Lenín Moreno y el futuro de la Pacha Mama

Victor Chininin Buele

El otro día (la manera en la que por alguna razón me gusta referirme a eventos que pasaron ya hace algún tiempo) estaba regresando a casa de una aventura laboral en Tailandia.  Mientras esperaba por el tercer pájaro hacia la metrópolis de Nueva York tomé una foto de la sala de espera en Ámsterdam para recordar al aeropuerto.  Al revisar la fotografía observé a un personaje muy sufrido en la esquina.  Quizá estaba con dolor o con cansancio.  No lo sé.  Y vi a una compañera fiel a su lado alentándolo.  Y pensé cuánto quisiera la oposición al oficialismo una foto como aquélla para aprovecharse de la apariencia de sufrimiento para sus motivos políticos.  Me levanté y decidí saludarlo.  Muchas veces nosotros pensamos que quienes han tenido el privilegio de dirigir a nuestro país pertenecen a otro mundo.  Pero son seres humanos como nosotros.  Entonces lo hice.  Y fui sorprendido por una humildad que me demostró que estaba conversando con un gigante.  Al agradecerle por su labor para la inclusión social no quiso recibir alabanza sino que empezó a dar crédito a otros.  La humildad de Jesucristo mostrada en lugares como Filipenses 2 es una humildad que nos enseña que quien en verdad es grande debe mostrar una actitud humilde considerando al otro como más importante que a sí mismo, no buscando cada uno sus propios intereses, sino más bien los intereses de los demás.

Esta semana se ha hecho pública la noticia que este gigante es uno de los candidatos presidenciales en Ecuador.  Esto amerita un poco de reflexión.

No me gusta “etiquetar” a las personas.  Pienso que crear categorías en las cuales ponemos a las personas no nos ayuda a llegar a la unidad verdadera.  Pero como esta reflexión tiene la política en su corazón no puedo evitar el uso de ciertos sustantivos y adjetivos.  Por ello pido mis disculpas al lector.

No soy correísta.  No soy de la oposición tampoco ya que una de las manifestaciones más trágicas de la falta de unidad de los ecuatorianos es que no pueden encontrar un candidato viable y que pueda hacer una oposición efectiva.

Ecuador ha cambiado mucho en la llamada década ganada.  Tenemos excelente infraestructura.  Tenemos mayor acceso a centros educativos que parecen demostrar  calidad.  Tenemos orden.  Podemos ir a realizar trámites públicos sin tener la necesidad de llevar ofrendas de amor a los funcionarios para suplicarles  su atención.  El otro día con mi esposa nos encontrábamos en el mercado y una señora nos contaba con gran emoción como sus hijos que no hubieran tenido acceso a educación superior eran becados.  Debemos ser sensatos y dar gracias.  Claro – es muy fácil empezar a hablar de cuestiones económicas y del uso del presupuesto nacional y de la caída del precio del petróleo y de la nueva matriz productiva y todo eso.  Pero estas cuestiones económicas no me preocupan tanto.  En realidad, cualquier situación mundial que nos ayude a ver que no podemos depender solamente del petróleo es algo útil para nuestro país.  No puedo ver una otra manera de maximizar nuestra percepción de la necesidad de cambiar la matriz productiva.

La razón que me lleva a escribir esto es una de las enseñanzas del carpintero de Nazaret.  Mateo reporta en el capítulo 16 de su evangelio que Jesús preguntó a sus discípulos «Pues ¿qué provecho obtendrá un hombre si gana el mundo entero, pero pierde su alma?»

El mismo licenciado Moreno hizo una pregunta que nos lleva a la misma interrogante en su carta a Alianza PAÍS del 30 de marzo de 2016 desde Ginebra.  «Debemos ser autocríticos y reconocer que en estos años no hemos logrado llevar elementos inspiradores suficientes para cambiar el YO interior de nuestro pueblo […]  Nuestras estrategias de comunicación y de formación política no han sido suficiente para transformar al individuo».

No debemos mentir.  Tenemos dificultades grandes con nuestra identidad.

No somos católicos.  Lo que se llama catolicismo en Ecuador no es nada más que el resultado de muchas mezclas ancestrales y actuales.  Cuando se impusieron estas enseñanzas a nuestros antepasados, ellos buscaron maneras de seguir adorando a sus dioses de antaño delante de los ojos de la malvada inquisición.  No es esto diferente que cuando vinieron los Incas a hablar de la adoración al sol y a su Inca años antes que los conquistadores.  Los artículos 71 al 74 de la Constitución dan derechos a la Pacha Mama, “donde se reproduce y realiza la vida”.  Mientras una generación se afana por ser católica y seguir el camino de El Cisne a Loja trayendo a su objeto de adoración, la otra utiliza el 20 de agosto para otras actividades mientras dejan a los curuchupas y a las abuelitas que vayan a seguir sus tradiciones incluso quizá enviando a los niños con ellos. No podemos ocultar que la vida del catolicismo en Ecuador está luchando contra un viento fuerte.  No somos ateos, ni socialistas laicos.  A pesar que muchos digan lo que digan acerca de la religión popular descrita en el párrafo anterior, no son en realidad ateos.  El ser humano siempre adora a algo y nosotros mismos somos excelentes ídolos.  También ideologías generan los mismos comportamientos que haría la religión.  Nos gusta copiar las ideas de otros, aprendemos de Nietzche, del Che, de Chávez, de Correa.  Pasamos horas siendo esclavos de las máquinas de bolsillo que contribuyen a la difusión de las ideologías de moda.

Nuestra juventud tiene acceso al mundo.  Tiene acceso a cantidades inigualables de conocimiento y perspectivas. ¿Qué provecho obtendremos si ganamos toda la prosperidad posible pero perdemos nuestra alma? ¿Qué Revolución existe si cambia la infrastructura pero no los corazones?

Sin Reforma no hay Revolución.

Los incas no pudieron ganar nuestro corazón.  Los católicos tampoco pudieron ganar nuestro corazón.  Los políticos del pasado no pudieron ganar nuestro corazón.  La Revolución Ciudadana no pudo ganar nuestro corazón.

Y ahora viene el momento de elegir nuevamente.  Observando la situación actual tengo certeza que Lenín Moreno será nuestro presidente.  Y de hecho probablemente consideraré seriamente hacer el viaje a Chicago para votar por él.  Le debo mucha gratitud por su labor y pienso que hará mucho bien por nuestro país.  Pero tal como ha ocurrido con el Mashi, él no es nuestro mesías, nuestro salvador.  Y no podrá cambiar nuestro corazón.

Solamente el evangelio de Jesús – su verdad inigualable y su poder – pueden hacerlo.  ¿No es hora de empezar esta Reforma?  No nos llevamos bien, solamente nos unimos por el fútbol y por un momento, peleamos, nos tenemos envidia, robamos, matamos, nos insultamos, nos aprovechamos de la desgracia ajena, queremos que nuestros opositores reciban lo peor de lo peor, salimos a protestar, nos escondemos de protestar por el miedo.  Tenemos en nuestras almas un agujero muy grande que siglos de opresión ideológica no han podido llenar.  La Pacha Mama no tiene dones divinos para ser donde se reproduce y realiza la vida.  Cuando pelamos la cebolla que es nuestra fe, llegamos siempre a este ídolo ancestral.  Los dejo con las palabras del escritor de la Carta a los Hebreos, capítulo 11: «Pero en realidad, anhelan una patria mejor, es decir, la celestial. Por lo cual, Dios no se avergüenza de ser llamado Dios de ellos, pues les ha preparado una ciudad». No perdamos nuestra alma.  Hay esperanza.  Hay futuro.  Hay una patria mejor.  ¿Avanzamos?

El evangelio ofrece libertad.  Pero no lo conocemos.  Empezaremos allí la próxima vez.

¡Hasta la victoria siempre!

Sex as the Litmus Test For Life

Angela Chininin Buele

How Feeling Good Has Been Confused for the Reason for Living

Sex used to be commonly understood as the marital rite of passage that it is-a thrilling new secret adventure, entwining a husband and a wife into one heart, mind, and body.  It has been increasingly shoved into the limelight, however, and even been marketed as a civilly protected right.  Any­­ economist can tell you that overstock drives prices down, and so it is now that we have lots and lots of cheap sex all around us.  Not only has this overexposure led to heart-wrenching depravity of how, with whom, and how much; but even the dulling of passion strips this glorious intimacy of its due power.

I am often mocked when I highlight the side effects of the Industrial Revolution. The great thing about starting a “what if” conversation is that it should make both parties think more about what is, what could have been , and how they both might merge in the future.  So, I think that the Industrial Revolution set us on a devastating course of producing cheap products (thus losing the capacity and drive to be dedicated craftsmen), overconsuming and wasting these products (as cheap things break, no one is upset when more stylish, cheap things come out to replace them), and diminishing the values of contentment and stewardship.  There you go.  That’s my opinion, and I’m happy to defend or amend it as any pushback would warrant.

The truth is, advancement in technology has been used in many ways to spread sexual “liberation” to all reaches of the globe at the speed of light.  Clearly, two things are worthy of noting here.  First, sexual immorality was already present around the world long before the internet – or even electricity – was invented.  Also, almost all technology can also be used to the glory of God.  But the clamor of convenience can also deafen the ears – and minds – to the things of God.    As masses try to get more out of exchanges that mean less and less, the false gospel of sex salvation has been developed around two central doctrines: Everyone should celebrate what makes you sexually fulfilled, and no one should keep you from seeking sexual fulfillment.  If he were alive today, Karl Marx would likely be forced to call sex a religion for it sure seems to be the opium of the masses.   And no social stigma or “unwanted” babies will be allowed to kill the buzz.

Our evil desires lure us to sin.  We seek that which will enslave us.  But the solution is redeeming sex, not eliminating it, as many a caricature of Christians might like to infer.  It’s not enough to reclaim it as a prize for our own dominion, but we must surrender it to glory of its Designer.

Key Question: Is all of this talk of sexual liberation actually leading you to deep enslavement?

Unshakable Truth: “Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.” Proverbs 26:11

Illicit encounters, images, and conversations, violent attacks and systematic abuse, and the deadening of intellectual and physiological excitement are the vomit one returns to when folly urges he rejection of God’s rightful dominion over the delights of the marriage bed.

The Real Choice:  Are you willing to take a new litmus test and drink the living water to break the cycle of vomit?

Standing in the Diversity Gap: Who Made the List, and Who Got Cut

Angela Chininin Buele

Animals have PETA, trees get hugged, the earth has lawyers, The Sierra Club works to keep U.S. Navy activity from disrupting ocean wildlife, and the USDA has a task force to address air quality. These organizations all work to preserve resources from careless destruction, and this is an honorable aim. What is less than honorable is the redemption attributed to the attainment of their goals. There is no love offered by any of these groups because their hope for legacy and security is centered around a gift that has been exalted to the status of Giver. This exchange is actually worship because the benefit of the defense these groups offer is never a blessing for –but rather a warning against– humans, except, arguably, in the case of the atmosphere.

Those who are wooed by these causes seek to re-enter the Garden without approaching or acknowledging the Gardener. Value of all things has been reassigned, and the periphery, the backdrop, the landscapes have been given center stage. It’s as if the crown were given reign over the kingdom instead of being passed from the head of one ruler to bestow authority upon the next. When you submit to the creation, there can be no demonstration of grace. It is simple and tragic idolatry.

Of course, the human causes can be skewed as well. Popular Coexist bumper stickers cleverly demonstrate the common symbols for different categories of people (Islam, Wicca, male, female, Judaism, Buddhism, Karma, Toaism, and Christianity). The chorus line arrangement is supposed to demonstrate that living side-by-side we should all be able to get along. At least, some of the graphics and memes lend to that intention. Other representations, however, claim that the unity is, in fact, an eternal bond of shared rightness across the board. This might be referred to as Universalism, which essentially tells everyone they are simultaneously doing good and wasting their time.

With all of this protection and preservation, this unity and affirmation being touted, it is truly heartbreaking to see who doesn’t make the “protected status” list.  The unseen. The unseen are denied safe passage and face certain, violent murder under the guise of security and autonomy while the killings are recorded as victories.  Could we be talking about unseen undocumented immigrants, you might ask.  Or perhaps refugees fleeing imminent danger?  How could this be tolerated – even celebrated? Because, just like all successful historical massacres, blame is assigned to evoke justification, and carnage is hidden so the problem appears to be resolved. What is most shocking, however, is that we are actually looking at the unnamed travelers -living, moving targets- in wombs across the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Where is the camaraderie between human and human? How have the inanimate and the four legged outranked people?

All talk of tolerance and coexistence is meaningless without reconciliation and humility.  True coexistence can only occur when real peace is found, when real reconciliation takes place.  The only place you can find that precious resource is at the foot of the cross, where God and man are reconciled, where salvation is possible because God who became a baby who became a man was unrighteously killed by his fellow men and rose again.  He offers salvation to every last one of us humans. He is making all things new even now.  Will you be reconciled?

There is no more beautifully diverse path than the narrow road of Calvary (Galatians 3:28)

Key Question: Do you want your passions (the causes dearest to your heart) to change the world for your good, or do you want the Passion to change you for the world’s good?

Unshakable Truth: “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than that Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen” (Romans 1:22-25).

These words matter because they come from God, and He has true authority over every part of us because He is our Maker.  We have the honor –instead of the obligation– to obey Him because in His love He is a Father and not a cold slave driver. To reject Him in order to throw ourselves down at the feet of creation is grave foolishness.

The Real Choice: Will you prepare to enter into the true Utopia of God’s Kingdom or will you try to establish a throne for yourself in this world before you leave it?

“Love Comes Naturally, Hate Is Learned”

The right, the wrong, and the rhetoric therein

Angela Chininin Buele

In order to make sure we are all on the same page, I would like to include the actual and complete quote by Nelson Mandela below:

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

I believe it is quite unfortunate that his carefully developed statement has become something of a bullet point zinger, but what is more disappointing is that you can actually uncover truth working from the structure of the one liner where none is to be found from the original quote.  What I mean to say is that from “Love is natural; Hate is learned” you can see the perfect gift of Love (life) that God gave man and the hate (sin) with which man repaid him, having been taught by God’s Enemy, Satan.  You might also say that babies first show only delight in the connection they share with other people, but as physical strength and capacity for strategic thought develop, more and more conflict (sin) enters into their relationships.  Up to this point of the common abridged version of the quote, it has merit.

The complete original quote, however, misrepresents both our ultimate character as self-interested beings and the hope for remedy.  Our poisoning has not come from without but from within, and the antidote is not a bypass but complete transplant.  And for that you need a Surgeon.

Having addressed the right and the wrong of this mantra’s application, what of the rhetoric?  That is what is shrouded by the very words “love” and “hate.”  The oversimplification of these terms leaves no shortage of broken hearts in its wake.  Truth be told, love is not about primarily about affirmation, but about delight, protection and edification.  And hate isn’t primarily about disdain, but apathy, autonomy, and neglect.  Does that better paint the broad strokes of beauty and terror?

Key Question: Do you more often use the self-satisfying meaning or the soul-satisfying meaning of the terms “love” and “hate”?

Unshakable Truth: “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge; but whoever hates reproof is stupid.” Proverbs 12:1

One who has caused an accident that leaves them trapped in a burning vehicle might not appreciate the experience of having their car ripped apart by the Jaws of Life, but the gratitude for another’s sacrifice to perform the rescue is not soon forgotten.  Those working to rescue must not be slandered as hateful for destroying the victim’s vehicle.  They should instead be seen as loving for their compassion for the person’s very life.

The Real Choice: Will we be moved to give full and accurate weight to the terms “love” and “hate,” or will we use them as tag lines for our own purposes?