‘Duterte should be weighed down by the profound pain of violent and widespread loss of thousands of husbands and fathers in this country he calls his own.’
IT’S a wonder how former President Rodrigo Duterte manages to look in the mirror when he defends Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and others associated with the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Cases of human trafficking and prostitution have been filed against Quiboloy but Duterte continues to condone the guy, even taking up the cudgels against those who raided the pastor’s compound recently.
Let’s not forget that during his time, Duterte seemed the least affected by the rampant bloodbath in his drive against illegal drugs, not at all bothered by the harrowing experiences of families who lost loved ones to police and vigilante killings.
Duterte should be weighed down by the profound pain of the violent and widespread loss of thousands of husbands and fathers in this country he calls his own.
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Pressing issues continue to hound the sanctity of marriage and authentic gender identity, with the Philippines grappling with issues of separation and divorce, domestic abuse, homosexuality, sex change and teenage pregnancy.
From Charles Colson’s book “Lies That Go Unchallenged” (Colson was Richard Nixon’s Chief Legal Adviser known as the “hatchet man” in Washington who became a Born-Again Christian after his conviction in the Watergate scandal and later founded the largest Christian Prison Fellowship in the world). “He confronts one big lie — that ‘each person has the right to make decisions about life, death, and relationships without outside interference. The underlying worldview has been that the focus of authority and purpose in society lies within the individual who has full autonomy over his own being with regard to all aspects of life and sexuality, as well as any type of relationship (including any definition of family) based on mutual consent. As Christians, we need to constantly uphold biblical positions on issues of life and death, sexuality, individual responsibility, the traditional family, and the role of the state in preserving the moral order.’
“In the past, our society balanced freedoms and responsibilities, which in turn created opportunities for individual advancement that would benefit the common good. This was undergirded by a network of shared moral values that enhanced strong community living based on the structures of family, church and voluntary organizations.
“Today this is all being dismantled. The focus is on individual freedom regardless of responsibility; the emphasis is on unbridled pleasure and self-fulfillment rather than contribution to the moral and communal aspects of society. Liberal special interest groups have sought complete ‘privacy’ with regard to the human body, beginning with the right of self-termination (euthanasia), termination of life in the womb (abortion), and termination of life during the birth process (partial-birth abortion).
“But abortion protesters’ rights have been curtailed in the past ten years since abortion clinics became ‘sacred ground’ and protesters had to stay a full thirty-six feet away from clinic entrances.”
