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Religion blogging may not be the most popular among the many different forms of blog. Technology blog is and currently the king of the slate. And a recent check into the Top 100 bloggers of the blogging service, Wordpress, would show that there are only few religion-centered blogs which entered the honor roll.
Eli Soriano is one among the thin number of bloggers who write about religion to reach out to people. He may be the only one whose sole purpose is to provide the best resource for people in search for Truth. He is the Presiding Minister of the Members Church of God International.
Just few months after writing his first blog at Wordpress, Soriano is fast earning wide attention from bloggers themselves and the people online who admired his sensible discourses and answers to questions, especially regarding matters of faith, religion and spirituality.
His blog almost always come among the most visited and popular blog of the day, particularly last August 18, together with other more popular and older blogs such as CNN Political Ticker, Dan Patrick Online blog, and the Nine Inch Nail blog. His blog recently caught many people's attention when Soriano replied to Guardian Unlimited resident blogger Sam Jordison, who bashed Jesus Christ in the Bible.
And now this put to spotlight Soriano around the online community of the Webby Award winning Guardian.co.uk and to the rest of the world. The latest is that Soriano and Jordison would extend their word tussle beyond the online medium through a one-on-one debate that is set to be arranged via a live streaming video conferencing.
Jordison, in his profile at the BBC's Collective, describes himself as writer of crap and cults. Now 30 years old, his claim to fame is the book he wrote in 2005 titled "The Joy of Sects – A-Z of cults, cranks and religious extremists." Aside from blogging for the Guardian, he also writes for the U.K.-based channel4.com/film.
The yet-to-be-scheduled debate followed in the wake of a recent post by Soriano to his blog answering one visitor's request for his comment to the U.K. author's bashing in its August 13 blog of the Bible as a "readable mess," saying the Scriptures is filled with tons of literary faux pas and that Jesus Christ has egoistic delights.
The following day, Soriano replied with a post titled "The Literary Quality and Wisdom of God's Word in the Bible that 'Sam' Beast Will Never Appreciate." And in less than an hour, the post has drawn thousands of people to read and view the reply of the phenomenal preacher.
Jordison meanwhile proclaimed in his personal blog that his "The Bible's literary sins" blog posted at the Guardian sparked interest among people in the Philippines. Some people who commented on his blog challenged him for a one-on-one debate with Soriano. He replied and showed interest.
When Soriano's second-part-reply to Jordison's hate blog was plastered on esoriano.wordpress.com, the comment box would almost retire as the comments kept flowing in. And on August 20, Jordison posted a comment there, calling and agreeing to a debate match only when the logistics would allow.
Soriano is always willing and approving of such call. He already expressed willingness to take part in this debate, he announced before the congregation during an August 18 Thanksgiving ceremony. He said that he will wait for further notice such as the date of the much-awaited debate.
Soriano's reply is powerful enough that it already completed the day of commentators and avid online visitors. Others, including members of the group shepherded by Soriano, are already rejoicing and cheering this early. To some, the reaction of these people has been a constant source of inquiry and surprise why there would be rejoicing and cheering when the planned debate is yet to be fulfilled.
In the congregation and the public, it is known that Soriano is a fiery and undisputed debater at heart. Several debates that came pass Soriano's hands and the eyes of many people who witnessed his debate showdown always proved him the victor.
No one can beat him that is why members of Church of God International are confident Soriano can win this debate when it happens, says some observers. "Sometimes, we no longer watch his debates; we already know it will be Bro. Eli who will emerge as sure, unanimous winner," quipped Renji Caranijuan, a member of the religious group Ang Dating Daan.
The Church of God is also well-known in the Philippines as the "Ang Dating Daan" group, which is in fact the title of his popular and longest-running religious television program in this Southeast Asian nation. In English Ang Dating Daan is translated The Old Path, derived from Jeremiah 6:16.
He is also dubbed by many as "Bible scholar," the Truthcaster, and known to be "the only sensible preacher of our time." Last 2006, his program was lauded and honored in the United States by a Filipino-American community as the "Most Informative Religious Program of the Year."
And of course, there are also people who doubt Soriano's strength in defending the faith he believes. And these people oftentimes paint him to be a loud, boastful heckler. But they missed the point: Soriano can debate anyone to defend what he is commissioned by the King to protect: the Truth. And if one is keen observer, he will think Soriano's supply of biblical wisdom is not of this world, but they came from the true and Almighty God.
Debates and argumentations are really fiery, loud and explosive. Debate in religious arena is meant to show and prove who is carrying the Truth. It should naturally occur to any principled debater that he defend what he believes is right, lawful. Debate would put to test a truthful person, especially a preacher of God.
Early men of God also defended the faith and Truth they received and accepted through public debate. Stephen was stoned to death when he infuriated and got the ire of hypocrites and corrupt preachers at that time. He was killed because he tells and defends the Truth. He cannot be timid when defending the Truth or he will be charged without faith to the powerful grace of God. The spirit of God is manifested in Stephen, the same with Soriano.
In the Church website, it described Soriano as someone personally shy and meek, who can easily transform into a wide-eyed, fiery and fearless person when he is on stage to proclaim and defend the truth from those who destroy it. If the audience and the moderators who have attended and moderated debates of Soriano are to be asked, Soriano is unbeatable, his prowess outstanding. It will be too mild to say that in the Philippines, he is the Father of Religious Debates.
In the early 60s when Soriano was in Manila under the apprenticeship of the then Presiding Minister Nicolas Perez, he would go to Plaza Miranda to listen to the many young and old men who commune for a nightly debate there. He would also receive debate challenges and defend the faith he accepted. Soon, the debates in that area were gone, and old hands would say that some already joined the Church of God he presided. Nights at Plaza Miranda are now silent.
Could this debate with the Londoner be the start of something big for Eli Soriano? In some respect, yes and on the other, no, because this isn't the first time he would be doing this in the worldwide arena of global debates. With the aide of technology, the debate can happen. As for Soriano, there is no turning back.
Now, Soriano's stage is the online web.
