Author: Pa Yaw

Publisher:

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

Imagine you are living in a small village where people are fighting against each other with hate speech based on religion, ethnicity, tradition, culture, and language. How would you help build a peaceful society if you were a religious leader? Would you side with one group and fight against others, or keep silent? Is taking up arms and fighting against the legitimate government always a last resort? Is non-violent resistance always the highest ideal that people would be striving for when it comes to the illegitimate rulers? In order to address this issue, I propose that we turn to a constructive reflection on Martin Luther’s theology of two kingdoms to facilitate dialogue between socially engaged Buddhist and Christian faith communities in Myanmar today. This dissertation attempts to challenge the Myanmar Baptist understanding of a rigid dichotomy between church and state. “Religion has nothing to do with politics” is typically a secular viewpoint. People should not follow the traditional Myanmar Baptist method of keeping hands-off from the daily socio-political struggle of their people, who are longing for peace. Religious leaders should also find a more constructive combination of inclusive nationalism and religion. This does not mean, however, that a non-violent movement is the only just way to bring about transformation in society. Some situations demand revolution through violent means to bring about social change. For instance, engagement or inclusive dialogue with the Myanmar military regime has never worked in Myanmar’s history. As such, armed revolution is the only way to uproot the ruthless rule of Myanmar military regime.This dissertation also challenges violence in the name of religion, since socially engaged people of faith believe that they have a responsibility to address and reduce suffering in all of its forms, both physical and spiritual, including suffering resulting from social injustice, exploitation, and oppression. Socially engaged religion does not justify violence, but rather rejects it, instead striving to build peace through non-violent movements. Violence in the name of religion is an obscenity, a deviation from the true character of religion. Socially engaged people of faith assume something inherently peaceful and benevolent about religion. Peacebuilding comes through politics, and even more, through the kinds of “people power” – protest, ritual, narrative – that build trust.To support the common efforts of socially engaged Buddhist and Christian faith communities, when acts of violence are committed by members of one religious/ethnic group against others, their religious/ethnic leaders should promptly and publicly denounce such actions. It is sinful to look on with folded arms when you see your fellow human beings suffering under violence. If you keep supporting such actions, you are throwing gasoline, instead of water, over a burning house, and will turn the whole village to ashes. The world will suffer from an everlasting pain. Religions exist not to destroy human life, but to value and enrich human life in society. The mission of the Christian church, especially, is to promote human dignity in the public sphere. My strong theological position as a well-trained Christian scholar is that religion can play a key role in transforming society through the common efforts of interfaith communities in Myanmar. After the Myanmar military’s coup on February 1, 2021, which dragged Myanmar’s promising young democracy back to the dark old days of military rule, people in and outside the country expect the intervention of international community like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations to bring peace and restore democracy in the country. Unfortunately, things have not gone as the majority of the population expected. Therefore, it is the people of Myanmar who will bring dynamic transformation in the country. In other words, change will come to Myanmar, as the Buddhist belief anicca reminds us that nothing is permanent, and it will come from within the country, not from outside.