The daunting question always is, if
Christians have the Bible and the example of Christ and his teachings, then how
come some of the Christians are so corrupt? The other way to put it across is,
are the Christians always honest and forthright? This is an embarrassing
question to answer.
One might continue to ask, how will
you justify Christian nations fleecing another country under colonialism and
denying human rights to that country under imperialism? For example, how could
the British, a Christian nation, suck India’s wealth dry and leave her as a
Third world country, a country, which in the 18th century was at the
peak of its prosperity? These are indeed some troublesome questions.
To take first the case of a colonial
power of twentieth century, economic exploitation of another country is not a right
or a blessing given by God to these Christian countries. However, it is true
that such colonialism brought innumerable benefits to the colony.
In case of India, horrible crimes
against women and humanity like Sati, where widows were burnt alive on the funeral
pyre of the dead husband and female infanticide, where female babies were
either starved to death or poisoned to death to mitigate the suffering of her
parents to find a suitable husband for her when she grew up paying a huge dowry
and jewels, were abolished by the British rulers.
English education was introduced and
the minds of Indian middle class and upper class opened under such a cultural
impact and fruits of such an impact were great leaders like Gandhi and Nehru,
who shaped the independent and modern India.
The lower castes and the out-castes
(Dalits) of India found a new voice and livelihood in that education and
government jobs were thrown open to them and their status improved. Equality
before law was introduced in the courts of law in the country. Christ was introduced
to India, which came as a fresh breath to many.
Countless benefits followed by way of
introducing railways, public transport, factories, telegraph and so on. Though the
benefits primarily went to the British, it transformed India. It woke her up
from her deep slumber and she modernized herself. If India is becoming an
economic power to reckon with in today’s world, the seed of such greatness were
sown during her colonial times.
Coming back to the individual ethics,
especially of Christians, we do find that many Christians are corrupt. There
are many who tell lies, cheat in business, destroy other families trying to
climb up the ladder of success, deal dishonestly with the neighbor, take
bribes, make illegal profits in purchases and so on.
It must be said in defense of the
Christians that the percentage of such people among Christians is not very
high. Overall the whole community is looked upon as having better morals and
ethics than the other religious communities in India.
It must be recognized that in the
Bible, the Holy Scripture of the Christians, it is written very clearly that
God of the Bible hates bribery, He does not like His people telling lies,
cheating in measurements in business or taking advantage of widows, orphans and
strangers and showing injustice to the poor or partiality to the rich. Even
then some Christians, His people, stumble and go against such commands.
What happens when in the Holy
Scriptures it is written one can tell lies to feed his family or tell a
thousand lies to get a daughter married, or to save the life of a Brahmin? How
will a population behave, when it is written in their Holy Scriptures that a businessman’s
karma or dharma (his birth right?) is to cheat so that he can make money?[1]
In India corruption is a way of life.
It was never seen as something morally wrong that should be eradicated. It was
a discomfort with which one must put up. The only moral code written clearly
and practiced for centuries was the Manusmriti,
which is nothing but a code protecting the values of the higher castes, and
notifying the code of conduct of the lower most caste, Sudra and that of the
Dalits, as that of rendering service to the other three upper castes.
Servility and inability to forge
loyalty except to those who offer monetary benefits or food, reinforced by
centuries of such moral codes, had led India to be trodden by foreign conquerors,
one after the other as she lay supine under their feet for centuries.
By 900 AD, Muslim conquerors were
knocking at her doors and by the turn of 18th century AD the British,
who had come as traders, were well established as rulers in India. Brahmins,
the brain power behind India, were busy studying German so that they can be
gainfully employed in the service of the Germans, in case they won the World
War II and become rulers of India! So much for their loyalty to India.
There were powerful leaders in
countries like England and America, who fought against corruption and succeeded
in such efforts. These individuals were infused with ‘a certain amount of
idealism, courage and intense hatred for injustice.’[2]
A steady supply of such individuals in
a society is necessary to cleanse a system or a country’s morals. This was
available in the Western societies of England and America, whereas in countries
like India it was not available.
The influences of Enlightened
Evangelicalism rooted in Biblical values and Rationalistic Humanitarianism on
their social moral thought were the twin forces that brought forth such great
leaders in these two countries.[3]
It was absent in India.
What about Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s demonetization effort announced on 8th November 2016? Will it
not curb corruption? Hasn’t India produced a great leader of such a caliber in
India?
Rumors are already afloat that Modi
had indicated that such a measure will be brought in to his friends in his
State Gujarat, his party leaders and his biggest supporters in the business world,
Ambanis and Adanis.
Safeguarding their own and their supporter’s
money and letting loose these measures on the unsuspecting population and the
opposition parties, is not an ethics that would be followed by a great leader,
Indian or otherwise.
After all, didn’t Modi cleanse his
State Gujarat of Muslim population in orchestrated riots in 2002? Great leader?
I don’t think so.
It is difficult for a nation that
believes in Scriptures that advocate cheating and lying and killing and
in egalitarian injustice based on caste, to produce a leader of great caliber.
Yes, individually some Christians might
have failed to live up to the standards of the Bible, but on the whole Bible
and its teachings have had salutary effect on the people who believe in it and
follow it, anywhere in the world.
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