Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them. Hence I have said to you, ‘You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples. You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean. Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.” In reviewing some of the preceding content of Leviticus ch. 20, readers encounter significant directions given against Ancient Israel sacrificing to Molech (20:1-5), or being involved with spiritism or soothsaying (20:6). Father and mother are not to be cursed (20:7), and there are a variety of forbidden sexual relations and unions that are described (20:10-21), which include prohibited heterosexual activities, homosexual activities, and bestiality, among other things.
    [Show full text]
  • Demons, Saviours, and Narrativity in a Vernacular Literature1
    ASIATIC, VOLUME 4, NUMBER 2, DECEMBER 2010 Demons, Saviours, and Narrativity in a Vernacular Literature1 Corazon D. Villareal2 University of the Philippines Diliman Abstract Narratives from and on Panay and Negros in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines are generally called the sugilanon. Its origins are usually traced to the Visayan epics; the sugilanon receded in the background with the dominance of religio-colonial literature in the Spanish period (1660‟s-1898) but re-emerged as didactic narratives with the publication of popular magazines in Visayan in the 1930‟s. Tracking its development could be a way of writing a literary history of the region. The last 25 years has been a particularly exciting time in its development. Young, schooled writers are now writing with the “instinctual” writers, in a variety of languages, Hiligaynon, Kiniray-a, Filipino and even English and experiments in craft are evident. The study focuses on sugilanon in this period, in particular the sub-genre utilising spirit- lore as part of its imaginative repertoire. It explores the creative transformations of spirit-lore both in theme and narrative method in the sugilanon. Moreover, it seeks to explain the persistence of demons, dungans and other spirits even among writers with supposedly post-modern sensibilities. This may be attributed to residuality or to metaphorical ways of seeing. But the paper argues that spirit-lore is very much tied up with notions of social agency and historical continuity. Such questions could illuminate some aspects of narrativity in the vernacular. Abstract in Malay Naratif dari dan tentang Panay dan Negro di rantau Selatan Visaya, Filipina secara amnya digelar sugilanon.
    [Show full text]
  • Is Yahweh a Moral Monster? the New Atheists and Old Testament Ethics
    PHILOSOPHIA CHRISTI VOL. 10, NO. 1 © 2008 Is Yahweh a Moral Monster? The New Atheists and Old Testament Ethics PAUL COPAN Philosophy and Ethics Palm Beach Atlantic University Palm Beach, Florida The New Atheists and the Old Testament: A Brief Overview Today’s “new atheists” are not at all impressed with the moral creden- tials of the Old Testament (OT) God. Oxonian Richard Dawkins thinks that Yahweh is truly a moral monster: “What makes my jaw drop is that people today should base their lives on such an appalling role model as Yahweh— and even worse, that they should bossily try to force the same evil monster (whether fact or fiction) on the rest of us.” Dawkins deems God’s commanding Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to be “disgraceful” and tantamount to “child abuse and bullying.” Moreover, this God breaks into a “monumental rage whenever his chosen people flirted with a rival god,” resembling “nothing so much as sexual jealousy of the worst kind.” Add to this the killing of the Canaanites—an “ethnic cleansing” in which “bloodthirsty massacres” were carried out with “xenophobic relish.” Joshua’s destruction of Jericho is “morally indistinguishable from Hitler’s invasion of Poland, or Saddam Hussein’s massacres of the Kurds and the Marsh Arabs.” ABSTRACT: The new atheists (Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, Hitchens) level arguments against Old Testament morality as primitive and barbaric, presumably undercutting belief in the biblical God (Yahweh). Yet the Old Testament presents creational moral ideals in Genesis –. Because of Israel’s embeddedness in the ancient Near East’s harsh, morally-problematic social milieu, Old Testament legislation is in places still morally inferior, though offering dramatic, incre- mental improvements upon such conditions.
    [Show full text]