“Infesting the Herd”: The Arian Heresy in the Philippines

As a newbie worker in the church, there are some things that I have observed in the ministry. One of which is the cycle of wrong teachings that was already proven to be errant long ago. I often assume that the indolence to learn is the reason for ignorance about the dangerous doctrines that once infested the early congregations of saints. While I am blessed that a Trinitarian religious group once conquered my country, there is still a historical controversy that alarmingly grows at present.

The music of the Philippines is one of the subjects I studied at graduate school level. I presented on the first chapter of D.R.M. Irving’s Colonial Counterpoint: Music in Early Modern Manila. The opening part of this text discusses the appearance of the Spaniards in the northern islands through the initiatives of Juan de Salcedo and Martin de Goiti. They attempted to subjugate the kingdom of Maynilad, ruled by Rajah Soliman, and the kingdom of Tondo, under the leadership of Rajah Lakan Dula. After successful colonizing the islands, the Spaniards protected their city due to its pivotal role in supporting their ambition to rule the “westernmost” hemisphere, as depicted in their Aspecto Symbolico del Mundo Hispanico.

Today, it is known as Intramuros and is located in Manila. This is a walled city that was built under the leadership of the conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. It was strategically designed to protect the land from pirates. Several other races, such as English, Flanders, and Japanese, along with the Filipino aborigines, lived inside the city, while the African and Chinese groups lived outside of it. Evidently, there was racial discrimination at the time. But still, the Spaniards pursued teaching Christianity to the Asians. The western colonizers protected the Philippines as it was the docking point and jumping off point for trade in southeast Asia. 

After attending a research conference last April at De La Salle University, I perambulated at Gen. Luna Street to further appreciate the details in my report. I was ambling in Intramuros while having one theological question in mind: “If the Trinitarian Catholics Christianized the Filipinos, then why is the teaching of Arius constantly promoted?”

The combined events of the Council of Niceae in 325 and the success of Philippine Christianization did not guarantee that the condemned heresy was dissolved. While it is true that both Roman Catholics and Protestants are the dominant religious populations, there are various religious groups that declare themselves as Christ’s followers yet constantly teach doctrines that are contrary to the Scriptures.

Of all the heretical doctrines that I have encountered, Arianism is the most common. It denies the divinity of Jesus Christ, which was propagated by Arius, the Bishop of Alexandria. This system of belief is “infecting” the theological views of Filipinos. Whenever I try to witness to these cults, I always pray first and ask God for guidance. This is the first suggestion by Alex Wilson and Christine Tetley in their book Witnessing to the Cults. When I teach about Christ’s divinity in accordance with God’s word, I always receive resistant questions. Some groups want to try to understand it through philosophical illustrations that do not fit the divine standards of God, but of man.

Points that are raised against Trinitarianism include “Christ is from Mary, God has no creator; therefore Christ is not eternal” and “Christ cannot be God, because we only have One God.” I find it tiring to answer to these points as I am aware that these people have no intention to learn, but only wish to justify their own arguments, so as to be called “intelligent debaters.” Obviously, there is no point to debate about the truth because “truth is constant.” You cannot argue that Jesus is not God just because your human reasons cannot comprehend it. Moreover, it is best to know that God’s thoughts and ways are far higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8–9).

There are two types of reasoning: magisterial and ministerial. On the one hand, magisterial reasoning happens when reason rules over the Word of God. Filipinos love illustrations, which they use to explain. While it helps, the illustrator should know the limits and that there are certain theological topics for which illustration cannot be used. The mystery of God cannot be understood by human reason. It is only through faith that the Holy Spirit works to make a man believe these things about God.

On the other hand, ministerial reasoning is when you recognize that your reasons cannot be above or at least on par with the Scriptures. Instead, it is inferior, as you need the Holy Spirit to teach you by faith that Jesus is indeed God. The Lord already revealed this truth in the Bible, which is written as the basis and norm of every doctrine in the Christian context. To deny the divinity of Jesus is to deny the existence of the Trinity (three persons in one divine substance). Denying the Trinity is tantamount to denying the existence of God. The Scripture clearly teaches in 1 John 5:7 that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one. There is no problem with this truth. The defect is man’s ambition to understand and philosophically explain the incomprehensible nature and mystery of God.

I was asked by a friend that if these religious groups are teaching false doctrines, then why are they growing rapidly? Perhaps they are blessed, and their teachings are correct. I vehemently challenge this notion. No, they are not favored! Rather, they are condemned, as their teachings convey worldly standards to which only hedonistic people would subscribe.

We were warned when Paul wrote in his first pastoral letter to Timothy that some would abandon their faith and listen to the deceiving teachings of the devil (1 Timothy 4:1). The “latter times” are happening now. Be wary!

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© Juan Pablo Karlo Marko Kristiyano N. Cortes, 2024.

This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Cover Image: Provided by the author.