Last night I met with Yohei. Nope, he' s not the one in the picture. That's Saint Benedict il Moor, Saint of Black origin.

Yohei's a fellow Rits student who recently went to the Philippines and stayed there for two months. Amid despondency and disorder therein, he was evidently enthused in his exploration, I could tell. "It's a country like no other," he exclaimed. (He's been to twelve other nations in Europe and Asia.)

The guy mentioned a bit about inequality. I guess it's one thing any foreigner (visitor) to my country would unavoidably notice. Of course there's also the usual hospitality, kindness, joviality. And yeah, inferiority complex and submission, too. And religion- Catholicism.

Said he was bothered by the Filipino imaging of Christ. "Why are the statues of Christ in the Philippines depict Him as Caucasian? HE wasn't white, HE's red!" (In my mind: Red? Really? Ahh, burnt from the sun, maybe. Then I tried to avoid looking at him askance. To myself: Just listen. Hmm... I wonder if he saw the Black Nazarene in Quiapo? I repeat to myself: just listen!) Then he expounded on the Spanish colonization and how the "Indios" were looked down upon in their own land. Skin color: the chief, if not the sole criterion.

(Gross understatement. We were subjugated. But...) "What is it with skin color?" I retorted. White-skinned Christ statues is not an issue. Why distinguish? To do so is to discriminate.

(I must say though that I was pleased at him. He ain't like the typical high and mighty Japanese.)

I am not oblivious. Certainly Christianity was abused. In conquests, many of its teachings were deliberately distorted to serve the interests of the conquistadores. To present God / Christ as white would surely promote the pursuit of the conquerors. Slavery would be with alacrity. You were born to a particular race (brown or black) believe in white God, serve Him. Mestizos prevail. Colored people, you are fated to a life of a servant. Delight in serving God / the white masters.

The blur. The idolatry.

I am not manipulated. I want to think that the advent of reason has cleared the cloud. Though I am aware that the vestiges of racial segregation / discrimination remain. Nonetheless, to talk about religion or Christ and his color- white or red or brown or black (or yellow), is to totally miss the point of religion, of Christianity.

In Philo class among the first things that the professors bellow to shatter the students' long-held beliefs are: "Christ is dead" or "Christ is black and she is a woman."

Haha. Boggling! (Bogus or brilliant?) Poor wimpy student, she turned agnostic, questioned all the norms, followed the more fashionable fad of deviation. But as she went through life she realized even if she can't explain religion, she can still cling to her faith. And her incapability to rationalize it does not necessarily negate it. She has to survive, hold fast to the promise.

She needs to believe in something- in God. And God knows no race. HE does not discriminate. Why should she?

About the pic, it was featured in the egroup that I subscribe to. I am posting it in the spirit of sharing and recognition.