Only fulfilling its obligation

The government’s decision to issue show cause letter to the Catholic weekly Herald is regrettable. Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar’s directive to the tabloid to stick strictly to purely religious issues is unfair. His contention that religion is all about rituals and the adherence by its followers is a myopic view of tenets of every major religion in the world. Spirituality is inter-twined closely with social charity and they cannot be divorced from each other.

Rituals may be an important part of a religion but rituals alone without a commitment for the well being of mankind would give little credence to a particular faith. The basic and fundamental teaching of all religions is the promotion of love for fellow men, regardless of the race, creed, social and political status. Fighting for justice and a concern for the underprivileged is a fulfillment of this love for mankind. It is of utmost importance for the followers of a particular faith to adhere to this fundamental rule besides the rituals of their particular religion.

Politics deals with fairness, justice and the rule of law. If these are tampered, especially by those in power, for any reason, then it is the duty of every citizen, regardless of his faith, to speak up against such injustices, otherwise one would be failing in his duty to the nation. It should be the duty of the various religions to emphasize to their followers this important duty to the nation, which is also a religious duty. While politicization of religion is morally wrong, nevertheless religion itself has a duty to infuse the much needed morality into politics.

Herald should not be just an instrument to provide information on religious issues only as proposed by Syed Hamid but be a means to highlight the injustices in society as well as obtaining feedback from the people on their various needs from time to time. Being a Christian publication Herald, is only fulfilling its responsibility to its congregation and has always acted within the laws of the country.

Christianity, like all other faiths, besides emphasizing on spirituality also places great importance on social obligations to the people and it would be unfair to restrict Herald’s coverage to purely religious rituals. It would only be fair and just that the government withdraw its show cause letters and allow Herald to continue with its noble tasks of nation building in our multi-racial and multi-religious country.

At the same time just as Herald should be allowed to voice its opinion on the various issues that are seen as unjust, it should also in turn be receptive to constructive criticisms from its own members from within and without. Unless it can accept such critical comments with magnanimity it does not have the audacity to criticize the government for its failures.

Jesus himself was a great defender of justice especially justice for the poor and underprivileged. He fought the perpetrators of this injustice by his own peculiar way by his unjust death on the cross for what he called unselfish love. As his followers we too are asked to fight for justice wherever it is breached.

As Catholics let us take the lead,let us become the shining examples for others, by living our lives in accordance with the teachings of Christ. Let justice, love and goodwill be the guiding principles in our dealings with fellow men. Let us ourselves be more tolerant to dissenting views from our own members and especially from those of other faiths. The only way we can promote inter-ethnic harmony in a country like ours, is to have an extra-ordinary love for those different from us. We cannot love God if we do not love our neighbor, especially our ‘enemies’.

Dr.Chris Anthony

]]> http://drchris.stblogs.com/2008/08/21/no-reason-to-penalize-herald/feed/ 0 http://drchris.stblogs.com/2007/04/19/forget-the-badremember-the-good-of-others/ http://drchris.stblogs.com/2007/04/19/forget-the-badremember-the-good-of-others/#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2007 03:14:07 +0000 drchris http://drchris.stblogs.com/2007/04/19/forget-the-badremember-the-good-of-others/

Forget the bad,remember the good of others

To forgive may be divine but to forget is human

Life these days is so competitive that it has become so stressful that many of us have lost the peace and tranquility of the innocent and care free childhood days. Most of the time the unhappiness in our inner self is due to our own making – taking to heart the bad others do to us and forgetting the good they have done. If we can reverse this situation then our lives may be more peaceful, contended and happier. The following story illustrates this fact very nicely. 

There were 2 good friends who set out on a journey across a desert to another town. As they were walking on the desert sands it was hot and they were getting tired and exhausted. There were some disagreements between them on a certain issue. In the spurt of anger one of them slapped the other for passing a sensitive remark. 

The man who received the strike took it calmly but he wanted to record his displeasure at what his friend has done to him. As they were all alone in the middle of the desert, there was nobody for him to narrate his displeasure of what his friend had done to him. All he could do was squat down and write on the sand the words, “My best friend slapped me today”.

They continued their journey not talking much to each other until they reached an oasis. There was a stream and they decided to take a bath and freshen up before proceeding with their journey. While they were in the stream a swift current swept the man who was hit before into the depths of the river and as the man could not swim he shouted for help. There was no one else in the vicinity except his friend who had earlier slapped him. His friend quickly without hesitation dived in and saved him. 

Soon when they had finished washing up they wanted to continue their journey. The man who almost drowned wanted to record the latest incident as well. He saw a large rock standing near by and he carved the following words on it, “My best friend saved my life today”.

They then continued their journey across the desert and reached their destination. After completing their business there they returned home along the same path a few days later. At the same oasis they noticed the words on the rock written earlier very clearly, “My best friend saved my life today”. On reaching the place where the man was slapped they could not see the words written on the sand, “My best friend slapped me today”. The winds had blown and erased those words away. 

The friend who slapped asked the other for the reason for writing the way he did. To that his friend answered, “the bad you did to me I wrote on sand which was blown away but the good you did I wrote on rock and that it will remain forever. You are my friend, I will keep to heart the good you do to me not the bad”.

This is what we should do in our own lives – forget the bad others do to us but remember forever the good they do. If we can do that life will be more peaceful and happy.

Let’s reflect on our lives to see whether we harbor any ill feelings against anyone. If   we do,we must act to heal those wounds in our hearts. Jesus forgave those who even tortured and crucified him. We may not reach up that level of magnanimousness in our hearts but, at least for a start, we can forget the bad others do to us. 

Dr.Chris Anthony