This week, my good friend and spiritual older brother in my Christian life is visiting us from the US. He is an Iranian Assyrian Christian who went to high school in Darjeeling, India and only became a ‘born-again Christian’ when he was in college in California, US. Nate, welcome to Malaysia.
I first met his wife Kay in 1977 in Madison, Wisconsin; the same night I first met my then wife-to-be at an event at Nate’s home. Kay has since passed on in life and is now in a better place. But both Doreen and I had the fantastic privilege of joining Nate and Kay on a cruise ship holiday which some friends gifted Nate and Kay the last time they were here a few years ago.
Nate recently sent me the question below. And I have decided to make this a public issue for discussion and discourse, for those of us who are interested:
One of the questions I would like to discuss with you personally is: how can the ISIS people sustain the emotional price for their barbarity? How do they live with themselves? How do they deal with their consciences? Is their evil so pervasive that their conscience is so seared and it does not bother them any more?
I have therefore decided to not only answer the question to the best of my limited knowledge, but also do it publicly through my column for the benefit of all my almost 50-year friends and classmates from the Royal Military College (RMC). Nate will be with us for about two weeks until the end of the month.
Who is a human being?
In theology or philosophy this question is the substance of the subject of anthropology. In science, two varying arguments have generally framed this dialogue. One worldview argues pro-creationism and the other is pro-evolutionism. Regardless, as human beings we still need to have a personal answer which satisfies our yearning for personal peace.
Most answers to the above question of who is a human being begin with some basic assumptions about the nature of human nature. Yes, they are some implicit, non-scientific assumptions that we all make, about life and living, but which really comes from our worldviews; and from not our basic view of science.
How then do we form and frame such worldviews? Where do they really come from? Worldviews are generally basic assumptions we make to about three or four basic questions about life and living. These questions are: what is the meaning of life; what is there beyond our lifetime, or after death? What is the purpose of life? What is the problem of man? Is there really a God out there? How can man solve his ‘problems’, whatever they are?
Mostly, all our worldviews are framed by our upbringing; our cultural, family, and community environments under which we grow up or never grow up. The cultural dimension of the external influences, what is often called ‘nurture’ by sociologists, but also includes our ethnic genetics, or what sociologists term ‘nature;’ i.e. our mother tongue, our religious foundations and heritage.
Finally, our socialisation through the growth and nurture of our personalities vide our socio-cultural environment and geography also helps define our worldviews. That is why RMC had such a strong impact on our immature worldviews; for RMC Old Puteras.
In my understanding therefore, worldviews are beyond reason; they are not unreasonable but seriously beyond most form of logical reasoning; meaning they do not need to have a rational and explainable reason. They are sometimes beyond rational explanation. It then becomes or secures an unshakeable belief anchor, pegged within our worldviews.
The human ‘I am and my nature’
I am a Mar Thoma Christian of the Eastern Syrian Christian heritage. Yes, they say my heritage is about 2,000 years old and dates back to when Thomas, the disciple of Jesus Christ, went to Southern India in 52AD and converted the first group of Christians. Some of them were my forefathers.
We have captured some of this history in our book we published to honour our Dad: ‘The Legacy of a Father’s Love’ for his 90th birthday. In fact his Keerikkattu Clan from Venmoney, Kerala gathers every Boxing Day for their clan reunion. We attended in 2005, and I could not believe my eyes or heart when we met more than 200 of them; all in one place and time, some even flying all the way from the US.
I am also a Sungai Petani, Kampung Raja boy; born and brought up there until 1965. That is our family’s hometown; where some of our cousins still live, although we have all moved out and went south. We have even sold our family home and shifted it to Subang Jaya; where my 95-year-old Dad still lives with our youngest brother.
I am also an Old Putera of the Federation Military College, which part way became the Royal Military College, and my intake of more than 100 boys are planning our 50th Anniversary for March next year.
The RMC made and defined my views about Malaysia and my Malaysian-ness. When at the University of Malaya on May 13, 1969 I realised for the first time ever that I am of Indian-Malayalee heritage; before that I only knew I was Malaysian; born, bred, and nurtured to become one.
The thing that distinguishes me, the human being from other animals, is the fact that I have a human conscience. Only humans have such a conscience which can distinguish right from wrong. Even Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat resorts to this argument and conscience issue on the petroleum revenue argument for Kelantan.
But, there is also another dimension which makes me different. My Christian theology teaches me that I was created by the Lord God in His Own Image, when he took some dirt from the ground and breathed ‘spirit’ into me and gave me life. Therefore the human conscience is part and parcel of that Godly image. But, why is spirit and soul different?
Where or how is my spirit different from my soul? I frankly do not know. I believe (beyond reason and therefore non-arguable) that our human conscience is what we call the soul; which includes the mind, emotion and will. The spirit is the comprehensive whole that is more than the sum of all these parts.
My answer to Nate’s question
The Bible says we do not need anyone to teach us the things about God. Even if no one else does it, our very conscience will teach us about the reality of God; sometimes even through dreams. If and when, even that fails, maybe we can learn about the beauty and nature of God by appreciating the beauty of nature itself; from its colour, sounds, and different hues of light and smells. They all produce sweet aroma about the love of God.
The ISIS people have somehow taught themselves who their idea of God is. Their ‘god’ is not the same one as God; our creator of life, who respects and dignifies his creation; and especially the absolute best of his created order; the human being. We are all surely destined for Hell; as badly as we conduct ourselves except for the absolute unconditional love of God.
ISIS does not demonstrate any kind of real humanity. They show no grace or mercy; which are all Godly virtues. They ‘take what is not theirs; whether lands or willing women, children of many fathers’. They are only of evil from my point of view. They are agents of the Devil.
They have created their god in their own image. The God of creation created man and woman in His image, but these “fraudulent people who, unfortunately, still call themselves Muslims”, are really worshipping a reduced god who is only one of their own creations which fits their model of what is right and wrong, or through their self-justifying expedient politics of truth.
The Bible clearly declares that any human being can be dulled in their consciences by completely immersing themselves in wrong-doing. These ISIS guys seem to have done this and have risen up their ranks through their wrong-doing, and not doing-right. They believe they do right. They are not accountable to anyone outside of themselves. That is idol-worship.
They simply need to be condemned by the known civilised world based on our current system of order; global rules and UN Regulations. May God protect all innocent victims who are abused now in His name. May God help us find true ‘Merdeka’ in Malaysia.
