ONE of the main written principles about the potential for human goodness is contained in the Rukun Negara, which is the belief in God.
Malaysia is a contrast to many secular countries in the West that have lost the sense of their roots when they denied God in public declarations.
The West sadly tries to erase the spiritual roots of its civilisation, even though it is unable to erase the meaning and beauty of the Christmas story of unconditional love and solidarity, in its statutes on human rights and on its streets where Christmas decorations provide a cultural face rather than spiritual depth.
In the Malaysian context belief in God in itself does not mean one embraces humanity as a whole. There is sectarianism, moralism of a holier-than-thou attitude, and the limiting of an all-powerful God to a an exclusive religious ideology confined to a set of legal, ritual and cultural norms of divisiveness.
The story of Christmas is about how God so loved the world that He gave it His only son, which is a cosmic action of great love that embraces the whole of creation without conditions.
It is also about solidarity with the poor and the oppressed which characterises much of the birth of Jesus in conditions of poverty in contrast to Roman authority that sustained itself on power, wealth and splendor.
Christmas is about calling men and women of good will to love God and one another unconditionally, without being judgmental.
Ronald Benjamin
Ipoh
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