Religion: a poisonous paradox

I am a Christian. But before my parents had me baptized, I am born human, more than anything else. Being born in a country blinded by the doctrines of religion, I have fallen victim of such misfortune of having been baptized even before the dawn of my consciousness. As a kid, like anyone else, I was fed with an idea that my guardian angel will cry whenever I do something bad and that I will not enter heaven. My youthful innocence had me asking countless of questions which were satisfied (and poisoned) by witty stories of the mythical cherubim, golden gates of heaven and the eternal damnation.  Growing up, I had my own spiritual journey guided by reason. And by reason itself, it became clear how humanity poisoned itself into believing that a book written two thousand years ago is the answer to human quandaries.

A person suffers because of his kind. Being a collective whole, humanity aims to avoid suffering which leads to creating dogmas that invites suffering per se. Consensual ideologies were formed that discriminates those, whose non-conformance, does not even harm nor injure the integrity of humanity. For instance, sexual bigotry has brought suffering towards homosexuals whose existence is not to shame humanity but only to promote freedom of expression and diversity. Because of such mentality, sexism and equality in terms of the right to marry members of the same sex is still an ongoing battle (that should have never been there at the first place).  Also, despite the psychologically counterproductive effects of slut-shaming against unwed mothers, it is still existing because the right-wing conservatives finds these unwed mothers an abomination to their teachings. For instance, a local priest in Cebu shaming an unwed mother and judging an illegitimate child as a product of sin- it becomes evident then that these moral principles were manipulated by the influential robes to serve their interest.

 Perhaps religion is the biggest paradox that ever existed. For centuries, Religions claiming to be a congregation of love has always been planting the seeds of hatred by providing the guidelines that leads to the discrimination against the nonconformists.

Instead of promoting love and forgiveness, people learned to loathe those whose actions are against a twisted interpretation of a specific verse. Their religious teachings per se, contradict their goals which lead to further confusion and emergence of the lefties. Then comes this assembly of interpreters who shared a common exposition, created a church of their own, proclaimed themselves as high priests declaring that theirs is the only way, and those who do not agree will burn like the rest. Here comes a god, whose persona is painted so perfect that even the most unforgivable sinner is forgiven; a paragon of love, patience, humility, peace, justice and respect; and whose idolized image is placed on a pedestal by some, and adorned with gems and holiness – yet whose followers gossip against one another, discriminates those who do not share the same belief, and donates to charities in exchange of an entrance ticket to an imaginary heaven.

 In the Philippines alone, the paradox is an understatement. The church commands its followers to strictly abide to its doctrines. Some would even require its followers to religiously pay the tithes, preach against the ungodly acts, and spread the good news with a hateful interpretation. The church had been very enticing and influential to have its followers abide to the established dogma that even the constitutional laws is continually violated. The law clearly stated in Article 6 section II of the 1987 Philippines constitution that ‘The Separation of the church and the state shall be inviolable’. Apparently, the said article is nothing but a constitutional ornament and is just placed there as an imitation to every other independent government. Whether we like it or not, the sad fact is, the Philippine laws are continually drafted out of the holy book. Lawmakers, whose selfish concern is to win the votes of the religious nation on the next election, are bound to put up a persona of a religiously faithful public servant. By that, these public officials submitted house bills and ordinances that were carved out from gospels of so-and-so. In the same manner, proposals (such as the RH Bill) that bears a great potential for national progress and citizen welfare development are continually being scrutinized using illegitimate and religious standards. To top all these, here comes the unsolicited participation of different churches whose primary arguments are based on ancient parables. The illiterate majority are then partly to blame. A political candidate whose credential is incapable for public office is voted for, because of his notable church participation. Worse, a religious leader (perhaps a priest) winning the elections because he is backed by a supernatural being. You may call it a joke, but it has been happening and will continue to happen unless humanism will prevail, especially in public office.

Perhaps the greatest paradoxical feature of religion is its unrealistic goal of creating unity among people under one god. A highly ambitious goal, and yes! That’s impossible. The human flaw that yearns for perfection created a psychological need for a supernatural being that personifies human ideals, and perhaps perfection itself. Due to the cultural differences, the image of perfection became diverse. Different forms of gods rose up with characteristics that are based on how perfection is defined by their cultural origin, thus defeating the goal of universal unity. Even under one god, unity is still barely impossible. The human mind will always create an image of a supernatural being based on one’s personal interpretation of the scriptures that favors his needs and personal ideals. People who share the same ideals and personal values would interpret a scripture the way that favors them, then group together forming another religious denomination.  It simply gives evidence to the thought that gods are made by humans, and not the other way around. Human as we are, we tend to discover and explain the cause and effect of our actions. If the explanation goes beyond our human logic, we succumb to supernatural reasoning. Hence, it is humanity who created the idea of heaven and hell as an outlet of illustrating the consequences of every action.

Once a group of individuals disagree with the established religion’s interpretation and teachings, they will branch out and form another sub religion, then the cycle goes on.

Through the history of major religions, Jihads and Crusades had unnecessarily claimed thousands of lives in the name of their respective gods. Pagans were either converted or beheaded, temples and statues of gold were built and burned, martyrs and saints were hailed- out of the purpose of creating a peaceful world under a universal belief on one god. People forgot their humanity, killed others out of an admiration to an image of his self-perceived perfection. Societies attained golden ages in exchange of another society’s downfall, all attributed to the guidance and aid of a supernatural being. People worshipped mythical bulls and dogs, sacrificed virgins and allowed suffering- the kind of human suffering caused by human himself. Up to this day, such are still present, though in a different form. People are forbidden to do things just because a certain verse says so. Gay couples are forbidden to love and marry because the bible says so. Eating the meat from certain animals and saving lives through blood transfusion are forbidden because the scriptures said so. People made to starve for a certain number of days, because god says so.  But are these practices really necessary? Do these restrictions really lead to a better life? Or are they just conservative traditions that restricts the human potential- out of the fear of a heavenly wrath (from a god who was supposedly perfect and full of love and forgiveness)?

Some may question my Christianity. Some would even wonder why I am a humanist when I am not even an atheist. For heaven’s sake (assuming it exists), I don’t equate humanism with atheism. Personally, I am against the idea of an organized religion- whose unfair doctrines affects even the nonbelievers. Christianity for me, is an individual spiritual journey and has nothing to do with my humanism. My actions are solely my own (and are not fueled by a desire to go to heaven).  

I give, I give freely because I have something to offer and I know how it feels like to have nothing. Before I became a Christian, I am human, more than anything else. And nothing can change that…

I do things out of humane concern and respect for life and diversity. I do humane things because I can and I want to; not because of spiritual reward (I’m not a spiritual bounty hunter to begin with).