Dann Pantoja is beginning to use his Tagalog indigenous name -- Lakan Sumulong. This is a statement that our indigenous identities can be a redeeming factor in healing our 'being' (that is, who we are as a people); help symbolize our determination to contribute what we ought to be 'doing' as a nation (that is--active, non-violent, radical transformation); and, determine how we will prioritize what we will be 'having' (that is, inclusive growth and national development based on justice and peace). Asked what fuels his positive outlook in life: “It’s the influence of Jesus, a first century Palestinian carpenter who was executed by the imperial power of his time. He said: ‘Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.’ Jesus defied the ultimate negative factor in our cosmos--death.”
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BEING JESUS’ WITNESSES IN THE CONTEXT OF HISTORICAL INJUSTICES — PART 3 OF 3
Justice-Based PeaceBuilding Joji and I are constantly faced with enormous instances of social injustices. Indigenous Peoples are being pushed out of their ancestral domains by state and non-state armed forces. Local farmers are pushed deeper into poverty due to unjust trading manipulations by the rich and powerful. Government promises of autonomy and right to …
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2018/06/28/being-jesus-witnesses-in-the-context-of-historical-injustices-part-3-of-3/
BEING JESUS’ WITNESSES IN THE CONTEXT OF HISTORICAL INJUSTICES — PART 2 OF 3
Historical Injustices The present armed-conflicts in the Philippines, along with many wars and violence in the global realities of the 21st century, are rooted in various historical injustices that have traumatized various nations, especially many Indigenous Peoples, over several generations. Historical injustice, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, is “past moral wrong committed by previously living people that has …
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2018/06/18/being-jesus-witnesses-in-the-context-of-historical-injustices-part-2-of-3/
BEING JESUS’ WITNESSES IN THE CONTEXT OF HISTORICAL INJUSTICES — PART 1 OF 3
Being Jesus’ Witnesses Jesus—Our Justice and Peace. When peace theologians and church leaders taught me to read and interpret the Bible through the life, character, and work of Jesus, I felt so liberated! Being raised up in the midst of the violent context under the dark years of Marcos’ martial rule in the Philippines, …
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2018/06/08/being-jesus-witnesses-in-the-context-of-historical-injustices-part-1-of-3/
FIELD NOTES AND REFLECTION ON THE MEANING OF ‘VIOLENT EXTREMISM’
My peacebuilding colleague seems to have lost his confidence in non-violence. In an online conversation, he said: “Kaka Lakan, we have tried applying active non-violent approaches. Ten years. Ten long years… They’re killing us slowly… We might as well die fighting. Sorry, I’ll have to pick up my equipment again…” Such were the words of …
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2018/05/28/field-notes-and-reflection-on-the-meaning-of-violent-extremism/
I STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIANS; I PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF BOTH JEWS AND PALESTINIANS
This is where I part ways, theologically and ethically, with many of my Christian Zionist friends, many of them happen to be my ministry colleagues in the evangelical community. Standing up with the Palestinians. This is also a proper time to reaffirm my solidarity with my Palestinian sisters and brothers in Christ who are suffering under the …
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2018/05/17/i-stand-in-solidarity-with-the-palestinians/
LIVING THE ‘KINGDOM ETHICS’ AND BEING LIBERATED FROM FEAR-ORIENTED OUTLOOK
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:33-34 NIV) The Big Brother, the Big Media, the Big Business, the Big Cop, the …
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2018/05/06/living-the-kingdom-ethics-and-being-liberated-from-fear-oriented-outlook/
I REITERATE MY PROTEST AGAINST THE WESTERN BOMBING OF SYRIA
As I worship the Great Creator today, my main prayer is for justice, protection, and peace for the civilians in Syria. I cry for the 500,000+ who died in these conflict. I cry with their families. I lament the fact that majority in the West are supporting the lies that are being fed through the …
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2018/04/15/i-reiterate-my-protest-against-the-western-bombing-of-syria/