Religion a ‘dying dinosaur’
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 12:12 AM February 09, 2017
This is in reference to the commentary titled “Will we ever attain economic take-off?” by Meliton Juanico (Opinion, 1/25/17).
The
Catholic Church and the religious values it espouses are the elephants
in the room that Juanico failed to address. The conditions necessary to
attain economic take-off are not being attained because the values being
taught are contrary to the “modern values” he is talking about.
We
have nothing comparable to the Confucian (secular) ethic that he says
the “tiger” economies of Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong
have. Our historical preoccupation with religion and the Church’s
influence on our values have put us at a disadvantage. Obedience,
subordination, subservience—hallmarks of oppressive organized
religion—are the very antithesis of modern economic success.
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It
is no accident that we make good retail clerks, caregivers, domestic
helpers, call center employees. These are good and needed workers, but
they won’t create a Samsung, a Tesla or a PayPal if we are constantly
being bombarded with sinning, fear-mongering, fire and brimstone. I have
never understood to this day why “may takot sa Dios” (fear of the Lord)
is a virtue. A child reared in this stifling environment becomes
risk-averse, timid and ambiguous.
Further,
absolutism and fixed religious ideology are a bane to creativity.
Self-reliance and resourcefulness continue to erode as we constantly
delude ourselves into “Hail Marying” through economic downturn and
poverty. You would think that after 500 years of living, breathing and
eating religion the way we do, it should have already brought us
unprecedented wealth and First World status.
We
can’t even claim the high moral stature of the most atheistic countries
in the world (read: Scandinavia). My friend Joe says: But we go to
heaven, and they go to hell. This is what 2,000 years of relentless
conditioning have done to Joe’s brain. It’s irrational, bordering on
mental illness.
Juanico
talks about “value reorientation,” using readers of the 1950s to
inculcate modern values. I don’t know where he is coming from, but my
grandchildren won’t read any fairy tales anymore. It’s iPad or nothing.
They are assertive and smarter than some of my teachers in the 1960s.
Good
grief, Juanico, “Good Manners and Right Conduct?” What is good and what
is right today? (You can say “bad” today and mean “good.”) Religion is a
dying dinosaur, but like prehistoric creatures, it will evolve and
continue for many more years.
The
pulpit should be a source of education for the masses, and not for
religious bullying. Stop all nonsense about medieval mythology. Talk
about what it means to be a citizen of the world instead. Speak about
Carl Sagan, Charles Darwin and Bill Gates. Let the faithful know what
happened during the Inquisition, the significance of the Enlightenment
and tell why Evolution is fact. If the Padre cannot handle these stuff,
he should humble himself and outsource the homily.
At
the current state of affairs in this country, will we attain economic
take-off? Yes, “until the cows come home,” if we don’t reinvent
ourselves.
EDWIN DE LEON, edwingdeleon@gmail.com
COMMENT:
Indeed, we can only build a better society for ourselves by throwing all of sick religious beliefs and insane religious values out the window. They do nothing for us except to keep us spiritually sick as a people and culturally insane as a nation.
It is time to take a serious look at the evils behind Christianity: It is all about praying daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly for the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. In the end, it is all about the same old sick story - the achievement of nothing as a people; and the accomplishment of nothing as a nation. And to think that all of the schools, colleges, and universities established by the Catholic church in the Philippines have been mostly about learning how to pray for the sake of gaining eternal salvation after death with Jesus in heaven! In the meantime, it is truly sickening: everybody wants to go to heaven; but nobody wants to die! Cheers! Poch Suzara, Father of Atheism in the Philippines
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