From a life of unbelief to a life of faith in God

Binhi sang Pagtuo

February 1, 2010

Dear Centralians and Friends,

Greetings from the campus!

During the Christ Emphasis Week (CEW) celebration last week, a student emailed me and asked if the purpose of CEW is to convert them to the Baptist faith. This has been a common question in the campus. My answer was based on the document entitled, “A Statement on the Faith Posture of Central Philippine University” by Rev. Dr. Johnny V. Gumban, CPU Academic Manual, 1981.

Let us reflect on what the statement says:

“The proclamation of the Gospel is for the conversion of the people from a life of unbelief to a life of faith in God. Christian life means a life of personal faith in Jesus Christ, which issues into a life of discipleship and service for the believer. This necessitates the membership of the believers in a community of faith, which is the Church where nurture of faith is done. Since this community of faith is represented by local churches with different traditions, rituals, and lifestyles, believers are encouraged to seek membership in churches where faith is effectively nurtured according to one’s personal preferences in faithful adherence to the will of God as revealed in the Bible.”

“Central Philippine University differentiates between conversion and proselytizing. While conversion is change from a life of unbelief to a life of faith in God, proselytizing is a sectarian manipulative way of calling people from one church membership to another. Proselytizing is not the reason for proclaiming the Gospel. As a sectarian activity, proselytizing must not only be discouraged but also condemned.”

“Central Philippine University is ecumenical in its perspective in relation to other human concerns. Ecumenical means “one world.” It implies the unity of mankind in the spirit of love as envisioned in the prayer of Jesus Christ in John 17:11, 21 - “That they may be one as you and I are one.” Ecumenicity does not mean unity in one institutional super church. There can be never be, because of our humanity, unity in doctrine and in one system of life, whether secular or religious. Ecumenicity believes and promotes the unity of all believers in the spirit of Christ. It accepts the fact that, even though locally, believers are institutional members of local churches, in faith they are one in the spiritual universal church of Jesus Christ. Their relationship to each other in faith and love transcends the barriers of creed, culture and race.”

“Central Philippine University honors its Baptist tradition. It also accepts and respects the reality of diversity in religious traditions, which are the results of historical circumstances. It is honored to serve its constituency, which is about 80% non-Baptist in their church membership. It accepts the responsibility to convert those who are not yet in faith and to nurture those who are already in faith. It sincerely offers its Christian Baptist tradition and faith as a means by which faith in God can be established and nurtured in the life of all people. It respects the freedom of those whose religious preferences may be other than that which is offered by the university.”

“Ecumenicity of the Christian church, as a whole, believes that faith must be translated into a lifestyle, which is characterized by sincere observance of Christian moral values. These include respect for life and property, the preservation of human relationship based upon love, righteousness and justice, and the preservation and protection of the integrity of creation. It believes that while a man is part of creation, he was created in the image of God so that he can establish dominion over all creation as God’s steward, not as exploiter and destroyer of God’s creation. As a steward, man is accountable to God for his life, and for all the gifts of creation, which is for him to preserve, according to God’s divine purpose.”

“Central Philippine University is committed to Christian mission. Christian mission is for the purpose of attaining wholeness of life on the total life of creation in conformity to God’s design and purpose as revealed in Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures. God initiates this work in history by whatever means He chooses. Central Philippine University offers itself to be a means that God may choose for this purpose.”

May God bless us!

Sincerely,

Pastor Francis Neil G. Jalando-on

Assistant Chaplain