Believing in Fiction

When I talk about my faith in God, I am sometimes accused of believing in fiction. Imagine this, an ardent fan of the atheist writer Ayn Rand, talking about God. It’s like a serial junk food junkie trying to promote healthy foods. It doesn’t connect. It doesn’t make sense. It’s simply crazy. But when I think about it, it actually connects. Ayn Rand talks about individual rights, about the right to happiness; and no man should be treated as a sacrificial animal, and here we have positive version of Christianity talking about a man’s right to happiness and need not to sacrifice like Jesus  Christ.  Of course like majority of most Catholics here on earth, I was initially initiated to a form of Catholicism that emphasized so much about penance and sacrifice; one would think God is one powerful sadist. But as I grew up and got acquainted with other Christians (like the born again movement) and a more positive form of Catholicism courtesy of Bo Sanchez, I came to realize that Christianity empowers people to be the best they can be,  and be proud of being humans.

Aside from an encounter towards a more positive form of Christianity courtesy of Joel Osteen and Bo Sanchez; what restored my faith in  the existence of God and  Christianity is the social support network which I find missing in many affiliations I have joined into. When family support is absent or weak, where can individuals run to?  Where can they go?  If your family unit is messed up where do you go? Imagine being terminally ill or suffering financially hardship and your own loved ones and friends abandons you.   Christian groups have support groups for practically   every human tragedy one can think of. 

Before I am accused of being a Christian fundamentalist, let it make clear that I am not down playing other religious faiths.  Right now I am explaining the reasons why after years of being inactive in Christian faith,  my religious conviction got restored, in spite the fact women priesthood and same sex marriage is still  an impossibility within the Catholic church; and reproductive rights is still a controversial issue.  In my own personal tragedy, I come to appreciate the support from Christian individuals that I would normally be skeptical of.  I was impressed by their never ending supply of compassion.

I remember the late President  Cory Aquino. She was a woman of faith and religious conviction. I bet if she didn’t possess the faith and religiosity that she was known for she would have taken the easy route and just leave her husband at time of his incarceration. She could have made her life easier, divorce him and re-marry. But Ninoy Aquino was lucky. She had a wife who has a strong resolve backed by religious conviction. He made a smart choice when he married her.

My father is also pretty lucky to marry my mother. My dad went to rough times in business and became sick for years, yet my mother never left his side and remained faithful. Until his death, she was there by his bed side. My mother was a woman of religious faith, and kept her wedding vows to the end.  I would be a hypocrite not to admit that there are still a few times that I find my mother’s religious viewpoints silly or outdated,   but in the end, I judge her for her actions. She did stay with my Dad through bad and good times even when usual logic would tell her otherwise; and she kept her commitment. From there she taught me the concept of “loyalty” and “commitment” and got my admiration and respect.

In summary, my faith in the existence of God  and Christianity was restored by the positive effects of Christian teachings on people. When people show compassion, when people keep their word, commitments and stick through their loved ones through tough times, I become convinced of a higher power that strengthens people to go against the usual course of self-preservation. It takes great strength of character to stay with loved ones through bad times. I have seen many people get abandoned at times when they are needed  by their loved ones the most, and noticed those who stayed are usually those who are accountable to a higher power.