Another Example of Religious Extremism
Note: This post is a lot longer than normal!
This morning I had a late start for work. A Newcastle work colleague I was to meet 'on site' was delayed on the drive to Sydney. I had time on my hands, and was delivering the kids to school and daycare when I inadvertently tuned into Radio National's 'Religion Report' program.
Now it's not often I tune the radio dial that far to the left, and even rarer that I'd listen to a program about religion. I'm very much an agnostic; almost an atheist. But the subject was about religious diversity in Australia, and I was interested despite myself.
The first segment was about a report entitled 'Religion, Cultural Diversity and Safeguarding Australia,' written by the Australian Multicultural Foundation in association with the World Conference on Religion and Peace, and RMIT and Monash Universities.
Working in the shadow of September 11th and the Bali bombs, the report may have been conceived in a certain climate of anxiety, but in fact it paints a largely positive picture of how things stand between different faith groups, in spite of religious tensions on the global front. Certainly between Christians and Muslims, the report shows that September 11th has been the catalyst for a lot of open dialogue and mutual curiosity.The report makes a number of recommendations to the government. These include replacing the reading of the Lord's Prayer in Parliament with a rotating roster of prayers drawn from various faiths .....
Followed was an interview with Gary Bouma. It's all in the transcripts, but he painted a Rosy picture of religious harmony in Australia. Despite September 11, or perhaps because of it, the faiths were making an effort to ...
discuss theological, political and social issues. The quality of the discourse in this country has got to be among the best in the world, and this goes on quietly and it's just happening all over Melbourne at the moment, and Sydney as well.
Paints a nice picture, doesn't it? Religious organisations respecting other peoples beliefs and trying to get on together.
But things aren't quite as rosy as they seem. A group of Muslim and Christian organisations are critical of the report. The program's next guest, the Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, put the dissenting view.
He didn't like the idea of a 'multi-faith' Australia ...
I think the report suffers from putting social cohesion ahead of the health of the actual religions involved. It says 'create a multi-faith Australia'. See there is no religion called multi-faith. There are competing, irreconcilably different religious claims out there......You can't have that; after all, it is the founder of the Christian faith who actually said, a quote that I think the report would find appalling, 'I have not come to bring peace, but a sword'. Jesus said that.
And I thought Jesus was about getting along with others! According to Forsyth, and using a selective bible quote to backup his argument, it's ok, desirable even, to actively not get along with your religiously different neighbours.
The interviewer then asked Forsyth about the report's suggestion of having a rotating roster of prayers at the opening of each day's session of Parliament, rather than have just the Lord's Prayer as is done now.
I think I'd rather have no prayers myself, than a kind of cycle of prayers.
No argument from me there. The further we separate church from state, the better.
He goes on ....
The Lord's Prayer... If I came to this country as a Sikh or a Muslim, I'd kind of say "Oh well, I'd expect that". But when I've got one day a prayer to Allah and the next day a Hindu prayer, if I'm a devout Christian, I'm not going to be able to take part in prayers to what I believe are false gods.
Well, neither are they when it's the Christian's turn.
So, it's ok if a non Christian is subjected to a Christian prayer, because the Christian God is the true God, but not ok if a Christian is subjected to a non Christian prayer.
Can you imagine the uproar if the Grand Mufti at Lakemba Mosque made similar comments from a Muslim perspective? It would take up the first five pages of Rupert's Daily Telegraph!
What really worries people like Forsyth is that if the population accepts that all religions have equal standing and deserve equal respect, then it means they've realised that the history behind them need not be taken literally, and that it doesn't really matter which one you belong to. You can just shop around and join the one that suits you best. Or ignore them entirely.
The religious extremists, Christian, Muslim or whatever, will never accept that different religions can live side by side in harmony. It's about power. Conflict is required to ensure their particular brand reigns supreme.
God help us all if they ever get their way.
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good read tony, but I'm confused by the end because as far as I know they are getting their way. I think it was a yes minister episode where they talked about british foregin policy being one of 'sustained disruption', and this is what religious fundamentalists, politicians, anyone 'in power' wants. because if there is no conflict, then the people start getting disatisfied with their lives and the way they're governed or led or 'spiritually advised' and then you get unfortunate things like people demanding their rights and social upheaval and revolution and the power bodies having no conflict with anyone else to fall back on as an excuse for them being twats.
btw, I hate when religions get in quote-battles, anyone with half a brain can argue twenty different interpretations of 'I came not to bring peace, but a sword.' tossers.
They certainly are in the US, with moves to teach creationism as science is schools, etc. But they're not getting much traction here.
Regardless of what you think of Howard, he doesn't seem to give the religious right much time of day.
And you're right about the selective bible quote to back up an argument. You can find a bible quote to agree with just about anything.
One of my pet hates, too.
good point. An interesting interview with him here re. family first.
http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/political_transcripts/article_1656.asp