The
Religion and Politics
by Abraham Paul
The happening across the world clearly indicate that Religion controlling Political power is more harmful and dangerous than Politics interfering in religion. The hyper active wings of dominant religions with the patronage of political hierarchies indulging in anti-secular, anti-democratic and anti-minority activities have become a common scene. The
apprehension of hard core religious activists about crossing over of their lesser beings to other religions is quite understandable, but resorting violent reactions to resist this is always reproachable. For the upper class, money wise and religious class wise, there is always the hidden agenda to keep the low downs oppressed and dependant, the culmination of it is seen where the majority communities influence the majority class led governments to
politically rule the people according to their own agenda of fanatic religious approach, male Chauvinism and so on.
However, some of the current clash in some part of the country between the Leftist political parties and the Religions threatening the secular fabric is hard to comprehend. What dared the Communists now to openly come out against Christian Church leadership in some part of the country? It may be seen as weird that a belief that has deep roots here for almost 2000 years is now being challenged by an ideology facing death in it’s infancy across the world. Or is it just the clash of beliefs of the “Creation Theories” about origin of this planet and the mankind; a God’s special creation or a natural Evolution? Or is there a sudden reckoning by a section of the society, that Theism as followed by the present day Christians is repressive and anti people? Or is there something else?
Is Theism in all its forms is slowly approaching its death?
The questions arise are; if Theism as approached by humans is dying then, can Atheism or Deism be alternatives? What does God look like beyond a dying Theism? Does such a God matter? By rejecting Theism, does one necessarily become an atheist? Is stepping beyond Theism necessary to follow Secularism? To propose that one step beyond theism is not to join the secular sojourn in a meaningless Deism.
Can Theists and Atheists approach and coexist hand in hand in Secularism? It has to be, according to saying of Jesus “Give to Caesar what Caesar’s is and to God what is God’s”. This proclamation of Jesus clearly indicates that His manifesto is a “Way of Life” that could be practiced without discretion of religion, cast or creed. Theism when misconceived in the hands of fanatics is worse than Fascism. Where Theism and Atheism refuse to coexist harmoniously under Secularism or under Autocracy, it leads to anarchy.
Christianity is a way of life.
Unlike other religions, Christianity in its real sense is more a “Way of life” than a “Religion”. It is the Religion of Christ’s Ways”. Sadly, the literal faith stories across the generations simply do not communicate meaningfully the pathway shown by Jesus that represents the “Essence of Christianity” and the “Essence of God” through it. It is therefore, the “Christianity” being misunderstood, by many including its current followers.
Experience God’s effects, not God’s being. One never can see God as a disincarnate or separate Self. The famous writer Mathew Fox had written an analogy of “Essence of God” with the ground water flows beneath the surface of earth. The springs, rivers, lakes, wells and oases no matter how differently it tastes from one location to another, and no matter how the water is used, it still comes from the same source and it is ultimately of the same radical oneness. One shall visualize and experience God’s effects, not God’s being.
God being life and love transcends all boundaries.
If God is not a Being but the ground of All Being, the Source of Life and the Source of Love, can any amount of voluminous scriptures any longer claim that in its pages the fullness of God has been captured? Will it not be anything but idolatrous and foolhardy if any one at any time claims to have done this? The fact is that human beings try to approach God only with human analogy, nothing more. Even they had created Gods in their own image and of many other different shapes. One cannot begin at a point where he is not; one must begin where he is. Can God be contained in any religious system, or can any people continue to live as if God were the tribal deity of their particular nation or group? See how political divisions in different parts of the country found expressions by religions to historically make much of these divisions that are part of their tribal mentality. Are many of this religious propaganda we see around now bordering fanatic ideologies, sustainable?
God is real. Other than hard core atheists, none would doubt that. The fact is that human words, human formulas, and human religious systems never could fully capture that reality and meaningfully pass it down through the generations. Mostly, this is the basis of the ill feelings about present day religious practices. Being it so, how can the religions stand up and fight those who oppose Theism?
The happening of all Incarnations, Prophets and Saints are the effects of God. Jesus Christ is altogether the best phenomenon ever happened in this world. There are contradicting views on the mode of his coming to being, his Life, Death, Resurrection, Ascension and so on. Nevertheless, the happenings of Christ invoked revolution in the history of mankind for benefit of the needy, both materially and spiritually. Christ has made everyone understand the true meaning of Life, Death and Life after Death, how these are inter related and its linkage with God.
Christ was a revolutionary of a different kind; Christ was not for any change of the Covenants of God and the rules set by God through Moses and many others. He never disregarded or contested anything in the scriptures. Christ was only against the miss-interpretations of the scriptures and prophesies by self serving priestly and elite classes of that time. He fought against them who willfully misguided the lay men and down trodden with their twisted interpretations of God’s covenants, rules and prophesies written in scriptures.
Christ explained to everyone the real substance of the scriptures and how these are relevant in their life and the states after that. Explaining the implications with parables, Christ made it simpler and clearer for the common man to understand, believe and follow. He strived to lighten the heavy burdens, both physical and spiritual, thrust on people by false interpretations, willful or otherwise, of the old scriptures.
The teaching of Jesus is timeless. The most wonderful aspect of Christ’s teaching is that it is continuous and permanent. It was relevant 2000 year ago, it is valid now and it will be even more relevant in the future to come because, with the advance of mankind, Christ’s way of thinking become more relevant in real sense of things that matters in life. Therefore, scriptures are to be learned not only through its literal words but also by its effects and implications as shown to mankind by Jesus Christ, Prophets, Saints, Sages and the Mahatmas across the world.
Where there is Love there is Forgiveness, Compassion and Kindness. Christ has summed up the whole Law in one commandment telling us in very simple terms: Love each other, have compassion on the needy. It is not for them. It is for us, for knowing God, to make ourselves known to Him, to make our life useful and meaningful according to God’s wish and do His likings here in our earthly life, to pave our way for eternal life. God’s spirit in us produce forgiveness, patience, kindness, faithfulness, humility, self control; giving us joy, peace and tranquility and ability to love each other. When we lead our life with compassion, kindness and care the needy and share with them, we will be filled with self contention giving joy and happiness to our spirit. If we do not, with all the vanities we have, there will be only despair, sadness and emptiness about the future.
The Religion of Jesus is Love
The religion of Jesus is Love, the embodiment of the Essence of God. A religion of Love without boundaries and barriers, Love without divisions, Love without discretion of cast, creed, rich or poor, Love without animosity and an ultimate state Love that make one to love the foes more. Jesus crossed every boundary of tribe, prejudice, gender, and religion and he wanted these to be practiced by his disciples.
A true Christian is the one and only the one who has faith in teachings of Christ, and follows the path shown by Him, whichever is his worldly religion. Christ has made everyone to understand the “Essence God” and the effects of God and the relationship between man and God and the true meaning of “Essence of Life”, Death and Life after Death. Christ has made things simple, easy and practical for us.
The “Religion of Jesus Christ” vis-à-vis the “Church”.
It cannot be believed that either skin pigmentation or ethnical background and regional disparities constitutes a matter of superiority or inferiority, it is regarded that any traditional or social system or any religious system that operates on that assumption is unworthy of communal life and will not fit into the agenda of the religion of Jesus.
Jesus knew nothing of England, Germany, Scandinavia, Scotland, Italy, Ireland and Southern Europe. Jesus never wanted his followers to have different faiths such as Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Pentecost and many others and its sects and sub-sects we see now in different parts of the world.
It was never His intention to found and build up any institutional set up for specific groups, sects or tribes and their particular religious institution or their nation. On the contrary, Jesus of Nazareth has ventured to remove the divisions between creeds and tribes.
Moreover, none would believe that Jesus wanted that the Hierarchies installed by vested groups within the religion to somehow presided over and exercise control over the body of the religion, constituted and contained by believers in religion. Such deeds represent only as attempts on the part of one group or the other to accrue power for themselves and their particular institution.
To suggest that the institutionalized bodies and the hierarchical order only are the custodians of religious faith is strange concept which serves primarily to build institutional power. It is one’s right and responsibility to know the Religion of Jesus to identify the faith tradition that Jesus wanted one to embrace and follow.
Disorientation of the belief
The basis of Christianity or any Religion for that matter, cannot preach or practice the doctrine “I am OK, you are not OK” which carry the implication that you will not be Ok until you become like me. Unfortunately such has become the posture of many religious factions for decades now. It is quite obviously the stance of the superior to the inferior. It is judgmental, rejecting, negative and hostile. Surely Love, the embodiment of the “Essence of God” cannot be professed amid judgment and hostility. It is because of the above reasons; some of the Religious leadership, had been perceived as disoriented from the thought processes of main stream humanity with their irrelevant religious sideshows of promoting factional thinking and therefore are in drastic need to be reformed.
Politics vis-à-vis Religion: The way the factional ideology being formulated and promoted by some political leadership, irrespective of who started what and when, is equally repressive and no longer has credibility and is fast approaching flash point which can be catastrophic in the country and the entire secular fabric of the Nation.
The Communists: The communists are in national limelight with their flip flop strategies in keeping the UPA led government afloat. However, they failed to reap benefits from that pedestal, because of the latent inertia in Indian Communist leaderships in amending their outlook. “Revolution”, the essence of Communism, is now required here in the Indian Communists itself. It is high time they shed their obsolete and antiquated ideology inciting class splits between the so called “Poor” vs. “Rich” and learn from what is happening elsewhere in the world. This philosophy has stopped working where it originated and is no more workable here as “Poor” and “Rich” are merely transient states and a political party cannot sustain on something transient. Nevertheless, the righteous always like leftist thinking as far as “LEFT” mean to stand for the oppressed and downtrodden. This is what all those Prophets and Sages professed and this is exactly the basis of Christianity as envisaged by Jesus. While, the Communists woe the poor by promising physical eradication of the rich, Jesus won over the rich spiritually bringing them around to be kind and caring the poor.
To summarize; The need of the day for all real believers, who embrace, adore and adhere to the traditional faith orders and beliefs, irrespective of the religion, faction or sect they happened to be in now is to escape the harmful influence of vested interests of disparate groups, ignore the legacy of confrontation, and explore the path of re-conciliation. United they shall seek in a similar manner in the light of forgiveness and Love, and move on to share the “Essence of Religion” and the “Essence of God” through it, harmoniously amongst themselves and others.
When the formations of humanity stand united and tread in the pathway shown by the Religious faith orders, with staunch desire and intention to meaningfully become part of this secular nation, the Religious hierarchies as well as the political leaders, will inevitably have no choice other than to fall in line.
