THE CONTINUING INMPORTANCE
OF NATIONALISM*

During the succeeding years the issue of nationalism continued to come up. This is evidenced by a number of resolutions which were adopted by various sessions of Annual Conferences. In 1914, at the Conference held in Vigan, the following motion was made by Gregorio Curameng and adopted by the Conference:

Whereas, certain leaders of our own and other Protestant churches, have made public declarations in the United States concerning the present political Ii situation in the Philippines, which have been printed and commented on by the Manila Press in such a way as to produce a feeling of indignation among the Filipinos, who have not considered the good intent of these declarations, and have caused the enemies of the gospel to hold evil opinions of both American and Filipino pastors, branding the latter as anti-Filipino and traitors to their own country; and

Whereas, these declarations have caused some members of the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches to separate themselves from those whom they consider as oppressors of the hopes of the Filipino people; and
Whereas, such declarations not only have caused a separation of some members, but have also stopped the progress of the gospel and have been used by the enemies of the gospel as a powerful means to overturn the work of our beloved Methodist Church during the last 15 years;

Therefore, be it resolved, that we ask our beloved Bishop Eveland to make known to the ministers of our Church in the United States that by the love which they bear to their brethren here in the Philippines, they refrain from speaking publicly either in favor of or against the independence of the Philippine Islands.⁷⁵

It can be readily understood why there would be sentiment about American pastors speaking against independence, but it is not so easy to understand why the resolution also preferred that they say nothing for independence. Perhaps it was adopted out of the feeling that such a stormy issue was better left alone, so that it would not become the cause of further controversy. Or possibly there was some feeling that the Church should not "meddIe" in politics. On neither count does the request for silence seem wise. The Church cannot remain silent on great moral issues in society, regardless of how controversial they may be.

At that same Conference in Vigan, Marvin Rader, District Superintendent of the Manila District reported that the past year had been one of "extreme agitation" for independence from the United States and that, despite the inaction of America on this matter, the relationships between Filipino Methodists and the missionaries had remained "cordial." However, he also noted that the over-all situation had made their work more difficult and that suspicion of the missionaries had increased.⁷⁶
Again the issue is mentioned in 1922 by Conference resolution:

Whereas Protestant missionaries are sometimes misunderstood as to their attitude towards the Filipino desires and aspirations for self-government ...therefore, be it resolved that we of The Methodist Church of the Philippine Islands Annual Conference assembled put ourselves on record as being in entire sympathy with the national aspirations of the Filipino people.. .we declare our hearty approval of every constructive effort of the Filipinos looking towards the realization of these national aspirations.⁷⁷

This resolution was reaffirmed by the missionaries at the Annual Conference of 1926,⁷⁸ showing the continuing obstacle this issue was to them in their work. Then in 1930, a similar resolution was sent to the United States Senate, in which the whole Annual Conference went on record as favoring "every constructive effort of the Filipinos towards the realization of their national aspiration, independence.⁷⁹

The context in which the missionaries made these affirmations should be remembered. Whatever their personal feelings may have been, not only on political independence, but on building an indigenous church, the Church at home had convictions on the matter also. Like the Roman Church and the Protestant Episcopal Church, The Methodist Church is a closely-knit ecclesiastical structure. As a general rule it has kept a very close organic relationship with its daughter missionary churches. This practice has both advantages and disadvantages. It has the advantage of providing a well-organized framework by which the national Church can steadily advance and remain closely related with the mother Church. It also provides a wider framework for the Church than any single national culture. At the same time this relationship runs the risk of being paternalistic and insensitive to national feelings, resulting in such splits as the IEMELIF and, as we shall see later, The Philippine Methodist Church. This matter will again be looked at when we bring up the matter of relationships to other Protestant churches.

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* For a full discussion of the whole issue of nationalism in relation to the Church, see my The Universal Gospel and Modern Nationalism: The Philippines as a Case Study, microfilmed Ph. D. dissertation, Graduate School, Boston University, 1964 (Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms).

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