Thinking Through Religions 4 - Essay Example

? Thinking Through Religions Thinking Through Religions Question Thomas Merton was suddenly astounded by the fact that the concept of separate existence was entirely an illusion. This was occasioned by the feeling of love and a strong sense of connection with total strangers (Ashcroft, 2000). The idea that people can have separate lives can therefore be termed to as an illusion. This is because self isolation and being separate can lead to a mental state of renunciation. There is a perception that when men make vows, they tend to become spiritual men who state separate from the physical world (Merton, 1966). In a sense, this theory suggests that it is possible to subscribe to a personal ideology to the exclusion of the mainstream society (Braght & Sohm, 1987). The illusion theory assumes that men become separate by taking vows that cause them to belong to an interior life. The new reality suggests that while the interior world may be real, it should not lead to denial of physical world which is dominated by the secular (Merton & Bochen, 2000). The reality of the God does not denounce the existence of hatred and corruption in a physical world that has evolved through revolution (Ferch, 2012). The reality of the interior world and the secular world in which we live is brought about by the level of awareness. The new reality is that there are no strangers (Ward, 8). The level of understanding of how we appear in God’s eyes can alter the values of collective existence (Broom, 2003). A telling example would be destroying weapons after realizing the need for friendship and company. As members of the human race, God has designed us to be naturally interdependent. Question 2 Father Maximilian was arrested for aiding Jews and Polish underground. He with four others was deported to Auschwitz labor and death camp. According to the Camp Commandant, Fritsch, Roman Catholics had only one month to live while Jews were entitled to only two weeks. They would then be killed through a crematorium. He was tattooed with 16670 as his number and began hard labor. However, when a prisoner escaped five months later, officers from Kolbe’s bunker were paraded, ready to be taken to death chamber. Ten men were picked at random. One was a sergeant, Francis Gajowniczek. Father Kolbe offered to die of his behalf after listening to his desperate cry. In 1982, during a rescue operation, Lenny Skutnit dived into the icy waters to save a lady. Priscilla Tirado was too exhausted to hold the rope dropped from a helicopter as dozens of people watched, emergency service personnel included. The 30 feet swimming to the river show saved her life. Both men indicated their willingness to offer their lives on behalf of other people with actions as the evidence (Braght & Sohm, 1987). While one incident involved drowning, the other involved prison execution. Father Kolbe offered to offer his life for a person who could not reciprocate. These actions reveal that human nature can be moved to act on behalf of others without having a prior knowledge of their existence. The actions also reveal that human beings are naturally in need of each other. Human beings can act heroically on behalf of those in desperate circumstances or dire need of rescue. Question 3 Charles Roberts, 32 year old milk truck drivers killed ten girls before committing suicide. This occurred in west Nickel Mines School in Pennsylvania. The members of the community went through extreme moments of grief and mourning (Kraybill, 2007). However, hours after the shooting, an Amish neighbor had comforted Roberts’s family. The Amish community donated money to the widow and attended the burial ceremony of the killer. They showed love to Roberts’s family hours just a day after some of them had buried their own daughters. The members of the Amish committed offered unconditional forgiveness even when it was extremely difficult. The national society might have mistaken their kind acts to mean they were less affected. Many affected families sought professional help and mental therapy to overcome sorrow and grief (Kraybill, 2007). The community had a trust in God that he would help them overcome the challenges especially when they forgive. They believed that genuine forgiveness, physically attending the burial of the killer and offering help to the widow would usher them to a new life they badly needed (Kraybill, 2007). The documentary shows that forgiveness would give them the strength they needed to work on their own healing. The documentary also shows how a renewed faith and accepting the reality even in the most difficult time can lead to forgiveness and healing. The lessons of forgiveness move beyond making a statement to the killer or his family. It needs to involve acts of compassion and kindness. Forgiving a person who has not acknowledged any wrong doing remains the biggest challenge. Question 4 Compassion tends to cause people to remain to more together than apart. Love leads to mutual benefits. According to Thomas, destroying another person’s life can lead to self destruction. The argument of interdependence and mutuality of love and hatred reveals that conflict arises from the assumption that our counterparts or enemy are fundamentally different (Ferch, 2012). This draws a parallel between evil and good in our perfection of the world. The same concept suggests that the enemy need to be eliminated (Worthington, 2005). Additionally, adversarial destruction is perceived to be inversely proportional to our success. The concept of love as taught by Christians demands that the enemy must be viewed as a member of the human race. The enemy is vulnerable to human limitations and grief just like everyone else. Human beings may have different views but they tend to share similar hopes and aspirations. Therefore, all humans share a common enemy in death and war. The power of love is known to drive nations that have been ravaged by war. Human compassion and understanding leads to synergies that make cooperation and development a reality (Worthington, 2005). In the real sense, love is directly proportional to reconciliation and development. Success in life cannot be revealed through selfishness. The nature of man opposes self alienation and withdrawal. This gave rise to the concept of integration for success. Less contention among people leads to better conditions in life. Therefore, there is a dire need to believe in peace and love as a vital ingredient of a successful life. Mistrust and suspicion lead to greed which has a negative effect of human beings. Question 5 The Kamikaze pilots were not altruistic. The Japanese were faced by an imminent defeat from American and allied forces (Kuwahara & Allred, 2007). With no alternatives left, Japan turned to suicide bombing where young men were listed for crash warplanes on the enemy targets. The government of Japan was aware that either way, the enemy would attack and bomb. Therefore, it was considered honorable to die in the line of duty than to wait for enemy fire. Behavior can appear altruistic without the actor being altruistic (Kuwahara & Allred, 2007). In this case, it might have been a case of disguised reciprocal motivations that were inspirited by the need to survive. This means the fighters and objectives were self-interested. Unlike the case of Father Kolbe, who had an alternative to continue living, the Japanese soldiers were under siege (Grimm, 2005). There has been controversy on the Japanese Kamikaze pilots’ behaviors. However, the young soldiers were paying the price for their country. This made the mission self-centered. Their families and country benefited directly from their actions. The process also involved killing a large number of enemy soldiers. The willingness to engage in suicide was heavily influenced by factors that were stronger that the self. This included the lack of fuel supply and aircrafts (Broom, 19). The gravity of the situation called for service beyond the conventional military training. The desperation of the military had only a single logical strategy after appreciating the gravity of the situation (Kuwahara & Allred, 2007). Selflessness assumes that an act of self sacrifice is both voluntary and leads to minimal loss of lives. Altruism is rarely centered on eliminating an enemy. Question 6 Forgiveness is an act acknowledges the need the human nature of our offenders (Grimm, 2005). This means that it occurs through understanding and psychological strength. It occurs when the offended releases negative emotions after realizing everyone needs forgiveness. Unforgiveness is a form of self punishment through internalized pain and hurt. The power of forgiveness dislodges resentment and is a sign of strength (Ward, 2008). A compelling example is the case of a house wife who could not forgive her husband after realizing he was unfaithful. The husband had secretly married a second wife and housed her in a separate location (Ashcroft, 2000). The husband went ahead to marry a third wife against the wish of the first wife leading to hatred, un-forgiveness and bitterness from her. The process of forgiveness has been gradual. There exists absolute good and absolute evil. Moral realism suggests that there is irreducible truth that is capable of setting the standards of moral judgment (Ashcroft, 2000). This contradicts the argument of relativism which is said to be mind-dependent. Purely good and totally bad are concepts taught mostly within religious group. The irreducibility of truth continues to be debated (Ferch, 2012). However, without absolute good or bad, the human judgments and morals can never be harmonized. This would reduce love and increase enmity. Pure good and totally bad are not dependent of the human sentiments (Grimm, 2005). God was people to know he is the source of pure good things. Therefore, He has power to help people to become good. The understanding of the teaching that it is better to give that to receive means that people are better off when they place the interests of others first. This means that being sensitive to the needs of other plays are central role in improving life. The Christian teachings come with a promise of blessing to those who are active in giving (Broom, 19). Receiving has lesser value compared to giving. The bedrock of this concept is the need to have compassion on others. Giving is a form of offering rescue to a friend or enemy (Grimm, 2005). It also indicates that human beings tend to have common needs. Altruism tends to be taught in every religion. This can be attributed to the need to have a supernatural motivation and perception. Selflessness makes it easier for the religious people to accomplish difficult tasks which cannot be rewarded financially (Ferch, 2012). Altruism inspires the religious to be respectful and compassionate even when undertaking risky missions. This attitude leads to life saving and soul winning. Increased selflessness leads to a reduction in hate, suspicion, lust and greed. These factors are considered vital for harmony is any society. Selflessness helps religions to advance even in times of persecution and extreme adversity (Broom, 2003). A commitment beyond self is considered to be the true mark of diligence in any religion. The kamikaze pilots make sense. Although they are not being altruistic, they were able to exploit the only remaining option. In many ways they become a symbol of mockery and insanity. However, the concept of a commitment beyond self showed that the Japanese fought to the last man. That was a sign of courage. The true measure of altruism should be a voluntary sacrifice that is not inspired by threats or the need for self preservation (Worthington, 2005). Therefore, the young Japanese pilots were courageous but self centered. The only alternative in the Japanese camp would have been to expect bombing helplessly and loose the entire kingdom. References Ashcroft, F. M. (2000). Life at the extremes: The science of survival. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press. Braght, T. J., & Sohm, J. F. (1987). The bloody theater, or, Martyrs' mirror. Scottdale, Pa: Herald Press. Broom, D. (2003). The Evolution of Morality and Religion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Ferch, S. R. (2012). Forgiveness and power in the age of atrocity: Servant leadership as a way of life. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books. Grimm, R. (2005). The My Hero Project - Maximilian Kolbe [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.myhero.com/go/hero.asp?hero=mkolbe Kraybill, D., Nolt, S. M., & Weaver-Zercher, D. (Directors). (2007). Amish grace: How forgiveness transcended tragedy [DVD]. San Francisco, CA: Lifetime Movie Network. Kuwahara, Y., & Allred, G. T. (2007). Kamikaze: A Japanese pilot's own spectacular story of the famous suicide squadrons. Clearfield, Utah: American Legacy Media. Merton, T., & Bochen, C. M. (2000). Thomas Merton: Essential writings. Maryknoll, N.Y: Orbis Books. Merton, T. (1966). Conjectures of a guilty bystander. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. Ward, K. (2008). Religion and Human Fulfilment. London: SCM Press. Worthington, E. L. (2005). The power of forgiving. Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press. Read More