JUNE 3 ― Christians are so easy to make into bogeymen in Malaysia. I think deep down in our collective psyche our ancestors might have passed down a fear of being accosted by Jesus-loving men in robes.
There is now a new Christian NGO calling themselves Christians for Peace and Harmony Malaysia (CPHM) who seem to have our prime minister's backing. I don't deny my own personal prejudices about men in robes of all religious leanings but what I have heard so far from its leader Reverend Wong Kim Kong disturbs me.
Reverend Wong, it seems to me, is one of those who believes in a literal interpretation of the verse Romans 13, which I shall reproduce for you here:
“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.
The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but those who do wrong.
Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.
For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing.
He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time in governing. Give everyone what you owe him; if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour.” (From the New International Version translation)
Taken at face value, it would seem that Christians must obey without question, fully submitting to any authority or government. But the thing about Christianity is how much it centres around Jesus and Jesus was certainly not a poster boy for submitting to authority.
While I am trying to keep an open mind about CPHM's intentions, so far I am not thrilled at the diplomatic glossing over of how apparently Malaysia is far freer than some other countries.
That argument is one that leads only to one road ― the acceptance and absolving of tyranny. When I complain about the state of our education, our economy, our racial and religious difficulties, someone will pipe up and say “Oh, we're much better than (insert country here)”.
In that vein, if my (hypothetical) husband beat me, I should be thankful because at least my husband only beats me instead of, say, Y's husband who strangled her to death.
There is a difference between being grateful for what you have and wilful ignorance of the things that need fixing. To fix things, you must first acknowledge what needs to be fixed. Blithely remarking that our religious freedoms are better than in some places fixes nothing.
Going back to the verse of Romans 13, Isabelo Magalit has a different take on the verse, one I wholly stand behind. The belief that we must somehow submit to a government, believing it to have a divine mandate leads to not just abuse of power but is theologically and morally problematic.
One man who did not take Romans 13 literally was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a theologian and priest who was part of the German resistance against Adolf Hitler. He was influenced partly by Karl Barth, who penned the Barmen Declaration, the response of the confessing church against Hitler's own national church.
Bonhoeffer ended up being a huge theological influence on 20th century Christianity. Well, he also ended up being executed by the Nazis. Faith and courage sadly aren't always present when the other is.
It is right that Christians should and must engage with the world and people outside of the faith. Dialogue, the act of listening to each other, is essential in a world fractured by conflict, misinformation and ignorance.
But it is not the Christian role to be meek and submissive, to placate and make excuses, to smile and nod and pretend wolves aren't slaughtering the sheep. Peace is a great goal and one worth aiming for, but the reality is that peace is hard-won.
It is not true peace when you make nice just so not to make trouble and to attempt to be conciliatory when sometimes the words you need to say are anything but.
So if you try to tell me that Christians must submit to authority because the Bible said so, my reply to you would be merely to ask: “What would Jesus do?”
Whatever he would do, I'm pretty sure holding a press conference at the fancy Majestic Hotel wouldn't be part of it.
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
