Articles
A Battle of the Mind
A Battle of the Mind
Tyler King
The battle of Mactan is one that typically does not gain a lot of traction in Western education because it entails the death of a notable world explorer, Ferdinand Magellan. In the early 1500s, Magellan set out West until he and his crew anchored to Homonhon Island, Eastern Philippines. Magellan was not only a world traveler, but an enthusiastic and active in his religious beliefs — he started converting the area to his faith as they listened to him teach. Everything was going seemingly well for Magellan and his new friends. In fact, things were going so well that the people were under political obligation to provide food and goods to Magellan and his crew.
On April 27, 1521 (just a month and a few days after initialing arriving in the Philippines), Magellan and his crew visited the island of Mactan. The chief of Mactan, Lapulapu, was resistant toward the faith that Magellan was teaching and was hostile toward his presence and influence in the Philippines. When Magellan entered the island of Mactan, he and his crew were faced with fierce power and strength. Magellan fought back, even trying to burn some of their houses (which just made them angrier) and was overpowered. Lapulapu was eventually successful in his defense and triumphed over the world traveler.
While tragic in nature, the battle of Mactan offers a very important principle we must incorporate into our Christian walk. As Lapulapu saw a foreign force come into his country and start to rearrange everything that was native to him, he decided to resist; even though opposition was the least popular and most difficult option. That principle is the ability to fight and defend against invading thoughts that are hostile to God. Paul states, “We don’t wage war according to the flesh.” The apostle further supplements such a revelation with, “We destroy/bring down arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).
In this text, Paul is specifically defending his authority as an apostle before the Corinthian church (2 Cor. 10:1, 8). In doing so, he is reminding the congregation that there are outsiders who are discounting the plan of God and trying to bring in their own ways. Paul speaks of these individuals as “false teachers” in 2 Cor. 11:13-15. The imperative stands — challenge the outside thoughts and if they prove to be false, destroy such opinions. When intrusive thoughts enter our mind, are they faced with defense? Or are they embraced too immaturely? If those thoughts linger for too long, they can eventually develop into being influential in our daily life. For the Corinthians, they were listening and indulging the thoughts of others so much to the point that they were rejecting the teaching of Paul. While hard to believe, we too are not immune to the pressures of this world luring us away from Holy Spirit-inspired teachings.
