No Use Arguing Over Religion

By Herbert Vego

THIS writer once wrote of his futile search for the true religion, mindful of withholding personal biases and prejudices for and against any religious organization, stressing instead that “I discovered God outside of religion.” Let this be a sequel to that article.

The truth is that one religion’s goodness is another’s sin – as in worship or veneration of graven images, supposedly in violation of the 2nd of the Ten Commandments of God. It would be futile to accuse the Roman Catholics of worshipping graven images. Their belief is that they merely “venerate” whom the images represent.

I had no malice in mind when I mentioned names of televangelists and popular preachers who had made huge wealth at the expense of their poor followers. It was a statement of fact that leaves no room for denial.

After all, everybody knows that tithes and offerings ensure the earthly survival not just of the organized churches but of the people running them.

But it remains to be seen whether their departed faithful followers would be rewarded with eternal life in heaven. We can only wish “happy birthday in heaven” for them.

In a previous column, I posited the belief in God is a quest for eternal life, hence “naturally selfish”. It is so because that’s precisely why most people embrace religion – whether Christianity, Islam, or Hinduism. It’s akin to taking different routes to a single destination.

A reader reacted online, “Belief in God is rational and not selfish.”

Oh well, I replied, “Everybody believes what he wants to believe in.

Since there was no room for “debate,” he placated me with these words from the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, yet sincerely seek God, and moved by grace, strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known through the dictates of their consciences, may attain eternal life.”

How could I disagree when all Protestant churches think so, too?

Anyway, I have always reminded myself of a memorized quotation from the book How to Win Friends and Influence People by the late American inspirational writer Dale Carnegie: “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.”

Conversely, there are sayings that trigger doubt.  One of them is the Latin adage, “Vox populi, vox Dei.” In English, “The voice of the people is the voice of God.”

It couldn’t be true. Otherwise, it would appear that the Roman soldiers crucified Jesus Christ to death as demanded by the people because their “voice” was also God’s.

Poor Galileo Galilei. The Church excommunicated this Italian “heretic” in the 16th century for declaring that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe. He would eventually be proven by learned astronomers right.

There is a defense to every offense. You must have heard the late televangelist Eli Soriano of Dating Daan fame who ridiculed the “ignorance” of Catholics for addressing the Virgin Mary “Ginoong Maria” because ginoo means “mister”.

The Catholic defense is that Mary is no ordinary woman, hence befitting the higher masculine level of respect.

Anyway, I have long ago dropped out of religious affiliations, having found them ineffective in reforming society. We can’t be proud of being “the only Christian country in Southeast Asia” and at the same time “one of the most corrupt”.

I am not a follower of the Dalai Lama (the 89-year-old head of Tibetan Buddhism). But I see he makes sense: “People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.”

-oOo-

HARD-HEADED ‘TELCOS’

WAS Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas unfair when he ordered the City Engineer’s Office to dismantle the remaining utility lines of telecommunication companies along J. M. Basa street?

No. It has been two years since the Iloilo City Council passed an ordinance requiring public utility companies to underground all cables in specified areas on J.M. Basa and Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue, including heritage sites elsewhere.

The undergrounding would eliminate the need for overhead or unsightly “spaghetti” power lines.

Telecommunications providers Converge, Globe, Smart, and PLDT promised the mayor to remove their lines and poles in compliance with a city ordinance before the December 2024 deadline.

The ordinance imposes a fine of PHP5,000 for non-compliance after three notices and allows for the cancellation of business permits after a fourth notice.

In May 2023, MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) did the undergrounding project, in collaboration with telcos and cable TV providers, on a budget of ₱96 million and finished it in October 2024.

-oOo-

ATTENTION: GAISANO-ANTIQUE

DROPPING by the reconstructed Gaisano Mall in San Jose, Antique, we found it too smelly to endure.

It was because sacks of garbage at the mall’s parking space had remained uncollected, especially endangering the safety and health of nearby residents all day and night.

Is the Gaisano management waiting for another fire to raze the mall to ground level?

This corner calls the attention of Mayor Justin Delfin Encarnacion to act on the problem.

Gakatulog man ayhan ang Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO)?