And yeah, so I
wrote that I got to update soon, but one thing and another cropped up (cough –
laziness – cough) and so this was only just posted today. Anyway, to the topic:
I thought to relay what I had experienced on Tuesday 17 December 2013, as well
as my take on it after some contemplation.
That afternoon
coming back from a site audit, my supervisor and I had an interesting talk about
religion. It was quite a coincidence: a casual
question on my interest, and it turned out that he was into the subject of
religion as well.
One of the first
points he brought up was the struggle of Christians and Muslims in expanding
their influence through conversion, something not commonly found in other faiths
(mainly Buddhism and Hinduism). This, he said, often led to numerous disputes
and violence among the two, while the rest “sit
together with each other and live peacefully.”
While I am no expert on other religions, the little I know
about Buddhism and Hinduism (as well as Taoism and Shintoism) are that they
generally focus more on self-enlightenment, and/or are passed down in the
family or geographically. Emphasis on evangelisation however is not placed –
their practice, for want of a better word, tend to be exclusive to their
particular region and do not (at least directly) spell out doom for
non-believers. This is different in the world’s two current largest faiths: conversion
is imperative to obtain salvation.
Back to the
discussion, I try to keep open and learn about the various religions while
maintaining a firm foundation on my faith. I believe that all religions contain
glimpses of Truth (Acts 17:26-28; CCC 843) and,
like St Thomas Aquinas, one need not fear truth, even
if they come from beyond the boundaries of our faith. This came as
somewhat a surprise for my supervisor, since he mentioned that he found it rare
for this mindset among Christians and Muslims. That for me is not a good sign:
there is much we could gain if we do not shut out other people’s views.
The next point
brought up was that religion is not only about fact, but of faith. Believing
with your heart is essential factor in worship. This statement may seem
obvious, yet it is something many people (like me) lack in practice. Although all religion teaches their followers the believe in
a Higher Power, when it comes down to it most of us will either consciously or
subconsciously shun this knowledge for a more rational line. And when we
justify our actions without considering and complementing the faith aspect in
them, we impede not only our spiritual but also our personal growth as well,
closing ourselves to the various marvels in our daily lives.
Our talk then
moved on to the late Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. This was related to the first
point of our discussion, as my supervisor noted that the people – regardless of
race or religion – called her ‘mother’ because of her works of charity. Mother
Teresa once said that that every human is a child of God – from the abandoned
children on the streets to the parents who abandoned them on the streets. Ultimately,
each and every one of them will be answerable on Judgement Day.
We also touched
on the split of the Church, mainly the Roman Catholic and Protestants. How, for
instance, the Anglicans came about due to disagreements of marriage, with Henry
establishing his own institution as a result. And even within the Protestant
denominations more splinters were formed as one pastor’s views conflict with
the other. But what really stood out for me was what my supervisor said about
the Cross. Often you can find one with the figure of Christ hanging upon it in
a Catholic home or even on the person himself/herself. Protestants usually have
their crosses plain without the Man Himself, accusing Catholics of “keeping Christ on the cross”. Yet the period when
Christ hung upon that wooden structure marked a main event and symbol in
Christianity. We worship the Lord Jesus Christ who gave up His life for us on
the Cross. A Cross without Christ, rather than having no meaning, can mean
anything. My supervisor pointed out that in ancient times, the cross was
infamously recognised as an instrument of ultimate punishment for criminals.
Linking them together, a cross without Christ could
mean those people are worshipping Roman crucifixion. All these words coming
from a non-Christian – makes me ashamed I cannot display like knowledge in
other religions T_T.
Following from
there, he brought up the topic of Leonardo Da Vinci and his painting of Christ.
During his time, all those who had seen Jesus physically walk the earth had
long since passed away. The earliest Gospel had not been written down until
around a hundred years later. Until then, they were preached literally through
word of mouth. Without a first-hand witness, Leonardo executed his work by
carefully researching the descriptions and information that were passed down
throughout the ages.
At some point,
my supervisor and I had a slight discourse on the sacrament of Baptism. The
reason: he believed it is not right for people to baptise others. His argument
was that Christ never baptised; thus how can we be baptising? At that time, I
defended against his reasoning by referring to the works of John the Baptist,
who came to make straight the path and prepare the way for the Lord through
this very act. My supervisor was not convinced, seeming to doubt the
reliability of the account of John the Baptist. He then referred me to the
documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls and a book called ‘Jerusalem’ for my own
research. Should have pointed out other stronger
evidences which supported Baptism: Matthew
28:19; Acts 2:38 and 1 Peter 3:21 for instance. Oh well, should take it as
a signal for my own faith building.
All in all I
found that time to be an insightful experience. If only others were just as
open to such discussions to learn from one another, we would be able to prevent
numerous misunderstandings and violence, and foster greater peace and harmony
among God’s creation throughout the world.
RFG always.
