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My initial reactions towards these blasphemous pictures was anger and outrage…I almost sent a different post here if it was not because of a pang of some guilty conscience on my part.
Being a practicing R. Catholic I was indeed torn between a fanatical / hypocritical defense for my religion and sympathy towards those “cross people” in the picture…Why sympathy? Why HYPOCRITICAL defense?
Why Sympathy? ..…because those “cross people” seemed so oblivious to the damage they have done not only towards other people’s religious perception BUT mainly to themselves.....It won’t really matter now whether they were/are indifferent about how other people view them negatively NOW after those blasphemous photo shoot ‘coz one way or the other a LOT of Roman Catholics will silently curse and gnash their teeth whenever they see them personally or otherwise .
Why HYPOCRITICAL defense ? or should I ask why do I call
MY religious defense “hypocritical"
on my behalf?...........I asked myself (I almost did not) ..or rather these question came into my mind:
1.How many times did I did the same hurt to my God and religion, whenever I disrespected the image and likeness of God each time I watched and shamelessly ENJOYED pornography?.........I lost count already.
2. How many times did I intentionally/voluntarily received Holy Communion (Corpus Christi) and yet knowingly had an un-confessed MORTAL sin ? ……….yes I did this several times just to save my face in front of my family…and I think that this is far worse than climbing a cross and have a smiling picture taken.
3. How many times I succumbed to laziness each HOLY WEEK that I deliberately did not do the Way of the Cross or even hear the Prayers of the Church during those periods? …….…at least those “cross people” exerted time and effort to be there at the foot of the Cross (or in their case ON the Cross itself) during Holy Week.
4. How many times did my God forgave me of all these and much more?..........Well, as far as I know I’m still here… a forgiven man ,,,bound to sin again and to be hypocritical as I can be.
Who am I to say negative things about these so called “cross people” in these pictures ?? I think I’ll just leave the rightful defense of my religion to the pious people who have more right to do so.