Of Sentiments on Religion

DISCLAIMER: All of the herein published statements and opinions are mine and mine alone and they do not represent anyone else's.

Growing up, I had a lot of questions about the existence of a supreme being and honestly, I still do at times. But with the beauty of nature and the numerous life altering experiences, I could not help but to believe that there is indeed a God... And that the answers to my questions were always there all along. I am not perfect, I have fallen many times, and my glory days weren't all too glorious but I was picked-up, dusted and put back on track every single time by the One who loved.

Lately, I have been having a lot of conversations about the very controversial bill. Many have expressed their distaste in it while a few have found it's positive attributes. But the main issue is whether or not the provisions of the bill are actually contrary to church teachings, offensive to morals and dangerous to health and man. The Catholic Church have taken the opposition's side and have expressed this, time and time again. Recently, an article from the UST's official publication, The Varsitarian, released an opinion/editorial article on how as Catholics they were against the bill and also their disappointment in the DLSU&ADMU professors who have confessed their support for the bill for it was 'against' Catholic teachings. (Hot Topic)

Have we forgotten the true essence of this thing we call religion? It is not the practices nor the laws. It's LOVE. Remember that story in the Bible where Jesus Christ decided to heal on a Sabbath day when supposedly, no one should be working? And he was condemned for the same? Was it wrong for Jesus to think that healing the ill was far more important than the law on Sabbath day? Had He stood there and not did anything and that person, let say, died, wouldn't He be condemned even more for that? That He stood there and did nothing when He could have saved him instead? He did this because He was given wisdom, wisdom to discern the right from the wrong, to discern which was of paramount importance, here, the law or the life. He was reminded that the very reason of the the Law is Love and if it the law would be the hindrance to deliver the acts of love, then it would defeat the original intent and purpose. No one should be deprived of justice because of the law. No one should be a victim of prejudice because of law. The law is supposed to protect us, to guide us and to maintain peace and harmony among us. "We should defer not to the letter that killeth but to the spirit the vivifieth." In the same way, I would like us to set aside the law for a while and look into issues prima facie.

Why am I saying this? I am saying this because I would want us to reevaluate how we see 'religion'. I don't think Jesus started religion, He started a culture and His followers established religion to continue what He has started. Jesus wanted to empower the weak, heal the sick, educate the children and bring light and truth to the world, not just any truth but the truth of redemption and salvation through Him. And we the believers should have faith in Him, more importantly, a personal and growing two-way relationship with Him.

God is a gentleman. He never forces anything on anyone. He set rules and gives out commandments but He still gives man the freedom to obey these rules [or not]. He allows man to walk, to see things, to discover life, to find answers, to make mistakes because we are free to do so. What God does is, He watches over us and guides us. He gives us knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge to know what is right and lawful over what is wrong and unlawful and the wisdom to apply that knowledge, to the betterment of ourselves and of everyone else.

I thought of the phrase "The Blind Leading the Blind."

We should not blindly believe and follow rules and laws. We should know the law, it's reason and the effective means to carry it out. If we just blindly follow whatever is taught to us, then we will never learn how to stand on our own and would not be able to really say that we know what we are fighting for. Even law professors challenge laws, because they study the law and have learned the art of sound discretion and have learned to identify which are good laws and bad laws. This is the main reason why even our constitution undergoes amendments/revisions. We cannot be blind leaders and blind followers, we have to start knowing why we believe in things and why we follow things. Jesus knew. Do we?

I don't know if I'm making sense. But I hope I am. I am not trying to pose an argument but I am posing a challenge, a challenge of reevaluation. :)

All the best.