3. MY PERSPECTIVE – THE CHURCH

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Over the past five years i have developed a critical attitude towards church. Perhaps hate is too strong a word or maybe even inappropriate, nevertheless my understanding of church has definitely shifted over the past five years.

Don’t get me wrong i am still a Christian and my faith in God has remained in spite of personal circumstances and life’s ups and downs. When ever i feel low or feel my faith has been shaken i remind myself of what my name means. ‘Consecrated to God’.  A constant reminder that i am forever God’s beloved child and nothing can change that fact.

Although at the same time i feel as though a veil has been lifted from my eyes so much so that i notice the small things the subtleties. Now it seems all i see is the two-faced nature of the Church, irrespective of denomination or  theological dogma. The hypocrisy the lies the arrogance and the pride,  from the senior members of the clergy right down to the congregation members. 

Perhaps this is just part of the growing up process. Like when you wake up and realise that your parents are only human so have and will continue to make mistakes. In the same vein  we are all just human and have a fallen nature. But it still saddens me to see people speaking on  behalf of God get things so wrong, especially those who claim to be called by God and yet disgrace themselves for the whole world to see, or hide behind a charade. It seems as though they have forgotten the gravity and weight of their actions.

Every person has or subscribes to some form of moral conduct and yet some choose to play with that, something that society as a whole has placed on a pedestal informing both the biggest and smallest decisions. A genuine belief in God that many people regardless of culture and creed appear to have a sense of, has been twisted and turned into individual political agendas or a means to gain power and recognition.

It could even be compared to colonialism, which in many ways exploited religious belief as a medium to enforce a hidden agenda. Even in trying to understand the nature of politics in our world today this quickly becomes evident. As one mans agenda is ruthlessly achieved by any means necessary, which in many ways involves the twisting and manipulation of simple commonly held beliefs and values as a tool of division, all because of one mans inherent selfishness spouting nothing but propaganda but profoundly hurting people. The funny thing is that this can be seen the world over,  from crooked African dictatorships to western governments. Maybe i too am immature and naive, looking at things the wrong way, but right now this is the mindset i have. Who knows maybe my view will change with time…