I enjoyed the righteous indignation in Mr. Leon Suseran’s letter which was carried in both the Guyana Chronicle and the Kaieteur News (April 17). I welcome the animosity aimed in my direction.

First, a quick note of correction—the Roman Catholic Church did not “pen” the Bible as Mr. Suseran asserts. The Church was responsible only for editing and compiling one version of it.

The first books of the Bible were said to be written by Moses, an ancient Israelite prophet. In fact, the entire Old Testament was written by Israelites, not Christians. Any claim that Moses and other prophets were Christian is so ignorant that I will not even bother replying to it.

Many New Testament books also were not written by Christians as Suseran says. The texts were written by members of a fringe sect of Jews who thought Jesus was the Jewish messiah (Christianity did not exist at the time of many of these writings).

Paul, who much later is mostly responsible for the formation of Christian groups, writes only a relatively small section of the entire bible compilation. The Church was responsible only for the redaction of biblical writings; it did not originally create them. Claiming otherwise is disingenuous (not to mention wholly unrighteous.)

Mr. Suseran wants to correct me about the tenets of his Church, because he thinks I am “misguided”. I am more than willing to share my thoughts in exchange for his better guidance. Will he shepherd me?

If, as Suseran says, the “Catholic Church is one ever so deeply rooted in God’s Holy Word,” then perhaps he can show me where God’s “word” instructed him to worship Mary as God’s Queen (of heaven). We can examine why Suseran’s Roman Catholic Church calls Mary the “Ocean Star” which is the title his Church’s founders gave to their former Goddess, Isis.

During the fourth century when Christianity was “remade” as the official Catholic religion of the Roman Empire, Isis ’ worshippers founded the first Madonna cults so that their Goddess’ influence would be kept alive. Some believers even called themselves “Pastophori”, meaning the shepherds or servants of Isis (this may be where the word “Pastor” originated).

The influence of Isis is still seen in the Roman Catholic icons of a crowned queen and loving mother. The image of Isis nursing the infant Horus inspired the portraits of mother and child for centuries, including those of the “Madonna and Child” still found today in Roman Catholic art. Did the Romans give up their religion, or did they give their pagan beliefs a clever disguise; a “make over”, if you will?

Is Easter really an ancient spring equinox celebration with a coating of the “resurrection” over it? Is the Roman Catholic Christmas really the Roman pagan festival of Saturnalia? Mr. Suseran and I will explore the “true meaning” of these topics and more.

Mr. Suseran will also show me the “ways and means” of this multi-billion dollar enterprise he calls his Church, even though he says that someone like me “would never ever understand”. Here he seems to doubt the power of his own faith to convince and convert.

“The Catholic Church welcomes you anytime, Mr. de Freitas,” Suseran says. I would accept this invitation but on condition that my son would not be asked to be an altar boy. You know why, right?

Also I respect God’s commandment that I worship Him only, so I can’t kneel before the “likeness” of a European-looking “Queen” Mary or the statues of any White Man, saint or not. My Bible tells me not to perform this veneration, what does Suseran’s “Holy Word” tell him about such graven images?

Will Suseran explain to me how eating human flesh is not cannibalism? How drinking human blood is not vampirism. Will we get into such stuff?

Mr. Suseran does not want to keep his faith a private matter between him and his Church (note I said between him and his church because it is my belief that Suseran worships the Catholic Church rather than God.) He writes almost every day to the national press, putting his personal beliefs into the public sphere for examination and discourse. No doubt emboldened by his letters page crusade, he now takes to ridiculing the media, complaining that not enough attention is being paid to his Church’s numerous yearly festivals. Does he seriously want these holidays critically examined?

And he now wishes to guide me. Where should we start my religious re-education? The witch-hunts, the crusades against Muslims, the burning alive at the stake, the tortures of the inquisition, the condoning of slavery, the priests found guilty of buggering underage boys, the Church’s historical position on the holocaust, a Pope with a Nazi past? Take your pick, Mr. Suseran and let the schooling begin!
JUSTIN de FREITAS