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The offer of the Philippine President to resign if anyone can prove that the God of the Bible exists has prompted reactions from Christians around the world.
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Dan Santiago President of the Philippine Southern Baptist Fellowship of The Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte lacks "strong biblical knowledge of the Judaeo-Christian god". Meanwhile, Filipino Catholic leaders – who publicly quarreled with Duterte – called on July 9 "the mercy and justice of God" over blasphemers, according to The Wall Street Journal .
Duterte's last remarks on God arrived on July 6 at the opening of a science and technology event in Davao, Philippines, where he noted that he believed in a supreme being but not in biblical God. Since coming to power two years ago, Duterte has been criticized for his rude public comment and his war on crime, which human rights groups say he has carried out. executions of thousands of police officers without due process.
"If there is one … that says you have been to heaven, who has spoken to God, who has seen Him personally, and that He exists, the God [that] is yours, and if he does, it is true, I will resign [from] from the presidency, "said Duterte according to The Independent .
The Philippine president even challenged "a witness" to present a "selfie" with the Christian God or other evidence of his existence.
"You do this today, only one witness, that there is a guy, a human being [who] could talk and see God," Duterte said. "From so many billions, I just need one, and if there is one, ladies and gentlemen, I will announce my resignation immediately."
Santiago, Pastor of Covenant Christian Church in Jacksonville, Florida, told Baptist Press Duterte "Obviously … He does not have a solid biblical knowledge of the Judeo-Christian God" and "rests on his personal understanding of who God is. In large part, his comments are aimed at the Catholic Church especially because of his bad experiences with them. "
Duterte said that he was a Catholic and claimed to have been abused by a priest when he was a child. He "frequently castigated priests", The Wall Street Journal reported, "calling them corrupt." In late June, Duterte called the Christian god "stupid" and described it with an expletive for allowing Adam's sin. Genesis 3 to affect the entire order created, according to media reports.
These remarks aroused criticism from Filipino Catholics and Protestants, the famous Evangelical leader Eddie Villanueva saying that he "felt anger" and believed that Duterte "violated the soul. of the nation "by mocking the God recognized in his constitution
Santiago stated in written comments," As a minister, I will focus on the continuing education of our churches on the biblical teachings concerning God , the Spirit and His Son Jesus Christ.This argument will disappear of itself.It is not healthy to discuss.Otherwise, I do not need to defend God in all this He is the great God and He will act according to His plan If I am asked to do so publicly, I will answer simply based on the biblical facts that God has spoken through history, nature , His Son Jesus Christ and continues to speak to us today through His Word so us the direction of the Holy Spirit.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines issued a statement on July 9 that did not specifically name Duterte but seemed to focus on his comments on God and his war on crime.
The statement called for "the mercy and justice of God over those who have blasphemed the Holy Name of God, those who slander and bear false witness, and those who commit murder or justify murder as a means to combat crime in our country ". reported.
A spokesman for Duterte said that he had met with Philippine Archbishop Romulo Geolina Valles on July 9 and that he had promised to stop making statements about the Roman Catholic Church.
According to data reported by the Philippine information website Phil Star the approximately 100 million inhabitants of the nation include 87 million Christians, 76 million of whom identify as Catholics and 11 million identified as Protestants and "other Christians".
(EDITOR'S NOTE – David Roach is the chief national correspondent for the Baptist Press, from Baptist Press, baptistpress.com Southern Baptist Convention Press Service.) [19659018] (function (d, s, id) {
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