The Official Newsletter of Penuel School of Theology SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
Integrating
community life
and formal theological education.
The Illusion of New Year
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eople of my age who have been gone through many New Year celebrationshave probably gone worn out of the festivity and started questioning the significance ofthat cultural celebration. Such questioning might have been instigated by the awful thought that the supposednew year does not differ much from the old one it has supplanted. In fair assessment, it is almost the same, if not has actually worsen a little. If the charges is true, the legitimacy of its fervid expectation and lavish celebration is undersuspicion. In places where I have been, New Year is celebrated pompously than Christmas. It could be considered as the national fiesta, where the entire country goes wild momentarily in bidding goodbye the old and in welcoming the coming year. Does it worth the extravagant revelry? Especially
By: Nestor Ravilas
when you find out the next morning the promised newness of things is mere illusion?
archaic civilizations, such as Egypt and Mesopotamia, traces of New Year celebration are visible. Probably, the feast was inspired The disillusion by the natural cycle of “New Year celebration is done to help seemingly is justified life. Say, the burying of and the suspicion register into our consciousness that a way the sun in the evening therefore is right. its reappearance to start all over again is available to us.” and the following morning. In retrospect, New The weathering Year celebration is one cultural practice that survives of leaves at fall and their revival comes spring the onslaught of enlightenment and secularization. time. Or the myth of the dying and rising gods A remaining artefact of the irrational past that could be another influence to this celebration. evinces our society’s adamant resistance to go modernize, and was being structured and organized Which ever could be the influence behind the New still by myths, metaphors, symbols and rituals. Year celebration, one thing can we surely deduce from it: death and destruction are not the final destiny of the Not really clear to me what inspired the primitive people created world. Ancient civilizations were convinced to celebrate the succession of years. But among the that they had to “cyclicize” time through cultural
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efforts, to give time a circular shape in order to enable time and the world continuously to regenerate itself and to prevent it from being reduced to chaos (JA:2008). As generally observed, it is necessary for illusion to aggrandize itsritual exercise to amplify its social impact. Cyclical time with its celebration of New Year, therefore, has to be constructed and maintained through a meticulous observance of rites and feasts (JA:2008). The extreme revelry and festivity that go along with New Year celebration is done to help register into our consciousness that a way to start all over again is available to us. We might have missed many chances in the past, but as long as we go through this myth year after year, the chance for renewal is always an open option for us to choose. While waiting for that option to finally realized, let me greet you just the same a happy New Year!
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Tunberg.
Reflection on Political Theology
The participation of Penuel in both the September 20 at the University of the Philippines College of Science Amphitheatre and the November 29 strikes in Liwasang Bonifacio was a product of its longstanding partnership with different players in the Philippine
By: Nolijen Wahing
W
e can’t deny the fact that horrible incidents such as crimes, injustices, poverty, killings, and other depressing crisis still hunt us up to this day. We are all affected, we are all fighting against it, one way or another. But as Evangelicals, where are we in this fight? What does our theology tell us about this? How does our theology influence us in terms robust and wide political theology. of social engagement? The thought is rather disappointing, Sadly, it seems noticeable that isn’t it? But how did we come this far? Evangelical churches are quite aloof to engage in discourses like these. Social July this year, Penuel hosted a problems are frequently dismissed Political Theology class, which aimed and rather regarded more as a spiritual to grapple and shed light to these concern. For instance, we often view pressing issues. The attempt was crimes and killings as an issue of indeed successful as we were able to immorality and therefore we rely on engage ourselves with discourses on the grace and sovereignty of God for politics, religion, and historical events salvation, instead of actively addressing that helped us put the pieces together. I the root cause of the issue. We rather realized that, church issues should not pray and surrender the problems to be divorced from philosophical and God, than getting our hands dirty. We sociological dialogues. We need to use look at these things as too political, interdisciplinary methods to investigate too secular, and therefore none of the issues at hand, most especially in whichshould beourbusiness. This tells developing a sound political theology, us that we never really had developed a ultimately, from the lens of human
rights. And so, I think the great challenge for us Evangelicals would be to genuinely rethink and develop a kind of theology that is not disconnected to the realities of this world. We have to learn to dialogue with the concerns outside the four corners of our church buildings. Furthermore, even Jesus himself never turned a blind eye towards the issues of his times. He had developed his own political consciousness, obviously displayed through his works of compassion for the marginalized and revolutionary actions against the oppressive rulers. Again, how is your theology influence you in in terms of social engagement? How does it view the basic human rights?
Bearing Witness for Climate Justice and the Fullness of Life
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By: Chuck Baclagon
enuel is one of the few theological institutions that have become deeply involved in the struggle for climate justice in the Philippines. The school has been part of the recent surge of youth and student-led mobilizations known as the Global Climate Strikes that were inspired by the Swedish youth activist Greta
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climate justice movement, including 350.org Pilipinas, which has facilitated an ongoing conversation with the faculty and the student body through a series of educational discussions and film screenings, that has not only challenged the community to radically shift away from the traditional understanding of
Nairobi and the Spectre of Comparison
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By: Fred Laceda or almost a year Penuel School world of Nairobi from the eyes of the of Theology and Street Psalms local people. Their context resonates have been in a process of having with in our own: trying to grips with a partnership by creating a training a painful colonial past, the tribal hub in Manila. This process includes differences, and the current religious, a once a month call that explores the social, and economic upheavals which shared values of both organizations which is needed for a relationship built on trust. Another aspect of such partnership is to work with the various training hubs in Street Psalms’ global network. We were invited to be part of a group that would see how a training hub works in a given context by travelling to Nairobi, Kenya last Oct. 9 to 15, 2019. One of the agenda is for the group to sit together and look at the
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climate change and nvironmentalism from the lens of creation care and stewardship to one that bears witness to the ministry of proclaiming and struggling for the fullness of life by speaking truth to power which lies at the very heart of the Gospel. create a violent mix. However, we also glimpse hope amidst the overwhelming poverty and the lurking violence that can erupt by the smallest agitation. The pastors and Muslims clerics breaking bread and exploring their sacred texts to create a powerful witness that can model a peaceable community in a place historically plague by religious violence. Another is the role of artists as social movers. The artists from a place of poverty inscribed in me the value of creative imagination in a socio-political context. The creative impetus provided by the artists is a potent public display that another world is possible. These practices of peace are held together by the training hub in Nairobi by creating a safe space for these disparate groups. This resonates with what we imagine in our training hub in Manila. Hopefully this “spectre of comparison” can become a lens by which we cross-train with the rest of Street Psalms’ global network of leaders found in hard places.
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Penuel needs Php 547,800 for this semester (July-December 2019). It is our prayer that as you find ways to help the Lord’s kingdom, you remember our Penuel’s ministry and cause. Help us reach our goals. Help our students!