Religion’s influence in politics

By Herbert Vego

THERE have been reports about the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) organizing a prayer rally in support of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s call for lawmakers not to file an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte over graft-and-corruption issues, as in malversation of confidential funds.

What do you make of that?  Is it really in support of President Marcos?

More accurately, it would be in support of VP Sara, aimed at junking the two impeachment complaints that have been filed against her at the House of Representatives.

I recall that on October 1 this year, the Vice President visited INC executive minister, Eduardo V. Manalo to thank the church vaguely for unspecified “humanitarian efforts in times of calamity.”

Indeed, there are ways of circumventing the 1987 Constitution, where Article II, Section 6, states, “The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable”.

Various Christian denominations enforce dogmas apparently in violation of that Constitutional provision. The most glaring example is the INC’s requirement for adherents to “vote as one” via block voting, where members must vote for candidates chosen by the church leadership.

On the contrary, the Jejovah’s Witnesses are not allowed to participate in any politics.  They are not allowed to run for a political post, nor to vote for candidates, because of their belief in God’s kingdom as the only legitimate form of governance.

On the lighter side, to quote 19th century American essayist Henry David Thoreau: “Any fool can make a rule and every fool will mind it.”

Methinks it’s not right for organized religion to dictate dictums to “in the spirit of obedience,” such as the ones nurtured by 503 years of Spanish occupation.

Most Filipinos practice Christianity – whether Catholic, Aglipayan, Protestant or what-have-you – because of foreign influences handed down from one generation to the next.

The Jews, the Buddhists, the Muslims and the Hindus also dominate “territories” that have been receptive to their sets of beliefs.

There was a time when I asked a visiting American Jew why he converted to Judaism.

His blunt answer: “Why?  It’s to follow Jesus Christ, who was a Jew!”

Indeed, while it has evolved from Judaism, Christianity has divided into a thousand and one sects and subsects with conflicting teachings.

Imagine a situation where Magellan and the Spanish conquistadors had not come to colonize us in the 16th century. Then this nation could have gone as Islam as Indonesia and Malaysia. In fact, many of our southern natives in Mindanao have turned Muslims.

Let us imagine ourselves born in Saudi Arabia where the Bible is banned. Would we not condemn the “evil Christians”?

The Church thrives because of tithes collected from the faithful church goers. In its literal sense, the tithe represents 10 per cent of their income donated to the church.

Tithing, to quote a Bible verse (Leviticus 27:30), “is holy unto the Lord.”

There are non-priests who advertise themselves as Roman Catholic servant-leaders, thus attracting Catholics to attend their prayer rallies and to give “love offerings.”

When the founder of Korea’s Unification Church, Reverend Sun Myung Moon, died in September 2012, a Newsweek article revealed that he had amassed billions of US dollars from five million adherents worldwide.

-oOo-

THE MORE YOU SHARE, THE MORE YOU GET

KUDOS to MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) for installing two iconic Christmas trees in Iloilo City – the Harmony Christmas tree at Jaro Plaza and the Unity Christmas tree at Plaza Libertad —  which were crafted from recycled materials, standing as symbols of MORE Power’s dedication to environmental responsibility and community togetherness.

A unique feature of each tree is the availability of a donation box, aimed at raising funds this Christmas for the needy Ilonggos.

To quote MORE Power President/CEO Roel Castro, who was the first to fill paper bills into one of the boxes, “Let’s not forget the real essence of Christmas, which is sharing and giving, especially to our less fortunate brothers and sisters.”

That makes sense when viewed against the light of the Old Testament verse in Proverbs 11:24: “Those who give generously receive more, but those who are stingy with what is appropriate will grow needy.”

Gani, indi kita magkinuripot.