Certain ideologies in the world need to create ‘the other’ to survive. This ‘other’ need not be a challenger or a counter-movement but should be an opponent. This enemy not only presents the positive value of their own ideology but also creates fear and insecurity in the minds of the people among whom they want to promote that ideology. They accuse ‘the other’ to ensure their own survival. In most cases, this fear and ‘the other’ are created for political reasons or for their own survival rather than for the common good of all mankind.
This practice goes by many names: religious fundamentalism, fanaticism, fascism, etc. But the promoters of such ideologies forget that in the long run, any ideology created with a sense of hate for ‘the other’ will eventually divide itself, creating many ‘others’ within itself.
For me, religious fundamentalism in whatever form it takes (‘cultural nationalism’, ‘way of life’, etc.) does the same. This not only creates division among people but also creates a negative perspective on everything outside of that ideology.
Sometimes this spirit is also found among us who want to follow the Lord as Hindu bhaktas. Consciously or unconsciously, we create ‘the other’ who follows the Lord in a traditional way or other ways they find appropriate for their needs. But the unique teaching of the Muktiveda, in the words of Dr. Paul Brand, is:
But I believe these cells in my body can also teach me about larger organisms; families, groups, communities, villages nations—and especially about one specific community of people that is likened to a body more than thirty times in the New Testament. I speak of the Body of Christ, that network of people scattered across the planet who have little in common other than their membership in the group that follows Jesus Christ.
My body employs a bewildering zoo of cells, none of which individually resembles the larger body. Just, so Christ’s Body comprises an unlikely assortment of humans. Unlikely is precisely the right word, for we are decidedly unlike one another and the One who follow. From whose design come these comical human shapes which so faintly reflect the ideals of the Body as a whole? (p. 46) {Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey, In the Likeness of God, The Dr. Paul Brand Tribute Edition of Fearfully and Wonderfully Made and In His Image, Zondervan, 2004}
And continuing further on this topic, Dr. Brand shares:
…For if anything is to be believed about the collection of people who follow Jesus, it is that we were called by him. The word church, ekklesia, means “the called-out ones.” Our crew of comedians from central casting is the group God wants….I must admit that most of my worship in the last thirty years has not taken place among people who have shared my tastes in music, speech, or even thought. But over those years, I have been profoundly—and humbly – impressed that I find God in the faces of my fellow worshipers by sharing with people who are shockingly different from each other and from me. (p. 48)
A Color on a canvas can be beautiful in itself. However, the artist excels not by slathering one color across the canvas but by positioning it between contrasting or complementary hues. The original color then derives richness and depth from its milieu of unlike colors. The basis for our unity within Christ’s Body begins not with our similarity but with our diversity. (p.49)
The Body of Christ, like our own bodies, is composed of individuals, unlike cells that are knit together to form one Body. He is the whole thing, and the joy of the Body increases as individual cells realize they can be diverse without becoming isolate outposts. (p.51) [bold italics are added]
When I typed this, I was tempted to change Jesus to Muktinath, church to Mandali, etc. But then, grasping what Dr. Brand wanted to communicate, I retained them as my bhakti in the Lord helps me celebrate this unity in diversity, as the Muktiveda never promotes any uniformity in the name of unity in the Body of the Lord. Whereas every ideology which tries to create ‘the other’ does the opposite.
4-10-2016
Revised on 1-8-2024
Certain ideologies in the world need to create ‘the other’ to survive. This ‘other’ need not be a challenger or a counter-movement but should be an opponent. This enemy not only presents the positive value of their own ideology but also creates fear and insecurity in the minds of the people among whom they want to promote that ideology. They accuse ‘the other’ to ensure their own survival. In most cases, this fear and ‘the other’ are created for political reasons or for their own survival rather than for the common good of all mankind.
This practice goes by many names: religious fundamentalism, fanaticism, fascism, etc. But the promoters of such ideologies forget that in the long run, any ideology created with a sense of hate for ‘the other’ will eventually divide itself, creating many ‘others’ within itself.
For me, religious fundamentalism in whatever form it takes (‘cultural nationalism’, ‘way of life’, etc.) does the same. This not only creates division among people but also creates a negative perspective on everything outside of that ideology.
Sometimes this spirit is also found among us who want to follow the Lord as Hindu bhaktas. Consciously or unconsciously, we create ‘the other’ who follows the Lord in a traditional way or other ways they find appropriate for their needs. But the unique teaching of the Muktiveda, in the words of Dr. Paul Brand, is:
But I believe these cells in my body can also teach me about larger organisms; families, groups, communities, villages nations—and especially about one specific community of people that is likened to a body more than thirty times in the New Testament. I speak of the Body of Christ, that network of people scattered across the planet who have little in common other than their membership in the group that follows Jesus Christ.
My body employs a bewildering zoo of cells, none of which individually resembles the larger body. Just, so Christ’s Body comprises an unlikely assortment of humans. Unlikely is precisely the right word, for we are decidedly unlike one another and the One who follow. From whose design come these comical human shapes which so faintly reflect the ideals of the Body as a whole? (p. 46) {Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey, In the Likeness of God, The Dr. Paul Brand Tribute Edition of Fearfully and Wonderfully Made and In His Image, Zondervan, 2004}
And continuing further on this topic, Dr. Brand shares:
…For if anything is to be believed about the collection of people who follow Jesus, it is that we were called by him. The word church, ekklesia, means “the called-out ones.” Our crew of comedians from central casting is the group God wants….I must admit that most of my worship in the last thirty years has not taken place among people who have shared my tastes in music, speech, or even thought. But over those years, I have been profoundly—and humbly – impressed that I find God in the faces of my fellow worshipers by sharing with people who are shockingly different from each other and from me. (p. 48)
A Color on a canvas can be beautiful in itself. However, the artist excels not by slathering one color across the canvas but by positioning it between contrasting or complementary hues. The original color then derives richness and depth from its milieu of unlike colors. The basis for our unity within Christ’s Body begins not with our similarity but with our diversity. (p.49)
The Body of Christ, like our own bodies, is composed of individuals, unlike cells that are knit together to form one Body. He is the whole thing, and the joy of the Body increases as individual cells realize they can be diverse without becoming isolate outposts. (p.51) [bold italics are added]
When I typed this, I was tempted to change Jesus to Muktinath, church to Mandali, etc. But then, grasping what Dr. Brand wanted to communicate, I retained them as my bhakti in the Lord helps me celebrate this unity in diversity, as the Muktiveda never promotes any uniformity in the name of unity in the Body of the Lord. Whereas every ideology which tries to create ‘the other’ does the opposite.
4-10-2016
Revised on 31-7-2024
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