I THOUGHT this issue died down already... but not in “La Mesa de la Libertad.” Many Christian members could not just take it that their God is stupid. “We are sending our children to a Christian school because other than major subjects they will learn more about God.”
One member believes that President Digong sinned against God. Which sin against God cannot be forgiven? “You shall not revile God,” the Lord commands in the Covenant Code given to Moses. When an Israelite woman’s son quarreled in the camp and blasphemed the name of God, an awful punishment was decreed by God.
“He who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him.” Did President Digong blaspheme God by calling Him stupid? Who is now stoning the President? The Filipinos can answer that.
Speaking against God or showing contempt for Him is a contentious issue in the New Testament. Jesus himself is accused of blasphemy for claiming to forgive sins and for asserting that he was “the Christ, the Son of the Blessed.” The case of President Digong is far from the case of Christ.
Jesus turns the accusation of blasphemy against the Pharisees and proclaims the unforgivable sin: “All sins will be forgiven the sons of men (including the President), and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” That is easy to be understood even by a President.
He who denies the word and work of God and fails to distinguish between good and evil, Jesus is saying, is beyond pardoning because pardon can only be given to one who confesses error. We have yet to hear a public confession from the President... or he can direct his confession to God whom he calls stupid.
Pagans were said to have no knowledge of God but the President is not a pagan. In the New Testament, Paul reminds the Galatians: “When you did not know God, you were in bondage to beings that by nature are no gods.” We believe in God and by believing Him we have to know Him.
In announcing the birth of Jesus to Mary, the angel Gabriel mentions all three: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” The Catholics call this the Trinity. In the three of them, who is referred to as “stupid?”
At Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descends like a dove and the voice of God calls from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee, I am well pleased.” In his farewell to his disciples, Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
On Pentecost, Peter speaks of Jesus “exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit.” And Paul concludes his Second Letter to the Corinthians with a benediction: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
This is the proof of God we are getting from the Holy Bible. The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines has a Preamble (introduction to the main subject) that starts with, “We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God...” This simply goes to show that this government headed by this President is anchored on God.
In the oath of office of His Excellency Rodrigo Roa Duterte, President of the Republic of the Philippine, the last sentence there is, “So help me God.” This oath of office is an outward pledge made under an immediate sense of responsibility to God.
How can God be stupid? The purpose of an oath is to guarantee the truthfulness of a person on what he is about to say or the fact that he sincerely intends to do what he says by a formal calling upon God to be the witness. Filipinos should pray harder for the enlightenment of the President! Amen!