Dr. L.M. Murry
The Morung Express had organised something like an opinion poll on the subject “Role of religion in promoting Inter-Tribe Harmony” on 4th Oct.2016 in Kohima. All the three speakers presented their point of view. They touched on subjects like, tolerance to religious pluralism, peaceful co-existence, superiority complex, domination of the poor, marginalised Naga Society by the bigger and dominant group of people.
When the discussion was opened to the audience, many discordant views were expressed, some very pertinent and some revolutionary. Unfortunately, nobody raised the core issue of human Society. I was therefore prompted to ask two questions. What is the real cause of disharmony?
It appeared to me, we were talking only about the symptoms. Symptomatic treatment can give immediate relief for a short period of time but there is no cure. If we are after “cure” we must give specific medicine to treat the cause of the disease. My second question was, about, our role in a Secular Welfare State as that we have in India. In such situation “Who is my neighbour” is irrelevant. The question in a Secular Welfare State is “What is good for my neighbour”? As I try to develop these two questions very briefly, I want to attempt the second question first.
The diakonia of a Christian in a Welfare Society is no longer confined to our own group. Our diakonia should be self giving to everybody who needs our help. In a brigand Age, where the Countryside was infested with robbers, the Good Samaritans were needed. To- day the question that arises in a Welfare State is why are there brigands to make it unsafe for travellers. Our service to the people is mostly conditioned by our context which can be called “rapid Social change”. “What is good for my neighbour” therefore becomes more relevant in our present context. We must be realistic to admit the fact of difference of languages, differences of local culture, area of interest, religious beliefs and practices. We all agree in one point is, the principle of Federalism. We also cannot escape the fact that the State has better resources and man power. They have better expertise in all subjects of their work. We cannot just give a lip service.
The first question that I raised is about diagnosis. Diversity in our modern society is a reality. It is something which you and I cannot ignore. Up to the 11th Chapter of Genesis, God was dealing with mankind as a whole. The human race was monolingual as such together they could resist and rebel against God as one unit. And the Lord said, “Behold they are one people and they have the same language, and this is what they began to do and now nothing they purpose to do will be impossible for them.” What happened at Babel was an act of judgement. Looking the other way, it was also an act of God’s mercy. It was in a way, a strategic breakthrough of God’s purpose. God divided human race for a purpose. He would henceforth win them family by family, clan by clan, people by people, and nation by nation. What a marvellous opening and opportunity for man’s redemption.
Conflict in human life is inevitable because man is a Social animal. We must remember that any progress in all our walk of life can be attributed as the product of conflict. However it can also become destructive if not properly resolved in time. The disharmony in our Naga tribes is a sign of our failure to handle properly for conflict resolution. We need antibiotic to treat this failure of Conflict resolution.
Lastly, why there is no peace in the World? Man has forsaken God and has started to run the World in his own way without the Creator. As we have just seen, those people who started to build a tower were trying to make a name for them. (Gen.11:4.) Man has the freedom to harness atomic power but there is a distinct possibility of destroying the whole world with it. He is trying and attempting every known organisation small or big to usher in peace in the World.
Our vocabulary is exhausted of words used for the great cause of peace. Treasures had been emptied, millions of parents had lived a broken heart because their sons and daughters had been slain for the cause of peace. Mans’ theory of peace without God is merely a sinking sand. The man who is sitting in the peace conference table, the man who is writing the theories of peace has no peace in his mind. He is torn between success and failure, sorrow and joy, love and hatred. He has no solution for his own peace of mind. He is constantly disturbed and tortured by the forces that generate in his own mind. In the clamour of noise- voices to dominate the World, to conquer space, he has forgotten his own Creator.
Our Naga people are talking about peace. In spite of huge church buildings crowded by worshippers on Sundays are without Christ. The World abounds in counterfeits. Nobody can become a great soldier by putting on a uniform borrowed from other. Only in Christ, we have peace. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you”. “My peace I give unto you”. Think about it. Amen.
