IF CHRISTIANITY were an effective catalyst for change, the Philippines would be full of Christ-like individuals. Government officials would be walking their “pro-people” talk. Church leaders and followers would condemn, not condone, oppressive politicians. In effect, graft and corruption in government would fade away.
But we know Christianity itself suffers from disunity among thousands of sects and sub-sects claiming to the true messenger of God. Religious leaders preach conflicting beliefs in the hope of winning adherents. In the final analysis, they only agree in one thing – receiving tithes or whatever form of offerings from members.
“Purihin ang Diyos,” intones an ex-realtor who now hauls sacks of money collected from the audience of his weekly prayer rallies in Parañaque City.
Probably the richest of them all is Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, head of the sect Kingdom of Jesus Christ who claims to be the “appointed son of God.” He shocked the world in February this year after federal agents in Honolu, Hawaii arrested him for trying to fly out on his private plane with US $350,000 in cash and spare parts of high-powered rifles.
A senator claims to be pro-life, to this day condemning the Reproductive Health (RH) Law that promotes family planning. At the same time, however, he advocates the revival of the death penalty, which the Catholic Church – to which he belongs – opposes. Guess who it was who had been tagged “protector” of a drug lord during the incumbency of President Fidel Ramos?
Most Filipinos are Roman Catholics not by choice but by the circumstance of having been born to Catholic parents. If along the way some of them change course – like Manny Pacquiao – it’s because they have been “converted” by an influential guru.
There are Christian denominations that ban members from marrying “outsiders” – obviously to preserve the faith for the next generation.
Children born to parents of different faiths, on the other hand, grow up inquisitive, thinking for themselves. Born to a Seventh-Day Adventist father and an Aglipayan mother, I had the pleasure of listening to them “debate.” I developed the habit of “weighing” their views and making my own conclusions.
That we are a Roman Catholic country is obviously due to Spain’s influence, starting from the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan on March 16, 1521. No wonder we are still under the spell of religious leaders.
By going back to history, we unmask erroneous theocratic decisions, the most infamous of which was the conviction and life imprisonment under house arrest of famous Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei for heresy in 1633. Galileo had taught that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
The official Church position at that time was that the Sun revolves around the Earth – an idea borrowed from Greek philosopher Aristotle.
It was not until 346 years later in 1979 that Pope John Paul II declared that the Roman Catholic Church “may have been mistaken in condemning Galileo.”
In 1993, the Catholic Church officially “pardoned” Galileo. Ironic, since it’s the Church that should have apologized for punishing the person who had corrected an astronomical error.
The Church’s pro-life advocacy contravenes history that takes us back to the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine (306-337 AD) when “heretics” (non-believers of church teachings) were tortured to death.
In 1199, Pope Innocent III declared that “anyone who attempted to construe a personal view of god which conflicted with the church dogma must be burned without pity.” This cruelty culminated in the “Inquisition” – a campaign of torture, mutilation and mass murder – during the reign of Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241). (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
