by Sari Krosinsky
Daily Lobo columnist
In trying to think of a title for a short story I'm working on, I did an Internet search for the word "messiah." This produced some interesting results. In addition to the Catholic Encyclopedia entry - the most useful of my results - and sites for a number of churches, the search came up with two sites that seemed a bit, well, out of place.
The first of these was the site for the Messiah computer game. Yes, there is a Messiah computer game. According to the summary, the player assumes the identity of the messiah to fight for the salvation of humanity against the rule of money, power, violence, etcetera. The weapons the player gets to use as the messiah include assault rifles, concussion grenades, and rocket-propelled harpoons. To further inspire prospective players, the summary concludes, "Remember, God hates to lose."
I couldn't quite tell from this site whether the game was deliberately making fun of the concept of the messiah, or whether its creators were believers trying to spread the faith in their own ludicrous fashion. I'm not sure which would be worse.
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The other site was clearer in its intentions. This site was "The Jesus Homepage." If you haven't already guessed where this is going, these opening phrases will give you a clue: "My name is Jesus Christ. Welcome to My homepage! I work as the messiah for a major world religion - it's called Christianity." The site gets even worse the deeper one looks into it. Funny, but worse.
After such discoveries as these, I couldn't help think that - whether from the hokeyness of some of its followers, or from a reaction against the restrictive forms religions sometimes take on - religion is seriously getting its butt kicked.
My other researches produced results of a less humorous nature that further reinforced my supposition.
This past weekend saw another annual protest against the School of the Americas. This "school" has become infamous for its training of foreign militaries in such useful tactics as torturing and "disappearing" people. Some of its graduates have been convicted of human rights abuses. The nefarious purpose of the school has become public knowledge, yet it remains open.
The faiths visibly represented at this protest included Catholics, Jews, and Buddhists. Many of the protestors laid crosses and stars of David against the fence surrounding Fort Benning.
I am inspired by these people who - as I try to - carry their faith to action. One Independent Media Center article quoted Father Tom, a Jesuit priest, who said he came to the protest "to witness that the gospel of peace is a reasonable way of operating." This is what religion has meant to me, a guide to living in the world, living with each other, and working together to make it something better than it is.
But now we come to the butt kicking part. It began on the march to the base, during which all crosses wider than an eight of an inch were confiscated and tossed onto garbage heaps. At the base itself, seven nuns and three Sisters of Providence were reportedly arrested after crossing through a break in the fence. However they may have felt about trespassing in general, it had to suck to be one of the military police arresting a bunch of nuns.
Religion was very literally getting its butt kicked in Georgia this weekend.
If you ask me, religion has been getting a bad rap. Sure, people use religion as an excuse to oppress and even kill others. But people will also use political ideology, a slow economy, geography, culture, skin color, gender - in short, any excuse available - to the same end.
On the other, many have used religion to improve peoples lives, be it through protest or through directly working in communities to raise literacy, bring in sewer systems, or empower people to take charge of their own lives, their own needs.
Ultimately, religion is neither the problem nor the solution - but what we make of it can be.
Blasphemers and saints may write to Sari Krosinsky at michal_kro@hotmail.com.
