Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
| The futility of debating religion today Posted: 20 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT
Consider too that even today a religious-based World War has the ability to kill more people in one go than all the people who have died in all previous wars across the world over the past 2000 years, because it could pit one billion people against an equally large number on the other side, all with ready access to Weapons of Mass Destruction! NO HOLDS BARRED Wally Salmon I feel that there really is no point in debating the merits of one religion over another, either person to person or group to group. Worthwhile debate on any topic requires rational argument, supported with proven facts. Religion is devoid of rational argument because nobody can prove anything; all so-called proof is subjective or faith-based and, many times, simply a quote from one or other Good Book supposedly containing the Creator's final word on the subject. The "winnability" of a religious argument therefore revolves more around the strength of your conviction to persuade the other party to see why your religion is superior to theirs, but when that fails it can all too often turn to name calling and taunting (usually emanating from the ignorant minded person you have been debating with, of course). The name calling and taunting arise out of a fervent belief on both sides of the divide that their own religion is not only the best but the only true religion, all other religions being not just inferior but wrong to the point where they are satanical in origin. Thus the previously hidden superiority complex that lies just beneath the surface with many religious people (and not just fanatics) is exposed for all others who think differently from the orator to see – and for those others to revile, as is human nature! Thus, if religion is not eventually to be the cause of the next World War, I feel that something radical must be done to change thinking worldwide about the pointlessness of religion continually fighting religion and non-religion. Now, if your immediate reaction is to think that religion could never be the cause of a World War, then I suggest you haven't being paying attention to what's been going on in the world over the past 60+ years since the end of World War II, and even for the 1000 years before that. And today, many developing nations already have or are struggling to create nuclear devices, not all of which may be intended just for deterrent purposes. Consider too that even today a religious-based World War has the ability to kill more people in one go than all the people who have died in all previous wars across the world over the past 2000 years, because it could pit one billion people against an equally large number on the other side, all with ready access to Weapons of Mass Destruction! One thing is certain - the world will never see the end of religions. So religion in our midst is something we are going to have to live with for as long as human beings roam this planet. Considering where a great number of the world's population are currently headed (despair, caused by the money-god of the largely capitalist, democratic world having let most of us down), religion will probably go through a renaissance over the course of the next few years, not a decline. If that does materialise, then the many new converts will all be filled with the same self-righteousness that all new converts to a cause experience, and that is where the flash point can arise. So the burning question must be, "What can be done to stop the doomsday scenario of a religious-based World War actually becoming a reality at some future point?" Well, I have a suggestion that will probably prove to be anathema to many, but at least I am prepared to put it onto the table for discussion. My idea is that a world-wide body needs to be set up to (i) help harmonise Religious Education everywhere and (ii) advise on standardisation of criminal law, based primarily on the most commonly accepted principles of the primary religions. The following are my proposals for the principle aims of such a body: 1. Creation of a suitable Religious Education syllabus worldwide, where the purpose is, without favouritism, to promote understanding of when, how and why the various religions emerged, and why those religions survive today. Ultimately it can be linked to sociology, psychology and all such other associated high-level subjects, all of which are intrinsically linked with religion and have been since mankind first developed language. The second proposal has the distinct advantage that no religion need ever fear again that its beliefs will be trampled upon or ridiculed - all religions would be treated with equal respect. The first proposal will be the foundation of the second proposal, since I consider that education is the key to a forward thinking society. I am fully aware that, if my proposals were to be adopted, the obstacles that must be overcome to implement them would be numerous and daunting. But I feel that a start needs to be made somewhere. Particularly thorny issues would be deciding who should take responsibility for: (a) setting up the world-wide body to administer the undertaking; and Of course, there will be many who will argue that since even the thought of such an undertaking is too daunting, then it is a waste of time even discussing it, as it will never be achieved. But as I always say, if you don't try to reach for the stars, then you won't even land on the moon. So this article is written not so you can tell me how big an idiot I am – my wife does that daily. It was written to promote discussion as to how human beings can find a good way to live in harmony knowing that (i) religion will always be a fact of life (whether you like it or not), and (ii) at some future point religion has the potential to blow our world apart, quite literally, if we don't take steps now to limit the potential for that to occur. |
| Posted: 19 Oct 2011 07:14 PM PDT
It looks like Pakatan Rakyat Selangor is going to be a one-term government. Well, maybe they deserve to be kicked out for sleeping on the job. Maybe this will wake them up. The only thing though, once Selangor falls back to Umno, Pakatan Rakyat will never be able to capture it again. Umno will make sure of that. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin
This piece is actually part 2 of my earlier piece: The 3R program. I thought I would break it into two parts or else many of you will be arguing about the colour of the dog collar rather than discuss about the dog. As it is, I can already see the debate focusing on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Can you see how easy it is to pull the wool over the eyes of Malaysians, Malaysia Today readers included who take great delight in quoting verses from the Koran or the Bible and think they are very clever because they are able to cut-and-paste? Anyway, Umno can't take any chances that the Malays will swallow the 3R bait together with the hook, line and sinker. So they need Plan B. And Plan B is to cover their bases in case the Malays do not swing 60% or 70% to Barisan Nasional but remains 50:50 like in the 2008 general election. And this is where Dato Othman Razak, the Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, Dato Wan Ahmad of the Elections Commission, Dato Kamarudin Baria, Dato Tajuddin Wahab, Rahman Dahlan, Harun Che Su, Misri Barham and a few other sleaze balls mentioned in my first piece come in. You see: Selangor is the jewel in the crown. So they need to take back Selangor at all costs, even if they have to sell their own mothers to do that. Okay, they can always go to Mekah after the general election and repent and pray for God's forgiveness. In the meantime, this is not the time to be honest. Over the last two years, the opposition has been embarking on voter registration exercises. And the opposition is very happy because the numbers of voters have increased drastically. But it is not because of the success of the opposition that the numbers of voters have increased. It is because the Elections Commission is registering voters by the busloads, literally. Pakatan Rakyat has been quietly looking through the voters registration list. And they have found the same voters registered in many different places. Hundreds of thousands of 'new' voters in Selangor are highly suspect. It looks like Pakatan Rakyat Selangor is going to be a one-term government. Well, maybe they deserve to be kicked out for sleeping on the job. Maybe this will wake them up. The only thing though, once Selangor falls back to Umno, Pakatan Rakyat will never be able to capture it again. Umno will make sure of that. Bye-bye Khalid Ibrahim. Bye-bye Ronnie Liu. Bye-bye Elizabeth Wong. Bye-bye everyone. It was good while it lasted but eventually all parties must come to an end and everybody has to go home |
| Posted: 19 Oct 2011 05:19 PM PDT
The plan is: how do they make sure that the Malays will swing back to Umno? They need to make sure that they get at least 60% or more of the Malay votes because they expect at least 80% or more of the Chinese votes to swing to the opposition with maybe 50% or so of the Indian votes. So they need the Malay votes to stay in power. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin
Those Malaysians as old as me will probably remember the 3R program and the 3M team. 3M were Mahathir, Musa and Murad: the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and DG of Education. 3R was the program to focus on reading, riting and rithmetic. Now you know why the program failed. Writing is 'w' and arithmetic is 'a'. So it should have been called the WAR program instead. Anyway, a team has been set up to launch a new 3R program. The brains behind this program are Dato Othman Razak, the Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, Dato Wan Ahmad of the Elections Commission, Dato Kamarudin Baria, Dato Tajuddin Wahab, Rahman Dahlan, Harun Che Su, Misri Barham and a few other sleaze balls. But no, this team it is not to teach school children how to read, rite and rithmetic. This new 3R program is Royalty, Religion and Race. The plan is: how do they make sure that the Malays will swing back to Umno? They need to make sure that they get at least 60% or more of the Malay votes because they expect at least 80% or more of the Chinese votes to swing to the opposition with maybe 50% or so of the Indian votes. So they need the Malay votes to stay in power. So they launch the 3R program and make Malays and Chinese fight over royalty, race and religion. And this Saturday's 'one million man march' is just one of many things they are doing. They raised the hudud issue and everyone jumped in to fight over the matter. They raised the 'who is the hero and who is the treacherous Communist' issue and, again, everyone jumped in and started fighting. Then they raided the church and got the Sultan to make a statement since he is head of religion in the state. They know that Malaysians are very emotional and irrational. Malaysians also do not know how to engage. They only know how to curse, swear and insult. So all they need to do is to raise one sensitive issue and sit back and watch Malaysians fight each other. The Muslims will start quoting verses from the Koran and the non-Muslims will scream, "Go fuck your Islam!" Christians will quote what Jesus said and will quote passages from the Bible. It is so easy to make Malaysians fight. It is like taking candy from a baby. So far the plan is working well. Just be reading the comments in Malaysia Today alone are enough to measure this success. Malays and non-Malays are really hammering each other in the name of Bangsa, Negara dan Agama. Umno has come a long way since Najib Tun Razak took over as Prime Minister. People ask me why I admire Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad so much. Simple! Dr Mahathir is a master politician and I am seeing him play Malaysians and the opposition for suckers each and every time, and win. It is fantastic how he can manipulate Malaysians and they not only fall for it but also do not realise they are suckers. According to Umno, the non-Malay vote is critical. Even Johor, which remained the bastion of Barisan Nasional in the 2008 general election, is now shaky. They estimated that about 60% or more of the Chinese vote in Johor may swing to the opposition. Umno also estimated that if in Sabah and Sarawak the opposition engages in a one-to-one fight, Barisan Nasional is going to lose quite a number of seats there. 20 parliament seats from the 57 is not unrealistic. So they must make sure that there are many three-corner or four-corner fights in East Malaysia. Then the opposition will not be able to win even five seats. And they must make sure that the Malays become pissed with the Chinese, and vice versa. Then the Malays will vote for Umno. Only then can Barisan Nasional be assured of forming the next government. Actually, Najib and his team of advisers are very clever. And I must say I take my hat off to them. They are playing Pakatan Rakyat and Malaysians for suckers and it is working at every turn. The 3R program appears to be a success. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan