Religion is a commitment with God,
not a ritual or external
vow
Do
atheists have reason to scoff at religion? - Failure of churches
The news about people bound with religious
vows and accused of serious crimes, seem to me alarming and disturbing. Is
there a real failure in inculcating that the base of true religion is honesty
and righteousness of life?
Intellectual adherence vs. saintly
life
Do the people accused
of these crimes think that religion is an intellectual belief in a set of
truths, without a real, unyielding and interior commitment to a way of life? If
they think so, they are dead wrong, and sadly, they are giving the atheists a
motive to criticize and scoff at religion.
I am afraid that some churches might be
blamed because they over-emphasize their adherence to their statements of faith
and de-emphasize the adherence to a saintly life. For some churches the most
important thing is the credo, not the life. That is not what Jesus wanted, and
we see the consequences of this double attitude.
The core of Christianity
The reason for this document is not to
criticize any church; that wouldn't serve any purpose. The reason for this
document is to reflect on the meaning of religion, Christian religion in
particular.
Christian religion is, besides a profound
belief in, and veneration of the Almighty God, the following of Jesus' examples
in our lives. Christianity is a deep, faithful, personal and living adherence
to the moral teachings of Jesus. Christian faith can not be separated
from Christian life; that would be an absurdity.
Without a solid commitment to the moral teachings
of Jesus, there is no true Christian religion, even if someone makes religious
vows within a congregation, goes to services or prays the rosary. I am afraid
that some think it is possible.
Conviction and indictment of people bound
with religious vows
Two Rwandan Catholic nuns have been
convicted of homicide in the 1994 massacres in their African homeland; and
Robert Hanssen, a member of the "Opus Dei,"
(the most cherished and blessed religious congregation of the
What do the religious vows of these people
mean? Religion? I don't think so; hypocrisy.
More in the book
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