Vol.2, No 6, 1999 pp. 75 - 80
UDC:241.1:17.026
ETHICS - THE AVENUE TO RELIGIOUS PEACE
John V. Stevens
Council on Religious Freedom, 33133 Mulholland Highway, Malibu, CA 90265, Telephone and Fax (818) 707-3801
Abstract. Historically nations had little diversity in ethnic, religious and confessional areas. Usually the spiritual tone was set by majority religion. Religion created the culture, and the culture divided society. Two hundred years ago the United States of America broke the mold, welcoming all peoples, religions and giving equality to all. It was a dream come true. Laws, based on the ethics of love and respect, were enacted that would guarantee social peace, in spite of cultural and religious differences of immigrants. But such laws only works effectively when people are motivated by a selfless spirit. They honor the law because of their generous attitude, not because they fear its punishment.
Religion, and the manner of discharging its duty that is owed to one's Creator, can only prosper under religious freedom, man's exemption from religious domination by others. Respect for the individual enables man to bypass the obvious differences, by tapping the basic spirit and teaching of all religion, which is to love one's neighbor as himself. One cannot love and force at the same time. They are incompatible. To mix force with religion is destructive to the one being forced and to the one using force. For religion to prosper it must be totally voluntary, even as a successful marriage is not based on force but on voluntary love and respect.
The callenge before Yugoslavia, and the world, is which way do we go? Do we go back to communism, when there was little religion, and little religious conflict? Do we go back to the monarchy when there was much religion, but little freedom to be different? Or do we go forward to a new day, a new life, to just laws and an even better people, where there is diversity and freedom from religious strife, because man sees every other man as his brother, a human being made by God. Let us strive to see the dawn of a new day when we no lonfer tolerate people, but love and respect them, and take life a step above coercive law to become a caring society.
ETIKA - PUT KA RELIGIOZNOM MIRU
Kroz istoriju, narod jedne države se nije mnogo razlikovao po svom etničkom poreklu, religiji i konfesiji. Obično je duhovni ton davala religija većine. Religija je stvarala kulturu, a kultura je delila društvo. Pre dve stotine godina, Sjedinjene Američke Države su razbile ovaj kalup i ukazale dobrodošlicu svim narodima i religijama, obezbeđujući jednakost za sve. To je bilo kao san koji je postao java. Bili su uspostavljeni zakoni, zasnovani na etici ljubavi i poštovanja, koji bi garantovali mir u društvu, uprkos kulturnim i religioznim razlikama među emigrantima. Ali, takvi zakoni efikasno deluju samo kad su ljudi motivisani duhom nesebičnosti. Takvi ljudi poštuju zakon zbog svog širokogrudog stava, a ne zato što se boje kazne.
Religija, i način na koji neko izvršava religiozne dužnosti koje duguje svom Tvorcu, može da prosperira jedino u uslovima religiozne slobode, kada čovek nije pod religioznom dominacijom drugih. Poštovanje prema pojedincu osposobljava osobu da premosti očigledne razlike, naglašavajući osnovni duh i učenje svih religija, a to je da voliš svog bližnjeg kao samoga sebe. Čovek ne može istovremeno da voli i da prisiljava. Ove dve stvari ne idu zajedno. Mešanje sile i religije je destruktivno i za onog koji je prisiljen i za onog ko primenjuje silu. Da bi religija prosperirala, ona mora biti potpuno dragovoljna, kao što i uspešan brak nije baziran na sili, već na dragovoljnoj ljubavi i poštovanju.
Osnovno pitanje pred kojim se nalazi Jugoslavija, i ostali svet, jeste: kojim putem ići. Da se vratimo u komunizam, kada je bilo malo religije i malo religioznih sukoba? Da se vratimo u monarhiju, kada je bilo mnogo religije, ali malo slobode da se bude različit od većine? Ili da idemo napred ka novom danu, ka jednom novom životu, ka pravednim zakonima i još boljim ljudima gde postoji raznolikost i sloboda od religioznih sukoba, jer čovek vidi svakog drugog čoveka kao svog brata, kao ljudsko biće koje je Bog stvorio. Radimo na tome da ugledamo osvit novog dana kada nećemo samo tolerisati ljude, već ćemo ih voleti i poštovati, i podignemo život jedan korak iznad prisile zakona, da bismo postali društvo koje se stara.