The Relationship between God and Humanity - Essay Example

Religion is characterized by a set of beliefs and practices that revolve around mystic and ethical claims and is codified by prayer, ritual and religious laws. Religion encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, history and mythology combined with personal faith and mystic experiences. The term religion can be referred to the personal practices that are related to communal faith. Further religion can be described as various concepts concerned with the belief in God and Goddess. The relationship between God and humanity is revered through holiness, piety, sacred, spiritual and the divine. Christianity is a monotheistic religion, a religion that believes in the existence of one divinity and in the oneness of God. Christianity’s central point is based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament of the Bible. Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Messiah as prophesied in the Old Testament of the Bible. Christians believe that Jesus Christ is their teacher, the mediator between God and man and the Savior who died and rose again. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, salvation was restored. This good news of Jesus ministry is called the Gospel. The Iraq War which is also described as the Operation Iraqi Freedom or the occupation of Iraq, an ongoing conflict which embarked on March 20, 2003 with the United States led invasion of Iraq. The focal point for this invasion offered by U.S. President George W. Bush was that Iraq possesses and was developing weapons of Mass destruction which was a violation according to the 1991 agreement. This invasion sought the result of the defeat of Iraqi military, President Saddam Hussein escaping, his capture in December 2003 and his execution in December 2006. U.S. led coalition occupied Iraq had attempted to launch a democratic government. But brutality aligned with coalition forces only led to unconventional warfare which was found to occur between many Sunni and Shia Iraqis and Al-Qaeda operations in Iraq. In the present scenario, Christianity is a suffering religion in Iraq. Before the birth of Christ, Iraq saw a chaotic history. Emperor of Persia Cyrus occupied Mesopotamia (Iraq was formally knows as Mesopotamia) after which the Greek Macedonia Alexander the Great, until Islam attacked the Middle East. This invasion of Islam into Mesopotamia found the new religion of the country as Islam and while many were forced to become Muslims, yet there were others who kept to their faiths of Christianity and Judaism. 651AD witnessed the control by the Arab-Islamic Empire and Islam became the main religion of this empire. Christianity entered Iraq or rather Mesopotamia by St. Thomas the apostle in 33AD. The spread of Christianity found many people accepting Christ. St. Thomas was accompanied by Mar Addai and Mar Mari, two more Christians. The Assyrian King Sennacherib after many conflicts requested Mar Matti to baptize him and his family and he made Christianity the official religion of the country. History states that Iraq after 33 years of Christ was the first country to accept Christianity whereas Europe accepted Christianity only after 324 years after Christ. However in the seventh century Arab tribes conquered Mesopotamia and Islam became the dominant religion and this found the Christian communities to become self-contained. Islam accepted Christianity and Judaism as a religion of God. The Koran states that Jesus and Moses are Prophets. The Quran states that the Messiah Isa (Jesus) son of Mariam (Mary), supported by the spirit of ul-Qudis (holy spirit) which was sent as a messenger to the children of Israel. (Quran, Ch 4 (171) Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam.  He created him from dust, then He said unto him:  Be! and he is. (Qur’an 3:59). Again in the Quran Allah spoke about Jesus and peace, “Lo! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird by Allah’s leave.  I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by Allah’s leave.  And I announce to you what you eat and what you store up in your houses.  Lo! herein verily is a portent for you if you are to be believers. And (I come) confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful some of that which was forbidden unto you.  I come unto you with a sign from your Lord, so keep your duty to Allah and obey me.  Lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him.  That is a straight path.  (Qur’an 3: 49-51). Therefore one can see the similarities between Islam and Christianity which exhibits the respect for both religions. However, Christians were always viewed as inferior to Muslims because of the belief that their faith was atypical form of the true faith and Islam archaic Christianity. History proclaims that the Turks massacred millions of Christians in the world. The Armenians Christians were massacred by the Muslims. Because of the Gulf War many Christians left Iraq. During the Gulf War St. Tomas church 800 years old was destroyed by the US for they thought that Saddam was present there. The US did not accept the Assyrian Christians on account that they were Iraqi and therefore visa were not easily granted. Post Gulf War found Christians tormented. Presently there are three sections of Christians in Iraq- the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church, the Assyrian Orthodox Church and the Chaldean Church of Babylon. Currently Iraq or rather grim Iraq only witnesses violence and death everywhere. With bombings in all places and ethnic cleansing carried out by militants, naturally the civilians are always in fear. The Tigris River has become an object of division between the Sunni west and Shiite east. This partition has put many peoples life’s in danger as the daily outside trips for work and basic necessities can end in the enemy territory. How nature is utilized as a means of division of humanity and thus ending life on a brutal note. The Assyrians and Chaldeans are non-Arab, though the Iraq government defines them as Arab. This is done with the view to increase identification of Iraqi Christians. The Christians in Iraq have been and are still being brutalized by both ethnic and religious attacks. Glyn Ford said “torture, kidnapping, extortion, harassment, church bombings, forced religious conversion, political disenfranchisement and property destruction are just some of the deliberate human rights violations that are both ruining and taking the lives of Assyrians in Iraq.” A refugee of Iraq once explained that the children and their wives together with their family members were kidnapped by militants. Notes would be sent informing them that if amounts such as fifty thousand dollars were not sent then their family would be killed. Fingers or toes with pictures of the brutality would be sent regularly. The sad aspect was because such people were Christians who are in collaboration with the Christian Americans are being tortured physically and mentally. I feel the humanistic qualities are lost and the animal in such kind of people who torture is dominant and this evil is spreading in the world. The World Directory of Minorities state that presently there are over three lacks Chaldean Christians in Iraq who live mainly in Baghdad. No doubt under such circumstances the Christians would feel alienated within Iraqi society. Talking and investigating about the Christian catastrophe unleashed by the U.S. invasion of Iraq seems to be only an anecdote. But statistics would prove the real and in humanistic point of view. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stated that around 7 lakhs Iraqis have taken refugee in Syria between October 2003 and March 2005 of which thirty six percent were Iraqi Christians. (Amnesty International, 2000). The rise of Sunni and Shia Islamism in Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein have now generated a kind of sectarianism. The prosperous Christians have become targets for robberies and kidnappings. The Christians women in the Sunni and Shia areas are forced to cover their heads. While numerous doctors and other professionals have fled the country. One will be able to analyze the change in temperaments and strategies. For Christians began to leave in Saddam Hussein time on the cause of oppression. But today Christians leave Iraq for a new reason- reason being the fear of religious persecution. At times I wonder if the plight of the Christians were humanistic compared to the present state of the Christians. For I heard a doctor once remark that he was a nationalistic Iraqi who proudly declared himself as a doctor. But once the U.S led invasion the Iraqis began to refer to him as a stooge. Why because he was a Christian. “Peace for all believers” the congregation at the Sacred Heart Church in Baghdad sings and Emmanuel III Delly continues to hold a heavy cross in his hands. Presently this church is half full with people who are brave enough to attend church and pray for peace for their fellow Christians. Naturally many had tears in their eyes when they were singing hymns of hope and peace in this time of blood bath. Pope Benedict XVI has repeatedly appealed for an end to the blood bath and hatred in Iraq and has repeatedly expressed worry about the fate of the Christians in the Islamic world. The recent abduction of Chaldean Catholic Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul, Iraq on 29th February after he had completed the way of the cross which ended with his death is the latest attack on Churches and priests. Unfortunately his dead body was recovered and Pontiff made a statement “the most resolute condemnation of an act of inhuman violence that offends the dignity of the human being” (Israely, 2008) January saw the explosion of bombs outside three Chaldean and Assyrian churches in Mosul. 2006 also saw the kidnapping of Boulos Iskander, an Orthodox priest and a ransom being demanded. Though the ransom was paid the inhuman aspect was that the priest was beheaded and his body was found with his arms and legs been cut off. The upcoming fifth anniversary of the start of the U.S. led campaign against Iraq; on March 08 the pope issued “a loud and concerned out cry”. “Enough with the blood shed, enough with the violence, enough with the hatred in Iraq”. The pope requested all Iraqis “who for the past five years have borne the consequences of a war that has caused the upheaval of civil and social life. Beloved Iraqi people: Lift up your heads and let it be you yourselves who, in the first place rebuild the life of the nation. May the reconciliation, forgiveness, justice and respect for the civil co-existence among tribes, ethnicities and religious groups be the harmonious path in the people take so as to achieve peace in God’s name?” (The New Leader, 2008). Though the U.S. military surge are trying to bring about relative peace, Iraqi Christians still feel insecure for their fear is that the Shiite dominated government would only strengthen the hand of the conservative Muslim groups that are hostile to Christians. War and bloodshed combined with humans being massacred and all because they are Christians in a Muslim country-why? Both religions i.e. Christianity and Islam proclaim the word LOVE and PEACE and respect for fellow human beings. Then what are the motives that produce so much of hatred in an Iraqi Muslim to kill an Iraqi Christian? In most cases the motive behind the attacks on Christians is religious-why? The selfish attitude of the Islamic people is the want to drive the minority Christians out of Iraq. Does not this remind one of the dictators Adolph Hitler who massacred the Jews so that the world would be rid of Jews and that the Germans and Nazi were the only ideal beings who should rule the world? Money being the root cause of all evil in the world is another motive for the kidnapping and murdering of the Christians-why? Generally Christians are known to have money and that they would sacrifice anything and everything in paying ransom demands and because unlike the Shia or Sunni, the Christians do not have links and militant protection. Therefore Christians become easy targets. University of Mosul reported that the Christians students were targets wherein notices such as the girls having to wear Hijab and the Christians being given the choice of dying, converting to Islam or leaving the town. How brutal can one be and see how the Islamic people are training the young ones also to behave indifferently. And yet with this attitude and approach towards Christians, Muslims still pray five times a day to Allah. All this hatred and inhuman actions began with Saddam Hussein who was the dictator of Iraq from 1979 until 2003. 1979 he was Iraq’s president and de facto dictator. Iraq witnessed a decade of wars and in 1990 Kuwait was invaded. Before the Gulf war, in 1991 Hussein threatened that if U.S. attacked Iraq then it would be ‘the mother of all wars’. His invasion of Iran began a bloody war that killed many human beings and ended in deadlock eight years later. His turned his own military against his people and indiscriminately dropped chemical weapons on civilians. August 1990 he invaded Kuwait and destroyed the country. Saddam Hussein adopted tyrannical methods in transacting with his own military. Several commanders who survived the Iran war were murdered in order to remove them as a political threat to Saddam rule. The prisoners of war captured by the Americans exhibited hatred for Hussein and this hatred was also found among the officers in Saddam’s army. So why talk about Saddam Hussein and his dictatorship? The U.S along with the allies assisted in ending the tyranny of Saddam Hussein who was the cause of many people dying. United States consists of several Christians communities and therefore many Muslims accuse the Christians of being allies of the Americans. And thus this forms another reason for the hatred of Iraqi people towards the Iraqi Christians. Though majority of mankind portray themselves as blood thirsting beings who spend their life in murdering there are still people who live their lives with dignity and humanity. Humanitarian people such as Emmanuel III are trying to make a difference in Iraq for the Christians. He has foyer with the Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki in protecting the Christians and has also levied talks with Muslim leader like Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani. Various organizations such as the Banaras fund, the Assyrian Aid Society of America, Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) and Iraqi Christians in Need are such association who are trying to do their best to help in this situation. War death and hatred but what happens to an individual who is alive? How does such an individual get affected by this war? How do they make ends meet and find everyday food to keep themselves alive? For instance a barber was cleaning his shop and was closing for the day to head home. Minutes later this barber was found lying in a pool of blood. The Sunni rebels attacked him and broke a leg and his back. Why? Was it because the barber was trying to earn a living or was it a warning to portray the Suni’s power and might and to stop the barber from working. By preventing the Christians from working they will not be able to support themselves and their families and thus the Christians will be forced to leave. Classical Islamic teaching proclaims that Christians are a protected minority allowed to live in an Islamic world today many Islamic militants have interpreted Islamic teachings to suite their requirements i.e. to attack and drive out the ‘protected’ Christians. Today such self serving interpretations claim that Christians are infidels because they have rejected Islam. Yet others state that Christians have kaput their pact ‘dhimmi’ by assisting the Western Christians enemies. I feel the only difference will occur when the self or when each individual realizes that all this killings proves nothing but destruction. Every one should realize that the only achievement from this entire bloodbath is nothing but sin on themselves and destruction of mankind. No doubt George W. Bush could be considered as the American President who transported Jeffersonian Democracy to the Middle East. On the other hand unlike the failure of Arab Caliphate, British colonialism and decades of Baathist misrule which have failed, George W. Bush when finally promenades off the world stage, the Assyrian Christian in Iraq would probably be wiped out by then. References Tripp, Charles. A History of Iraq. Cambridge University Press.2000. Stoel, Van Max. Situation of Human Rights in Iraq. In Accordance with Commission Resolution 1998/65. February 26, 1999. Amnesty International. Iraq: Amnesty International Report 2000. London. 2000. Pleitgen, Frederik and Abedine, Saad. Keeping Christianity Alive in Iraq. Baghdad, Iran (CNN). 20 November 2007. Israely, Jeff. Death comes for an Iraqi Archbishop. Time in partnership with CNN. 13 March 2008. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1722317,00.html Pope appeals again for end to bloodbath in Iraq. The New Leader. Vol 121. April 1-15, 2008. p-8. Read More

Christianity entered Iraq or rather Mesopotamia by St. Thomas the apostle in 33AD. The spread of Christianity found many people accepting Christ. St. Thomas was accompanied by Mar Addai and Mar Mari, two more Christians. The Assyrian King Sennacherib after many conflicts requested Mar Matti to baptize him and his family and he made Christianity the official religion of the country. History states that Iraq after 33 years of Christ was the first country to accept Christianity whereas Europe accepted Christianity only after 324 years after Christ.

However in the seventh century Arab tribes conquered Mesopotamia and Islam became the dominant religion and this found the Christian communities to become self-contained. Islam accepted Christianity and Judaism as a religion of God. The Koran states that Jesus and Moses are Prophets. The Quran states that the Messiah Isa (Jesus) son of Mariam (Mary), supported by the spirit of ul-Qudis (holy spirit) which was sent as a messenger to the children of Israel. (Quran, Ch 4 (171) Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam.

 He created him from dust, then He said unto him:  Be! and he is. (Qur’an 3:59). Again in the Quran Allah spoke about Jesus and peace, “Lo! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird by Allah’s leave.  I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by Allah’s leave.  And I announce to you what you eat and what you store up in your houses.  Lo! herein verily is a portent for you if you are to be believers.

And (I come) confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful some of that which was forbidden unto you.  I come unto you with a sign from your Lord, so keep your duty to Allah and obey me.  Lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him.  That is a straight path.  (Qur’an 3: 49-51). Therefore one can see the similarities between Islam and Christianity which exhibits the respect for both religions. However, Christians were always viewed as inferior to Muslims because of the belief that their faith was atypical form of the true faith and Islam archaic Christianity.

History proclaims that the Turks massacred millions of Christians in the world. The Armenians Christians were massacred by the Muslims. Because of the Gulf War many Christians left Iraq. During the Gulf War St. Tomas church 800 years old was destroyed by the US for they thought that Saddam was present there. The US did not accept the Assyrian Christians on account that they were Iraqi and therefore visa were not easily granted. Post Gulf War found Christians tormented. Presently there are three sections of Christians in Iraq- the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church, the Assyrian Orthodox Church and the Chaldean Church of Babylon.

Currently Iraq or rather grim Iraq only witnesses violence and death everywhere. With bombings in all places and ethnic cleansing carried out by militants, naturally the civilians are always in fear. The Tigris River has become an object of division between the Sunni west and Shiite east. This partition has put many peoples life’s in danger as the daily outside trips for work and basic necessities can end in the enemy territory. How nature is utilized as a means of division of humanity and thus ending life on a brutal note.

The Assyrians and Chaldeans are non-Arab, though the Iraq government defines them as Arab. This is done with the view to increase identification of Iraqi Christians. The Christians in Iraq have been and are still being brutalized by both ethnic and religious attacks. Glyn Ford said “torture, kidnapping, extortion, harassment, church bombings, forced religious conversion, political disenfranchisement and property destruction are just some of the deliberate human rights violations that are both ruining and taking the lives of Assyrians in Iraq.

” A refugee of Iraq once explained that the children and their wives together with their family members were kidnapped by militants.

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