The greatest mystery in Christendom; the greatest mystery in religion

Apr 10, 2009 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Today is one of the most sacred and revered days in the Christian religion. It is the moment that the persecuted and executed religious fighter, Jesus Christ, rose from the dead. I am not a religious person although I have the deepest respect for people’s religion. One aspect about Jesus’ posthumous life that has lacerated my psyche is his failure to preserve his influence over the billions of followers he has on earth today.
Now I may be wrong. There are those who will argue that Christ stands tall among his people since his resurrection. But I am of the contrary opinion. I will admit that my thesis is weak because I have not seen much less talk to the billions of Christians around the world.
My argument is based on what I have seen throughout my experience of living in this world. Out of that I have extrapolated my position. I begin my sermon with the belief that Jesus Christ was a phenomenally courageous person. It was his valour that irritated the Romans to the point where he had to die.
The Romans felt that the man’s fearlessness was unique among humans and that with such a rare quality, he threatened the Empire.
So thousands of years later, do we see the emulation of this courage among the worshippers of Jesus? My answer is no. There seems to be some esoteric factors living inside the mind of Christians (again, I repeat: this is my way of looking at it) that deter them from emulating Christ.
I have met countless Christians who are shameless in their refusal, not only to be courageous as Jesus was, but simply honest to say and do the right thing when it comes to justice and fair play. This essay would distort the history of contemporary Guyana if mention is not made of the role of the two main Christian denominations in the fight against rigged elections in Guyana.
The Anglican and Catholic Churches played a priceless role in the dissolution of authoritarian rule in Guyana before the PPP won the 1992 elections. I will consistently publish the viewpoint that these two Christian Churches and the WPA were the crucial factors that weakened the Burnham Government.
Since we are careful not to destroy history, mention should be made of the1985 agreement between the PPP and PNC to jointly contest the national elections in that year. Only a letter in the Stabroek News by the late Mrs. Jagan (in response to Aubrey Norton’s angle on the talks and why they broke down) and a book by Halim Majeed have dealt with this piece of Guyanese history.
The activism of these two Churches does not weaken my argument that Christians world-wide do not seem to be in any rush to emulate the bravery of the founder of their religion. It remains the greatest mystery in Christendom. It also brings into sharp focus the complexity of the mind. How can a human being be a dedicated and devout follower of a leader without some kind of psychological urge to adopt his principles and way of life? The second enigma relates to religion in general and is not confined to Christianity. It has to do with being a good person.
When I was growing up, I thought that Hindu, Muslim, Christian and all other kind of preachers were different from us, ordinary, banal mortals. I believe that acting under the influence of God (if you believe in God), they were a special category of humans. Being constantly involved in religious work, they would be compassionate, humane, selfless, sensitive, warm, and caring human beings. I had a rude awakening after I left school and enrolled in the “University of Life.”
Religious people were no different from us, everyday mortals; on the contrary some of them, quite a lot of them, were worse.
My mother brought us up in the Hindu tradition. She was a prodigious adherent. She attended the temple of this hypocritical pandit. I was now a big boy who knew what was going on in Guyana. This pandit was a devil, a skirt-chaser, a man who only did jhandis for the rich folks, a land-grabber and a racist.
My mom’s first cousin was a pandit also but was close to Prime Minister Burnham and she didn’t like him for that. So one day, I remonstrated with her about attending this man’s service every Sunday. I argued vociferously with her about the nature of this “son” of God. Eventually, I got her to attend another temple. This pandit (bandit) is still around getting rich, getting little girls and getting blessed (not from God, I hope).

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