THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGIOUS FANATICISM AS REVEALED BY THE CHARACTER OF SILAS IN DAN BROWN’S THE DA VINCI CODE
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGIOUS FANATICISM
AS REVEALED BY THE CHARACTER OF SILAS
IN DAN BROWN’S THE DA VINCI CODE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
EPHIFANIA SHEILLA PARAMITA
Student Number: 044214008
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERSFACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGIOUS FANATICISM
AS REVEALED BY THE CHARACTER OF SILAS
IN DAN BROWN’S THE DA VINCI CODE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
EPHIFANIA SHEILLA PARAMITA
Student Number: 044214008
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERSFACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGIOUS FANATICISM AS REVEALED BY THE CHARACTER OF SILAS
IN DAN BROWN’S THE DA VINCI CODE
By
EPHIFANIA SHEILLA PARAMITA
Student Number: 044214008 Approved by Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani S.S., M.Hum. September 12, 2008.
Advisor Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. September 12, 2008.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGIOUS FANATICISM
AS REVEALED BY THE CHARACTER OF SILAS
IN DAN BROWN’S THE DA VINCI CODE
By
EPHIFANIA SHEILLA PARAMITA
Student Number: 044214008 Defended before the Board of Examiners on September 26, 2008 and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name SignatureChairman : Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A.
Yogyakarta, September 30, 2008 Faculty of Letters
Sanata Dharma University Dean Dr. I. Praptomo Baryadi, M.Hum. Don’t wish it were easier, Wish you were better.
Jim Rohn Dedicated to My Lord, Jesus Christ My beloved Mom and Dad
My Soul Mate, Yason Hendro
and... Me, Myself, and Iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I present my greatest thankfulness to my Lord, Jesus Christ for the strength, blessing and guidance through my good and bad times. I thank Him for all the answers to my prayers. I know He never fail me.
I will show my deepest appreciation to my major sponsor, Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani S.S., M.Hum., for her time and patience in guiding me to accomplish my thesis and also for Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum., my co advisor, for her critical correction. I really appreciate all their correction, comment, and advice. Without their involvement, this thesis would never have been completed.
I thank my mom and dad for their moral and financial support during my study. I also thank them for always calling my name in their every prayer and for teaching me not to give up in facing any problems. I feel so blessed to have great parents like them.
My very special gratitude goes to my beloved, Yason Hendro, the one and only person who can see the beauty inside me, for being my informal advisor.
This thesis would not have been accomplished without our discussions. I thank him for his total support and understanding, and much more, for his love. I also thank him for teaching me to be positive and optimistic and above all, I thank him for always encouraging me to be the best of me. Without him, I will never be as strong as today.
A bunch of thank you for Dr. P. Hary Susanto, S.J. for his time, patience, and guidance in explaining more about philosophy, religious fanaticism, Opus Dei, and Corporal Mortification. I thank him a lot for his willingness to spare his My special thanks goes to Tatang Iskarna, S.S., M.Hum., the head of Humas USD. I really thank him for trusting me and giving me such a great opportunity to work in Humas USD before I graduate. It is really an honor for me.
I also thank all my English Letters lecturers for giving me so much knowledge and helping me improve my English. Without all of them, my English will not be as better as today.
I thank my very best friend, Steven Luck, for his spirit and strength until the accomplishment of this thesis. Most of all, I thank him for always being a supportive friend when I am down, never stopping to remind me that tomorrow will always be a better day. To Adisti Herliningtyas, S.S. who never stopped reminding me to finish my thesis quickly, I thank her for the encouragement; it really does mean a lot to me. To Ivan Pratama, for all the entertainment and jokes he gave when I feel so fatigued in doing my thesis. It is so much fun to have a friend like him. Not forgetting to mention Widya Rani Hapsari and Fransiska Dewi Hastuti, I thank them for giving me the opportunity to learn about friendship. To Febpy Doctrina, Hengdry Salim and Ferdian Hendrawan, S.S., I thank them for their emotional support. Last but not least, to all my classmates of English Letters 2004 who cannot be mentioned one by one here, I thank them all for being such a great classmates. They are all the best!
To all my colleagues in Promotion Team of Humas USD, Ivana, Intan, Rakhma, Yunika, Sasa, Lita, Berta, Melania, Oon, Fhery and Theo, I thank them for their willingness to cover for me when I need time to focus on my thesis moreover. I really have a great opportunity to work with all of them.
Above all, I would say to myself that I am very proud of my hard work
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................ i
APPROVAL PAGE ....................................................................................... ii
.................................................................................. iii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE
.............................................................................................. iv
MOTTO PAGE
DEDICATION PAGE ................................................................................... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................. viii
.................................................................................................... x
ABSTRACT
..................................................................................................... xi
ABSTRAK CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................
1 A. Background of the Study .....................................................................
1 B. Problem Formulation ..........................................................................
4 C. Objectives of the Study .......................................................................
4 D. Definition of Terms .............................................................................
5 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ...............................................
6 A. Review of Related Studies ..................................................................
6 B. Review of Related Theories ................................................................
8 1. Theory on Character and Characterization ................................
8 2. Religious Fanaticism ..................................................................
11 3. Divine Command Theory ...........................................................
14 4. Christian Morality ......................................................................
15 a. Several Catholic Approaches to Morality .........................
17 b. A Contemporary Catholic/Christian Ethic ........................
18 5. Review on Philosophy ...............................................................
19 6. The Relation Between Philosophy and Literature .....................
20 C. Theoretical Framework .......................................................................
21 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ............................................................
23 A. Object of the Study ..............................................................................
22 B. Approach of the Study ........................................................................
25 C. Method of the Study ............................................................................
26 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS .........................................................................
29 A. The Characteristics of Silas in The Da Vinci Code .............................
29 1. Silas as the Pitiful Character ......................................................
29 2. Silas as Loyal and Obedient Monk ............................................
34 3. Silas as a Brutal Monk ...............................................................
35 4. Silas as a Faithful Monk .............................................................
36
3. Absorption of All the Group’s Belief ........................................
44 4. Intolerance ..................................................................................
48 5. Readiness to Sacrifice Others ....................................................
50 C. The Significance of Silas’ Religious Fanaticism in The Da Vinci Code 52 1. To Criticize the Issue of Religious Fanaticism ..........................
53 a. The Ignorance of Religious Fanaticism ............................
52 b. The Violence of Religious Fanaticism ..............................
57 c. The Double-Edged Sword of Religious Fanaticism .........
60
2. To Give a Better Understanding Regarding the Attitude that Christian Should Take in Facing the Idea of Religious Fanaticism 62 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ....................................................................
66 BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................
70 APPENDICES ...............................................................................................
73 Appendix 1: Opus Dei ...............................................................................
73 Appendix 2: The Way ...............................................................................
75 Appendix 3: Corporal Mortification .........................................................
75
ABSTRACT
EPHIFANIA SHEILLA PARAMITA (2008). The Significance of Religious
Fanaticism as Revealed by the Character of Silas in Dan Brown’s The Da
Vinci Code.Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University. This study focuses on the character of Silas who is presented as a religious fanatic in the novel of Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code. The attempt of this study is to discover the significance of Silas’ religious fanaticism in The Da Vinci Code through his characteristic and the aspects of religious fanaticism that is shown by his character.
There are three problems formulated in this study. First is the description of Silas’ characteristic in this novel. Second, the finding of religious fanaticism’s aspects that are shown through his character and the last is the significance of Silas’ religious fanaticism in The Da Vinci Code.
In order to answer the problems, the writer used library research method and since this study deals with the moral-philosophical issue of Silas, moral- philosophical approach was used. The primary source of the study was Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and the secondary sources were the books and the internet online references. The writer answered the problem by firstly identifying the characteristics of Silas. After that finding out the aspects of religious fanaticism that was presented within his character. Last, through the aspects of religious fanaticism the writer tried to reveal the significance of religious fanaticism in this novel.
This study results in several finding. Through the first analysis, the writer finds four characteristic of Silas, those are Silas as the pitiful character, Silas as loyal and obedient monk, Silas as a brutal monk, and Silas as a faithful monk. After the characteristics are identified, the writer finds five religious fanaticism aspects of his character. The first one is total submission to his group, second is blind obedience to his leader, third is absorption of all the group’s belief, fourth intolerance, and the last one is readiness to sacrifice others. The last analysis results in the finding of the significance of religious fanaticism in The Da Vinci
Code . The first one is Silas’ religious fanaticism in this novel is used to criticize
the issue of religious fanaticism that occurs in the society and the second one is his religious fanaticism is used to give a better understanding for Christians regarding the attitude to take in facing the idea of religious fanaticism.
ABSTRAK
EPHIFANIA SHEILLA PARAMITA (2008). The Significance of Religious
Fanaticism as Revealed by the Character of Silas in Dan Brown’s The Da
Vinci Code.Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma. Skripsi ini membahas tentang karakter Silas yang digambarkan sebagai seseorang yang fanatik terhadap agamanya di dalam novel karya Dan Brown yang berjudul The Da Vinci Code. Tujuan dari skripsi ini adalah untuk menemukan pentingnya unsur fanatisme agama di dalam novel The Da Vinci code melalui penggambaran karakter Silas dan aspek-aspek fanatisme agama yang digambarkan oleh karakternya.
Ada tiga masalah yang dirumuskan di dalam skripsi ini. Pertama adalah deskripsi dari karakteristik Silas di dalam novel ini. Kedua adalah penemuan dari aspek-aspek fanatisme agama yang ditunjukkan melalui karakternya dan yang terakhir adalah pentingnya unsur fanatisme agama di dalam novel The Da Vinci
Code.
Untuk menjawab ketiga masalah tersebut, penulis menerapkan metode studi pustaka dan karena skripsi ini berhubungan dengan pokok persoalan tentang filsafat moral, pendekatan filsafat moral digunakan dalam menjawab masalah- masalah di dalam skripsi ini. Sumber utama daripada skripsi ini adalah buku The
Da Vinci Code karya Dan Brown dan sumber lainnya adalah buku-buku dan
beberapa referensi dari internet. Penulis menjawab rumusan masalah dengan mengidentifikasi karakter Silas terlebih dahulu. Setelah itu penulis menemukan aspek-aspek fanatisme agama yang digambarkan di dalam karakternya. Yang terakhir, melalui aspek-aspek fanatisme agama tersebut penulis mencoba untuk mengungkapkan pentingnya unsur fanatisme agama di dalam novel ini.
Skripsi ini menghasilkan beberapa penemuan. Melalui analisa pertama, penulis menemukan empat karakteristik silas, yaitu Silas sebagai karakter yang menyedihkan, Silas sebagai biarawan yang setia dan patuh, Silas sebagai biarawan yang brutal, dan Silas sebagai biarawan yang beriman. Setelah karakteristiknya diidentifikasi, penulis menemukan lima aspek fanatisme agama di dalam karakternya. Yang pertama adalah penyerahan diri secara total pada organisasinya, kedua adalah kepatuhan buta terhadap pemimpinnya, ketiga penyerapan penuh terhadap kepercayaan kelompok, keempat ketidaktoleransian, dan yang terakhir adalah kesiapan untuk mengorbankan orang lain. Analisa terakhir menghasilkan penemuan terhadap pentingnya unsur fanatisme agama di dalam novel The Da Vinci Code. Yang pertama fanatisme agama Silas di dalam novel ini digunakan untuk mengkritik masalah yang berhubungan dengan fanatisme agama di dalam masyarakat dan yang kedua adalah untuk memberikan pengertian kepada orang-orang Kristen berkenaan dengan sikap yang harus
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Literature offered human beings unlimited ways to express themselves in
their own words. With literature, humans are able to write stories whether it is stories about themselves or stories that they have imagined and fantasized about.
Poems, dramas, short stories, or novels of comedy or tragedy all enable humans to share memorable stories to other human beings around them, and even to generations after.
Literature and human life are two things that cannot be separated, because literature is the portrait of the human person. Humans are very complex creatures and in literature we can find many examples that illustrate how complicated human lives are. Literature is one reliable source for the study of human characteristics because it always attempts to capture humans in their truest characteristics. Wellek and Warren in Theory of Literature also mentioned that:
Literature is the reflection of human feeling toward his life. It is closely related to human experience through which we can learn the image of human being that is expressed in the written way. It can also be defined as the work of arts that represents human life (1956: 94).
Since literature is an imitation of human life, the story that appeals in literary works, such as novels, poems and plays always deals with human experience.
Despite the many controversial claims to the otherwise, one persisting characteristic of the human person is his spirituality. Human beings tend to turn to religious beliefs in search of ‘inner peace’ and this – in fact – is a universal phenomenon. Seeing that there is no place in the whole world that does not have some form of a religion with dedicated followers.
Religion, however, seems to be a double-edged sword. It does not always offer spiritual peace to the world. First of all, religious diversity has caused uncountable bloodshed throughout the ages. It is true that a particular religion would offer some kind of peace of mind to its followers. However, what sort of attitude would it display to the followers of other religions? Secondly, even within the same religion there are various clashes between groups holding differing versions of “truth”.
Take the row between the Roman Catholic institutions and the Lutheran ‘Protestants’ of the Middle Ages for example. The Lutherans are not so different from the Roman Catholics in the philosophies and beliefs held; only in details of rituals are they different. They both believed in one Omnipotent Creator God, in Jesus Christ the Son of the Creator God and in the Holy Spirit (or, as they say it in those times, The Holy Ghost). We are not even talking about two different religions here, as they are, essentially, the same. Yet, history records that the Roman Catholics were convinced that these Protestants were enemies. Even until today, there is never really an official reconciliation between the two, although both of them are now considerably friendlier to each other
In our modern world of great technological achievements, religious strife may seem to lose its relevance. Yet, the recent 9/11 tragedy shows the exact opposite. Religious strife is still a very significant issue and has brought about the loss of hundreds of lives and incited terrible years of warfare. What, then, do we say about religion? Should we blame it for all the problems its followers have caused throughout the history of mankind? The answer is definitely “No”.
It is not the religions that are problematic, it is the followers. The core of all these religious strives is simply fanaticism. Religious beliefs are, in itself, good. But then people would project their twisted perspectives into their religions, for various personal gains, and make it into a murderous belief system with murderous fanatical followers who would use their religion as a basis to justify terrible acts of violence against people they see as different, unfit and separate.
Religious fanaticism is not a new subject. However, the attack on the
th
World Trade Center in New York on the September 11 2002 gave people new interest regarding religious fanaticism. People start to discuss it via various media, including literature. Religious fanaticism is still one of the most popular themes in current literary works. It is interesting to look into these literary works, because it often depicts the real example of a religious fanatic.
One literary work that depicts a good model of a religious fanatic is Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code. In his novel, the character that prominently portrays a fanatic is the character of the Albino monk, Silas. This character is ready to kill innocents for the sake of the organization that he serves and the indebted to. It is toward this character that this paper will focus its study. This paper aims to observe religious fanaticism as demonstrated through the character of Silas and its significance in this novel.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the explanation above, there are three problems formulated:
1. What are the characteristics of Silas?
2. What are the aspects of religious fanaticism shown through Silas?
3. What are the significance of Silas’ religious fanaticism in The Da Vinci
code ?
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on the problem formulation above, there are three aims that can be obtained from this study. First, this study attempts to find out the characteristics of Silas through a deep analysis about his personal description, his past life, his thought, his point of view, his reaction towards some situation, and his attitudes towards other characters and towards himself. Second, this study is aimed to discover the aspects of religious fanaticism as depicted in his character, and last this study tries to reveal the significance of Silas’ religious fanaticism in this novel.
D. Definition of Term To avoid ambiguities of certain terms, definition of terms is needed.
Therefore, here are some explanations about the terms in this study for a better understanding of this thesis.
1. Religious Fanaticism Religious fanaticism is a term that is used to describe a concept about one’s understanding of the word of God which is absolute and ultimate. Religious fanatics consider themselves as the defender of God’s law. They believe that their understandings of the word of God and their ways of applying it are identical to the word of God (Wijaya, 1997: 2-4).
2. Character Character is one of the intrinsic elements of literary work. According to
Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms, character is the person who is presented in a dramatic or narrative work. He or she is illustrated with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in the dialog and in the action (1993: 23).
3. Philosophy Liang Gie in his book Philosophy as an Element of Human Existence cited
J.A. Leighton words who mentioned that philosophy is the study that tries to find out the nature and the meaning of all life’s principle. The complete meaning of philosophy includes the concept of the whole world, the value, the meaning and the purpose of life (1998: 12).
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies There are some reviews which are talking about Dan Brown’s The Da
and the writer will discuss three reviews. The first one is a review by
Vinci Code
Valerie MacEwan in PopMatters website which was published on March 2003 entitled Try Putting This Book Down. This review discusses about how The Da has intriguing fictional background and two major components that
Vinci Code
will always create popularity which are the myths surrounding the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail. This novel combines myth and reality and combines into a great composition. The conclusion of the story seems to successfully answer many of the myths, which is why even though the book is fiction, it is hard for one not to believe a lot of it. The Da Vinci code will probably create an unintentional effect, and that is the trend to reanalyze many of the wrong biblical interpretations and misquotes which are often misused in churches to gain financial and political power. This, the writer notes, is a very accurate speculation, with the emergence of so many books that attempted to debunk The Da Vinci Code, forgetting that the novel is a fictional work (http://www.popmatters.com/books/reviews/d/da-vinci- code.shtml).
The second review is by W. R. Greer. In his article The Da Vinci Code is W. R. Greer praises the book for the ingenuity in the
Intelligent and Fun, understood by even those who know nothing about the international cultures and the myths regarding the Holy Grail, and at the same time presents a critical statement regarding each of the cultures involved. The scenario in this novel brings a story of global proportions that makes the conspiracy theories around the secret societies and religious groups seem perfectly believable to the readers. Mystery thrillers are weaved around clumsily-made-characters. This usually creates defects in the storyline. However, W. R. Greer sees the Da Vinci Code as one novel that successfully brings about a beautiful storyline with effective use of characters (http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/da_vinci_code/review/).
In the next review, Spinning a Thriller from the Louvre by Janet Maslin of the New York Times issued on March 17, 2003, The Da Vinci Code is analyzed from the point of the story telling. Dan Brown, says her, has fine tuned the story to blockbuster perfection. She even compares the story telling prowess of the novel to the Harry Potter series, and praises it for it for its ability to take readers through a breathless chase and leading them through flawlessly crafted plot twists. The novel makes models of the mysterious Leonardo Da Vinci, whose whole life is
th
riddled with symbols and secrets, and the late Saunière of the 19 century, and takes the readers into a thrilling ride in solving the mysteries of the Knights Templar and The Priory of Zion. It then draws reader to controversies around the Opus Dei of the Vatican and the Gnostics and taps into the core of worldwide religious conspiracy theory. When the characters draw shocking conclusions, the readers too are surprised. Turns after turns of twists finally bring the main were raised, and finally, readers can rest knowing they have participated in a thrilling and thought-provoking adventure (http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/nytimes.html).
However, this study is trying to analyze something new and different from other related studies. This study is focused on the issue of religious fanaticism in therefore this study gives a new contribution to literary
The Da Vinci Code; review.
B. Review of Related Theories
In this chapter, the writer will describe some theories that will be used as the background in doing a research. The theories are Theory on Character and Characterization, Review on Religious Fanaticism, Divine Command Theory, Review on Christian Morality, which includes Several Catholic Approach to Morality and a Contemporary Catholic or Christian Ethic, Review on philosophy, and last is the Relation between Philosophy and Literature.
1. Theory on Character and Characterization
Character is one of the intrinsic elements of literary work. According to Robert Stanton in An Introduction to Fiction, character is usually used to mark the individual in the story and to show the combination of interests, desires, emotions, and moral principles that shape the said individual. A character also has reasons behind its behavior, called motivation. Stanton emphasizes that “the character’s Forster in Aspects of the Novel mentions that the character in the story is real when the author knows everything about it. He can tell all of the facts and he can hide some of them (1974: 44).
E.M. Foster in his book Aspects of the Novel introduces new way to differentiate a character, and those are flat and round characters. Flat characters are characters that are created around a single idea and quality and they are presented without many characteristics details. Whereas, round characters are usually presented with subtle characteristics and this kind of characters are more like people in real life (1974: 57).
In A Handbook to Literature, Holman and Harmon state that characterization is the creation of imaginary persons in fictions (drama, novel, short story, or narrative poem), in order that they exist for the reader as lifelike. They define three methods of characterization: firstly, by the explicit presentation from the author of the character through direct exposition; secondly, by the presentation of the character in action; and thirdly, by the representation from within a character (1986: 81).
There are several ways to make the characters understandable to the readers as mention in Murphy’s Understanding Unseen (1972: 161-173): a. By personal description: the author describes a person’s appearance and clothes to build the character.
b. By presenting the characters as seen by another character: the author describes his character through another character’s eyes and opinions, instead of directly c. By speech: the character is recognized by the readers from what other persons in the story say about it.
d. By past life: letting the readers know and learn something about a character’s past life surely can provide clues as to what shape the person’s character.
e. By the conversation of others: when other characters talk about the character, it can give some clues to recognize the character being talked about.
f. By reactions: considering a person’s reaction toward some situations or events may give the readers some clues about the character.
g. By direct comment: the author can also describe or comment on a person’s character directly.
h. By thoughts: by knowing what a person is thinking about, the readers will be able to recognize the person’s character. i. By mannerisms: the author can describe a person’s mannerisms or habits in order to tell the readers some things about his character.
Little, in his Approach to Literature, adds that characters may be presented mainly through descriptive and dramatic methods. By the description and discussion, the character and even the story will be easier to be understood. On the other hand, using the author’s reporting on the character’s speech and action in the dramatic method, it will make the character and the story more vivid and lively. Unfortunately, it will be relatively difficult for the reader to understand if the dramatic method used in extreme forms (1981: 89-90).
As a final point, Little states that “to be of interest and value in literature, vital to development of the plot. Therefore, even in a fantasy, an essential element is truth to life. The character should be real, believable, and based on possible variations of human nature so that the readers are able to identify themselves with the human creatures, to maintain the interest and concern with the theme of the story (1981: 92).
2. Religious Fanaticism
Religious fanaticism is a term that is used to describe a concept about one’s understanding of the word of God which is absolute and ultimate. While some people would believe that fanaticism is a form of faith steadiness, some others believe that fanaticism is an intolerant action (Wijaya, 1997: 2-4). Winston Churchill stated that "a fanatic is one who cannot change his mind and will not change the subject". This means to say that fanatic person is someone who only believes in his ideology. Religious fanaticism is considered by some to be the most extreme form of fanaticism. It is notable that religion followers are the target of accusation of religious fanaticism.
According to Alexander Pruss in his article entitled Consequentialism and
fanaticism (religious and otherwise) posted on September 24, 2006, religion is
beneficial when it increases the average happiness of a society. The action and behaviors that are related to the religion can be justified because it increases the happiness or utility of relevant person, but “as soon as one's theory of the good moves away from considerations of happiness, one tends to get fanaticism. For will allow one to murder or torture people when they stand in the way of the religious goals” (http://rightreason.ektopos.com/archives/2007). In brief, religious fanatics will allow themselves to torture or even kill people to gain religious goal. Ghassan Rubeiz in his article entitled My God is Better than your God posted on April 20, 2004, stated that this kind of fanaticism defeats the main purpose of religion which is to give our life meaning. In short, this kind of fanaticism is very dangerous.
Gretty M. Mirdal in his seminar paper on Nuclear War and Planetary Emergencies entitled The Psychology of Terrorism: Fanatical Identities stated that:
In the original sense of the word a fanatic (from fanum meaning a holy site in Latin) is a person who is passionately engaged in a religious cause. His belief dominates all other aspects of life, and signs that contradict it are ignored. Earlier alliances are deserted and feelings of compassion blunted. Individuality is replaced by allegiance to a group of co-believers, and by obedience to its leaders. To a fanatic the world is divided into two categories, those that are with him and those that are against. There are either allies or enemies.
This theory assumes that a religious fanatic is the one who is dominated by religious goal and in order to become a fanatic he or she must be able to give the total submission to the target group and leave the other aspect of his or her life behind. This means that a person with a battered sense of individuality will be more susceptible to becoming a fanatic. As the person surrenders his or her life to the group, he or she absorbs completely the beliefs of the group, obeys the leader of the group fully and sees everything that contradicts his or her newfound belief
Jacob Van Flossen, in his article entitled Selected Studies in Fanaticism that is published in his web site Return of the Gods web site, writes: The fanatic, as we use the term, displays a myopic intolerant fervor--with sense neither of proportion nor of normal social priorities. For his cause of the moment, his weapons are usually chants and slogans, not reasoned arguments. Yet, make no mistake, he may be quite prepared to lie and cheat; to undermine the social values and destroy the traditional institutions of his own society; to sacrifice friends and family (http://pages.prodigy.net/krtq73aa/fanatic.htm). This says that a fanatic is an intolerant person who does not listen to good reason. All he needs are simple slogans and chants to channel his beliefs. They are, however, not simple in the sense that they are traditional, or that they do only the good things. On the contrary, they are ready to do all sorts of things that violate social norms, and even to sacrifice their friends and families. Nothing must stand in the way of their belief, not even their humanity.
Wijaya in his book Iman atau Fanatisme (translated from Bahasa into English) mentioned the basic differences between the true believers and the fanatics. He states that both the true believers and the fanatics have specific understandings of the word of God. They also have specific ways to search and apply the truth. However, the true believers realize that their understanding of the word of God is not absolute and neither is their attempt for the truth absolute. Meanwhile, the fanatics think of themselves as the defender of the law of God, but what they are really defending is not really the law but their understandings of the law and their ways to apply that law which they think is absolute. The true believers understand that the word of God is perfect, but they also understand that
14 from time to time. The true believers are always trying to improve, expand, and advance their understanding of the word of God and the ways to apply the truth in order that it becomes more relevant to the current society and more universal to mankind. Therefore, the true believers are able to be more open to other understandings or ways. On the contrary, the fanatics believe that their understandings of the word of God and their ways of applying it are identical to the word of God. Therefore, they become infallible and ultimate. They will not hesitate to remove those who challenge their understanding. More often than not, these people are very excited to involve themselves in murder and warfare. Thus, in their attempt to defend the law of God, they break it, “you shall not kill” (The Ten Commandments, Exodus 20: 13, RSV) (1997: 1-4).
3. Divine Command Theory
As quoted by Boss in his book Ethics for Life Second Edition, Socrates asked a question “whether the gods love what is holy because it is holy or it is holy because the gods love it” (Boss, 2000: 153). In the ethic’s area, Divine Command Theory answers the question clearly and unequivocally that “whatever is good is good only because God wills it to be good” (Hinman, 1994: 98). In other words, something good is dependent on God’s will. According to this theory, morality is relative to God’s command or will and God’s command or will cannot be judged by universal moral standard. “No other justification is necessary for an action to be right other that God commanded it” (Boss, 2000: 153-154).
15 This theory assumes that God is the source of all morality; He can change the moral rule simply by His will.
Hinman in his book Ethics: a Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory also added that: Moral decisions are ultimately made on the basis of what God commands, not on what reason tells us. We have to turn to God for the answer to all our questions about how to act. No matter what God commands, it is right just because God commands it (1994: 98). In brief, according to this theory, moral decisions are based on God’s command. Human being must act just like what God commanded and the action are definitely right simply just because God has commanded it.
Thus, this theory believes that to say that God is good is as simple as to say “what God wills are God wills”. Human beings are not able to know the reasons behind God wills. Therefore, human beings must accept God’s command on faith.
Lack of faith is shown if human beings question or need independent nonreligious reasons for accepting God’s command (Boss, 2000: 154).
4. Christian Morality
Kohmescher stated in his book Catholicism Today that “Morality has reference to the way a person acts in order to attain the goal of human living as set down by God, the creator itself” (1990: 150). Human beings will act in moral manner when they know that their action will lead them to their life’s goal.
Jesus Christ came to this mortal world preaching the kingdom of God, but
16 follower of Jesus Christ we are demanded to love others and to give up our lives for others.
It cannot be denied that laws are a good guide for human beings to act normally under normal circumstances, but as we grow up, we have to be responsible for something we do. We have to make a good decision in many particular cases. It is very clear stated in The New Testament that “Christ called us to love not to observe laws”, therefore, a good Christian “who has a good grasp of love and the demands it makes should be well equipped to make good decision”.
This means that a good Christian will do all the best for the sake of God and others.
Christ’s teaching is an ideal ethic for Christians. Christ never gave us minimum standard to be followed. He told us to be perfect just like God – our creator – who gave us certain talent, which must be used to the fullest. As human beings, we realize that we might not be able to gain the fullness of the ideal, but we must never give up, we always strive to do our best until we can be perfect just like our Father in Heaven (Kohmescher, 1990: 150-152).
Bernard Häring in The Idea of Catholicism stated that focus on Christ and on the Kingdom of God result in the morality and responsibility before God. The foundation of our imitation of Christ is our union of grace with Him. Life imitation in love and obedience is the proof of our existential union with Christ. In love, we unite ourselves to His Person of Word made flesh and in obedience we unite to His teaching. The followers of Christ must actively receive Jesus’ words
17 individual talent. The followers of Christ are responsible to their social community. They must put their personal abilities at the service of God. They must also share His Kingdom and teaching to a community. Commandment and Law are the living words of Christ, the invitations of the grace of Christ. They are the maximum standard of the commandment that must be followed. They also make the followers of Christ to be responsible for carrying out his commandment. Followers of Christ realize that the self-perfection and the supernatural value of the soul’s salvation are not by themselves the key values, but it is when they are “committed to the following of Christ that these values are best realized”. Christian realizes that following Jesus Christ does not simply mean saving their soul, but “in the light of one’s love for the savior, the soul’s salvation suddenly takes on a new importance”. Christian morality centered only on Christ because Christ is “the word by which the Father seeks and calls us” (1960: 53-54).
a. Several Catholic Approaches to Morality
Human beings are different; therefore what is good for one to follow is not always good for other. Below are several approaches that are used by Christian today:
1. Authority: Catholics do something as told by some people who have the authority to make the basic decision so that the trouble of making a decision in the midst of conflicting value demands can be avoided.
2. Conscience: Christians’ conscience must be formed properly so that as they grow mature they will be able to make a good decision and will also
3. Love: Christians believe that love can make people become the best person so that they have to use their talent to the fullest to serve others.
4. Tension: In life there must be a tension between the principle and the circumstances. Therefore, Christians must create a marriage between them in order to maintain the full integrity of both (Kohmescher, 1990: 152-153).
b. A Contemporary Catholic/Christian Ethic
There are ten contemporaries ethic that can be accepted and followed by Catholics or Christian:
1. God is our creator
2. A Catholic’s morality is the free response to God who invites us to enter into a mutual personal love-friendship
3. A Catholic morality is a morality of love of God, of others, and of self
4. A Catholic morality is a challenging morality
5. A Catholic morality is responsible for the full impact of his or her action
6. By realizing that human beings are not born mature, a mature Catholic must be properly formed
7. A Catholic operates within the context of a dynamic constellation of value
8. A Catholic gets to know Christ by both study and acquaintance with scripture and personal prayer
9. A Catholic follows a morality tension. He or she must create a marriage between the principle and the circumstances
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10. A real Catholic can make the best decision but at the same time can also remain open to growth and change (Kohmescher, 1990: 153-156).
In other words, Catholics or Christians believe that God is their only creator, but it is free for them to give personal response to God. The only way for Catholics or Christians to get to know more about Christ is through both the Holy Bible studying and personal prayer. Basic morality of Catholics or Christian is a morality of loving God, of others, and of self, and it is a challenging morality.
Catholics or Christians always tries to act inside their value of Christianity but in their live, Christians or Catholics must be able to balance their principle as the followers of Jesus Christ with their circumstances. Catholic or Christian must also be fully responsible for the impact of their action, and by realizing this, they must be properly formed so that they can be mature Catholics or Christians that can make the best decision and at the same time can also remain to grow and change to be the best of themselves.