Christianity’s shocking myths

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

--C. S. Lewis

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

I WAS born and baptized a Christian. My basic education in religion was about Christianity, about Jesus Christ as the "Son of God" our "Savior who died for our sins."

My education further brought me to Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, among other primitive religions.

Then came Gandhi, a Hindu, who allegedly said “he loved Jesus but not the Christians.” Other Christians parried Gandhi by saying “they loved the famous Indian pacifist but not Hinduism". A tit for a tat.

But the most earthshaking discovery I consider as the "shockers of all shockers" are reportedly the myths about my religion.

Do we agree or believe the following myths?

1. Christians force their morality on others.

-According to this myth, Christians are judgmental and act as society’s moral watchdogs. And they try to censor everything from the arts to sex education.

2. Christians suppress women.

-According to this myth, the church through the ages has stifled the voice and gifts of women and has treated women as second-class beings.

3. Christians caused the ecological crisis.

-According to this myth, the Christian religion is alienated from the natural world. The Bible says to subdue the earth, and Western Christian culture took that as a license to exploit nature.

4. Christians are anti-scientific.

-According to this myth, the church has historically suppressed learning in general and scientific inquiry in particular. Christians even promote pseudoscience by trying to force science to fit a literal interpretation of the Bible.

5. Christians have done terrible things in the name of Christ.

-This myth cited the wrongs that have been done in the name of Christianity—everything from the Crusades to televangelist scandals.

 

DESTROY

 

6. Christian missionaries destroy native cultures.

-According to this myth, Christian missionaries force indigenous peoples to give up their unique culture. Christians don’t respect the spiritual value in native customs and religions.

7. Christians are arrogant.

-According to this myth, all religions teach basically the same thing, but Christians insist their religion is the only one that’s right. They arrogantly claim that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. That may be true for Christians, but it isn’t true for everybody.

Freelance writers Dale and Sandy Larsen of Duluth, Minnesota, ask if Christianity is defensible amid these myths.

“Isn’t it a backward religion based on primitive ideas that have no place in today’s world? Isn’t the Bible hopelessly out of date? And yet Christians insist on forcing their morality on other people!” they intone.

“And worst of all, isn’t Christianity the cause of so much pain and suffering in the world—from destroying native cultures to suppressing women to causing the ecological crisis?

“How can anyone take seriously a religion that is promoted by sleazy televangelists and that once sponsored the Crusade?

 

QUESTIONS

 

“These are honest questions that deserve straightforward answers. Separating the beliefs and actions of some Christians from our Christianity can be difficult. We need to go below the surface, see how these problems developed historically and go back to the Bible for the full story.”

They believe that there is “element of truth” in the above-mentioned myths.

“Some Christians are arrogant. Some Christians have made their faith into an exclusive club. But God’s forgiveness always reaches out to be inclusive, touching everyone who acknowledges need and and responds in faith to his mercy,” the conclude. “Anyone who has been hurt by Christians’ arrogance will need to summon extra courage and open-mindedness in order to take another serious look at Christianity.”

We must examine our heart. Are we willing not only to look at Christian faith but to find it true and begin to live by it?

Let’s examine the heart of Christian belief.

Worry no more

“I always lose the election in the polls, and I always win it on election day.”

—Benjamin Netanyahu

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

CANDIDATES in next year’s Philippine midterm elections—local and national—shouldn't allow themselves to be distracted by the “results” of surveys commissioned by legitimate or shady outfits, especially survey firms that spring to life only during the election seasons.

In Iloilo, surveys may become irrelevant for the first time; many outfits may be “out of business” now that most of the rivalries for local positions aren’t anymore expected to produce fire and brimstone.

If not token opposition candidates, the names of challengers for governor, city mayor, congressional offices are almost synonymous to the Sesame Street alphabets.

Whether they "lag behind" or "leading", these surveys do not necessarily spell doomsday or ensure the victory of any candidate during the day of reckoning.

 

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If the results say candidate so and so is trailing by a certain percentage, it can be only tantamount to a mosquito bite for the embattled candidate but with no immediate life-threatening harm.

If the results show a certain candidate is "winning by a wide margin", it can only be an equivalent to a Shiatsu massage in the “winning” candidate's ego but with no actual majestic trip to Shangri-La.

There were cases though when bogus surveys yielded positive results after the election for narcissistic or egomaniac bets especially if the other camps didn't do their homework and were snoring during the frenetic mind game.

This is where the mosquito bite can turn fatal.

In fact, surveys--legit or not—were sometimes utilized only by spin doctors and wheeler-dealers working for one candidate to out-psych and befuddle their rivals.

It's actually a form of mind-conditioning.

In some cases, candidates who get favorable results or those who stand to benefit from the lutong Macao surveys don’t have any idea or aren’t tipped off by handlers hammering out the inside job.

 

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Some undecided voters cast their lot for the "sure winners" (according to the dubious surveys) even if they actually fancy the other candidates--on second thought—but are only influenced by the surveys.

We’ve covered local and national elections since after democracy was restored in the Philippines in 1986 up and could count with our fingers the number of candidates who emerged victorious after "topping" the surveys.

Many survey "winners" had no inkling the surveys weren’t commissioned by independent professional groups but were instead paid for by their sneaky handlers.

When the election results showed they were waylaid by a mile, that’s when they realized they had been given false hopes or taken for a ride.

The late Timoteo "Nene" Consing always made the late Mansueto “Mansing Malabor eat the dust in various surveys during the mayoral contest in Iloilo City in 1992, but Malabor routed him in actual election.

Former assemblyman Salvador "Buddy" Britanico clobbered the late former justice secretary Raul Gonzalez in the "surveys" for congressman in Iloilo City's lone district in 1998, but the former tanodbayan trounced him when the smoke was cleared.

 

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The late former ambassador Danding Cojuangco was one of the most consistent top notchers in the 1992 presidential election.

The former Marcos crony "beat" the late Fidel V. Ramos, the late Miriam Defensor-Santiago, the late Ramon Mitra, the late Jovito Salonga, and Imelda Marcos in the surveys that popped out left and right weeks before the election day.

Joe De Venecia, who never lost in the "surveys" for president in 1998, lost by six million votes to the winner, Joseph “Erap” Estrada.

The late Fernando Poe Jr. routed former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in various surveys but lost by a thin margin during the “Hello Garci”-tainted 2014 presidential contest.

Even polling results in the more advanced and sophisticated United States fizzle out. Nothing seems accurate when it comes to pre-election forecasting; in fact, nothing is perfect.

Thus, candidates in the May 2025 midterm elections should focus on their campaign and stick to strategies, not on surveys. They must wait until after the biggest and final "survey" has concluded that’s on election day, which is only hours after all the votes have been officially counted.

 

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SAVING OUR PLANET: Don't dispose. Whenever we can, let's swap our throw-away, disposable items for reusable versions. We won't have to pay out repeatedly plus we will avoid contributing to landfill.

HETEROPHOBIA is a fear of the opposite sex. So where will the heterophobics intend to live? In other planets?

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloiloi.—Ed)

 

A prayer for Mayor Jerry Treñas

“Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.”

—Alan Cohen

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

ONE of the most “private” public officials when it comes to health issues and the kind of medical treatment he is undergoing, is Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas, who has been on official medical leave.

Treñas’ condition prompted him to relinquish the opportunity to run for reelection on May 12, 2025 when he failed to file his Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) scheduled on October 1-8, 2024.

Daughter Raisa Treñas-Chu, the city mayor’s former executive assistant, filled the vacuum and is now officially a candidate for her dad’s office.

But even if he has been missing from the public eye, Ilonggos continued to monitor the day-to-day activities in the city government—they may have been able to “get in touch” with Treñas through his social media accounts.

The city mayor’s City Hall subalterns, including Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon, the acting city mayor, also judiciously see to it that communications and vital services Treñas used to personally dispense are not hampered or neglected.

Everything in as far as basic services and operations are concerned is in the data base and the information machinery for all the Ilonggos and non-Ilonggos to access, except for the city mayor’s unequivocal medical bulletin.

 

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Aren’t the constituents entitled to know the medical condition of their elected public officials?

Theoretically, yes but public officials undergoing treatment in the hospitals may not be legally obliged to narrate every comma and parenthesis of their health information lock, stock, and barrel.

There is no specific law that explicitly requires public officials to disclose their medical condition; the "Data Privacy Act of 2012" (Republic Act 10173) protects the personal health information of a public official.

Meaning public officials can only reveal their medical details with proper consent, and in certain situations where public health is significantly at risk; in this matter, there may be a legal obligation to disclose certain medical information.

After recently undergoing a bile duct operation to remove obstruction on his bile ducts that carry bile from the liver to the small intestine, the city mayor is reportedly scheduled to undergo two more operations in a Metro Manila hospital.

A patient reportedly undergoes this type of operation if his small intestine is blocked or narrowed, thus preventing bile from flowing properly.

The most common cause for bile duct obstruction is gallstones, but other causes include tumors, strictures, and birth disorders, according to health authorities.

 

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There has been no official confirmation or announcement from the city mayor’s family, thus both his constituents and friends, as well as his political allies and some opponents, can only wish and pray that Treñas overcomes this medical procedure and returns to work as soon as he is okay.

According to health authorities, symptoms of bile duct obstruction include the following: Pain in the upper right abdomen, especially after eating or when the area is pressed; nausea and vomiting; fever; dark urine; jaundice (yellowing skin); pale stools; and itchy skin.

According to Cleveland Clinic, a bile duct obstruction is a blockage in the bile ducts. Bile is a digestive juice that breaks down fats. It also contains a waste product called bilirubin.

“Your bile ducts are the tiny canals that allow bile to flow from your liver (where it’s made) to your gallbladder (where it’s stored) to your small intestine (where it helps with digestion). Bile ducts also help move bilirubin out of your liver,” Cleveland Clinic explains.

“Blockages in your bile ducts can slow or stop the flow of bile. This can cause bile to back up and collect in your liver. The results can feel painful and pose serious health risks without treatment.”

 

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How common are bile duct obstructions? Obstructions are the most common problem that can affect your bile ducts. Approximately 5 in 1,000 people develop gallstones that end up leading to an obstruction. Gallstones are hardened collections of bile. Gallstones are the most common cause of bile duct obstructions.

What are the complications of a bile duct obstruction? An obstruction can cause bile to build up in your liver. This can lead to severe inflammation and even life-threatening infections without treatment. It can also lead to permanent liver scarring (cirrhosis of the liver) that can lead to liver failure without proper management.

If the bile gets stuck in the part of the ducts near your gallbladder, you can get a gallbladder infection (cholecystitis).

Not having enough bile can also prevent your small intestine from digesting fats. This can lead to malnutrition. (Source: Cleveland Clinic)

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

Iloilo loses political luster

“Home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names, and impossible loyalties!”

—Matthew Arnold

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

ILOILO—the city and province—used to grab headlines in the national broadsheets and broadcast networks during the elections owing to quality of aspirants and intense rivalries among candidates for provincial governor, city mayor, congressman.

Not anymore. If not for the cumbersome social media and uncanny intervention of oligarchs, no one would be interested about the characters seeking public office in the once politically mighty and illustrious city and province of Iloilo.

Gone were the years when the Ilonggos have Olive Lopez-Padilla vs Simplicio “Sim” Griño, Neil Tupas Sr. versus Arthur “Art” Defensor Sr., Oscar “Oca” Garin versus Tupas Sr., Ferjenel “Ferj” Biron vs Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr. for governor, to name only a few.

Rodolfo Ganzon versus Rafael “Paeng” Lopez-Vito, Raul “Sir Raul” Gonzalez Sr. versus Salvador “Buddy” Britanico for Iloilo City congressman; Mansueto “Mansing” Malabor versus Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas, Malabor versus Victor “Vic” Facultad; Jed Patrick Mabilog versus Raul Gonzalez Sr. for Iloilo City mayor, to name only a few.

Goliaths. Big guns. Major leagues. Big screens. Titans. Heavyweights. Competitive. Those were the years.

 

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Today, or on May 12, 2025, Ilongos have to contend with Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr. (incumbent) versus Mary Frances Chloe Noble (independent) for Iloilo governor; Raisa Treñas-Chu versus Roland Magahin for Iloilo City mayor; and Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda (incumbent) versus Mel Carreon (independent). Never mind those running for the 12-seat city council and the provincial board. In times like this, we don’t add insult to the electorate’s injury.

The congressional combats in Iloilo Province’s first, second, third, fourth, third, and fifth districts are also downright lackluster, unappealing and unappetizing.

Except in the battle for vice governor of Iloilo where heartthrob Raul “Buboy” Tupas, outgoing Iloilo 5th district representative, will be put to a severe test by newcomer but charismatic Anilao Mayor Nathalie Ann Debuque.

The absence of quality oppositions or quality competitions in the upcoming midterm elections has virtually erased the political luster Iloilo once enjoyed when compared to rivalries in other provinces and cities in the country.

The mushrooming of political dynasties that didn’t spare Iloilo and the electoral system’s peripherality could be the reason why there is now a significant decline or dearth of quality aspirants for elective positions.

The merging or coalition of ruling and well-entrenched political parties and realignment of bandwagons have practically shut the door on high-level electoral competitions where the electorate can pick from among the best, the brightest, and the most qualified candidates.

 

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IN a scale of one to 10, I rate 8 the performance of talkative and pugnacious former President Rodrigo Roa “Digong” Duterte in the recent Senate blue ribbon committee hearing. In other words, he passed—according to my assessment.

With his dizzying rhetorics, Mr. Duterte, perhaps a born troublemaker, was able to almost outwit his adversaries during the tension-filled and expletive-laden committee investigation into the previous administration's war on drugs.

Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Christopher “Bong” Go, two clowns identified as Mr. Duterte’s lapdogs, also got a high mark of 7 apiece; again, according to my own assessment.

I also give 8 to intrepid and truly remarkable Senator Riza Hontiveros, who was able to rattle and send shiver down the Davao City mad man’s spine for brief moments.

The lowest mark of 5 apiece went to Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Joel Villanueva, and former senator Leila de Lima, who was reduced to a Lilliputian because she was no longer a senator and had to endure the insults from harebrained Estrada.

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TABOO MOVES THAT DRIVE MEN LOCO WITH LUST: 1. Try a bit of bondage 2. Give him a peep show 3. Handle his package 4. Have stranger sex 5. Test-drive twisty 6. Plan a sneak attack 7. ONE TIP: "Do it in various parts of your house, since it will force you to accommodate your positions to different obstacles." (Source: Cosmo Web Poll)

Twelve years ago, or on October 28, 2012, I attended the Toronto 33rd International Festival of Author (IFOA) in Ontario, Canada. From testable hypotheses to leaps of the fantastic, writers discussed what happens when science blurs with fiction and fantasy. Lorna Toolis hosted and moderated the discussion that featured authors Ned Beauman, Hiromi Goto and Robert J. Sawyer.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)