Philippine E-Journals

Voice from the Wilderness: Tracing Prophetic Advent Movement’s (PAM’s) Beliefs and Practices to the Filipino Culture

Palmo R. Iya

 

Abstract:

Prophetic Advent Movement (PAM) is a millenarian group that separated from the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church during the 1990s due to its claim that the mother church had already deviated from the standards of being the “true church of God.” Its members sold their properties, left their jobs, stopped the schooling of their children, and finally lived in the mountains believing that in the years 2000-2002, the world will end and “Christ” will come again. As their prophecy failed, a re-interpretation of their messages and prophetic studies emerged. This gave birth to the creation of PAM’s beliefs and practices which differ from that of the SDA Church and later on blended with the traditional Filipino belief system and culture. This study primarily aims to trace PAM’s beliefs and practices to the Filipino culture particularly on its new system of worship. To meet this objective, not only historical but also ethnograhic, phenomenological, and linguistic approaches were used. This paper discloses that contextualization or indigenization of belief system does/did not only exist inside the Catholic Church but also in other religious denominations like the Seventh Day Adventist Church. It only affirms that religion or any belief system cannot be separated from the history and culture of the people.