Is that your final answer?

This is my response to S. Reklaw

I apologise for the bombardment of your e-mail account with the same message 5 times. Anger?.....No. Technical glitch...yes. Didn't realise until after I checked to see if it had been sent and saw the multiple replies.

Back to business.

The Truth sets us free. If it hurts it means that we are guilty of the sin of pride. Since I know I have been there in the past I shan't hurl such stones. I did Google the following terms you threw around: Pope Innocents, Dominican Order, Bartholomew de las Casas, Inquisition (I even searched for "dynamic Human spirit" just in case, but nothing of consequence was found in the results).

There seems to be much controversy surrounding the figures you singled out. I was reminded of the work of Edgar Allan Poe, which described some of the atrocities of one of the Inquisition periods (I'm sure you know there were many). To be fair, I looked only at hits from non-Catholic sites so that I could see what info you were privy to and which was fuelling your hostility. I didn't find any really new information, though I was now able to attach names and dates to some of my Catholic History. Thanx.

Based on the behaviour of the few Dominicans we have in Jamaica, I'd stand a better chance of "re-creating mayhem on humanity" by teaming up with Pinky and the Brain (registered trademark). I didn't get the impression you were blaming me for "the Catholic's historic atrocities" but thanx for the reassurance just the same.

Yes I wrote a comparatively lengthy reply but in all fairness I also used a larger font, giving it a false sense of bulk.

tirade \TY-raid; tih-RAID\, noun:
A long angry speech; a violent denunciation; a prolonged outburst full of censure or abuse.

I'm sorry that I abused you with ...... I'm not sure with what and how, but you can fill in the space. Now the dots are not for connecting, since we know you have difficulty with such tasks. (The preceding statements are examples of sarcasm and facetiousness. Using these examples you may re-read my previous e-mails and even my editorial and see if the tones are recognisable. If you are still convinced that you sense anger then..................I'll be forced to diagnose you as using projection as a psychological defense mechanism.

Religious tolerance? Do you mean in the same way that you are showing tolerance for Catholics?

Rock my religious beliefs, please! I love roller coaster rides.

You are fighting when none is fighting with you? I think the term is shadow-boxing.

You are right. My religious and spiritual beliefs are steeped in blood...The blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. By His blood, sins are forgiven. I have a sneaky suspicion that should Catholics ask for forgiveness, then the blood of millions of people on our hands, because of our very 'rich history', may just be forgiven. Nah! You're right. Too far-fetched.

I am happy you were also amused. I was feeling guilty that I may have been laughing at you instead of with you. I was however, quite sincere about my wish for resolution of your problems and will pray for you. Jung dealt with the collective unconscious. You seem to have too much character to be Borg. I'd not use his theories on you. Freud is more up your alley.

I stated that I don't know you. But that tid-bit seemed to have missed you. However, you had no problem identifying a "hidden agenda of anger", "problem with openness", and a "wish for Christian forgiveness" from my e-mails. I guess I'm more transparent. Or is it that you are a professional Psycho-analyst? Or are you successor to Miss Cleo? Usually the most obvious answer is closer to the truth. So although I would rather believe that you are not playing with a full deck (jokers over-represented, deck shuffled not cut), it is more likely that you have a real axe to grind with the Roman Catholic church and made use of the opportunity having found an audience. I was happy to have assisted you in that regard.

Remaining calm and vibrating with the vortex of peace? Reminds me of the yoga exercises one of my anti-Catholic friends enjoys. Thanx for the suggestion but my church is against yoga because of its oriental-mysticism roots. I guess more intolerance on our part.

So that's two of us having no interest in me hurting me. We doubled our numbers in just 24hrs. At this exponential growth rate, we can register as an N.G.O. in just a few months.

Now although this has been fun, we cannot continue like this. Yes, I've found someone new who is demanding of my attention. I never thought it would happen this way. They are presenting your views in a slightly different light and like a moth I am drawn to that light. I know it feels as if I am on shore and you are on the deck of the Titanic waving, but be positive and remember the good times.

Hayden Hamil

P.S.

1. Just for future reference if you happen to visit a small Caribbean island; small islanders don't like being called small islanders. The smaller the island home the more offence is taken. I learned that the hard way.

2. You have no idea if I'm female or male, adolescent or golden ager, student or work force member, sane or insane, native or immigrant, clergy or laity, using a nom de plume or borrowing an actual identity, one person or a group messing around, Caucasian, Indian, Chinese, Syrian, Irish, Scottish, Nigerian, Afro-Caribbean (including all the darker hues). But you took me on with such gusto making so many assumptions about who you were dealing with. That takes moxie/cajunas etc.................naaaah. Just a mind too caught up in its own pain to care. ;-)

I then responded to Annette Swan who has joined the fray. Her letter was posted on my previous blog entry. Any loss in flair in style is due to sleep deprivation.

Annette Swan,

If I was to take a guess I'd say that you have some knowledge of Adventist
beliefs. Simply because the chapter you quoted is the one my Adventist
friends and I ended up discussing when they wanted to voice disapproval of
Catholic traditions that they did not understand and certainly didn't agree
with.

Mathew 7: 1-5 speaks volumes to me.

The Roman Catholic church is very old and as such has developed a rich
history of traditions. Many of them are misunderstood, even by our own
Catholics. We have to hold on to the Lord to make sure that we are not led
astray and caught up in mere tradition. We cling to 2 Peter 2 (not that we
ignore the rest of the bible but this scripture has special significance for
us).

Spirituality is your relationship with God. Religion is supposed to assist
man in developing and maintaining that relationship with God. Throughout 1
and 2 Kings, Hosea, Amos, etc... the prophets tried to instill in the people
of God (the Israelites) the importance of interior spirituality and not a
dependence on the external ceremonies. They didn't dispense with the
ceremonies because their ceremonies were important parts of their worship
and their living, but tried to get them to understand that you can't stand
on ceremony alone. Ceremony is to direct you to God.

You read pride in my answer. A reasonable inference, although an
unfortunate one. Frustration is more like it. On the Liguanea plains are a
number of churches of differing denominations. For the past 20 yrs a few of
them have been working fastidiously at fostering and maintaining Christian
unity. They share the same Seminary and Theological college, and felt that
the differences in practiced traditions was not sufficient to prevent
fellowship together. I have enjoyed that environment and that fellowship
and believe it unfortunate and frustrating that a similar unity cannot exist
among Christians nationwide or even worldwide. With all that we have to
face out there in this world, battling other denominations is an unnecessary
preoccupation.

My answer, though laced with sarcasm, did have truth at its centre. I am not
a prophet so I cannot confirm nor deny the vision seen by that gentleman.
My trust is in God and will remain there. He will inform me when it is time
to move. I pray I will follow Him always.

My dear, our souls can only be at stake if we place them in the care of
anyone else but God.

Hayden Hamil

P.S. Jesus knew for sure that the Pharisees were corrupt so He spoke with
authority. Sneaky suspicions only arouse suspicions.


Anyone else want in on the action, get it while its hot cause I'm running low now.