“I believe in God. It is his fan following that I can’t stand.”
A powerful statement. One that refuses to get out of my head due to a recent incident where a friend berated me for eating meat on a day that you weren’t supposed to for religious purposes.
Ok. Let’s face it. I see some glaring inaccuracies in the catholic faith.
1) How can Jesus be of the line of David when Joseph is a descendant of King David and his wife Mary was a virgin mother?
2) How can you descend to the dead to rise again on the third day and promise the thief crucified along with you that “tonight you will be with me in paradise”?
There are a few other minor ones like:
How can you say that you “believe in Jesus, the ONLY son our Lord” and then go on to say “Our Father” and
How can the New Testament tell you not to swear by anything when the Old Testament specifically tells you that God swore upon himself?
But they do point to some inconsistencies. The fact is that with the discovery of the Gospel of Judas one cannot but help wonder about the authenticity of “facts” as claimed by the other Gospels. In fact while reading this article about the New Testament Apocrypha you will come across,
The works that presented themselves as "authentic" but did not obtain general acceptance from within the churches are called New Testament Apocrypha.
So how does the church get to decide about what is right and wrong? According to recent news bulletins their ranks might even be filled with perverts and child molesters. While it is wrong to paint the whole church for the short comings of a few, it should bring about the realization that they too are human. Need I point out the famous case of Galileo and his heliocentric point of view that went against the church’s interpretation of the “scriptures”?
This is not restricted to Christianity alone. A religious organisation became infamous some time back because it declared a Fatwa (religious edict) against a particularly popular Indian lass’s sports attire. Government bans on books are common. Bans on films are the latest rage (excuse the pun). The list goes on.
While we can go on and on about the pros and cons of religion, why can’t people just live and let live? In a democracy everyone is free to their own opinion. Just because you have an opinion it doesn’t mean that you have to shove it down other people’s throats. I have an opinion and I am posting it here. I am of the opinion that the church and other bodies that claim to be the embodiment of various religions may have lost sight of what the original message was. I’m not forcing you to accept it. You can accept it or reject it. One of the characteristics of an adult is to be able to THINK. After using it, we can agree, disagree or agree to disagree with any stated opinion. As the Bible says “who are you to sit in judgment over your brother?”
P.S. IF you are still upset over the way this has been written, remember that the bible also says that “The Devil can quote from the bible to suit his needs” and go on your merry way. Peace be with you.