Filipino Culture and Christian Culture

Does Filipino culture have a capacity to be elevated to a Christian culture?  Is there such a thing as a Christian culture, a culture beyond all cultures and therefore is capable to "inculturize" in every culture?

Basically culture is a way or a system of thoughts, words, lifestyle, manner of dressing, eating, praying, etc of a certain group of people in which in a determinate time, in a determinate place.

All cultures are based on two fundamental elements: on the one hand, on the belief of a God, like for example, the Hebrew, muslim, buddhist, or the absolute and on the other hand, a culture could be based on the belief on man himself, like European culture which gives importance to man – his humanity, his rights,

All cultures are ways of acting and thinking which fundamentally are based on either a belief on a God or on man. The problem is this: when one culture gives importance to God only, the value of man and his life is less until the point of even sacrificing a human life, like some cultures which offer human blood and life for their God. This is true for example on the culture of the Astecs before in central America.

Now, what is central to the Christian culture? This is based on a Christological event. That God became man in Jesus Christ. Our God became one with us, man. The Word of God became flesh. Jesus is a true God and a true man. This is the root of the Christian culture. God who became man, the God-Man. Our Christian culture therefore, gives importance not only to God, but also to man; or not only on man but also on God. Did not Jesus said: Love God with all your heart, with all your soul. . . and your neighbor as yourself?

What is the proposal of Christianiy? By living Love. If God is Love, love attacts love, one loves Him, and therefore does His Will. What is His fundamental Will? To love one another, to love the brother and above all to have reciprocal love. To love God and do His will, I have learned when I meet the ideal to do things out of love for the neighbor so that mutual love could be attained. This reciprocity of love has a marvelous fruit. This reciprocal love creates the conditions which makes God present amongst us. His new command solves the two tensions in a culture that tends more towards man or towards God because He is both Man-God.

Our Filipino culture sometimes, tends either only to God or only to man. For example our “bayanihan.” If this good culture of helping one another, could be done not only because it is our culture, but if it done because we really love one another as Filipinos and if we could extend it all the times so that it becomes a permanent culture, it could be raised to a life of mutual communion like to life of the Trinity where mutual love is actualized and lived permanently. Is this not then the culture of the Trinity? Bayanihan culture could become a culture of heaven.

Christian love is for all and is universal. It teaches us to love everybody because Jesus died for all and therefore God loves all. Our culture of the centrality of the family is very good because, in the clan, everybody helps each member. But if it is extended to the other families, without exclusivity, then it could be a potent change our country instead of the main cause of corruption. Love of man, the neighbor which is central to the Christian culture, means to love all, even it includes the enemies. Here centrality of the family becomes universal and extended; partisan or family politics which plague our country has no more space in this culture.

What does it mean to live the Christian culture? It means it we have to let ourselves be guided by Him, by His way of life. Well, Him who is both Man and God, who puts together the humanity and the divinity. He is not only a person of the past, but is really present among us if we love one another.

Our culture of “utang na loob” are good because it gives a certain respect and gratitude to the neighbor. But if we remember that God wants us to love all. Our gratitude must always first of all be directed to God and it is very beautiful if our “utang na loob” could not be also limited to individuals and if it is done on the context of the common good.

“Hiya” is one of our characteristics if it is tempered by an awareness that Jesus loved us also personally and immensely and therefore has a dignity of a son and daughter of God. Jesus is the “truth.” If this Filipino culture of “hiya” would be perfected with “truth”, this would bring us to a more genuine relationship, not based of false respect but a relationship in the “truth” because to love means to love in the truth.

“Pagmalasakit” is a very good Filipino attitude like to what Chiara would call, to make oneself one. To cry with those of cry. If, as Christians, we could enlighten it with the resurrection, that our Lord, the God-man rose from suffering and death, then pagmalasakit has the capacity to give the inherent joy it has within the suffering, since every “pagmalasakit” has a “resurrection.” Our culture of “pagmalasakit sa kapwa” would be beautiful if it is completed with the hope of the “resurrection”.

Kasakitan, sickness should also be redeemed in the presence of the Risen Lord

The Christian culture makes us aware that God is a Father who provides. In our culture, the “bahala na” system could be well rooted in this. This opens to us the beauty of God as Father and Provider but it should not lead us to “fatalism” We also usually say “Kalooban nang Dios” when negative things happen. This is good but we should remember that God allows everything for our sanctification. Failures, negative events, should rather lead us to go ahead and decide to be active in doing what God wills in the present moment,

In our culture is the father who earns and the mother who keeps the money. If the decision of expenses is done with Jesus in the midst, I think many quarrels between husband and wife could be spared in our families.

We could have many expressions of this kind of culture when we have truly Jesus in our midst, even now).

Yes, we all have “kagandang loob” since God has created us all good. If this it transformed into real mutual love as Jesus loves us, till having Him in our midst, even if we come from different cultural backgrounds, He will be amongst us.

As St. John said: 14:23 "Those who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and my Father and I will come to them and live with them.” If we do this, He lives with us. He is our light, our way, our truth, our life, and our culture. We build together this culture if in these days, we love one another as Christ loves us not only here but beyond and elsewhere.