By Shin Chul-ho
A countless number of people are in awe of religion. Remarks and books by some religious celebrities are considered an eternal truth. Christianity is so powerful that it can make the President of the Republic of Korea kneel down, literally. I cannot help but think about religions that have wielded power throughout all ages and places.
As a nonbeliever, I start pointing out contradictions embedded in religions. I often come across fervent Christians. If they lived in Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan, what would happen to them? They may now be ardent Muslims and admire Allah as the one God. When the place where someone is born predetermines their religions, is there any universality in religion?
Catholic parents generally raise their children Catholics. Protestant parents raise their children Protestants. Muslim parents raise their children Muslims. Some Christians are proud of being born that way. If a child is given the right to choose his or religion, I have no intention to criticize it. We cannot deny that parents’ indoctrination determines religion.
There have been numerous wars under the name of religion in human history. Until now, the clash of Christianity and Islam has caused heavy casualties. Were any wars waged for the extension of atheism?
Christians tell me that Christianity is a religion of love, whose motto is ``Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Their behavior is not so different from that of nonbelievers. One day I asked a Christian what he prayed for. Did he pray for giving him his daily bread?" Her answer came out unexpectedly. She said, ``I do not pray that way. Now so many people are starving in the world."
I asked her whether she has ever donated some money for the hungry. She gave an evasive answer. We can say anything good with our mouths. What is crucial, is putting it into practice. I told churchgoers about absurd anecdotes. For instance, the churches pray that churchgoers' children would gain high grades in the scholastic ability test. A churchgoer allegedly made a vast fortune because in his dream God ordered him to buy a piece of land somewhere and its price continued to skyrocket. When I talk about these anecdotes, they responded unvaryingly: Do not focus on people but the Bible.
My idea is different. I judge the Bible according to Christians' actions, because they are likely to behave based on the Bible. Of course, I also judge the Koran according to Muslims' actions.
I do not think that moral behavior came from religion. Long before any types of religion, morality existed. This is the product that was made over an infinite amount of time. People cultivated morality as they came to realize the principle of reciprocity benefits them.
People are born with the ability to act morally and capable of acting toward the world full of love and peace.
The writer is a teacher at an elementary school in Gyeonggi Province. He can be reached at heemy123@hanmail.net.