Religious Freedom Is Necessry to Protect Freedom

An article in the Catholic Peace Weekly is headlined: As religions need freedom, so does humanity need religion to protect freedom. The article considers two writers who have little sympathy for Christianity and yet express ideas not foreign to Christianity.

The world's interest in the epidemic is growing and the novel The Plague by Albert Camus (1913~1960) has again become a best seller, thanks to Corona 19. Camus himself called the book an "anti-Christian book." People are now busy opening this book rather than the Bible. The interest in Yuval Harari the author of Homo Deus is no less of interest. The world media confronts and consults historians, not religious leaders, to overcome the crisis facing humanity.

What are the challenges to religion revealed through the Corona 19 phenomenon? The writer looks at the messages these two intellectuals present to see if religion can come down from its abstractness and express the universality of truth based on the concreteness of reality.

Why are people reading The Plague (1947) again? The novel was rated as a masterpiece at the end of World War II. It's based in the port city of Algeria, Oran. The Plague tells us that life is a rebellion against this absurd world but we don't give up hope even in the face of cruel reality and death from the plague.

The interpretations of the book are many. The Plague was used to symbolize the internalization of the war thinking prevalent at the time in the setting of the closed city of Oran and the way the characters in the novel respond to the reality of the plague.

Another interpretation would emphasize the human solidarity we should have in the face of the crisis, whether as an individual or as an entire group like the Oran citizens. There is no pure individual situation for Camus. Each situation affects all and requires a common solution. 

The importance of solidarity also agrees with the author of Sapiens and Homo Deus. In an interview, Harari pointed out that the greatest danger threatening humanity is hate, greed, and ignorance, which is the human inner devil, not the coronavirus, and hopes they will overcome the current crisis through compassion and international solidarity.

Harari predicted a change in the traditional perception of death after coronavirus. In a contribution to the British daily newspaper The Guardian on April 20, he said, "There are technical solutions to all technical problems. To overcome death, we do not have to wait for Jesus' return. Just a few scientists in the lab. In the past, death was a profession for priests and theologians, but now the engineers in the lab have taken over."

This is the same as the content analyzed through Homo Deus published in 2015 and indicates that his opinion did not change even in the corona situation. In the same book, Harari said, "Modern science and culture take a completely different attitude toward life and death. They do not regard death as a metaphysical mystery, and, of course, they do not see the meaning of life coming from death."

In The Guardian, he said, "The best minds of mankind are no longer trying to figure out what death means. Instead, they are busy prolonging lives." Because of the advancement in science and technology, he predicted that humans would put more emphasis on extension rather than finding religious and metaphysical implications for death.

At the same time, Camus and Harari recognize the problems and inequality of human history that will remain and not a rosy future brought by science. Camus in his writings drew limitations on the scope and role of science, saying, "Science explains functions, not existence."

In The Guardian, Harari said, "Doctors can't solve the mystery of human existence, they can only provide extended lives." He continued, "If human life is extended indefinitely within a few centuries, it is only possible for a small number of billionaire children."

Both warn against 'totalitarianism'. Critics point out that Camus, who went through World War II, viewed war, totalitarianism, and Nazism as a catastrophe.

In the "Post Coronavirus World," published in the Financial Times in March, Harari stressed that citizens do not have to choose between personal privacy and health, and have the right to both. He warns of the shift of the center of gravity to the totalitarian surveillance system in the name of the health of citizens in the corona crisis, which is not a good sign.

Despite Harari's criticism of the values ​​and meanings of religion, there exist mutual ideological agreements on human consciousness and freedom. Pope Benedict XVI emphasized in The Light of the World (2010) that "as humans developed, their abilities increased, but not their moral and human maturity and potential. We have to regain the internal balance and also need mental growth." 

Pope Benedict XVI also warned in the Future Challenges (2005) that he was concerned and warned that scientific development would produce 'new oppressions' and a 'new ruling class'. Pope stressed that just like religion needs freedom, freedom needs religion to protect that freedom. The true nature of science disappears when science does not contribute to respect for human beings but aims only for the success of science itself. 

Despite Harari's view that science has replaced religion and that Silicon Valley will eventually create a new religion, it still remains the role of religion to fulfill its mission of criticizing the reckless praise of science. Will we have a new understanding of religion, including Christianity, in the 21st century? Will the views of the Camus and Harari and other intellectuals be reviewed in this new situation of the Coronavirus and its lessons. The writer concludes the article with the mention of the priest who appears in the novel The Plague, Fr. Paneloux, who dies but from causes unrelated to the plague. His experience of the Plague changed him.

Pride that Destroys Life

The recent suicide of an apartment security guard broke our heart, begins the column of the Catholic Times' Eyes of the Believer, by a parish priest. An apartment resident constantly assaulted a security guard making violent threats that were too much for the guard, and he ended his life.

There was an appeal in his suicide note; he had no way to solve the oppression, this is a good example of classism— class discrimination and exclusion based on social class which is to benefit the upper class at the expense of what is considered the lower class. It is rooted in society and emerges at times as violence against human life and dignity.

Not long ago, in the United States, an African American, George Floyd, was choked on the knees of a white police officer for about eight minutes before he died. He said he couldn't breathe repeatedly but no response from the officer. The officer was immediately arrested for murder, and protests have intensified throughout the United States, leading to the deployment of soldiers.
 
Even though the States are dealing with the Corona 19, the riots in response to the death of George Floyd
has complicated the situation due to this extreme case of racism. A white police officer in a 'Gap' position dealing with the 'Eul' offender who was African American. Would the police have the same attitude towards a white man?
 
'Gap-Eul relations' in Korean society comes from business language where two people are in contractual situations. 'Gap' or (A) is in the dominant position and 'Eul' ( B), is in the subordinate relationship. This is a hot issue in Korean society.

The above two incidents have in common that the perpetrator, 'Gap', was using threatening anti-life behavior against the victim, 'Eul', and the violence led to death. The difference, however, is that the apartment security guard's death was self-inflicted due to the culture of dominance and subordination, while the death of the African American was a direct killing.

The root of Gap's actions lies in mistaking the relationship between 'Gap' and 'Eul' as a vertical power structure. The tenant did not see the security guard as a person but treated him as an object, screaming and threatening him. The white police officer ignored the other person's personality, dignity, and treated him as a disposable object. The most extreme act towards another is violence and killing— a culture of anti-life, death.

Gap behavior belongs to the culture of death and is rooted in the pride that others can be controlled. Human pride is the absolutization of oneself.

Really, can one absolutize oneself? Then you become like God. So pride leads to sin and evil, and sin leads to death. God is the only absolute human being. The arrogant person depersonalizes the other person. As a believer, aren't we committing this? Our original sin itself is attributed to Adam and Eve's desire to become like God through the temptation of a serpent in the Garden of Eden. The Tower of Babel shown in Genesis also originated from the pride of humans who wanted to become like God, and as a result of committing the absolutization of themselves, life was devastated and chaos, division, confrontation, and conflict in language resulted. Therefore, mankind has been describing the history of sin as the history of the human desire to become like God. We must take this lesson of history and take the wise path to love and life, not the foolish path to sin and death.
 
Being a service to others like Jesus is the way Christians go about shaping the world. There is no desire to be a 'Gap' rather, the 'Eul'. which should be our default position as Christians. You must practice the love of giving yourself like the Master Jesus, who kneels, washes, and wipes the disciples' feet. Sugar and salt are definitely different. The sugar melts and gives its taste, but the salt melts and makes everything taste better. Let's be the person who plays the role of salt!

Responsibity of the Media

The Peace Column of the Catholic Peace Weekly gives readers some background with problems in the media presentation.

The politics of the Argentine military forces after the 1980s were terrible and mean. The so-called 'dirty war' (Guerra Sucia) against the people by the military is recorded as the country's black history. At that time, the Catholic Church also suffered considerable injuries. The military gave excessive favors to Church leaders who cooperated with the regime. On the other hand, the clergy who shouted out against human rights violations and for justice, the military cleverly tried to bring them under their control.

One of the tricks they mobilized was to throw 'suspicious bugs' into public opinion. For example, if there was a priest that was giving them trouble the intelligence agency falsified or distorted the information about him. Fake news that is dubious but heard often, remains.

Since we also experienced a military dictatorship, the techniques they used are not unfamiliar. "Lies are denied at first, then doubted, but if you continue, they will believe later." Words attributed to Goebbels, a prominent propaganda proponent of the Nazi regime.

The word 'suspicious bugs' is rarely used in Korea. This word was found in the "Bergoglio's List" a book written by an Italian journalist Nello Scavo. He went behind the scenes when the future Pope Francis was 39 years old and serving as the provincial superior of the Jesuits of Argentina in 1976. The military overthrew the government in a coup and went to work against those they thought were subversives and communists.

Several Western media alleged that Pope Francis remained silent or cooperated with violence during these times. The facts presented by the media were mostly 'suspicious bugs' that intelligence agencies used to degrade Bergoglio's reputation. Nello Scavo overturned the charges with this book. The author commented: "Suspicious bugs permeating public opinion can be more effective than threats and rude interrogation procedures."

The writer mentions the recent TV reports on the unfortunate incidents at the Youth Center of the Salesian Society a few months ago; SBS "I Want to Know That" also recently reported the connection between the death of young priests in the Incheon diocese and the sexual harassment case of the first president of the Catholic University of Incheon. The scandals reveal an undeniable fact. The Salesians and the Diocese of Incheon humbly apologized for this and promised improvement and renewal.

The reactions to the scandal are different. Along with the facts, are points of distortion, exaggeration, and speculation. In particular, although it was clear that the case of the Incheon Diocese was individual, there was a lot of criticism about the crew's attempt to stitch together the death of young priests with sexual harassment. The picture that is left with the viewer does not fit the facts.

There is no intention on the part of the writer to undermine the right of TV investigative reports that shed light on society's shady places and bring to light human rights problems and justice. He hopes the broadcast crew will not take his concern as a one-sided argument by an apologist. He is not overlooking the faults of the church. Even if the crew did not intend the results the 'bug of suspicion' released through the broadcast will continue for many years.

The Church needs to be more alert when doing God's work. "The Church, embracing sinners in her bosom, is at the same time holy and always in need of being purified, and incessantly pursues the path of penance and renewal."(section 8 of the Constitution of the Church) these concerns must manifest itself in speedy practice.

When we are slow in doing what is to be done, these crises will abound. A crisis does not suddenly strike like a thunderbolt. When the scandals come repeatedly, the real crisis is when people begin to react contemptuously.

The Public's View of the Media

The media for some time has been concerned with the coronavirus pandemic and how it has changed the lives of the citizens. A professor in Social Media and Politics gives the readers of the Catholic Peace weekly some of her reflections on the subject.

Risk is always a matter of media attention. Risk means the likelihood of bad things happening and serious consequences. Media usually regards negative events and accidents as important news ​​and warns and monitors because it contains uncertainty.

The most recent risk factor in our society is the new coronavirus infection (Corona19). The degree of objective risk here is large and consequently the subject of intensive media coverage. So, how does the media look at the danger of corona19 that we are all experiencing now?

The media's customary attitude toward the dangers is revealed in the reports on Corona 19. In the pandemic situation, the press overlooked a lot. The major headlines were used to relay the risk in real-time to the countries with the largest number of infected people. Certain words such as 'panic', 'horror' 'serious disturbance', were used repeatedly causing excessive fear. The stigma of placing a negative frame on a specific region or group was not much different from reporting in other areas of risk in the past. Care must be taken in that the stigma of the media can cause the public to fear or induce anger towards certain groups.

On April 28th, the Korean Journalists Association, the Korea Federation of Broadcasters and Journalists, and the Korean Science Journalists Association jointly formulated the 'Infectious Disease Reporting Rules' and provided expressions or directions to be wary of when reporting infectious diseases. The rules require closer attention, especially in the emergence of new infectious diseases. 

The newer the unknown, the more dangerous and the need to guard against speculation and exaggeration and the need to use objective and verified information. The press reports newness or novelty as an important news value, consequently, the way a new infectious disease is reported will have a great social impact.

The media's approach to dealing with risk is usually fragmentary. They continue to pay attention to the conflict and turmoil caused by the dangers of Corona 19 but insufficient to lead positive discussions. For example, our media released reports of unprecedented online school openings, postponement of the University Scholastic Ability Test, and the conflicts over the adjustment of the opening time. On the other hand, the New York Times and the BBC paid attention to the situation of children who may have greater fear and anxiety than adults. It provided detailed instructions on the educational methods needed to alleviate the fears of teenage students, the importance of accurately communicating Corona19, and how to prevent the infection. In our media, only 'on-site'  reports ” but no 'education'.

The public is very sensitive to negative information rather than positive information and tends to trust negative information when fear and anxiety are felt. Reports about danger can't help but be negative. However, the excessive competition to break the news and lack of objectivity will not help the public to properly recognize and prevent the risks involved.  It should be recalled again that the media are risk management agents and mediators between the public, experts, and policymakers.

How Would You Spend the Last Day On Earth?

We have all heard the answer of what Spinosa, the European philosopher, would do if he knew the world would end tomorrow. He would plant an apple tree. What would you do if you knew that today was the last day of life on earth? A university sociology professor asks the questions of the readers in an article in the Kyeongyang magazine. 

The professor introduces the book: Tuesdays with Morrie, a memoir by Mitch Albom on visits to his former sociology professor as he was dying of Lou Gehrig's disease. The former student asks Morrie if he had 24 hours of complete health what would he do. Morrie replies very simply: he would do what he has done on an average day, eat lunch with friends, and go for an evening walk.

Mitch the former student asks again how about something classy like a trip to Italy or having a meal with the president, something of that order. He responds: "No, that's it." He only desired the ordinary daily life that he lived. 

That was the whole point. And the writer would like also to have the same desire and she reminds us that Morrie was a sociologist. What do you say? Would you change being with your loved ones to have a meal with Warren Buffett?

Most of us would agree that on our last day we would desire our ordinary daily life. The wisdom tells us what is closest is often the most important and we miss them for one reason or another and the thought remains to bother us.

The coronavirus has made us think. As it spreads throughout the world it changed our daily lives. Many have confessed that it enabled them to see the preciousness of life. It's like the many things we have received gratis and carelessly let them disappear into the past without appreciating their value and look back with regret.

It is difficult to bring to mind the things that have hurt us. Let us recall the Sewol Ferry disaster and the parents of the students that died. What are the things that the parents remember the most vividly? They remember the children's laughter, preparing their lunches, the times they scolded the children. On the 6th anniversary, parents said they would so much want to open their eyes to see their child. They desire to hug their child and tell them how much they loved them. Hearing the parents speak of their children brought tears to the eyes of the writer.

With time we forget. We live as if we will live forever and although we know what should be done frequently we don't do it. If we want to diminish the future regrets we have to work to see the preciousness of our daily life and take time to experience deeply what we are doing. 

When we go on a journey we usually enjoy what we are doing because we know the limitation of time. Life is also a limited time to enjoy what we are doing but we often end up postponing. We take for granted that we will have another day until something that has been put off needs to be done and we panic. We should be living our lives as if we were on a journey.

Did you spend the day without being affected in any way? Did you fail to see anything of beauty today? Did you spend the day without learning anything? Did you pass the day without once saying thank you? According to the professor if the answer was yes you need to have some training on how to appreciate life. You need the ability to enjoy what is found in our daily life. It just doesn't happen automatically. Think about today being the last time you will be doing something.

We can think this way without seeing death as the end which is a great privilege. If we see spring passing too quickly and feel regret is it not that we have not lived as we should? And she concludes by telling the readers to fill their lives with more gratitude and beauty.

Why Small Things Matter

The coronavirus pandemic has made clear that we are all connected. A virus far away in another country has upset the whole world and has most of us wearing masks and distancing ourselves from others. Writing in the Catholic Peace Weekly a team leader of the Christian Life Community of Korea gives us some thought on the subject.

When it comes to being sensitive to the environmental problems Korea would be up there with the best. Laudato si was a best seller in Korea. We are called to adopt a new ecological lifestyle, one that is more communitarian. Compared to some other countries, Koreans don't have problems with efforts made to take care of our common home.

Not long ago, the writer was shopping at a large mart and at the paying counter he saw someone buying a huge amount of disposable items at a cashier next to him. Because of the Corona 19, he was possibly buying disposable plates, cups, cutlery, wooden chopsticks, and plastic bags in large amounts.

The writer always tried not to buy products with excessive plastic packaging and felt tremendous helplessness at what he saw next to him. Of what value were his efforts when others are making such a huge amount of garbage?

Originally, as a young man he dreamed of a life like Scott Nearing, who lived a harmonious life in nature. Nature is good, and he hoped to live in a way that did less harm to nature. He wondered if it would be too self-serving for him to live like that, maybe he should live a life that preserves nature beyond just enjoying nature.

At the same time, he thought to do research to help the world's socio-economic system shift to a less destructive environment. So, after thinking about it, he went to graduate school, earned a doctorate in energy climate change, and did what he wanted at the related research institute. With the dream of contributing greatly to solving environmental and climate change problems around the world.

But it didn't take him long to realize that changing the world wasn't going to be easy. Changing national policies and social systems requires tremendous effort and time. It was a study that started with a dream but turned into a study on how difficult it is to bring about change. He was overwhelmed by what he saw.

He was faced with helplessness and frustration. Although he wanted to live in nature, he studied hard to learn about nature and develop his expertise, but he felt too weak to bring about change. He grew skeptical in his efforts to protect nature. Does that change the world, can it protect nature? He felt that he could do very little and no expectation that it would help achieve what he intended.

One day the same thoughts and feelings he had shopping came to the writer. He had time to reflect on God and creation: sadness,, frustration, and emptiness were again felt. This time his reflection was a great gift that came to him without cost.

Suddenly, he felt how a parent would feel treating a sick child. When a child has a serious illness, Mom and Dad never give up. They will try and do anything to treat the child. God's heart for humans and nature is of this type. Is it not God's desire that humans treat each other and nature with the same mind.

Is it possible to say that there is no hope for the nature that God has given us freely and that the actions to care for it are meaningless? The sunlight continues to shine, the wind blows, ants crawl, and the butterflies fly, but with gratitude, at the preciousness seen, should he not do whatever is possible to preserve it. No need to determine what is accomplished or to measure results.

He concludes the article with quotes from Laudato si 211,212—
 
"There is a nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions, and it is wonderful how education can bring about real changes in lifestyle. Education in environmental responsibility can encourage ways of acting which directly and significantly affect the world around us, such as avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices. All of these reflect generous and worthy creativity which brings out the best in human beings. Reusing something instead of immediately discarding it, when done for the right reasons, can be an act of love that expresses our own dignity.

We must not think that these efforts are not going to change the world. They benefit society, often unbeknown to us, for they call forth a goodness which, albeit unseen, inevitably tends to spread. Furthermore, such actions can restore our sense of self-esteem; they can enable us to live more fully and to feel that life on earth is worthwhile."

Gaslighting the Church

In a diocesan bulletin, a priest writes about the way 'gaslighting' is used in the religious world. A word in vogue in present society and used often in the political world.

'Gaslighting' is psychological manipulation, a word that originated from a mystery novel written by a British play writer. In the play the husband causes the gas lights in the house to flicker and when the wife asks why he tells her it is all in her mind, causing her to doubt what she sees. It is abusive behavior but not necessarily always something the perpetrator does with evil motives as above.

Within Christianity, it appears when pastors, theologians, and churches use methods similar to brainwashing rather than teaching. But more frequently by those who ridicule religion seeing it as myth, and abuse of believers, deceiving them with the pie in the sky approach to reality. Disdainfully getting the believers to doubt themselves and their beliefs.

In the world of ideas, religion is a controversial topic, but most agree that the freedom to believe or not is an important value of democracy. However, believing in something that is not true is not helpful to the individual or society, and giving reasons for not believing is valid, respecting those with whom they disagree.

It's a fact that religion can rationalize almost everything. In large segments of the population, religion has justified almost all the evils seen in the world. With Christians, this happens when we close our eyes to the teaching of Jesus because of greed, pride, selfishness, fear, and ignorance.

Truth is what we all seek. As Christians, we believe the truth will make us free. Not all would agree and ask: What is truth? However for Christians, God is the truth, and the search gives joy.

There are those in society who call the Catholic Church a cult and show great animosity towards its teaching which they find offensive and express this strongly. They dislike the institution.

The church does see itself as an institution, an organization, and not only as a way of life or spirituality. Many have difficulty with this. Catholicism believes Jesus established a structure with a leader and members and gave them a job to do.

This community with its leader, 11 inner circle members, and disciples began the writing and selection of what is now called the New Testament. The infant church only possessed the Old Testament and it was not until centuries later that the community accepted the 27 books of our present New Testament and it was no easy task to decide what these books were to be. Is this not why many Catholics say it is the authority of the Church by which they accept the New Testament and not vice versa?

It is well, for us to remember that Jesus spoke Aramaic and the New Testament was written in Greek. The first community spoke Aramaic.  The 'Holy Tradition' was passed on at first in Aramaic. This gives us something to think about.

Because of the controversy associated with religion and institutions, many like to see Christianity as a way of life, a spirituality, it is that but much more. Christianity began as a structure, an organization, an institution, grounded in history, open to the eyes of all—faults, sins, corruption, violence, and embarrassments galore is all there to easily see. It is a human institution that Jesus promised to be with to the end of time; he didn't promise purity and righteousness in everything: it's made up of humans, not angels. A community of believers always reforming, asking for forgiveness, and hoping to become holier.

Those who don't have the Church as their Mother don't have God as Father. This kind of thinking comes from the respect the church has for 'Holy Tradition'. How does one forget that it was this Holy Tradition that gave life to the church for at least 20 years but actually for much longer? History easily accessible to all keeps the church from becoming a cult.

In the digital age anyone who desires to find the facts and willingly spend time separating the likely from the unlikely and motivated by truth no matter what, will not necessarily be changed by what they find but have little reason for gaslighting the institutional church. Happy Birthday!