Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Religious Passion and Compassion

The world today is witnessing more large-scale violence and atrocities. Whether the occurences have actually increased, we cannot really tell. What has increased is the awareness of such events. The ubiquity of the media and internet has made the world smaller. Wars and massacres are reported almost instantaneously from the battlefields and killing fields. Watching and reading about these conflicts, I cannot help but ponder: Why?

The causes of these horrors are multifarious. Humans can be driven by almost any idea or emotion. But of all the motivations behind which hate and hurt are committed, the most saddening are those that are religious.

Most people, of all faiths and following, are not sages nor gurus in the knowledge of their own religion. As such, many experience the guilt induced by someone who is seen to be more 'religious'. 'I didn't see you in church yesterday' and 'Did you pray at another mosque last Friday?' have probably caused many blushes, within and without. We are humans. We always fall short of the demands of our faiths. Hence the guilt. And the occasional urge to be more 'pious'.

What I'm getting at is this: It is very easy to use religion to stir up feelings. We all want to do right by God. We will do anything under the banner of God. But who waves the banners? They are human beings like us.

It can be said with certainty that the root cause of religious clashes is anything but of faiths. Which religion exhorts its followers to go forth and annihilate? Human frailties are the origins of all misery. Greed, envy, fear, pride and such are surely the motivations driving warmongers misguided enough to abuse the attachment and reverence with which religions are held. When it comes to religion, we can become very passionate. Murderously so, at times.

But where is the compassion? Are we less spiritual or religious were we more compassionate? Are we apostates for forgiving somebody who, say, denigrates our faith? Would we please God if we kick the crap out of the insulting unbeliever?

God is the most compassionate, the most forgiving.

Why then, are we hating, hurting and killing fellow human beings in His name?

akula's related story

12 comments:

Cosmic_GurL said...

Because there are too many self-righteous ppl out there..everyone thinks theyre the best christians or muslims and that theyre going to heaven for sure.

Makes me sick.

akula said...

Its the `my god is stronger that your god' or my `religion is truer than your religion' phenomena.

You said exactly what I feel man.

Da Winged Acrophobic said...

cosmic gurl and akula.....
both of you share my exact sentiments. Let's hope there are more of us than 'them' - the self-righteous, ignorant bigots.

UglyButAdorable said...

that's wht happen when one think they're superior than others...the world is going reverse..:(

Anonymous said...

Depressing indeed, WA.
Try watching this video:

http://interplast.org/astoryofhealing.php

It made my day and restored my faith in mankind, if only until I read of the next murder/car bomb/rape/other heinous act perpetrated by man against his fellow man.

Da Winged Acrophobic said...

uba and dah pencen..... it is depressing, indeed. The future of humanity seems so bleak. But, I remain an optimist, and a believer in the inherent good in mankind. Will look up the video to reaffirm my faith.

Rt Hon Sir Cipan Nougat-Tenuk said...

Over the years I've come to this opinion - that the root of all things evil that people do is fear.

Fear makes us irrational and makes us mistrust others.

Optimism is based on trust, pessimism on fear.

Smart and greedy people play on the fear present in others - to manipulate them into doing things.

Ponder that.

Da Winged Acrophobic said...

Sir cipan..... Proufoundly true, the pondering ought be on how to spread the awareness and evolve forward, away from this debilatating affliction of humanity.

Cherry Popcorn said...

Hello!!! Welcome back! It's been ages since I last saw you! Happy to see you back! =)

I totally agree with you! Religions are generally good and if people truly follow their religions, they would respect and appreciate all human beings. It's when people start to act god and misinterpret stuff that things start to go wrong! So dialogue is definitely important!

Take care ya!

Da Winged Acrophobic said...

Ah! The Pink Princess dropped by. I'm back and I'm bad. More cheery stuff on the way.

Irene said...

Don't lose hope. I honestly believe that good hearts will always triumph over evil.

Da Winged Acrophobic said...

irene.... howdy! Glad to be hearing like-minded optimists who maintains faith in the inherent good in mankind .