Page 2 - MY GREAT LOVE FOR JESUS LED ME TO TROUTH

Introduction

As a Catholic, I was led to believe that Catholicism was the only true religion and that Judaism was
only a preparation for Christianity. Hence, the other religions were all false. In fact, I only heard about
Islam for the first time in 1978. I had learned that Muslims believed in the divine origin of Christianity
and Judaism. The Qur'an indicates that Allah (the proper name of God in the Arabic language)[1] had
sent prophets to every land in order to guide people to the path of truth and righteousness.
In order to carve the Christian message into the depths of my subconscious, the Catholic Church
designed a program which, when applied from childhood, had a very high probability of retention.
This program affected people's beliefs and their behavior for the rest of their lives. In this scheme the
central figure is Jesus, and the rites are mostly related to events surrounding his birth, supposed death
and resurrection; from his birth, assumed to be in December, to his alleged crucifixion on Easter.
These religious rites were introduced by human beings many centuries after Jesus' departure rather
than by divine revelation.
According to tradition in Venezuela, at midnight on December 24th I used to wait for the arrival of
Jesus to bring the gifts that I had requested in my yearly wish list. Being from a poor family and
having several brothers and sisters, I understood that it was very difficult for the "Child Jesus" to bring
me what I had asked for. But I was often confused and puzzled because if Jesus had performed so
many miracles, as I had learned from nuns and priests, why was he not able to bring me a tricycle?
Wasn't that request easier for Him than bringing dead people back to life? Thus, for several years the
concept of the "Child Jesus" left me disappointed.
As Easter was approaching, I used to watch televised stories of how Jesus was abused until he was
allegedly put on a cross to be crucified. I really wanted to climb inside the TV set and help him
somehow. I asked God to help him and not to let His "son" be crucified. In the end, I would hide and
cry because I was taught that "men do not cry". I could not understand why such brutality was inflicted
on such a good man. As a child, this incident cultivated in me an intense love for this great prophet
of God. As for other children, perhaps the toys they received on Christmas – as an answer to their
wishes – was the cause of their affection toward Jesus.
If the objective of the Church was to somehow infuse a feeling of reverence for Jesus, in my case
they were successful. I learned to love Jesus more than my own parents. However, while still a child,
I started to question the power of God. The concept that I had about God was that He could do
whatever He wanted. He had created the universe, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, and human
beings. I wondered why He could not save Jesus from dying on the cross. In order to resolve this
dilemma, I climbed, on one occasion, a small wall in the backyard of my house and challenged God,