A Humane Human?

The idea of a humane human would certainly sound absurd at first. Isn’t a human supposed to be humane in the first place or else where does the word humane come from?

To clarify what I mean by ‘humane’, I will refer you to:
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English humain
Date: circa 1500
1. marked by compassion, sympathy, or consideration for humans or animals
2. characterized by or tending to broad humanistic culture : humanistic humane studies

Collins’ Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners
1. Humane people act in a kind, sympathetic way towards other people and animals, and try to do them as little harm as possible.
2. Humane values and societies encourage people to act in a kind and sympathetic way towards others, even towards people they do not agree with or like.

In today’s societies, we have been numbed in our senses by the bombardment of media, the hectic ness of our lifestyle, the cruelty of life happening around us and sometimes the struggle within us.

How often do we come across a violent scene in a movie or TV screen and yet protest against the film maker for generating the scene just to enhance the cinematic effect? Or have we encountered so many violent scenes on the screen such that we are already immune to it? Do we scream in horror at the decapitation of a body or at how a bullet can effectively destroy a life within a split second or even at the marital arts guru who can effectively finish off a human life with their bare arms within seconds? Do we revel in horror or disgust at the crude level of civilisation when humans are portrayed only as sex slaves no different from animals on the scene or on the Internet? We join in with the others for the level of entertainment that is supposed to be intended? I wonder how far we come degrade ourselves in the level of civilisation. Some people will disagree with me and will generally categorize all these scenes as a form of entertainment.

I would agree that there are some forms of violence in some films that are unavoidable in order to convey the reality of the scenes to us. Examples are ‘Saving Private Ryan’, ‘Schindler’s List’ that try to show us how the soldiers died in action and how innocent Jews died in the hand of the Nazis. I greatly applaud the director Steven Spielberg for bringing the reality of war onto the scene. These scenes should make us be more wary about causes of war, the tragedy it would inflict on the affected family members, the cost of human lives and the insanity it might propagate. But there are some films and TV serials like ‘Rambo-First Blood’, ‘World Wrestling Federation’, which I question the effect of explicit violence on the audience. Would the audience be lead to think that the lives of human being are worth nothing in the eye of the portrayed hero? Is this one of the reasons why there are more and more violence in the school campus? I would believe so, because of the mass appeal of such popular media and the other form of media such as the video games. Human beings in stunning and captivating video graphics are being made targets to be shot at and points are awarded for successfully destroying or crippling a human being. More recently is the kind of nudities that are shown in the pictures and videos on the Internet. The broadcasters are trying to satisfy the sexual desire of viewers by dehumanizing the victims or their so called actors.

Do we regard one another as human beings or objects? If we see them as human beings, as being made in the image of God, as being made as the highest level or at the pinnacle of God’s creation, then those actors who are portrayed as sex slaves and victimised objects are as valuable and dignified as a human being just as we are. What outrageous and selfish right do we have to demand that these people should degrade themselves just because we have created a market or demand for them? Is it because that we are able to afford this form of entertainment that they should continue to degrade themselves? Is it because that we are able to afford it that these people can be treated as an object to be toyed with? An object that we can dress and undress them as and when we like; an object that we can choose to have sex with and yet not be held accountable for; an object that we can choose to shoot at, to maim at, to decapitate with, so long as our desires can be satisfied?

Dear human beings, we are not fit to be human if we are not a humane being. We have not reflected much on what we have seen in the screen and what we have done to each others and what is actually happening around us. We are inflicting harm to each other and destroying each other and belittling each other such that we resemble less and less like a true human being who is made in the image of God.

When we are so tied down and burdened by our daily work, where is there space for us to reflect? Where is there avenue for us to relax and de-stress in a convenient way except to turn on the TV screen or sit ourselves in a theatre? But such a convenient and perhaps entertaining way to relax and de-stress may open up an avenue for us to dehumanize ourselves without us knowing it consciously. Do you realize how easy it is for us to succumb to external influence when we are tired mentally and physically? We lack the willpower to oppose whatever values which are inhumane when so many around us are doing the same thing, i.e. to entertain themselves to death. If you were to read C.S Lewis' ‘Mere Christianity’, notice how he makes a mockery of those who abuse their physical needs. He acknowledges that we have physical needs. Some people satisfy their sexual desire needs by appealing to sexually explicit scenes. C.S. Lewis asked whether it would be absurd if we will also degrade ourselves to a live show of actors displaying us what they are eating on stage when we believe that our needs can be satisfied by appealing to scenes.

Yes, we have needs, but we should seek to satisfy them through legitimate means and through avenues that maintain our dignity and self-respect for each other. It is only when we treat each other with dignity and self-respect that we can continue to be a humane human. It is only when we are humane human that our life is more meaningful. It is only when we are humane human that we can continue to help those who are in needs; to extend our hand to help those who are in disaster; to lend a helping hand to those who are victims to inhumane humans; to create a world which is a better living place. Just to quote Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror:

I’m starting with the man in the mirror, I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change(Refer to http://www.lyrics-domain.com/Man_in_The_Mirror_Lyrics.html,
for full text)

To make the world a better place, let us start with ourselves. And to echo the spirit in the ‘Communist Manifesto’,
“Let us unite to make this world a better place by learning to treat each other as a human being. We have nothing to lose but for the inhumanity that will continue to degrade us and demonize us. Humane human of all countries, unite!”
Lastly, we should and must spend more time to REFLECT. Stop allowing ourselves to be numbed by our senses and by the hectic ness of our lifestyle. I would like to end with a quote from David C. Stolinsky’s Entertaining Ourselves to Death:

Real life isn’t a video game. If we expect it to be, we encourage non-human behavior and mindless violence. Real life isn’t a TV show. If we expect it to be, we are more likely to act like hormone-drenched adolescents than like responsible adults. Real life isn’t a movie. If we expect it to be, we are likely to wind up not with a comedy or a drama, but with a tragic farce. If we’re not careful, we may succeed in entertaining our civilization to death. But we won’t die laughing.

(Refer to http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/8/27/220435.shtml,
for full text)

Visible grace made invisible; Invisible grace made visible

Visible grace made invisible; Invisible grace made visible

Saint Augustine of Hippo originates the concept of invisible grace made visible in the Holy Communion within the context of church. It is through the holy supper that we witnessed the visible grace of God. It is through the baptism that we continue to witness the visible grace of God. His grace is made explicit through these acts which are approved and sanctified in His sight.
Approved - because they are instituted by Jesus Christ and His disciples;
Sanctified - because through these acts, we are reminded once again that we are declared children of God and that Jesus as Jesus was once on earth, is now with heavenly Father and will be back again.

This link me to think of ‘visible made invisible and made visible’ again. All these take faith, which is mentioned by Pastor Cao in the church last month in May. When Jesus died on the cross and shed his blood for us, all these were visible in the sight of the people who were present to witness this dramatic and historic event. But in order for this to make an effect on the rest of mankind, it has to transcend the constrain of time. This demands that this visible grace be made invisible. It is only in this invisible form that it can affect the rest of the mankind not only then, but for eternity. Come to think of it, when we say we live in the present, we are living in the dimension of time. When we say eternity, it is actually the absence of time. However, for people like us today, to access to this historical fact, just like to access other historical facts like the First World War, Second World War and other historical events and figures in the past, we have to accept it on the basis of faith. Of course, there are some historical myths which do not qualify as facts. This would be based on evidential support such as archaeological findings, ancient documents, and other historical books which can attest to the authenticity of historical facts. What I am saying is that the death of historical Jesus is a historical fact and His resurrection is also a historical fact due to convincing evidential support. You will have to refer to ‘The New Testament’, ‘The Case for Christ’, ‘Know why you believe’, ‘Evidences that demand a verdict’ to look at the evidential support. But to accept this as a fact still demand a faith because we were not there at the spot to witness all these titanic events. So, to believe that Jesus died on the cross for us and that He conquered death and came back alive is to demand faith on our part and this is a faith in a visible grace made invisible.

To clarify more about what I mean by grace and faith here, I would need some space to clarify:When we use the word ‘grace’, this grace must be in a form which is directly related to us. For example, when we say that God has given us His grace, it must be in a form which we can relate or even experience directly. If my friend has been rescued miraculously from an accident, but not me, then it would seem that my friend has experienced a form of grace from God, but not me. However, to admit it as a grace would still demand an act of faith. However, not everyone would see it as a grace. Many non-believers would consider it as a form of luck. The concept of grace pre-supposes a giver and a receiver.

The faith that we are talking about then is not just about faith in the existence of an event or person. But a form of faith that trusts you to make decision and this decision causes an effect for eternity. For example, I may make a decision to eat chicken rice or duck noodle for lunch, but this type of decision is light-weight which does not affect me for posterity. But if I make a decision to be a Christian, I am moving from a status of non-believer to believer, from the realm of temporal world into eternity, from a self-centred world to a Christ-centred world. This decision of momentous consequence demands a different form of faith which we use normally. And this form of faith can only come from God. (Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ; Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.)

When we have accepted Christ as our Saviour, our life should be transformed and renewed continuously. This form of transformation is an evidence of God’s work within us that is being made visible to the world. This is when God’s invisible grace has been made visible in our life and through our life. This also demands faith on our part. Faith because we continue to believe that God is with us, is for those who love Him, that God is our Creator, He is guiding the unfolding of human history and that He is here always within us and transcends us. Because of our faith in Him and His words, this faith will continue to work within our life and transform our life. We will become a testimony for God in this world that we are living today.

So, the first step to believe in Jesus Christ as our Saviour demands faith. Even when we have become Christian, we have not reached an end stage yet. We are always in the process of ‘becoming’, always a follower of Christ, always being in the process of being made perfect, but never a stage where we can say ‘we have finished following Christ’ or ‘we have been perfected’. This continues to demand faith in our life. The Christian faith demands faith from the beginning to the end.

Thought on Da Vinci code

I have just finished reading the Da Vinci code. It took me two full days to finish it. Without the blessing of the school term's break, I would never have such the luxury to read a book without being interrupted. The book is a fascinating detective genre which is based on settings in Paris and London. Perhaps because I have been to these two places recently, the details descriped by Dan Brown still strike a chord within my memory. The whole mystery in this weaved fictional story is on a guarded royal bloodline alleged to be from Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. Those without some background in the resurrection, early Christianity and the quest for the historical Christ in the nineteen century might be caught off-guard by Brown's theory to the alternative Christ.

I am won over by the intricacies of the detective story with characters like Harvard professor Robert Langdon, French cryptologist Sophie Neveu, Neveu's grandfather Jacques Sauniere, French Justice Police Captain Fache, Lieutenant Collet, British Royal Historian Sir Leigh Teabing, etc. There are twists and turns in the story and one would never expect the identity of the Teacher. I guess there will be a number of Christians who would be enraged by the make-up story of Jesus Christ having an affair with Mary Magdalene. At the same time, many people might buy into this story based on Dan Brown's compelling fabrication. There are indeed many books which are coming up to dispel the fable created by Dan Brown as well as the Catholic Church's condemnation of it.

My view is that this book is worthwhile to read as a detective story. The author is a good story teller and the urge to know the mystery will compel any reader to want to finish it in one reading. Do take note that this book is a fictional one based on some research background. It is the descriptions and the way the story unfolds that made the whole book compelling to read.

Introduction

The purpose of subscribing to a blog is to enable my to pen down my thoughts and insights and to share with those who are interested. It is my hope that such sharing will:
1) Discipline myself to crystallize my thought;
2) Provide an avenue for me to publish my thought and as such to be coherent and systematic in what I am penning down;
3) Provide a platform for others and myself to interact and to widen my views and exposure, though I may not necessary reply to any of the posted comments.