BY DR. JOSE MA. EDUARDO P. DACUDAO
IN THE beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)
While the Word incarnate was in this earth, did he use the tongues of the imperial capital? Not surprisingly, Jesus Christ did not use the language of the capital of the Roman Empire (which happened to be Latin). He used his native language Aramaic (Matthew 27:46). He was born into that language and culture in an obscure Roman province, and he never made believed that he was a Roman. Christ was born a probinsyano, and he lived and talked as a probinsyano all his life. Had he been born today in a Philippine province, he would have used the native language of the people he was born into.
To put it in another way, the diversity of the languages and peoples of the world, which only a creative Spirit can cause to exist, pleases the Creator. Diversity gives Creation goodness, meaning, and beauty.
Throughout the ages, many Christian missionaries have followed the example of the first apostles by preaching in the native tongues of their adopted peoples. These Christian missionaries purposely learned the languages of the probinsyanos of their time, and preached and taught in those languages. Many of the languages of the world today owe their present-day existence to the dictionaries and grammar books that early Christian missionaries painstakingly wrote.
What can you do as an ordinary Christian regarding Tagalista preachers and religious sects who disrespect and kill non-Tagalog cultures in the name of ‘Christianity’ and the Bible, perversely breaking the Bible’s own messages?
First, one can show them the passages from the New Testament mentioned above.
Second, if they still insist on their chauvinistic ways, then do not give them the alms that they inevitably ask for. Do not give them money. And request your friends and relatives the same.
Wala na ginataha ang aton kultura, tagaan pa naton sila?/PN
