Religion Woes

This is a serious post and I write the following with great solemnity.


A few weeks ago, I went to my relative's house to visit. She is an aging Christian whom I respected and trusted. At one point during the visit, she pulled me aside. She had something she wanted to say to me. In private. And so I followed her to a couch.

She sat down facing me and said,

Do you believe in God?

And so I answered:

Yes.

Do you know the story of Jesus?

Yes. (Being not a strict Buddist, I had explored the other religions out of interest.)

Do you know why Jesus was sent down to Earth? You see, Jesus is God's son, but yet God loved us so much he was willing to sacrifice his son to save us from hell.
When all humans are born, they carry sin. This sin comes from their ancestors, who sinned a long time ago. But the sin doesn't wash off with time.
This sin prevents us from going to heaven. And you see, God loves us so much, he doesn't want us to go to hell. After all, he created us. And so, he sent down his son Jesus to cleanse us of our sin.

(I could only sit there and nod.)

God planned for Jesus to die, because he knew only then could Jesus' blood, which is untainted by sin, wash off our sin. 3 days later, Jesus rose from the dead to join his Father in heaven.
There is proof that he is the son of God. You can check his tomb, it's empty. But if you check Buddha's tomb or Muhammad's tomb, you will find bones. Why? Because Jesus rose from the dead but they didn't.

(I was stunned; I had not expected this from her.)

Have you ever heard of this book... The Big Word For Kids?

Yes, I've read it before. It's the children's version of the Bible, isn't it?

(She seemed taken aback.) Oh, your parents let you read it?

Yeah. I think you gave us about 10 copies a long time ago. We passed some around.

Well, remember what I said, okay?

Ya, thanks.


That conversation was ultra-freaky. Should it have come from one of my friends, I would have stopped the person halfway. But coming from a respected relative like that...

This has really changed my views on religion. I had no idea just how desparate poeple were nowadays. In her mind, she might be doing a good thing, but to me, she was just scary. And the worst part was how she didn't want my parents to find out about this. It showed in her behaviour.

I also think she got the 'Buddha' part wrong. Buddha never claimed to be God or anything like it. He just led a saintly life and encouraged other people to do the same.


And now, I have a headache.