RELIGION AND ETHICAL VALUES

RELIGION AND ETHICAL VALUES

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

 

Ethics is a branch of Philosophy that deals with moral principles. Ethical values govern a person's behavior in any kind of activity. Every profession has ethical code like medical ethics. Almost every professional ethics consists of values such as fairness, justice, right and all matters of value.  Ethics deals with questions of human morality by defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. In religion, ethics is studied as moral theology that deals withvirtues with the aim of union with God and in peace in life. World religions have laws and commandments that govern human behaviour. The source of religious law is God. The Prophets ensures that these laws are observed (https://www.bing.com). The Ten Commandments (the Decalogue) are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and Christianity. The commandments include instructions to worship only God, to honour one's parents, and to keep the Sabbath, as well as prohibitions against idolatry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, theft, dishonesty, and coveting. The commandmentswere given by God at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:1–17; Deuteronomy 5:4–21).

 

The Shari'a is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. Islamic shari'a is the religious legal system governing the members of the Islamic faith. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith. The sharīʿah, is a body of moral and religious law derived from religious prophecy, as opposed to human legislation (https://www.bing.com). For some Islamic scholars, “Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that God revealed through all his prophets” (http://www.islamicity.com). The Arabic word, ‘Islam’ stands for ‘Submission’ or ‘Peace’. In a religious context, it implies the peace that reaches out to one when one completely submits oneself to the will of Almighty God. This is achieved only when the individual acts in accordance with the direction of his Creator in all spheres of life (http://www.nicheoftruth.org).

 

In the world today where some people perceive religion as a problem to be solved, the different religious adherents through their different religious ethics must prove that religion is a problem solver and not a source of problems. If every Christian and Muslim obey the laws as prescribed in the religious legal code, I believe there will be peace in the heart of every person and this peace will radiate to the world in a way and manner that peaceful coexistence would be a natural flow. All the religious laws can be summarized in two words, namely, love and peace. This is expressed in the Islamic and Christian greeting, “peace be with you!” You cannot wish a person what you do not have. So you cannot tell somebody peace with you if you have no peace in your heart. This means that the core ethical value for every Muslim and Christian is peace that reveals the love in your heart. The peace of God transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7). This peace is a state of tranquility that transcends all human desires and conditions. The gift of peace like true love is therefore unconditional. It is given freely because we received it freely from God. 

 

In Christianity, Jesus is the true peace (Ephesians 2:4) and peacemakers are called children of God (Matthew 5: 9). Jesussaid, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27). The peace of Christ calms all fears. “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors were locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). Since Islam is a complete way of life, every Muslim is enjoined to demonstratein words and deeds that peace and love of God that transcends all human desires. The five pillars of Islam, namely, faith, prayer, fasting, alms (Zakkah) and pilgrimage (to Makkah)should be true expression of that divine peace that dwells in the heart of the human person. If the adherents of Judaism, Christianity and Islam respect the ethics of their religion, the world would be a new heaven and a new paradise where “the wolf can dwell with the lamb, the leopard lies down with the goat, the calf and the young lion live together with a little boy to lead them. Yes, a world where the cow and the bear grazes and their young lie down together without hurting one another” (Isaiah 11:5-7).

 

Let us therefore concentrate on peace as a core ethical value in religion. The dictionary defines “peace” as the absence of warbut the meaning is deeper in a religious context. Peace is a transformation of all forms of hostilities. It is freedom from quarrels and disagreement; harmonious relations; innercontentment; serenity; peace of mind and respect for law and order.  The word “obey” comes from the Greek “hupakou”meaning, to listen attentively to a command or authority. The word “submit” comes from the Greek “hupeiko”, to yield or surrender to an authority. Submission and obedience are similar in the sense that this action is performed in freedom without force. Jesus teaches that those who hear the word of God and put it into practice are ever more blessed (Luke 11:28). Even in his passion, Jesus accepted the will of God” (Luke 22:39-42). Even in his suffering, Jesus said, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5, 44). Jesus thus gives light to those in darkness, those who dwell in the shadow of death and guide us into the way of peace” (Luke 1:76-79). He thought his disciples not to resist those who do evil (Matthew 5:38-42) by vengeance as practiced by the Jewish ancestors who believed in “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” (Matthew 5, 38; Exodus 21, 24). The desire of Jesus for human beings is to be at peace with one another (Mark 9:50). He lamented and wept for Jerusalem for their ignorance of the message of peace. He wished that if only Jerusalem had known the value of peace (Luke 19:42).

 

Jesus practiced what he preached. During his trial, “One of the guards standing there hit him. The guard said, “You should not talk to the high priest like that!” Jesus answered, “If I said something wrong, then say it. If the things I said are right, then why do you hit me (John 18:21-23)? Jesus did not fight back. In his most excruciating pains and agony on the cross, he did not curse his executioners. He prayed for them, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).  He had warned his disciples, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). In sending out his apostles, he said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:21 & 26)! The Qur’an affirms that Mary was given a sinless son who is faultless and perfect in the eyes of God so that Jesus, the son of Mary, would be an example to all the nations of the world (Sura Maryam 19:19). This should be an invitation to all who call on the name of the true God to seek peace on earth. The world prays that the dead may rest in perfect peace. This means that peace is heaven where whoever lives on earth has as a final home. I pray that all those who still think that whoever is not a fellow adherent is an enemy may have conversion of heart. This conversion is not from one religion to the other but an interior conversion to peace.

 

Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua is the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) 

 

 

 

RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE AMONG THE YOUTHS

RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE AMONG YOUTHS

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

God created human beings in love and command that human beings should love one another. God did not command human beings to tolerate one another. You only tolerate what is ordinarily unacceptable. I guess that some people use the expression “tolerance” in the context of peaceful co-existence because we now live in a world where the value and dignity of the human person has been sacrificed on the altar of religious fanaticism and intolerance. Moreover, religion has been hijacked by mischief makers to enrich themselves. Millions of people have lost their lives in various religious riots in Nigeria. One wonders for how long we may go on like this killing and maiming human beings. The youths who were born and have lived in this situation where human beings have become wolves to their fellows would think that this is normal and therefore need to learn the art of tolerance to promote peaceful co-existence. Given that the state of anarchy we today find ourselves is not the design of God, we shall begin this conversation by establishing the value and dignity of the human person to debrief any youth who may be living under religious and ethnic indoctrination to be aware of the abnormality of the life they have been conditioned to live. 

 

The Catholic Catechism gives the mission and vision of life first by establishing the fact that we are created by God. The reason God created the human person defines his mission. God made us to know him, love him and serve him. The goal and ultimate vision for creation is that the human person should be happy with God on the last day. In the narrative of Adam (humanity) in the Holy Bible and Quran, Man has a higher dignity than the angels whom God commanded to bow to Adam. For the youths to promote peaceful co-existence, the knowledge that our common factor is humanity is imperative. Many of us belong to a particular religion not by choice. Some of us who are Christians today could have been Muslims if we were born to Muslims parents and some Muslims could have been Christians if they were born to Christian parents. We did not choose our parents, tribe, state and country. This is why the most stupid venture of the human person is religious and ethnic violence. The sky is wide enough for every bird to fly. Both Christianity and Islam profess that there is no compulsion in religion. This is why the Christian and Muslim youths must quest for justice in every aspect of life. Equal rights cannot lead to anarchy. 

 

The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council made a declaration on religious liberty because the root to interreligious conflict is religious intolerance that robs free citizens of religious freedom.  The document on the dignity of the human person is a call to bring the human person back to the consciousness and awareness of the right of the person and communities to social and civil liberty in religious matters. The Second Vatican Council, in the light of revelation states the general principles of religious freedom that “All men are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and his Church, and embrace it and hold on to it as they come to know it” (Vatican II, Dignitatis Humanae, 7 December, 1965. No 1). “The human person has a right to religious freedom. All men should be immune from coercion on the part of individuals, social groups and every human power so that, within due limits, nobody is forced to act against his convictions in religious matters in private or in public, alone or in association with others” “Religious communities also have the right not to be hindered by legislation or administrative action on the part of the civil authority in the selection, training, appointment and transfer of their own ministers, in communicating with religious authorities and communities in other parts of the world, in erecting buildings for religious purposes, and in the acquisition and use of the property they need ((Vatican II, Dignitatis Humanae, 7 December, 1965. No 4).

 

If the youths are conscious of these human rights, they may be able to resist those who employ them to fight unjustly for the selfish benefits of those who finance and promote violence. They would know that peace is a virtue that is deeply entrenched in Christianity and Islam. Justice is a very powerful ingredient for peaceful co-existence hence the Christian and Muslim Youths must demand justice at all levels especially freedom of religion and promotion of human dignity. For the youths to promote the dignity of life, they need Dialogue at all levels and in all ramification. The youths need intra-personal dialogue whereby a person encounter himself or herself interiorly. Through intra-personal dialogue, you ask yourself, who am I? Where am I coming from? Where am I going? What does God want me to do in life to be happy? The next level is inter-personal dialogue. Here you ask yourself, “what do I owe my neighbour? What must I do to make him happy? This is dialogue with the other person. It is a “conversation between two or more persons. Inter-personal dialogue helps people to resolve long-standing conflicts and to build deeper understanding of contentious issues.Dialogue is one sure way to heal wounded memories.

 

Other types of dialogue are Intra-community, Inter-community, Intra-ethnic, Inter-ethnic, Intra-cultural, Inter-cultural, Intra-religious and Inter-religious. In dialogue, understanding is the key word. Nigerians have gone through many faces of violence, slavery and colonialism. The value of trust has been replaced with prejudice, preconception and mutual suspicions. These, call for education, debriefing, healing of memory, mental reconstruction, reconciliation and compassion. No one should really claim the right to reject another person or attempt to kill a person for holding a different opinion. There are different types of dialogue. Dialogue of Life is what we do in ordinary events of life. Muslims, Christians and traditional worshippers in Nigeria live in the same family, attend the same school and work together in the same office and other places of work. These are avenues and occasion for people to share life together in love and peaceful coexistence. 

 

In the Dialogue of Social Engagements, People of different religions meet in different life situations, like ceremonies, trade and even join together to fight injustice and diseases. This collaboration between Christians and people of other religions promote the integral development and liberation of people. In Nigeria some Muslims and Christians have issued joint statements to condemn terrorism and other forms of social ills. In the Dialogue of Theological Exchange, scholars of different religions organize seminars and workshops to discuss theological issues. This has led some scholars to go beyond the study of their theology to the study of the theology of other religious. In the Dialogue of religious experience, people of different religions in Nigeria sometimes use any given opportunity to share their religious experiences and dreams. This sharing of testimonies and narration of what God has done in their individual life has led others to be converted interiorly. If there is an existing friendship and mutual relationship, conflict management, resolution and transformation are easy. I visit the national Mosque regularly. In the process, I establish a dialogue relationship between some Christian and Muslim Youths who have expressed the need for religious re-education in Nigeria. This means that there are so many Christians and Muslims today who bear true witness to the scriptures. When the youths from different religions collaborate in peace projects, all will be convinced that that there is nothing wrong with religion? It is those who practise the different religions that need proper education and awareness. Let us begin to think of how to redeem our God given religions by living in peace!

 

Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua is the Director of the Department of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (omonokhuac@gmail.com;  www.omonokhua.blogspot .com)  

 

 

RELIGION AND OUR COMMON HUMANITY

RELIGION AND OUR COMMON HUMANITY

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

The word “religion” is derived from the Latin “religare”, meaning, "to tie” or “to bind." In this sense, religion binds a person to a community, culture, course of action, ideology, etcetera. Religion has been described in different dictionaries as: (1) “A set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe”. (2) “The creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.” (3) “A cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements.” (4) “Human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence.” Religion is commonly regarded as consisting of the way people deal with ultimate concerns about their lives and their fate after death(https://www.bing.com/search?q=what+is+religion).

 

In our world today, religion has become a sword in the hands ofself-centered people who keep making religion a threat to humanity. Many of the killings in our world today are carried out in God’s name by people who are actually fighting for their selfish interest. This egoistic concern has taken the form of intra-religious and inter-religious violence as prophesied by Jesus: “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone on account of my name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved (Matthew 10: 21-22). Queen Elizabeth the first of England suspected that her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots might claim the English throne. Elizabeth therefore kept Mary under lock and key for many years, brought up charges against her and authorized her beheading in 1587. (http://www.answers.com/Q/Why_did_Elizabeth_have_to_kill_Mary_queen_of_Scots). The popular belief is that Queen Elizabeth the first killed her cousin Mary of Scots because she refused to renounced her Catholic faith to profess the faith in the Anglican Church. 

 

Some people and communities fear novelty. This phobia for new ideas coupled with conservatism can make some people declare a brother in the community who has a new message as enemy. Conservative people do not care whether the message is divine or not. Many want to remain in the status quo. The Prophet of Islam pitied his tribe who thought that all that mattered was their pagan religion and commerce. Upon leaving Mecca, Prophet Muhammad (SWA) said, “O Mecca! I know you are the most blessed (khayr) of the land of God. If your people did not force me to leave I would never have left you” (Ibn Kathir). The Quraysh, his own tribe rejected his message and wanted to kill him to protect their pagan religion. Jesus was very conscious of the fact that “no prophet is accepted in his hometown (Luke 4:24). Very often, religious fanaticism blinds some people to the reality of our common humanity. 

 

Imagine how the world would look like without the Messiah. Without the “New Testament”, the stories of war in the “Old Testament” could be used to support violence. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, ‘You shall not kill,and anyone who kills will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell (Matthew 5: 21-22). Jesus is the true peace of the world (Ephesians 2:13-18). Jesus is the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Before the coming of Christ, a neighbour was only a fellow Jew or a fellow Israelite. Jesus removed this narrow mindedness in relationship to include the whole of humanity. For Jesus whoever is a human being is a neighbour as explained in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). On the last day, God will judge us by whatever we did to the least of our brother and sister (Matthew 25:40) and not whatever we did to our Christian or Muslim brother and Sister. 

 

If God wanted a world with one language, one religion and one culture, it would have been possible for him to do. God loves unity in diversity but humanity is the common factor that qualifies us to be members of God’s kingdom. There are so many religions in the world that relates to the same God in different ways. We could attempt the groupings of religion into Abrahamic, Indian, Iranian, East Asian and Indigenous traditional religions. Among the Abrahamic religions are Bábism, Bahá'í Faith, Christianity, Gnosticism, Islam, Judaism, Mandaeans, Sabians, Samaritanism etc. Among the Indian religions are, Ayyavazhi, Bhakti Movement, Buddhism, Din-i-Ilahi, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, etc. Among the Iranian religions are, Manichaeism, Mazdakism, Mithraism, Yazdânism, Zoroastrianism etc. Among the East Asian religions are, Confucianism, Shinto, Taoism, etc. Among the Indigenous traditional religions are, African, American, Eurasian, Oceania/Pacific, etc. Among the Historical polytheism are, Ancient Near Eastern, Indo-European, Hellenistic, etc. Among the New age Religions are, Esotericism, Mysticism etc. 

Among these religions, what is commonly known as “World's Major Religions" are Baha'I, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Shinto, Taoism etc. Imagine what would happen if all these religions are practiced in a particular country with everyone relating only to their fellow adherents and fighting adherents of other religions as infidels? Lack of the awareness of our common humanity has made religious pluralism a serious challenge. For instance, in India there is tension between adherents of Hindu, Buddha, Islam and Christian religions. China and the Middle East have their stories to tell. Europe and America are not even spared as in the case of the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. In Nigeria, there is intra-religious tension and conflicts. There is tension within Christianity and Islam. If the government feels threaten by the Shiites, you can imagine the fears that exist in the citizens especially in Abuja. 

Many people have written about how religion has taken over humanity in Nigeria but Some Muslims and Christians have saved victims of violence in Nigeria irrespective of their religious affiliation. These are people with human hearts who have value for our common humanity. Pope Benedict XVI appealed passionately at a traditional Christian prayer that: “In the world there is too much violence, too much injustice, and therefore that this situation cannot be overcome except by countering it with more love, with more goodness. This ‘more’ comes from God: it is his mercy which was made flesh in Jesus and which alone can ‘tip the balance’ of the world from evil to good, starting with that small and decisive “world” which is the human heart” (Benedict XVI, Angelus Reflection for Sunday, 18 February 2007. The Nigeria Inter Religious Council (NIREC) came into being after the dawn of democracy in 1999 to serve as a platform for high-level dialogue between the leaders of Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, thereby promoting public good and the humanity that binds us to the Almighty God. Faith in our common humanity is key to becoming a better Christian or Muslim. Otherwise, you will be a bad ambassador of your religion. May our human life on earth give us the grace to be with God our creator at the dusk of our earthly life.

Rev. Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua is the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC)

 

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