Midterm Examination

Bible Study and Methods and Curriculum Development
Researched and Submitted by: Rolland Bardoquillo Hayag


1. Parables
1.1 Tenants of the Vineyard: According to Matthew, Mark and Luke.
The parable is intended to those people who are greedy of wealth and abuses the given authority and power, who mistakenly justify their deeds and by making promises that they will do it, yet their real purpose of making promises is to divert the owners attention, it is like a delaying tactics. Secondly, this tenant was already caught in the act of doing an unthinkable action, but the tenant gets through it, 5 times he murdered a person, the forth one is that the owner sent many yet still, they get killed by this tenants. 3rd God is the owner of all creation, and Jesus was the son of the owner that was slain, and the prophets and apostles are the 4th people mentioned also were slain. In our present time this thing happens almost every day, especially about our farmers, unconsciously and consciously people tend to sin by being greedy, making a lot of money in expense of other people, I was once a farmer in Nueva Ecija, Munoz, and I feel pity on the people who work in the field who will have just a few harvest because of the calamity that hits Nueva Ecija and after that here comes the middleman asking for a lesser price, so he can gain more, when they sell it in another place, this is for me another kind of taking advantage of people. Each country has its own leader to manage, that in my view they are Gods chosen leader, God is the owner.
Many times I tried and attempted to speak of this truth in the communities that I serve, and most of them, in my observation people tend to ignore it. Maybe action speak louder than the voice when you practice it, eventually people will follow, but in most cases, people just watch you do it and do nothing, well a good tenant act in the wishes of the a good owner.


1.2 Workers in the Vineyard: according to Matthew
The Spiritual Gospel focus on the aspect of sinners who are late comers and a sinner who are Jews, the people first chosen by God and in the kingdom of God everyone are equal either they are late comers or not. Yet in Social Gospel, speak of Gods kingdom acting on this world, where all People should have equal rights and blessings, there is truth about this in our world today, but still people are reluctant to act, because of Greed and fear. In the feeding of the five Thousand, a child act without doubt, gave his bread and fish, even without thinking of what will be left for me, if I gave my share.
Here in the Philippines, almost everyone who work in the offices and factories are employed in an agency, who supply man power to a big companies, which I experience to have below minimum wage, with a contract of 6 months only, after that I needed to apply again, I am a graduate on a unknown school, so my promotion in my work is not available for me and the worst thing happen when I did not received my last month salary, due to the agency owners death, but I never saw his body, thus the Business Company feared that they will lose their income or it is greed that made them act unjustly.

Most Churches are threatened by the economic problem, expenses are being observed by the members, workers salary are delayed and travelling allowance are remove from the budget, and lately members argue if they needed to have an additional workers and the answer is no. The Idea of Unified Earnings is promising, in other terms it is a centralize Salary and this Idea is common. It was already been discuss and it was not decided yet by our annual conference. Late or first comer, Elder or newly graduate pastors will received the same salary, and let us removed the other idea of putting a level or category in giving salary. This is my Idea of kingdom of God according to Luke.
The church should practice this kind of system removing the separation and differentiations among fellow believers for we are the same a servant of God.


2. Biblical Narratives
2.1 The Fall
In this Creation story the women is the champion not simply because the women pave a way for sinning so that they will realized that they are naked, the champion is Eve, in reality women suffer most in giving birth, gives pleasure to men, but is this really the reason why women is created, remember that women is given to men to be his companion, not only for sex companion, men uses the snake for alibi of his lustful thought, who is sinful, in patriarchal thinking that a men justify his sin as you remember too, Adam denies that he, who first sin, he blame eve, “because of eve seduce me to eat the fruit” then each one pin pointed each other until they blamed the snake. Yet the snake was quite.

2.2 Ruth, Naomi, and Orpah
In this narrative I cannot choose who is the hero and who is the villain, I admire women in the bible and women of present for their sincerity, yet it is between choices of what is the priority of your life, Orpah might have bigger responsibility in the house of her parents so she go back, she might have a family to return to, except Ruth because it was not mentioned, only the word of Naomi “go back to your mother, yet I believed Orpah have compassion to Naomi, she even cried, all of them are hero redeemer in a sense that they all felt the importance of each and everyone , Naomi said “Go home” sensible to the needs of the two, Orpah cried yet follow Naomi’s advise to do her rule, Ruth felt the needs of Naomi, a need of companion.

3. Character of Bible, Identifying myself
The Good Samaritan, this Parable is my most favorite Children bible stories, and it becomes my basis in living. I gladly help other people without question, though I know some are making advantages of my kindness, but I also know that through the act of kindness will stricken and awaken their heart and mind to do good things. Luke 10:25-37

25. And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

26. And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?"

27. And he answered and said, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with your entire mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

Jesus expounds on the law of love. True love is put into action. It is not merely at concept or a feeling. If we are to do this, we will quickly find that we are incapable of completing a perfect love. In doing so I was compel to be in this vocation so I can do more, since the law requires perfect obedience.



4. Theological Education/ Critical Asian Principle
First let me Identify the Nature and Characteristic of Asia wherein it was also mentioned in the article of Nacpil on Critical Asian principle that The South East Asian Education has a territorial characteristic, according to him that perhaps it is possible to mention at least seven features which are characteristic, without being exhaustive and detailed.
It was first mentioned that plurality and diversity in races, peoples, cultures, social, Institutions, religions, ideologies, etc., characterize this region. Secondly, most countries in this region have a colonial Experience. Thirdly, most of the countries in this region are now in the process of nation-building, development, and modernization. They want to modernize through the use of science and technology. They want to develop and achieve economic growth, social justice, and self-reliance. Fourthly the peoples of this region want to achieve authentic self-identity and cultural integrity in the context of the modern world. I pause only up to fourth Characteristics that are mentioned in the article, this four are more significant in classifying the strength and weaknesses.

Though the word of “etc.” included in the sentence, but it was never mentioned that communication is the most important aspect to be include in this characteristic, each country has different dialects in Philippine alone got more than 20 dialects, even though the national language is Tagalog, most of the Filipino prefer English, which is adapted because of colonial experience, which is the second Characteristic. Many Filipino’s prefer English, because they feel it was easier to express themselves, some are just for social status, the other is for internationally means of communication, which is a tool for our development and modernization.
Some feared to speak tagalog dialect, rather than speaking English language, especially the Visayan, I grew up in Davao even in Cebu, that most of the people there do not want to speak tagalog, but they are fluent in English, yet in that place it is a strength, I should say, because it helps them to understand the cultural differences locally and internationally, yet is it a weakness if they will lose their Identity as Filipino because of the language? In the United states, the English language is common, it differs only in their tone and shortcut words, such as “you all” in Indiana, “all of you” in Chicago, and “ya’ll” in Tennessee, but still they are the same in meaning, but easily to be understood, whereas in “kayong Lahat” Tagalog, “Kamong Tanang” Visaya, “Eh kongan” Kapampangan, are the same in meaning same as you all, yet different dialects, it could be confusing, if only all Filipino will set aside all dialects and embrace tagalog. There was an issue, in 1980’s if my memory serves me right, President Marcos almost declared that Cebuano dialect will become the national language, for me it will be more difficult to accept.

I finish my elementary in University of southern Mindanao, kabakan north Cotabato and I don’t know how the North and south Cotabato’s adapted the mixed up dialect, where you find the birth of a new dialect, they called BILOGALOG, (bisaya, ilokano, tagalog), the common sentence that I remember, is when we cross the river just to go to the other churches, you can hear people asking you in tagalog “Saan ka pupunta” and the other person would answer “ Diay Kabilang Banger” redundant words yet they still understand each other. Well my final words are though we have differences our strength is that we are adaptive to situations and we have common goal which is to develop and achieve economic growth, social justice, and self-reliance. This is the third Characteristic. In spite of differences in culture, dialects and language, we have the freedom worship in this country, Philippines, that everyone has freedom of expressing their faith among fellowmen.

5. Understanding the Church Ministry
Transforming our church into a messianic approach can be difficult, for how many years, Filipino are already engage to new era of worship and mission where their principle, is the principle is the commandment given to the disciples to go and baptize and make them disciples of all nation in Matt,28 . Interpreting differently, it was interpreted as to propagate religion not the goodness of God, blinded of the truth most of the Mission in the churches and members in the church are oriented in the thinking that the reason you do mission is to baptized gathered people to be a member so the tithes and pledges, will be enough to continue the church organization, and it is true.

This is not a church ministry that I vision, where your mission is based on concreting the four corners of the church building. It is churches that goes out and give their arms to the needy and the oppressed, the poor and the hungry, then and then you are worthy to be called the follower Of Jesus Christ