The ties that should bind Christian and non-Christian bloggers
There’s a hailstorm of discussion circulating around the Philippine blogosphere, centering on a few individuals’ disappointment at the Philippine Blog Awards’ invocation. Specifically, Benj, an atheist, was extremely offended at the mention of Jesus Christ as a motivating factor for Philippine bloggers in maintaining their blogs. He was further offended by the response of “a lot of people” (in particular, this fellow) to his post, and has gotten a good round of discussion from Jorge, Tess, and Gail, who defended the organizers and initially encouraged Benj to join the group next year to ensure non-Christians’ rights would be represented better, but later took back the invitation.
(To Benj’s credit, he did say that the organizers were not to blame; to moot the point, he placed the blame somewhere else, when at this point, finger-pointing would not do the issue any additional good.)
Joni, coincidentally, asked me this morning what I thought of the ongoing flurry of activity. Initially, I thought to myself, this is not an issue I necessarily want to weigh in on, preferring instead to just let the issue die. As a self-professed Fil-Christian blogger for the past seven years, I think I should at least say something about how the situation may have been handled better by the Christians in the group, so as not to further stoke the flames of this ‘controversy,’ which may have marred, in one way or the other, the success of the Philippine Blog Awards.
First off, I want to say that Benj and I have not had the smoothest of relationships, thanks in large part to two things: a less-than-stellar-but-more-than-civil exchange of thoughts on PinoyExchange, where we first ran into each other, and a tendency to read too much into each other’s blog posts, hahaha. I have often said things that may have been offensive to him, and he has done likewise. What I think makes our online relationship work - and translated at least into a decent conversation at the BlogParteeh ‘07 when we didn’t kill each other - is a common respect for the other person’s beliefs. After all, it is expected and common that, in our individual web spaces, we call the shots. He has the freedom to delete/edit anything I say on his blog, and I on mine; of course, we don’t, out of what I hope is a respect for the person’s freedom of speech, and to my (not-so-perfect) recollection, I’ve never had to delete any of his posts on any of my Christian blogs. Occasionally, he’ll make a post that will push my buttons, intentionally or unintentionally, and I pray for the strength to just let it go. I’ve often apologized to him in public and private, and he has, too.
There is something to be said for an online relationship between a hardcore atheist and a Bible-thumping Christian, that we can have reciprocal links to each other’s websites, and what I hope is a healthy respect for each other’s rights as people.
The Philippine Blog Awards, however, was no longer just a webspace. It was a gathering of people, not all of whom share the same beliefs - religious, political, whatever. What should have united every person in that theater that night was a healthy respect for each other as individual bloggers, all coming together to recognize that we are all equal - as bloggers, and as people.
Despite my being a Christian, I feel very strongly about recognizing and acknowledging Benj’s point that a more universal prayer or moment of silence would have been more appropriate. There was a point in my life when I was on the other side of that fence, when I was just like Benj. There was a time when I denied the presence of God, and did my part in trying to convince others of my beliefs. I can understand why he feels the way he feels. I may not have expressed myself the way he did, but I can see where he’s coming from.
I definitely disagree with how Benj may have phrased his disgust disappointment with that prayer - especially since some have since interpreted his rather angry post in a negative way. That post was written for response and controversy; there’s no way organizers would have not reacted to it because Benj did throw a lot at them.
When a negative response to something is made, it’s human nature for the owners of that something to react in defense. Shari and and a few other attendees who found that prayer a bit disconcerting may have been left out, but Benj spoke out. Whatever results or changes he may have wanted for next year’s PBA, however, were probably diluted because it was so angrily said.
There are diplomatic ways to express displeasure, but in the heat of the moment… well, Christians and non-Christians can all lose tempers and say things they may end up later wishing they had not said.
Of course, the non-Christians aren’t as driven as we are to forgive. Nor are they as smug as we are because we are in the majority.
Frankly, we Christians in the Philippines do not realize how good we’ve got it, that we can pray in public and not be shot. That we can open our Bibles and read it on the subway. We don’t live in the minority, unlike the earlier Christians, or like Christians in other countries like China or Cuba, and as a result, we’ve become complacent, and almost snooty, just because most Filipinos know of Christ, and a few have active relationships with Him.
The problem with many Christians - and I can include myself in that list on several occasions, unfortunately - is that we tend to become almost elitist and high-and-mighty, knowing we have something in our lives that others do not. We forget it is still their freedom to accept the gift we have ourselves been given and accepted. We become so ritualistic that we forget about the non-believer whose impressions of God and Jesus is based on their interactions with us.
How is a non-believer supposed to know our own Jesus Christ - the person we acknowledge is the Son of God - hobnobbed with the huddled masses, the whores, and sinners? He accepted them for who they are, and (I believe) they changed in time because they kept company with Him. He influenced them in a positive way, and one day, that message of love made a difference in the lives of the people.
How can we reach out to these people when we offend them fresh out of the gate? How can we build relationships with them when we leave them out? And how can we expect them to understand Jesus’ message of compassion when we throw stones instead of bread?
My ending point is this: I personally don’t think a message of tolerance is necessarily a message against Christianity. If we automatically shut out people who do not share our views and faith, we would have lost sight of that which Christ specifically told us to do in Matthew 28.
Very well said, Ganns. I agree with each point you mentioned.
Most Christians (myself included on several occasions as well - unfortunately) tend to have a holier-than-thou attitude towards non-Christians. Which is wrong.
But I also think the prayer was creative. Hehe. But that’s just me.
Funny how I predicted something like this would happen! Ask Mae. I told her what I thought after that particular prayer was said last Saturday. LOL.
Joni, I don’t recall anyone contesting that the prayer was creative and witty.
Wow, the entry did change a bit. Hehe. Ok na rin. You won me with China and Cuba. Kidding.
The ties that should bind Christian and non-Christian bloggers…
Here’s what Ganns has to say about what he initially tought was a non-issue (the content of the invocation at the PBA ‘07)….
“Of course, the non-Christians aren’t as driven as we are to forgive.”
I just have to react to the above statement. It troubled me because the statement seemed to imply that by being a Christian makes one more forgiving. I seriously do not think religion would make one more or less forgiving. It is only a matter of acceptance of the situation and the motivation to put it in a newer perspective. No religion needed.
And, yeah, of course, tolerance could be key for making existence for all beliefs possible. However, do different religions tolerate one another’s beliefs? I’m asking this in all honesty. Think about it. In all the religious sects, it is always the dichotomy of the believers and the non-believers. All religions that I know make a claim that theirs is the only path to God. Go ahead and examine the religions of the world. Has any one of it claimed that theirs is but one of the ways to finding God? I believe none.
But still, a social tolerance is worth undertaking. It will, at least, minimize the frictions occurring among religions. But, think about it, in all honesty, all the religious would be smiling about them and saying they tolerate other religions, but deep within their hearts, they still see the other person, the unbeliever, the one who do not share their beliefs, as one who’d not find God.
Very well-expressed, Ganns. Glad to see someone considering both sides of the story. I know I didn’t give a good job of it. :p
Hello, Tess. I’m sorry if that is how it came across to you. That wasn’t my intention at all. It’s not about implying Christians are more forgiving. If anything, it’s a statement about how ritualistic the Christian forgiving process is, or how some God-believers are encouraged to forgive just because. I don’t believe in the mindless ‘turning of the other cheek,’ and I certainly know of many Christians who are a lot less tolerant and not ready at all to forget grievances against them.
My personal belief is every person will eventually be given the chance to learn about God - the Christian God. Whether that person will actually acknowledge the existence of that God is, of course, their call and their decision. Rather than “see the other person, the unbeliever, the one who does not share [my] beliefs, as one who’d not find God,” I choose to think of the other person as “someone who will find God with the freedom and right to choose not to acknowledge His presence.”
My definition of tolerance revolves around that assumption: I have the freedom of speech to share with a person my experience with my God in the context of my relationship with that person, but I also have the responsibility to ensure I don’t trample on that person’s rights to choose not to believe in what I’ve said.
I hope that clears things up a bit. I imagine the last thing I want to perceived as as a Christian (or ever intentionally intended to be) was smug and self-serving. If that came across at all in my post, please accept my apologies.
Ahehehehe. True, true.
“The problem with many Christians is that we tend to become almost elitist and high-and-mighty, knowing we have something in our lives that others do not.” —->
Good observation. I think the current spiritual battle is where the devil encourages an air of exclusivity among Christians (myself included) that basically prevents us from loving our neighbor.
Nice post.
Ganns
- For someone who wasnt there to enjoy all the fun (hehe) you certainly have said a good piece on all the aftermath.
The first person I expected to object to all the religious reference was my husband (diba?). But he has kept himself out of it and I am thankful.
Wish you were there though as it was really fun - for most of us.
Cheers!
I was one the first ones to take note of the oversight that we did with the prayer on Atheista’s blog. Had it been said to me verbally right after the event or during the post-event party, I would have directly apologized to the concerned people that it was our fault that we were blinded by so many critical and urgent matters just so the event will run smoothly and on-time.
What I, as the head organizer of PBA07, did not appreciate is that this minor and unintentional mistake be made into a huge issue to the point that it has even overshadowed the highlights of the event. Some of us failed to see the bigger picture — that the Phil. Blog Award is a celebration of the talents and creativity of ALL Filipino bloggers. It’s sad to see that we ourselves as a blogging community are shooting our fellow bloggers for all the effort, time and money they spent just to make this happen. Yes, it was our fellow bloggers who helped pay for those trophies, for the expensive rent of the venue and spent countless nights working to make this happen. The bigger picture was to show everyone else that we bloggers, for once, are united by showing support not only to the winners but to everyone in the community.
It is not the pointing of the mistake that is in question but the manner by which that mistake was pointed out. Our lines are open — we’re just one call away. It could have been discussed calmly, decently and privately but some people need to make a big fuss out of it. Well, we have to attribute that to the dynamics of the blogosphere — it could make you or break you.
Funny thing is, there might not be any volunteers next year for fear that their unintentional mistakes will get all the headlines. Hopefully, the ones who are most vocal now will also be the most active in helping out the community in the future.
Despite what happened, I still believe that we can make our own little corner of the blogosphere a better and more united community. We’ll work harder to achieve that. We may disagree, but at least we agree to disagree.
Yuga, I don’t think there’s any question about anyone appreciating the organizers and people behind the Blog Awards this year. Thanks for passing by my blog and posting your thoughts on my thoughts; it’s an honor having you swing by.
You have my word that I will join next year’s team in whatever capacity they will have me.