This episode was aired as a 10-minute segment on September 3, 2019 (7:00PM) at 702 DZAS' Tanglaw sa Landas ng Buhay of Back to the Bible Philippines
Ang argument na tatalakayin po natin ngayon ay eto: “Masama ang Kristianismo dahil ito ang pumatay sa mga sibilisasyon.” Makikita po natin ang idea na ito tungkol sa massive scale ng destructive force ng Christianity na palutang-lutang sa internet at from time to time sa mga interactions most especially sa mga teenagers at college students. Nakita din natin ito sa panulat ni Philip Adams, isang Australian film producer at broadcaster. Sabi ni Adams, “[Karl] Marx was wrong. Religion is not the opiate of the people. Opiate suggests something soporific, numbing, dulling. Too often religion has been aphrodisiac for horror, a Benzedrine for bestiality. At best it has lifted spirits and raised spires. At its worst, it has turned civilizations into cemeteries.”
‘Yung isa sa pinakamalalaking atheist organizations sa mundo ang Freedom from Religion Foundation shared this quote in the form of a poster and has since circulated to millions. Although patronizing ‘yung comments ni Adams at one point by mentioning that at “best it has lifted spirits and raised spires,” pero ang overall indictment niya is that religion is despicable and has turned “civilizations into cemetaries.” We will limit muna ang ating criticism sa “civilizations into cemeteries” na indictment and critique it from the point of view of Christianity. Discussing this will give us the opportunity to highlight a theme used by atheists in relation to Christianity as a destructive force.
But we do put ourselves in the shoes of Adams first and say that if his indictment is warranted, dapat lang talaga this world has to get rid of, or marginalize Christianity kasi its achievements are far outweighed ng kaniyang kalokohan. Moreover, if people today continue to abide by Christianity and yet alam naman nila ang evil history niya, then the people are merely abiding blindly. So I guess, considering na paniwala ni Adams ay totoo ang sinasabi niya, he thinks he is justified in denouncing religion and for the purpose of our interest, Christianity. Isa pa naman sa mga dominant na rason ng maraming atheists at skeptics ay ang puntong ito ng mapamuksang kalikasan ng Christianity sa mundo.
Subalit gaano po ba katoto ang hatol na ito ni Adams na ang Christianity has made “civilizations into cemeteries”? Ang argument na “Masama ang Kristianismo dahil ito ang pumatay sa mga sibilisasyon” is mistaken.
Hindi po tayo magbibigay ng mahabang pagtalakay ng gustong sabihin ng term na civilization; but for the purpose of our episode, let’s take this definition from the Ancient History Encyclopedia that states, “societies experienced different stages: savagery, barbarism and, finally, civilization. Civilization, in this context, was understood as the last stop in the long journey of human society.”
In an excellent article in Wikipedia titled "Role of Christianity in civilization" the author proposed (and I heartily agree having done a good deal of research on the subject myself) --
“The role of Christianity in civilization has been intricately intertwined with the history and formation of Western society. Throughout its long history, the Church has been a major source of social services like schooling and medical care; inspiration for art, culture and philosophy; and influential player in politics and religion.”
Let us take for example the Roman Empire na nagkaroon ng share niya noon ng kamuntikang extinction from the hands of the barbarians. Dalawang premyadong historians ang tumalakay sa pangyayaring ito at kung paano ang Kristiyanismo ang naging susi ng survival ng sibilisasyon na ito. Una, volume 4 ng The Story of Civilization: The Age of Faith sa panulat ng premyadong si Will Durant at, pangalawa, The Story of Civilization sa panulat ng premyado din na si Arnold Toynbee particulary volumes 4 (The Breakdown of Civilizations) and 5 (The Disintegration of Civilizations).
Sino ang nagpanumbalik ng Rome matapos siyang gahasain ni Attila the Hun, Alaric ng Visigoths at mga Vandals ('yan yung mga tunay na pumapatay ng civilizations)? According kay Durant ang nagpanumbalik ay Christianity. Si Pope Leo 1 pa nga ang diplomasya kay Attila na bumalik na lang sa pinanggalingan nya.
Nag devote pa si Durant ng isang chapter called "The Medieval Legacy" kung saan inisa-isa nya ang Christian reestablishment ng civilizations from what he calls as "raised from the ruins of barbarism."
Si Toynbee din ganyan sinasabi. After periods of darkness, there will be a sort of renaissance. For example, after nung barbarism na binanggit ni Durant, nagsimulang bumuo ng mga city states na kaalinsabay ng pagbuo muli ng mga Christians ng communities. Kaya di nga tayo magtataka kung nauso 'yung mga religious states kasi nga nag partner yung estado at mga simbahan to rebuild from the ravages ng barbarism.
So no wonder 'yang dalawang authoritative na libro na yan na nabanggit ko has no mention of Christianity destroying civilizations, if not to enrich pa nga.
Kung ‘yung sinabi ni Adams earlier ay totoo, then what compels these Christians to destroy civilizations? For Catherine Nixey, author ng The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World, “Christianity told the generations that followed that their victory over the old world was celebrated by all, and the generations that followed believed it.” It was meant to seize power and to usher the Christian civilization from pagan Rome. Genuine believers today might find this appalling kasi this means that since ang worldview nung unang panahon ay theistic din naman and at best Christian, this suggests that the God they believe in instructs them to seize power.
Again, genuine believers may find this odd for such a god is an idol -- a vicious misrepresentation of the true and living God. Come to think of it, if the God of the Christians is all-powerful, sovereign why would He still be power- hungry when He has all the power? Psalm 147:4-5 assert, “He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.” Jeremiah 10:12-13 add, “But God made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding, he stretched out the heavens. When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.” That doesn’t look like a God who still needs power.
God has benevolent power as opposed to hungry for power. Benevolent here means mapagbigay, o charitable. Sa Jeremiah verse kanina we are told that “God made the earth by His power.” This is kindly giving power, not greedy getting power. God has benevolent power.
Greatly alongside the truth that God has benevolent power is that Christ also has benevolent power. The second person of the Trinity who according to Colossians 1:16 “all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him” has given Himself to be in the form of a man to give glory to the Father and give redemption to His people. John 3:16 captures this idea of a benevolent power -- “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God is said to have given love to the world, given Christ and given eternal life. Christ as the mediator is in the middle of this benevolent power to give.
Perhaps the reason why people like Philip Adams would have a view of Christianity like that is because his object of scorn is a power-hungry idol god who just wants to get something from creation. Probably he is justified in saying that because Christians like us display the inability to give and be kindly to people. I don’t know. But one of the most dominant sets of admonition of the apostle Paul is on the one-another passages: love one-another, encourage one-another, forgive one-another -- all extending benevolence to the other. Let us then evaluate ourselves if we are giving fuel to Philip Adams’ mistaken allegation.
------------------------------
Ang episode na ito ay naka pattern sa 4H Apologetics method na dinivelop ng inyong lingkod. Ang pagbabasa at pagsusuri nito ay isa sa mga paraan upang lalo kayong masanay sa 4H Apologetics kung ito ang inyong pakay. Mahalaga na tayo'y manood o makinig ng mga "big game" apologetics na hatid ng mga tulad nila Ravi Zacarias o William Lane Craig subalit baka tulad ng panonood ng NBA o PBA marunong tayo mag appreciate pero 'pag tayo na ang gagawa ay nangangapa tayo. Pagyamanin natin ang ating sarili sa tungkuling ito ng pag-a-apologetics.
No comments:
Post a Comment