We Aren’t Perfect

By Alex P. Vidal 

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” —C. S. Lewis

WHILE other Christians believe that only God and the Bible have authority, we, Catholics, believe the ailing Pope Francis of Argentina is the highest representative of God on Earth.

No one can predict though what will happen next to the very ill Pope Francis, 88, except God.

Since God doesn’t report to us—or doesn’t have the obligation to tell us directly about the Pope’s life span, let’s now leave everything to the medical science, the area where there is no conflict with religion.

Catholicism, which is dominant in my country of birth, the Philippines, is just a branch of Christianity, but the largest branch with about 1.3 billion followers worldwide.

We were born and baptized as Christians and our basic education in religion was about Christianity, about Jesus Christ as the “Son of God” our “Savior who died for our sins.”

Our education further brought us to Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, among other primitive religions.

Then came Gandhi, a Hindu, who had allegedly proclaimed “he loved Jesus but not the Christians.” There were Christians who allegedly parried Gandhi by saying “they loved the famous Indian pacifist but not Hinduism”. A tit for a tat.

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Like all Catholics and Christians for that matter, the Pope, one of the most vilified persons in the world, isn’t perfect. Below are some of shocking myths we gathered about Christianity, which many of us may agree or disagree:

1. Christians force their morality on others.

-According to this myth, Christians are judgmental and act as society’s moral watchdogs. And they try to censor everything from the arts to sex education.

2. Christians suppress women.

-According to this myth, the church through the ages has stifled the voice and gifts of women and has treated women as second-class beings.

3. Christians caused the ecological crisis.

-According to this myth, the Christian religion is alienated from the natural world. The Bible says to subdue the earth, and Western Christian culture took that as a license to exploit nature.

4. Christians are anti-scientific.

-According to this myth, the church has historically suppressed learning in general and scientific inquiry in particular. Christians even promote pseudoscience by trying to force science to fit a literal interpretation of the Bible.

5. Christians have done terrible things in the name of Christ.

-This myth cited the wrongs that have been done in the name of Christianity—everything from the Crusades to televangelist scandals.

6. Christian missionaries destroy native cultures.

-According to this myth, Christian missionaries force indigenous peoples to give up their unique culture. Christians don’t respect the spiritual value in native customs and religions.

7. Christians are arrogant.

-According to this myth, all religions teach basically the same thing, but Christians insist their religion is the only one that’s right. They arrogantly claim that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. That may be true for Christians, but it isn’t true for everybody.

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Freelance writers Dale and Sandy Larsen of Duluth, Minnesota, ask if Christianity is defensible amid these myths.

“Isn’t it a backward religion based on primitive ideas that have no place in today’s world? Isn’t the Bible hopelessly out of date? And yet Christians insist on forcing their morality on other people!” they intone.

“And worst of all, isn’t Christianity the cause of so much pain and suffering in the world—from destroying native cultures to suppressing women to causing the ecological crisis?

“How can anyone take seriously a religion that is promoted by sleazy televangelists and that once sponsored the Crusade?

“These are honest questions that deserve straightforward answers. Separating the beliefs and actions of some Christians from our Christianity can be difficult. We need to go below the surface, see how these problems developed historically and go back to the Bible for the full story.”

They believe that there is “element of truth” in the above-mentioned myths.

“Some Christians are arrogant. Some Christians have made their faith into an exclusive club. But God’s forgiveness always reaches out to be inclusive, touching everyone who acknowledges need and and responds in faith to his mercy,” the conclude. “Anyone who has been hurt by Christians’ arrogance will need to summon extra courage and open-mindedness in order to take another serious look at Christianity.”

We must examine our heart. Are we willing not only to look at Christian faith but to find it true and begin to live by it?

Let’s examine the heart of Christian belief. Let’s examine the credibility of Christianity.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)