Monday, 24 November 2008
God-Talk, Fatwas & Inquisition Theology
Irene Fernandez acquitted
S Pathmawathy | Nov 24, 08 12:12pm
* BREAKING NEWS The Kuala Lumpur High Court today acquitted migrant workers' activist Irene Fernandez, bringing an end to a 13-year court battle.
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act of faith.
The act of faith as described by Catholic tradition appeared to Luther as centered and encapsulated in the Law while it should have been an expression of the acceptance of the
Gospel. In Luther's opinion, the act of faith was turned into the very opposite of what it was; for faith, to Luther, is tantamount to liberation from the Law, but its Catholic version appeared to him as a subjugation under the Law.
This phenomenon of "religious edicts" being passed by "Godmen" isn't as isolated as it may seem. This has been the rule, rather than the exception in the Abrahamic faiths/sects for ages. More so, when the political establishment is intellectually and ideologically bankrupt, as it was during the time when the "Holy Roman Emperors" were attempting to perpetuate their rule through ignorance. They used religion to reinforce the perception that they were indispensible, in that they were the temporal guardians of "souls" in the hereafter.
After all why wouldn't a "right-thinking" public accept them as rulers on earth, when they care for the people's souls, right??!!
It gives them reason to "soldier on" in "defense" of whatever they seem worthy, so as to divert anger & attention from the corrupt & inefficient politicians, to the taxpayers themselves.
Today, these things would (if ever), rarely happen in a civilised nation.
Thanks to the Mahathirist antidote to earlier PAS-inspired "revivalism"/extremism through "Amanat Hadi" - In Malaysia however, they are enforced through using instruments of state, at the taxpayers' expense - just as in the Papal politics or "Islamist Republics/Monarchies".
Who knows - Maybe one day, we will have Rela-like uniformed Mat Skodeng "SWAT teams" ....
Anyway, I found some interesting things on the web with regard to this "Inquisition Theology", which speaks of orthodox "Catholicism", but quite comparable to the thinking of the Godmen we have in town.
Here's something from a forum on TheologyOnline:
Well, let's define what an Inquisition is: It is the execution of convincted heretics. What is a heretic? A heretic is a baptised person who denies or obstinately doubts some part of the data of divine revelation. A heresy is a belief which runs contrary to some part of the data of divine revelation.
For this reason, is it proper to call Hindus in India heretics? No. Is it proper to call Hinduism a heresy? Absolutely.
So, is killing those who are guilty of heresy acceptable? This is easy to answer. It is absolutely acceptable, and perhaps even mandated.
In heresy, there is a victim: Those who might be tempted to convert to that heresy.
Furthermore, there ought to be a distinction in the sort of thing lost in a crime: There is the sort of crime which threatens physical sorts of integrity and privacy, like theft, murder, rape, and the like.
Then, there is the sort of crime which threatens the soul. Our Lord says that this is the worse crime. "Fear not those who kill the body, but the soul (Paraphrase of Matthew 10:28)."
And indeed, heresy brings the death of the soul. Outside of the Church, there is no salvation (Extra ecclesiam nulla salus). To intentionally believe heresy is to excommunicate oneself from the Church. Therefore, to intentionally believe heresy is to close to yourself the gates of Heaven, and open wide for yourself the Jaws of Hell.
We say that murder ought to be met with execution. It is much more fitting, then, that heresy be met with execution, if the heretic is unrepentent.
So, in answer to the first part...is it right that heretics be executed? Not only is it right, but it is demanded by Divine Justice.
However, what about the Inquisition now?
Well, we can't say "It was right then, but not now." Justice is justice...end of story.
The problem lies in this, though: The vast majority of those who believe heresy are only formally heretics. Which is to say, that they believe that which is contrary to the Church, but do so out of ignorance of the truth. Therefore, they are formally heretics, but not subjectively.
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In comments from the letter that appeared on Sunday in Corriere della Sera, Italy’s leading daily, the pope said the book “explained with great clarity” that “an inter-religious dialogue in the strict sense of the word is not possible.”
In theological terms, he added, “a true dialogue is not possible without putting one’s faith in parentheses.”
-Pope questions interfaith dialogue ============================================
I answer that, With regard to heretics two points must be observed: one, on their own side; the other, on the side of the Church. On their own side there is the sin, whereby they deserve not only to be separated from the Church by excommunication, but also to be severed from the world by death. For it is a much graver matter to corrupt the faith which quickens the soul, than to forge money, which supports temporal life. Wherefore if forgers of money and other evil-doers are forthwith condemned to death by the secular authority, much more reason is there for heretics, as soon as they are convicted of heresy, to be not only excommunicated but even put to death.
On the part of the Church, however, there is mercy which looks to the conversion of the wanderer, wherefore she condemns not at once, but "after the first and second admonition," as the Apostle directs: after that, if he is yet stubborn, the Church no longer hoping for his conversion, looks to the salvation of others, by excommunicating him and separating him from the Church, and furthermore delivers him to the secular tribunal to be exterminated thereby from the world by death. For Jerome commenting on Galatians 5:9, "A little leaven," says: "Cut off the decayed flesh, expel the mangy sheep from the fold, lest the whole house, the whole paste, the whole body, the whole flock, burn, perish, rot, die. Arius was but one spark in Alexandria, but as that spark was not at once put out, the whole earth was laid waste by its flame."
Reply to Objection 1. This very modesty demands that the heretic should be admonished a first and second time: and if he be unwilling to retract, he must be reckoned as already "subverted," as we may gather from the words of the Apostle quoted above.
Reply to Objection 2. The profit that ensues from heresy is beside the intention of heretics, for it consists in the constancy of the faithful being put to the test, and "makes us shake off our sluggishness, and search the Scriptures more carefully," as Augustine states (De Gen. cont. Manich. i, 1). What they really intend is the corruption of the faith, which is to inflict very great harm indeed. Consequently we should consider what they directly intend, and expel them, rather than what is beside their intention, and so, tolerate them.
Reply to Objection 3. According to Decret. (xxiv, qu. iii, can. Notandum), "to be excommunicated is not to be uprooted." A man is excommunicated, as the Apostle says (1 Corinthians 5:5) that his "spirit may be saved in the day of Our Lord." Yet if heretics be altogether uprooted by death, this is not contrary to Our Lord's command, which is to be understood as referring to the case when the cockle cannot be plucked up without plucking up the wheat, as we explained above (10, 8, ad 1), when treating of unbelievers in general.
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Chew on this, Mei Fun!!!
The following in Uncle Lim's response to a query from a loser, an ex-MP from MCA:-
I will employ Chew Mei Fun at a salary befitting her real qualifications – send me her cv
MCA Wanita chief and Pempena Executive Chairman, Datuk Paduka Chew Mei Fun publicly asked me on Thursday whether I will employ and “feed” her if she resigns from Pempena. (Sin Chew Daily, Guang Ming Daily)
My response – Chew should send me her job application with her cv and I will employ her at a salary befitting her real qualifications.
However, Malaysians are amazed at her crass audacity – which is typical of many MCA leaders – that Malaysians owe her a living, and the government must give her a job and “feed” her just because she lost to Tony Pua in the March general election in the Petaling Jaya Utara parliamentary constituency!
If this is the case, then Chew should have been truthful in the March general election campaign and should have owned up publicly that she would be “fed” by the Barisan Nasional government even if she loses in the parliamentary contest against Pua – that she was in an envious “cannot lose” situation, whatever the outcome of the election!
Be that as it may, Chew may be out of her job as Pempena Executive Chairman faster than she think, especially if the Star report “Pempena probe has Azalina fuming” (20.11.98) is to be believed, that the Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman is mulling over whether to shut down the subsidiary of the Tourism Ministry!
The report said Azalina was “irked” by the “nonchalant attitude” of those being questioned over the RM50 million Pempena Group of Companies scandals.
She said:
“I have been told the immediate standard response we have been getting is that it is the Government’s money and ‘why should we care’ statements as if it is the Govern¬ment’s obligation to invest with them.
“It is so disgusting when nobody cares. How can you not care when it comes to the people’s money?”
Lashing out at the poor Pempena investments, Azalina said:
“Pempena should close down if it cannot invest properly. If it fails, it fails. Then we pick up the pieces and carry on.”
What is most shocking is that such outrageous “nonchalant attitude” is fully inherited by the current Pempena executive chairman as illustrated by Chew’s utter contempt for accountability, transparency and good governance when she:
Friday, 21 November 2008
" Umno Revivalism - Reinforcing the "Seige Mentality"... contd
Allah may be disappointed that I'm no fan of the name or word. I'm not much for this idea of the use of Allah in translated Christian Scripture either.
From what I know, the word is just a word for "god", as in "theos".
Apparently, Allah originates from pagan gods of of the preIslamic era, back to the days of Hammurabi. Before Islam, in Arabia, Pagans believed that "Allah" had three daughters. They worshiped them among the other 360 gods and goddesses. The infamous Satanic Verses were that "al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat were called “the daughters of Allah”" - and we all know what happened to Salman Rushdie ....
The archeological evidence demonstrates that the dominant religion of Arabia was the cult of the Moon-god.In Old Testament times, Nabonidus (555-539 BC), the last king of Babylon, built Tayma, Arabia as a center of Moon-god worship. Segall stated, "South Arabia's stellar religion has always been dominated by the Moon-god in various variations." Many scholars have also noticed that the Moon-god's name "Sin" is a part of such Arabic words as "Sinai," the "wilderness of Sin," etc. When the popularity of the Moon-god waned elsewhere, the Arabs remained true to their conviction that the Moon-god was the greatest of all gods. While they worshipped 360 gods at the Kabah in Mecca, the Moon-god was the chief deity. Mecca was in fact built as a shrine for the Moon-god.
This is what made it the most sacred site of Arabian paganism. In 1944, G. Caton Thompson revealed in her book, The Tombs and Moon Temple of Hureidha, that she had uncovered a temple of the Moon-god in southern Arabia. The symbols of the crescent moon and no less than twenty-one inscriptions with the name Sin were found in this temple. An idol which may be the Moon-god himself was also discovered. This was later confirmed by other well-known archeologists.
The evidence reveals that the temple of the Moon-god was active even in the Christian era.
However, I don't care if people want to call their God "Jack" - for God doesn't depend on our language. If that's how the translation has been over the years, so be it.
For the faithful, it is within their right to do so.
Same goes here.
It is sad that people wish to fight over these petty things in these days ....
According to http://www.worldscriptures.org/,
10,000,000 in Indonesia,
7,181,000 in Malaysia,
390,000 in Singapore,
21,000 in Myanmar,
more than 20,000 elsewhere.
Part of the Bible was published for the first time in 1629.
The New Testament was first published in 1668.
The complete Bible was first published in 1733.
- that's long before many from Nusantara were even literate - in Malay or Arabic!!
As such, I'd say that common sense & basic decency dictates that Sikhs and Christians can use it, within the context of their worship.
Just how many conversions to Sikhism or Christianity can be attributed to this word "Allah"!
None!!
So why infringe on their right to practice their religion as they deem fit?
The argument that there are "other words for God in Malay" does not hold in this case - DBP isn't the guardian of all versions of Malay. Should the publishers not subscribe to DBP, it's the choice of their faithful if they want to accept it.
DBP definitely doesn't have rights to the use of Punjabi anyways ....
They want a confrontation in which they hope to triumph so that they can thump their chest in pride. They want to impress upon Muslims and Malays that they are "under attack", and as such need to "rise to the occasion".
Who are these "defenders of God" to dictate that someone cannot use a word in accepted in their vocabulary?
It's just that certain quarters want to split hairs to claim something for themselves, when even Arabs have no problems with the word being used by other religions.
Next they will attempt to prevent all non-Muslim religious literature publication and worship in Malay.
I found a blog Comparative Religion Studies by effry saiful of Al Azhar Uni, which had some discussion on this.
(for more, go to everytongue.com)
English (New Living Translation of the Bible) "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."
Arabic
Bahasa Melayu
Allah sangat mengasihi orang di dunia ini sehingga Dia memberikan Anak-Nya yang tunggal, supaya setiap orang yang percaya kepada Anak itu tidak binasa tetapi beroleh hidup sejati dan kekal. Allah mengutus Anak-Nya ke dunia ini bukan untuk menghakimi dunia, tetapi untuk menyelamatkannya.
Here's a comment from MT:-written by gorshan, November 21, 2008 18:41:33
The word Allah is written in the Sikh Holy Scripture The Granth Sahib and in the Shabad kirtan
"Awal Allah Noor Upaya, Kudrat kae sab bandey ek noor tae sabh jag upjaya, kaun bhaley kaun mandey?"
First, Allah created the Light; then, by His Creative Power, He made all mortal beings.
From the One Light, the entire universe welled up. So who is good, and who is bad?
The Fatwa Council should first take the Sikh scriptures into consideration before coming out with any fatwa banning the use of the term 'Allah' by non-muslim.
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Just for Kicks, Take A Look at My Nose - I'm Mikaeel!!
(from MalaysianInsider)
MJ converts to Islam, says British tabloid
LONDON, Nov 21 — Michael Jackson has become a Muslim — and changed his name to Mikaeel. The skint superstar, 50, donned Islamic garb to pledge allegiance to the Quran in a ceremony at a pal’s mansion in Los Angeles.Jacko sat on the floor wearing a tiny hat after an imam was summoned to officiate — days before the singer is due to appear at London’s High Court where he is being sued by an Arab sheikh.
A source told last night how Jacko, brought up as a Jehovah’s Witness, decided to convert as he used a studio at the home of his chum to record a new album.
The star — whose hits include “The Way You Make Me Feel” — was spotted looking “a bit down” by a producer and a songwriter who had both embraced Islam.
The source said: “They began talking to him about their beliefs, and how they thought they had become better people after they converted. Michael soon began warming to the idea.
“An imam was summoned from the mosque and Michael went through the shahada, which is the Muslim declaration of belief.”
Mikaeel is the name of one of Allah’s angels.
“Jacko rejected an alternative name, Mustafa — meaning ‘the chosen one’”.
British singer Yousef Islam, 60 — who was called Cat Stevens until he famously converted — turned up to help Jacko celebrate.
It was his pals David Wharnsby — a Canadian songwriter — and producer Phillip Bubal who counselled Jacko.
The pair’s new names are Dawud Wharnsby Ali and Idris Phillips.
Jacko now prays to Mecca after the ceremony at the Hollywood Hills home of Toto keyboard player Steve Porcaro, 51, who composed music on the singer’s Thriller album.
Jacko, who rarely ventures out without a mask, is due to give evidence on Monday in a £4.7million (RM25 million) lawsuit brought by Prince Abdulla Al-Khalif of Bahrain.
The sheikh claims he bankrolled the singer’s lavish lifestyle in exchange for an exclusive recording contract. The billionaire sent songs for him to record but claims he was blanked.
He told the court yesterday: “Many times he confirmed to me he would pay me back.” — The Sun
Umno Revivalism - Reinforcing the "Seige Mentality".
By Debra Chong
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 — The ongoing lawsuit filed by the Catholic Church in Malaysia seeking a judicial review of the government decision to ban it from using the word “Allah” is not a matter that can be decided by the courts, says lawyer Mubashir Mansor.
“We are making an application under Section 84 of the Courts of Judicature Act for the High Court to stay the effect of the proceedings in order to state a case to be determined by the Federal Court on the effect of relevant provisions of the Federal Constitution,” he said.
“The effect is whether or not the present issue is justiciable, something that should be decided by a court of law.
“We are saying that this issue is not,” he added.
Mubashir is acting on behalf of three state Islamic councils, namely Malacca, Penang and Terengganu, which are seeking to intervene in the case.
He told reporters at the High Court here that he would be filing his application to the Federal Court in Putrajaya in the next two weeks.
A total of eight Muslim organisations today joined the Home Minister and the federal government as respondents in the suit filed by the church on the right to use the word in its publication and practices.
The other five are the Federal Territory Religious Council, Selangor Religious Council, Kedah Religious Council, Johor Religious Council and the Malaysian Chinese-Muslim Association.
The Malaysian Gurdwaras Association, representing the Sikh community, had also sought to be included in the court case for the right to use "Allah" in their religious practices.
Justice Lau Bee Lan, of the KL High Court of Appellate and Special Powers Division, fixed Feb 27 for mention to enable the various Muslim organisations time to file their affidavits.
The Catholic Church's official publication, The Herald, had in May this year won the right to challenge the Home Minister's decision to ban it from using the word "Allah" as a synonym for God in its Malay-language section.
The counsel for the church, Porres Royan, said that the church had previously objected to the inclusion of these parties seeking to intervene in their case, but had changed its mind.
Asked to comment on Mubashir's claims, Porres replied that he did not understand what they wanted.
He affirmed that the church merely wanted the Home Minister's decision overturned.
"The Home Minister decided that we cannot use the word 'Allah'," he said.
"We are saying that decision is wrong," he concluded.