What Has Cordilleran Spirituality to do with Evangelicals?

Abstract

This article brings out some aspects of the Cordilleran primal spirituality of the northern Philippines and two vital lessons for Evangelicals influenced by the Enlightenment worldview. Evangelicals in the West tend to dichotomize the supernatural realm and the natural world. Their propositional spirituality and individualistic lens have shaped many Filipino Evangelicals. In this essay, I use a hermeneutic of appreciation of culture since it is a vital interlocutor of Christian theology. I argue that Cordilleran spirituality has something to contribute to evangelical Christianity. Of particular interest are the Cordilleran view of the existence of spirits and their hermeneutical community.