Dogma
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I was told a church worker reprimanded the university students during one of their gatherings when the students questioned about the existence of God and the image of God. He left the students with no choice, “You must believe in God. You should not question!” And if I have my facts correct, the church worker was also deliberately branding the students as “confused & lost group”.
Oh gosh, since when we have returned to the dark ages where no one was
supposed to question the church teaching or church authority? The whole incident reminded me of Galileo Galilei who spent the rest of his life under house arrest for supporting heliocentrism publicly. In those days, the church sanctioned geocentrism whereby there was a common belief that the earth was the centre of the universe. And when Galileo upheld heliocentrism, the Church felt challenged and reacted towards the critical thinker.
After the long stretch of history that the Church is shameful of, the Church learnt from her past sins, moved forward and changed for the better. It was a constant purification that the Church was undergoing: the Church has learnt to be more inclusive and open towards critics and critical thinkers.
The intention of the church worker might mean well. But it would not help the students in their search for truth. We have often blamed it on the Malaysian education system that is churning out more and more brainless robots. In search for truth, it always involves critical thinking, constant questioning, tireless searching, continuous sieving and frequent verification or validation. When we stop the students from thinking and questioning, we are interrupting the learning process and depriving the Church of intellectuals.
I was told a church worker reprimanded the university students during one of their gatherings when the students questioned about the existence of God and the image of God. He left the students with no choice, “You must believe in God. You should not question!” And if I have my facts correct, the church worker was also deliberately branding the students as “confused & lost group”.Oh gosh, since when we have returned to the dark ages where no one was
supposed to question the church teaching or church authority? The whole incident reminded me of Galileo Galilei who spent the rest of his life under house arrest for supporting heliocentrism publicly. In those days, the church sanctioned geocentrism whereby there was a common belief that the earth was the centre of the universe. And when Galileo upheld heliocentrism, the Church felt challenged and reacted towards the critical thinker.
After the long stretch of history that the Church is shameful of, the Church learnt from her past sins, moved forward and changed for the better. It was a constant purification that the Church was undergoing: the Church has learnt to be more inclusive and open towards critics and critical thinkers.The intention of the church worker might mean well. But it would not help the students in their search for truth. We have often blamed it on the Malaysian education system that is churning out more and more brainless robots. In search for truth, it always involves critical thinking, constant questioning, tireless searching, continuous sieving and frequent verification or validation. When we stop the students from thinking and questioning, we are interrupting the learning process and depriving the Church of intellectuals.
I believe the so-called church worker has yet to read, understand and learn from the history of the Church. I feel sorry for the university students. They are like sheep without shepherd now.
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(Floral Fest 2009, Putrajaya)
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