PARDON OUR PLANET 

Imrana Illahi: Role Model Unaware
Imrana Illahi may not have won against the Shariat but she is heroine nonetheless

Come on Woman, Where's Your Fury?
 Use your anger, draw some blood.
 

Madonna or Whore?
so-called modern metrosexual men think of women in extreme terms. 

10 Ways to Fight Back!
Avoid being attacked; avoid becoming a victim.

Christ and the Objectivism of Ayn Rand

Jesus was an individualist who challenged the mediocrity of the day, says Dr. Tony George Jacob.

Having lived in a Christian family since my birth, after reading Ayn Rand I felt as if there were contradictions between my faith and Objectivism- a philosophy that appealed to me. Then I read the bible again with a new perspective and realized that Jesus was one of the most objective people in history and that Ayn Rand has borrowed heavily from the Bible but at the same time kept away from certain accepted teachings of the Church.

The very fact that Christ was born is a glorification of the human form, something that we must be proud of. The very fact that Jesus, by his self, attained salvation (resurrection) as a human also indicates that the same resurrection is inherent in us. However, the precondition being that we live our lives like him -- independent and with a sole purpose in mind; in his case the preaching of the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus never believed in collectivism. He was of the opinion that each person has to attain his own salvation. The parable of the man who found a treasure in a field or that of the merchant looking for fine pearls also shows the ends to which a person will go to attain their personal goals -- they sell all they have to gain their ends. Similar is the parable of the sower. Each seed behaves according to the ground it falls upon individually. It does not depend upon where its neighboring seed lies.

Every time Jesus worked a miracle; he sought a contribution from the person affected. The wedding feast at Cana ran out of wine. He did not make wine out of thin air. He made the steward fill the jars with water. The miracle of feeding the five thousand totally depended on the contribution of five loaves and two fish. The healing of various individuals depended upon their faith and their need to touch Jesus. He could not work miracles where there was no faith in the individuals. When he faced rejection at Nazareth, it was because of a collective opinion that nothing good could come out of their kind -- a thought, stemming from the mediocrity percolating through them over the centuries.

His personality was such that he would look at people, call them and they would follow most readily leaving behind all that they had. This was the effect of seeing an independent and charismatic person, who was distinct from the mediocre people all around, who did nothing but follow instructions. This person talked and behaved differently because he gave his own interpretation to their laws without breaking any of them in essence or spirit. 

His voice caught the air because what he said was something that they knew to be true but never had the strength to accept it of their own accord. About healing on Sabbath, Jesus said that none of them would wait until the Sabbath was over to rescue their cattle that may have fallen into the well. He questioned the practice of Korban, which even violated the Ten Commandments.

Even towards his end, when he celebrated the last supper, he gave them the gift of his body and blood, telling them that this would be expected of them too if they were to embrace his philosophy. This was to be expected because anyone who tried to go against the norm, which provided collective comfort, would be persecuted and put on the cross. Such a person is so different that he couldn’t care for power, which he could attain at any time by the sheer force of public opinion. But he is put to death because the second-handers think that he is hankering for power, which is their own.

Jesus couldn’t care two hoots about government, but he also did not violate the need for governance. He asked his disciples to give Caesar what is due to him. He did not want to become another Caesar. He only wanted the people to start thinking and stop acting, even religiously, without thought. 

Christ is the model for John Galt and Howard Roark. Their independence from public opinion, from mediocrity and their crucifixion by the public for being what they are and not bending and compromising their ideals for the sake of joining the common person is Jesus-like. Had Jesus wanted to live he could have asked the father to take the cup of suffering away, he could have disowned his teachings when brought for prosecution, but he died for what he believed. The characters in Ayn Rand’s works are a little luckier because they eventually win over the situation, after passing through many deaths at the hands of the public. Jesus died once but then became immortal. He became a legend, who survives even today.

The church however today does not believe in these basic ideals. The church too is becoming socialistic. It wants you to help another because he is weaker. It encourages the weak to expect the support of the stronger. These principles over the ages have made such people as Mother Teresa possible. She too was independent and individualistic like Christ, but people recognize her for the sacrifice of her self, not for standing for her convictions when she could have stayed quietly in the Loreto Convent like other sisters. 

She garnered resources from all nooks and crannies for her work; she did not give up her ideal even when she took the so-called blood money from the greedy industrialist. She got her work done period. People look upon her as a saint because of her work among the poor, not for being a determined individualist in the world of sheep. She has gained her fame and salvation for herself not for any one else. Sending money to the Missionaries of Charity will not gain you salvation, but it will erase the guilt of having not being able to care for someone else with the conviction of Mother Teresa. 

If we do our bit as thinking individuals, eventually all of society stands to gain, even the poorest of poor without recourse to charity and sacrifice of the self. 

Nevertheless, that day is far to come. Until such time the Catholic Church and other religions will send a whole lot of teachers, preachers, martyrs and social workers on the express highway to sainthood.