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| Holy Blood, Holy Grail By Antonio C. Abaya Written April 02, 2006 For the Standard Today, April 04 issue The central hypothesis of Dan Brown�s novel �The Da Vinci Code� (DVC) is that the historical Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene (who is wrongly portrayed in the Bible as a prostitute) and that the couple had a child, which Mary Magdalene carried in her womb when she and other Palestinian refugees, according to legend, fled to the south of Gaul (now France) after the death of Jesus, to escape Roman persecution of the Jews. (We should not forget that Jesus and family [mother Mary, father Joseph, brother James] and �wife� Mary Magdalene, as well as all his apostles [except Paul of Tarsus] were Jews who lived their lives according to Judaic traditions.) Furthermore, the novel�s hypothesis also asserts that the child of Mary and Jesus carried the royal bloodline from the House of David in Judea, which continued through the Merovingian dynasty that ruled much of what is now France, from 511 to 687 AD, and has direct descendants even to this day, including (but let me not give the plot away.) This mixture of historical facts and fictional inventions, told in an edge-of-your-seat narrative style, makes the novel such an exciting read. But what has made it controversial is the insertion into the fictive storyline of historical events, or interpretations of those events, that are downright subversive and corrosive of traditional Christian beliefs. The very claim that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a child with her is such an heretical idea it would have set medieval Europe aglow with the burning and slaughter of heretics � as, in fact, it did. Brown posits that the Search for the Holy Grail, which was a central myth in medieval Christianity (including the myth of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table), was not about a Sacred Chalice (san graal, in medieval French) that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper, but about the �sacred feminine�, the womb of Mary Magdalene that held the Royal Bloodline (sang raal, also in medieval French) of which the historical Jesus was said to be a part and which supposedly extends to the present day. And that this secret, guarded through the centuries by a mysterious organization called the Priory of Sion, is contained in some documents in code that the original (nine) Knights Templar had deliberately sought and dug up in the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem during the waning years of the Crusaders� occupation of the Holy City.. And that these secret coded documents were transferred to and hidden in, the southern part of what is now France, specifically the region now known as Provence or Languedoc (after their regional dialect, langue d�oc) , home to the Cathars or Albigensians who were declared heretics by Pope Clement V in the late 13th century and were massacred � men, women and children - in their tens of thousands. (This was the home region, too, of the real-life parish priest Berenger Sauniere in his village of Rennes-le-Chateau (pop 200) who discovered some of these documents in 1891 in a 6th century pillar of his parish church � dedicated, by the way, to Mary Magdalene � who became extremely rich and famous after he brought these documents to church authorities in Paris. The speculation was that he was bribed by no less than the Pope, through an archduke of Austria, to keep quiet about these coded documents.) And what was the Albigensian heresy all about? The Albigensians (literally, the people of Albi, one of the main towns in the region), also known as the Cathars, practiced a form of Christianity that differed from the mainstream orthodoxy preached and defended by the Church in Rome. In a separate article, I will delve into the details of the Albigensian heresy Brown�s �Da Vinci Code� or DVC (which I have read twice) has generated much controversy, and rightly so. It questions or contradicts many of the core beliefs of traditional Christianity in general, and Roman Catholicism, in particular, such as the divinity, virgin birth and celibacy of Jesus. And it posits in its fictive storyline that the origins of Christianity include a secret that the Church has deliberately hidden from its followers, namely that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had at least one child, whose bloodline runs to the present. This has spawned a virtual cottage industry among religious leaders and Biblical scholars debunking Dan Brown�s novel. But they are barking up the wrong tree because, as I pointed out in my article �Before the Da Vinci Code� (Jan. 31, 2006), Brown merely �borrowed� (the polite term for �plagiarized�) from a very serious and voluminous non-fiction book titled �Holy Blood, Holy Grail� or HBHG, written 21 years before DVC by three British writers Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln and Michael Baigent or LLB. Dan Brown�s novel uses less than one percent of the arcane historical data in HBHG. Anyone who wants to debunk Brown�s DVC should really debunk HBHG by LLB. (I bought a DVD last week titled �Origins of the Da Vinci Code� by Simon Cox, which focuses on HBHG as the historical source of Brown�s novel and mentions the Albigensian heresy, the Knights Templar in Jerusalem and Europe, the Merovingian dynasty in France, the Priory of Sion, Mary Magdalene etc. but does not go into much details. For that, one has to read HBHG itself.) Recall that between the death of the historical Jesus (about 33 AD) and the middle of the fourth century, Christianity as practiced by various communities as far away as the British Isles and the Egyptian desert, from the Iberian Peninsula to Asia Minor, was a hodgepodge of core beliefs and liturgical practices that were wildly different from each other and, in fact, often contradicted each other. It was the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, ruling from Byzantium (now Istanbul, in present-day Turkey) who sought to standardize Christianity into a coherent and universal whole. In 325 AD, he summoned all the Christian bishops to a meeting or synod in the town of Nicaea (also in present-day Turkey) to decide, for the entire Christian world, the articles of the True Faith and to choose which accounts about Jesus (there were literally dozens) were to carry the official imprimatur of the Church. The Council of Nicaea produced the Nicene Creed, also known as the Apostles� Creed, which summarized the approved core beliefs of Christianity. More significantly, the council chose which of the numerous extant writings about Jesus and his apostles were to be considered officially approved and later propagated as the canonical Gospels of the New Testament, and which writings were to be discarded and/or treated as heretical. (See my article �Da Vinci�s Code�, Aug. 19, 2004.) Among those that were discarded as heretical were those that became known as the Gnostic Gospels (from the Greek word gnosis or �knowledge�). The central tenet of the Gnostic Gospels was the belief, which was part of the Albigensian heresy, that it was possible to �know� God directly, without the intervention of a Church hierarchy. The Albigensian heretics also acknowledged the �sacred feminine�, had women priests and venerated Mary Magdalene. For obvious reasons, the hierarchical Roman Church considered such heresies as threats to its institutional existence and moved decisively to extirpate them through the favored method of the time: wholesale slaughter of the heretics. (To be continued) ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
| Reactions to "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" Dear Mr. Abaya, I thoroughly enjoyed your column of April 4, 2006, as it got me to thinking that if Christians object to the hypothesis that Jesus Christ may have married Mary Magdalene and begot a son that started a lineage now living in France, then Christians may have to consider the opposite hypothesis which posits that Jesus Christ may have been gay! Consider the evidence. Jesus never married. He was apparently dateless at the Cana wedding. (Margaret Starbird, a former Catholic theologian, theorizes that the Cana wedding was that of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. ACA) He associated almost exclusively with men, hopping from town to town, incurring the wrath of religious elders. The Bible doesn't detail any sexual encounters among these men, but it does show Jesus telling them how much he "loved" them. He made his companions remove their sandals and washed their feet, drizzling warm water over their toes and rubbing them dry. They were cavorting in a park when police raided them and arrested Jesus; one of his friends had betrayed him with a "kiss." Hanging out in parks with other men, kissing them, fondling their feet - such behavior would not be tolerated in today's "mega churches." And just imagine the reaction to the robe and long hair, or the Palm Sunday parade. Some Catholics and Right-wing "Christians" might argue that the evidence is inconclusive, that the Bible wouldn't necessarily discuss someone's sexual orientation, especially if it were "normal." But what is normal? In our culture, people are assumed to be heterosexual unless they or someone else claims otherwise. Jesus' world was different, and perhaps more complicated. Jesus was a Jew, and Jews condemned homosexual acts. But Jesus lived under Roman occupation, and the pervasive Greco-Roman culture gave a green light to gay love. There's no proof that Jesus was heterosexual, either. He never claimed to be. He never denounced homosexuals. There is no Biblical evidence that Jesus ever had sex with anybody, though in his times, celibacy was considered abnormal. Sex is a natural human drive, so it's a good bet that the Son of Man got some. Since he hung out with twelve foot-washing, love-talking, kissing male companions, it's a good bet that it was among them he satisfied his urges (though we can't rule out, of course, that he was bisexual). Try as they might, Catholics and Right-wing "Christians'' can't prove that Jesus wasn't gay. You can't prove a negative - a principle that should be familiar to many religious people who believe in God in part because God's existence can't be disproved. Religious people everywhere have relied on this basic fact of logic for millennia. No one can prove that God, if he, she, or it even exists, hates homosexuals. The opposite may well be true. According to the stereotype, gays have more sex partners, and more and better sex, than heterosexuals. They have more creative jobs, better decorated homes, and more disposable income - especially where they can't adopt kids. By the standards of many Catholics and Right-wing "Christians," gays are materially "blessed." The only thing, it seems, that can be trusted is Jesus? main commandment. To follow it requires no belief in the supernatural, just faith that the words were repeated and translated with reasonable accuracy. Indeed, one can follow it without even believing Jesus existed. "Love one another." That includes loving homosexuals, which might include Jesus Christ himself. A Gay Jesus: What a wonderful way for God to test his followers' faith! Most Catholics and Right-wing "Christians," I bet, would rather be puked up by a whale. Carlos Esteban, Jr., [email protected] April 04, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Mr. Abaya, Honestly, I don't know whether to believe Dan Brown's book or not. However, what is clearer is the FACT the he rose again from his death and defeated death, Biblically and historically. What is more important are the prophecies the Bible has told us. From the calamities, world wars, death, false teachers, how information is getting faster (IT), Israel's rise from mediocrity to where it is now, and many many more astonishing revelations. These are what I'm holding on to. Nangyayari na kasi. Now, going to the celibacy of God's son, Jesus Christ, the Bible never mentioned any of it. But, Jesus never taught of being "celibate" to be a follower or a servant. Take the case of Lydia, the first woman convert of the New Testament. Mga negosyante yan and mag asawa sila but they decided to serve in the church. Ang dami pang examples nyan. Anyway, I think its better to focus on what needs to be focused. Wala naman pupuntahan mga ganyan usapan eh but I love to hear different views. Mike Delgado, [email protected] April 06, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww The more (historical-fiction) books the better. Let us have a god who came from Jupiter and taught us how to brew beer. Ross Tipon, [email protected] Baguio City, April 06, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hello Tony, Of course I find all your articles interesting, but spirituality and its related aspects (such as religion, which can lead to it) is of special interest to me. Someone gave me a copy of Holy Blood, Holy Grail way back in1987 for me to while away the time during a 9-month house confinement imposed by AFP authorities; Before that of course, I had read "The Passover Plot" (Norman Mailer?) and more recently, this book about the Knights Templar and the Shroud of Turin. All very interesting, but what currently attracts me to Christianity is the 'updated' image of God as all-loving and forgiving, as opposed to the schizophrenic image taught during my childhood of a vengeful, wrathful God on one hand and a kind and merciful God on the other. The current rationalized interpretation is psychologically much more sound in that it helps us to be loving and forgiving of ourselves, and therefore, more loving and forgiving of others! I am also rather fascinated by Evil. (M. Scott. Peck, "People of the Lie"; Theodore Reik, "The Compulsion to Confess"). "Evil is a giant. Good is when Evil takes a rest."[!] (Sterling Hayden, in a movie whose title I can't remember.) "The duty of Good is to continue being good when challenged by Evil." (from a Baguio healer I consulted way back in 1970, when I asked for advice on how to counter Evil). Contrary to what some people believe, GMA is not a personification (of what? ACA); she simply has strong sociopathic tendencies More power! Rex Robles, Commo. (Ret.), [email protected] April 06, 2006 MY REPLY. Quite a welcome revelation, this side of you, Rex. I also read ?The Passover Plot.? It wasn?t by Norman Mailer, but by a Biblical scholar named Hugh Schofield, or something like that. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. I hope the Church could be more open to, at the very least, Catholics who have a firm handle on their faith so they could rightly segregate truth from tradition, myths and just downright "conventional assumptions and thinking". I await the continuation of your column. Happy Easter. . Cesar Sarino, [email protected] April 06, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, May I recommend that you use the politically-neutral term CE (Common Era) instead of AD and BC for dating years. Much of the human race does not accept Jesus as their Dominus. As you may know, the terms CE and BCE (Before Common Era) are already in standard use by biblical scholars for dating events in the Old and New Testaments. In SWS, our formal certificates of recognition to anyone use CE and not AD. Best, Mahar Mangahas, [email protected] Social Weather Stations, April 06, 2006 MY REPLY. Thank you for the suggestion, Mahar. But I think I?ll stay with BC and AD, even if JC is not my Dominus either. Though politically neutral, as you say, CE and BCE are still based on the Christian calendar, which I really do not mind. What is year 2006 to the Christian world is actually year 6000+ and 1400+ in the Jewish and Islamic calendars, respectively, and undoubtedly some other years in the Hindu, Zoroastrian, Mayan, etc calendars. Plus ca change, plus la meme chose. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thanks. Sana mapadala mo yong continuation nito. Richel Sale, [email protected] April 06, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, In your April 4 article you wrote: (We should not forget that Jesus and family [mother Mary, father Joseph, brother James] and "wife" Mary Magdalene, as well as all his apostles [except Paul of Tarsus] were Jews who lived their lives according to Judaic traditions.) .. Paul was a Jew's Jew before and a few years after his Damascus experience with Jesus...He persecuted the early Christians and had a clear understanding of Jewish traditions. The difference between him and the rest you mentioned was that he was a Roman citizen, a benefit of being a citizen of Tarsus... Fr. John Cordero, MMHC, [email protected] April 07, 2006 P.S. I really do enjoy and learn a lot from your articles.. MY REPLY. Thank you for the correction, as well as for your kind words, Fr. John. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, I find your article informative and very interesting. I watched the TV version and because the show was dragging, it became boring. Please continue with your narratives because your prose and condensed style is in every line interesting. Paul Dalde, [email protected] Beaumont, Texas, April 07, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hello My name is Tristan Peigne, I am an 18 year old college student. I have question on your theories about the Holy Grail. I have my own beliefs and they aren't that different from the Catholic Church, but in my year I have heard about hidden lies that the church is covering up and about things that the Catholic Church doesn't want the people to know. (These are not my theories, but those of Dan Brown, who got them from the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln. ACA) Now I don't know if I'm asking the right person but I wanted to know if you can take the time explain to me what the Holy Grail represents. Also if you can give me your views on Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and early Christianity, because for some odd reason I've gained an interest. (The search for the Holy Grail is a myth from medieval Christianity which says that the Holy Grail is the cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. The above books claim it actually refers to the womb of Mary Magdalene, who allegedly was pregnant with the child by Jesus. I suggest you read, first, the novel, then the Holy Blood Holy Grail. Both are available in paperback form. You should also read those who defend traditional Christian beliefs. Then you can decide for yourself which story to believe. ACA) For reasons I can not say but arguments on science and religion and also the "true way" to Jesus' heart are very interesting. What I mean by the "true way" is that I heard arguments that religion will not save you. That the way to heaven is not by going to chruch to worship him or his son, but by believing that he exists and praising he in your own manner is the passage to heaven. Now I'm not sure what you believe or if for some reason I've offended you in some ways, but you wrote an article on the Holy Grail and I just would like to know if you would tell me more, but on other subjects that are in the same circles. I do hope you do write back. I know myself I did not really ask for anything specific, but that is only because I prefer any information at this point. Thank You for your time. I do hope you write back. I understand that this email is explaining a lot, but just information on anything is fine and if you write back I know that you are the right person to ask and maybe if I get more specific and detailed you can lead me someone else. Greatly thankful, Tristan Peigne, [email protected] April 07, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Another fan of yours checks in after doing a Google search to see if you were still alive. Saw your book (Europe by Scooter) mentioned somewhere last week and just got it yesterday through interlibrary loan from the Western Michigan University library at Kalamazoo. Have raced through it cover to cover! Enjoyed it very much, dated as it is (prices, statistics). I, too, did a Vespa trip around Europe, five years ago ... London to Athens and back, also staying at hostels. Had similar experiences! A wonderful trip even for an old man who doesn't dance. Had one adventure you didn't have: Spent a night in jail. Got off the ferry from Genoa to Barcelona in a driving rainstorm. Finally found the hostel ("Arribe la montana!") but it, and all the hotels were "completa" as the city was hosting Madrid in soccer and the legislature was in session. Tried half a dozen more hotels, all full. Drove up the coast to Badalona, where its one hotel was full. About 1 a.m., came across the local police headquarters -- which had about 20 white Vespas just like mine parked out front. Asked with the remnants of my high school Spanish whether I could spend the rest of the night in their lobby. Desk sergeant took me to an empty office, and I sacked out on the floor, my duffle as a pillow, snug under my stolen airline blanket. About 3 a.m., after a shift change, the new watch commander woke me, and took me to the basement jail, and gave me my own cell with a bed and clean sheets! For a moment when I read your brief bio online I thought we had a real connection: you went to Northwestern, but I read it as Northeastern, my alma mater (in Boston). Still, we're both journalists -- I'm a retired editor and publisher... And I live about 40 miles north of Evanston. In any case: enjoyed the book. Do you still ride a Vespa? I gave up my first one right after college, in '63, and didn't buy another until I retired in 1999. I now have a gleaming PX200 ... wonderful machine! And, of course, am longing to do another long trip on it ... hence my wintertime reading matter: your book! Pete Selkowe, [email protected] Racine, Wisconsin, April 08, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww The following article was emailed to us. HEALTH QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION By Anonymous Undated Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true? A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap. Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables? A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products. Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake? A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up! Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio? A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc. Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program? A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good! Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you? A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!!... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you? Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle? A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach. Q: Is chocolate bad for me? A: Are you crazy? HELLO . Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around! Q: Is swimming good for your figure? A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me. Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle? A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape! Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets. And remember: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming Whoo what a ride". "I can handle anything that life throws at me - I may not be able to handle it well, or correctly, or gracefully, or with finesse, or expediently - but I will handle it. Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!" wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww WHEN OUR RELIGION BECOMES EVIL (updated) By Bert M. Drona, April 10, 2006 WHAT WE FILIPINOS SHOULD KNOW: Just received a friend's email of an interview with Rick Warren , author of the recently released bestseller book entitled "Purpose-Driven Life." Anyway, Rick stated the usual "... life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven" etc.. and....".If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness; which is my problem, my issues, my pain....and "But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others." Frankly, if I were a self-proclaimed Christian, it would behoove me to take care of myself, so as not to be a burden to anyone and thus be able, with the best effort and/or power I can have, to focus on others. I would not focus on God nor be expected to because I do not see God as selfishly desperate for my(our) attention; God is not KSP as some of us are. I would be honoring God by acting for the good of others, in my surroundings, my community, my homeland. That is what I expect of so-called Christians in our homeland, whether of the Catholic or the Praise-The-Lord variety. It is with such thoughts that I rewrite and repost about our religion and our peculiar Filipino norm of Christian morality. Our homeland, the Philippines, is recognized as the only Christian country in Asia. However, whether we Filipino Christians can claim to be truly following, imitating Jesus Christ and living as "good Christians" is arguable. (Am not covering Muslims here). Functionally speaking, religion is supposed to give meaning to one's life and to be a source of moral/ethical behavior , in the personal and social (socioeconomic and political) areas. Unfortunately, it seems that we Filipino Christians in the Philippines and abroad can not claim to be really leading such expected Christian lives -most especially with regard to ethical behavior in our homeland's sociopolitical arena (government, business and military) as exemplified in rampant corruption, killings of journalists and activists, etc. Filipino Catholics are a majority, but unfortunately, as such we generally do not seem to think and behave as truly good Christians in Philippine society. Filipino Catholics tend to focus on pure religiosity, to be mainly observants of Catholic religious rites and church-made rules, to overspiritualize despite the Second Vatican Council's (1962-1965) agenda of "aggiornamento", of the church "bringing up-to-date": that is, of encouraging Catholics to attend more to social concerns, of applying righteousness in the treatment of the poor and most vulnerable in our society. To date we so-called Christians in the Philippines still practice, knowingly or unknowingly, "split-level" Christianity . When we or someone err, we dismiss it by easy escape clauses such as "we're only human," or " whoever has not sinned cast the first stone," or "it's hard to be an authentic Christian," I say you bet. So let those among us who are self-proclaimed Christians ask themselves, why proclaim, if we can not live it or even try to emulate the life of Jesus Christ? Maybe Christianity is just a social club we joined without understanding its humanist mission. Sure, the rites and church-made rules underwent changes, for example, how the Mass is performed; or when to observe Friday abstinence. But these are all mainly symbols of Catholicism and are externalities. Greatly missing in our Catholic Christianity are changes that define attitudes and behaviors as they might impact and shape how we, its members -the clergy and laity- engage in the world [i.e.Philippine society] or how to put our Christian faith to work in improving ourselves and society. Our present and urgent need is: Social action rather than purely selfish, self-centered, personal piety for social transformation. I think and believe that social concerns and actions are more relevant and much more important to our homeland's present predicament versus that when one's Christian practices emphasize only the attainment of great personal piety and/or following church-made rules. One Catholic Christian teaching which seems to continually and negatively impact Philippine society is the pronouncement of the Beatitudes that says "How blest are the poor...those who hunger and thirst for justice...Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven." By repeatedly stating such, the impoverished Catholic Filipinos are made complacent and content, discouraged to fight for even a "small place under the sun", that is, for decent living beyond their mere existence and survival. Such teaching that emphasizes otherworldliness is to disregard and exhibit callousness towards the present hell of the poor. It is the major reason why Karl Marx more than a century-and-a half ago has stated that ".....religion is the opium of the people". I think and believe that the Catholic Church [the catholic hierarchy, its bishops, priests and active laity] should stop this kind of preaching and thinking. The same can be said of mainline Protestants and evangelicals, especially the fundamentalist variety. The fundamentalists concentrate and devote their attention on the Bible, give themselves to its literal interpretations, and thus wittingly or unwittingly, make it, a book, the object of their idolatry [do they realize this?]. By stressing that personal salvation is only between himself and his God, the fundamentalists practice detached or escapist pietism, and generally tend to withdraw from involvement in sociopolitical activism in society [recently a few of its ministers run for political office, which I think should not be entered into by church people].They withdraw into detached pietism because their Bible says "enough of worrying about tomorrow and let tomorrow take care of itself. (Matthew 6:31-34)" These words of contentment are great to hear and read if one is a member of the ruling class or the fortunate few who have money to afford conspicuous consumption, convenience, luxury et al., and thus be able to go on with one's merry ways. For them to proclaim or imply that the impoverished should not worry about his food for tomorrow, about his child's need for unaffordable medicine, to pursue his child's education, or his grandchild's future, etc. is by default to be in cohorts with the selfish among the ruling elite and their foreign partners (TNCs) who want to perpetuate ignorance and therefore exploitation of the impoverished majority. By indirectly supporting the oppressors, they become evil and "bad"Christians themselves. Thus, the overall effect of Christianity in our homeland is to perpetuate a populace that is characteristically too passive, too submissive, too preoccupied with otherwordly and spiritual matters, which result in their inability to function effectively in worldly politics, to assert, claim and exercise their rights. These Christian "virtues" invite tyranny as Marcos has demonstrated and encourage selfish/hypocritical leaderships among the powers-that-be or power elite in society. Two centuries ago, Jean Jacques Rosseau wrote with obvious contempt: "True Christians are made to be slaves, and they know it, and do not much mind; this short life counts for too little in their eyes." Filipino Christians, Catholic and Protestant, should do more than attend to their churches as institutions; they should do more than proselytize; they should do more than daily pray and praise the Lord ( is the Lord that insecure and thus need constant laudatory attention? ). It is time for Filipino Christians to actively work to change Philippine governance, to make and pressure the government to be truly responsive to its suffering citizens, i.e. help free them from extreme poverty, which in turn robs them of their human dignity. Christians should make their religious faith alive by not wasting time on, but discarding instead, their old-Reformation debate about "scripture or tradition" and instead work together to create a Filipino society that will materially and decently sustain the majority, if not all, of Filipinos and thus accord them with dignity and destiny as persons. Whenever we Filipinos gather and talk among ourselves, we all agree and lament about the sorry state of our homeland and our fellow countrymen. We fail to realize that we ourselves can do something, more than just being observers --if you can use the computer and access the internet, you can do "something". Specifically, we can contribute and/or work to educate or "conscienticize" (ourselves and) the impoverished, i.e. to raise social consciousness, thus understand the social institutions, economic and political systems that oppress them; to enable them to do critical thinking as they interact in society with the sources of their oppression and to make them aware that they are important and of equal worth as persons [served well by the Basic Christian Communities during the martial law years]. All Filipino Christians should seek to understand their religious beliefs/religion, to go beyond the preachings of their priests and ministers, to give but at the same time not be content with charity (which may sometimes only foster dependency on the recipient and breed arrogance on the giver), and to work to improve Philippine society, to reform it and if necessary, to revolt against their oppressors because society, more specifically - its state or government, is ultimately responsible for promoting the common good of its native citizenry. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
| Dear Mr. Abaya, I guess you know already the news about some bishops and some Catholics groups suggesting that RP ban the movie "The Vinci Code". The latest to give his opinion on this matter is Executive Secretary Ermita. I view such suggestions with curiosity but with interest since I am with a minority of non-believers. I regularly speak my own opinion too but in a smaller audience than you do. If you have time, please visit this site: http://www.philippineatheists.org/ Tony Basa, [email protected] May 11, 2006 |