Brother Eli Soriano: A Preface

Bro. Eli Soriano preaches to thousands seeking answers
to their questions of faith and religion. He has been
exposing the Bible for more than three decades now.

Eliseo Soriano, more popularly known as Bro. Eli Soriano, is the host of the highly-acclaimed religious program ‘The Old Path’ (Ang Dating Daan in Filipino). He is undoubtedly one of the most popular religious preachers today. His share in the peak of renown is like any from among respectable persons who gained fame by honest means. But for someone like Bro.Eli (the preacher’s preferred moniker and television tag) who describes himself as a quiet and reserved man most of the time, anyone could only wonder how he managed to capture public interest.  It is unlikely to say that shyness had brought him to prominence. Or maybe it is life’s fortunate circumstances that built the status he has achieved – a status that, in this writer’s opinion, is unique to him.
        

  It should not be forgotten too, that there are those who gain a different kind of reputation, one that comes through, for lack of a better word, disgrace. Many of them have become the objects of harsh criticism, and these have been voiced out through various media. In whatever field where dishonor builds the story, there is a sure face to a name that will be in the headlines.Religion is no exemption. There was no period in history that religion did not escape open scrutiny, more so in this generation. In the same manner, Bro. Eli is no exemption. Being both a public and a religious figure, he had become vulnerable to harassment both in his native Philippines and overseas. His supporters and critics both describe him as a bold defender of the Bible. His debates are the best means to see those. When Bro. Eli begins to argue, he becomes unstoppable. Those who have seen him could only feel sorry for the losing person for not doing his homework, or going to the battlefield unarmed, or dealing with someone not his own size.

Bro. Eli mainly uses television to assess preachers and expose what he believes as unorthodox. Perhaps if such preachers and groups dealt with those from a professional standpoint, they would have thanked Bro. Eli for taking time to examine their teachings. But they considered it meddling and trespassing of their religious rights, and thought of Bro. Eli as an invasive preacher – another way of saying that he should mind his own business.

It is not surprising therefore if these reasons have sparked all the resentment that many religious preachers have for Bro. Eli Soriano. Losing a debate in front of many people, or just getting named on television for owning to nonconformist teachings is indeed humiliating. Public disgrace hurts. So it is not surprising if the embarrassment escalates to retaliation – worse, vengeance. The case of Bro. Eli is like a character in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story - of a man named Fortunato becoming a victim of Montressor’s revenge, only because the latter cannot accept that Fortunato is better than him when it comes to connoisseurship of wine. The way Bro. Eli is criticized is verbal butchery. They have repaid his correction with repugnant ones. In time, the preacher’s name became synonymous to scandal, fraud, occultism, and other dreadful tags that could have only come from those who were hit by his speeches.

Bro.Eli thus became the subject of an overnight gossip. What started out as plain rumors have evolved to accusations that aimed to silence Bro. Eli Soriano at all cost. Often it is said that gossip is baseless. But there are those who claim that gossip is like smoke – it won’t appear unless there is fire. It would not have sprung out of itself, unless there is a source behind it. But then, the truth remains that gossip is still gossip.
          

  The tip of all the tiffs against Bro. Eli Soriano will remain uncertain, unless the details that will convey the truth are spread out. To find out the truth in all these, such issues must be screened objectively as possible, in order to render a judgment worth of all the contemplation of facts that will end all these debates, and needless and often pointless ridicule of a man’s dignity.
        

  Hence this blog by Bro Eli Soriano himself.