Olivia: Hello everyone, welcome to tonight’s Mull Fort Show, I’m Olivia Nabad. Tonight, we have a special guest who excels in independent thinking, if I may say so, Ms. Alexandra Enraizada, also known as Xander. Welcome to the show, Xander.
Xander: Thank you Olivia.
Olivia: Xander; such a fascinating nickname! How did it come about?
Xander [smiling]: It started in primary school. We had a teacher who had a habit of abbreviating everyone’s name, even the short ones. She called me Xander, and it just stuck.
Olivia: Do you like it, or it’s just a part of you that you can’t really get rid of?
Xander: I love it. It’s not just a name to me. No matter how old I get, it keeps a strong connection in me – to the child I was and the person I’ve grown into.
Olivia: That’s good. Now, Xander, you’ve become famous for your reviews and sharp critique that seem to resonate with so many people. Some describe you as bold and incredibly smart. How do you take all that?
Xander [laughing softly]: Thank you! But honestly, I don’t think I have any more knowledge or ability than anyone else. I think, people just resonate with my views because I say what many already think. Maybe I just express them more openly.
Olivia: And have you always been this expressive, or was it something you had to learn or a changing moment in your life?
Xander [pause thoughtfully]: No. I wasn’t always like this. When I was younger, I kept my thoughts to myself. If something was bothering me, I’d walk away instead of speaking up. Over time, I realized that only the people who truly cared about me would notice changes in my mood, and would approach me to ask if something was wrong. But they were few, just my parents and my sister. I didn’t hold onto friendships for long because I never gave second chances. If someone hurt me, I’d cut them off rather than talk about what was wrong, not realizing that I’ve been forgiven many times.
Eventually, that changed when I started reading. One book in particular — ‘Powers of Horror’ by Julia Kristeva — changed my life. She’s an intellectual feminist who influenced my decision to speak out.
Olivia: And how has this decision to speak out impacted your life?
Xander: Oh! It’s the reason I’m here today, I mean, I’ve never sought fame, but I’ve always wanted to shift people’s perspectives on important issues. If there’s one thing I condemn, second to injustice, it’s a lack of critical thinking. Too often people mistake illusion for knowledge.
Olivia: Right! Today, I’d like to hear more about your recent review of the current churches. It got people talking.
Xander: Yes. But first, hear me out; the church has done tremendous work in terms of bringing people together, nurturing discipline, and creating a sense of belonging, however, I’m not sure yet if religion was born out of well-intended ideas or a pathway for a group of people to gain power and enrich themselves. That’s why I am against the act of constitutionalizing God as we often see and even more so merchandizing His word.
Look, religion, at its core, is supposed to uplift the unity and potential of human beings to shine forth across the world but I believe, when corrupted, it can be just as dangerous as any political regime. It’s used to keep the ordinary people in ignorance. People need to understand the foundation of the institutions in which they place their faith.
I’m challenging the immense power these leaders hold over the people, which is used in self-serving. You’ll see religions blinding people with infiltrated faith and divisiveness, because with time religion has been used as a tool for political benefits and fraudulent practices, and overtime, I’ve seen people put all their hope in religious figures, only to be manipulated.
Olivia: Have you ever encountered any moment of self-serving of religious leaders?
Xander: Not long ago, a dear friend of mine was struggling to get pregnant and had tried medical treatments with no success. Then, a lady advised her to go to Uganda, that there was a pastor who prayed for women with such needs and that the higher the price you’d pay as an “offering”, the quicker you’d get the answer. She was in despair, but fortunately still had a working conscience to walk away from the offer. The idea of commodifying a blessing went against everything she believed. She was hurt, and I was hurt too. God provides for us freely, why should she have to pay for a miracle?
Olivia: Oh! Do you believe her faith was being exploited?
Xander: Very much so. And while not every religious figure is guilty of this, there’s something deeply unsettling about the authority these church leaders have. Is it God-given or self-indulged?
In Africa, for instance, missionaries, based on their model of itinerant preaching, encouraged people to accept their “earthly” poverty for the promise of heavenly riches. To this date, that system is still working and they own most of the world’s large tracts of land. They have considerable power and wealth, yet they continue to tell the poor to embrace suffering as a path to heaven. It’s an ancient system of control, continually oiled and kept running. It’s hypocrisy.
Olivia: You’re really challenging long-held beliefs here.
Xander: Do you read the Bible? Jesus himself told his disciples in Matthew 16: 5-12 to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. He knew that their words didn’t match with their intentions or actions. And now the current church has inherited that Pharisaic approach, it preaches humility and poverty, but behind closed doors, it amasses wealth and influence. The clergy spend years of celibacy studying how to be faithful to the system and uphold it.
Olivia: Xander, I’m afraid you are not being specific right here, are you condemning a certain religion or you’ve come for them all? Do you even go to church?
Xander: “Not a single one excluded. And yes, I attend church occasionally, but it’s no longer a weekly practice that I follow. I have a personal story about that.
Olivia: Let’s take a commercial break then we’ll be back with your story, alright?
Olivia: We are back, our guest today is Alexandra Enraizada; Xander you were about to tell us a personal story,
Xander: Yeah. I grew up in a prayerful family, around my mum and grandmother, in my teenage years, I wanted to become a nun. I approached one congregation and requested to join the community however, they refused because I’m a child that was born out of wedlock – illegitimate, according to Pope Innocent III in the 12th century but later, dismissed that condition. However, with our culture mostly influenced with this ancient Catholic beliefs, the nun that received me was saying hurtful words to me, in other words like how dare me. Do I blame the church for such reactions? Maybe I shouldn’t but it gives itself the ability to condemn people for an undetermined period. My parents will never get married, is it my fault?
Then in 2020, during lockdown, you remember we weren’t allowed to go anywhere, including church. It was my first time to miss church for two weeks consecutive. And I was uncomfortable with that, I would do some little prayers by my own and trying to figure out how to cope with the pandemic, right. Nobody knew what to do or even have assurance of how it’s gonna be in the end. Then, I’d watch news, listen to the radio, and read. I did a lot of reading and I realized how little I knew about God, how I’d need somebody to be in between always intervening in my relationship with God, and it wasn’t just me. My faith was somewhat inexistant; it was founded on the God that only lives in the building. After a while some jobs started resuming work; religious leaders called on the president to ask him personally to let churches resume their activities, I mean… think through.
Olivia: One could wonder, what if church goers present these challenges to faith leaders, wouldn’t it change a thing?
Xander: Well, that’s a good point. Let me speak for myself, I’m a catholic and there’re a lot that I don’t understand like the sacrament of confirmation, or agree with such as discrimination, and some other unfounded fundamentals. I once questioned the confirmation sacrement, which is given to somebody who has studied and passed the exam according to the Canon Law and if necessary look into the pastoral exceptions. And this person is expected to confidently become the minister of the word of Christ. I have been confirmed and I have challenged this sacrement to priests but they say it comes from Vatican and we can’t modify it. To me, this Confirmation Sacrement comes with huge responsibility that should be earned through fully understanding the word of God and one’s Faith in one holy church.
Faith is born of hearing the word of Christ, which is done so little in my church. It’s not something inherited or casually passed on, and it’s certainly not something conferred by tradition or simply placed on one’s forehead, as Romans 10:13-17 reminds us. But how can anyone truly be expected to carry out such a profound mission without first having the connection with the source of faith?
Religion, when guided by genuine piety and love for God, has the power to be a transformative force. But as history has shown, when it degenerates into superstition or fanaticism, it becomes one of the most dangerous tools for shaping the course of human evolution.
Olivia: Right! With your experience and other similar stories as yours, why don’t church goers question all these and how does the church keep getting followers?
Statistics shows otherwise, numbers of church followers are decreasing, and they are concerned. And they did something brilliant, which is penance. In the beginning, there was medieval penance that upgraded into auricular confession by Pope Innocent III. He ordained all christians to make their confession once a year. The purpose of this innovation was, in his view, to enable the church to control ordinary people, therefore, a blurred line between spiritual repentance and psychological control was set.
Consequently, it was introduced in Africa. In this way, the Church came to understand the minds of the people – their weaknesses, their guilt. And by offering indulgences, they held an unspoken power over the masses.
Olivia: You’ve given us so much to think about, Xander. How can people push for change within these powerful institutions?
Xander: It starts with education and critical thinking. People need to question what they’re taught, to seek wisdom, and to not settle for easy answers. Theologians, like everyone else, are fallible. As Theodore Parker puts well: Faith should come from a place of genuine understanding, not blind obedience.
Olivia: Thank you for such a profound conversation, Xander. Your insights have truly enriched today’s show.
Xander: Thank you, Olivia. It’s been a pleasure. May God bless us!
