Family and Divinity | ||
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Family and Divinity By: Leila Sadat Zaferanchi Although science has had a tremendous progress in identifying the world's material relations on both small and large scales, it has failed to answer the main questions concerning spirituality and ethics or what decides the happiness of humankind. It seems that man's attainment of means that greatly augment his material power must be restrained to avoid the destruction of social units by relying on religious teachings and values. In order to live in a world in which God has been deleted from his life. The modem human being cannot solely depend upon a ploy called "Human Rights". "If contemporary human beings lose their hearts to the materialism, they will forget about God and become slaves of themselves and suffer from emptiness and loneliness that cannot be filled". The situation of humanity in recent centuries has made some Christian thinkers pay attention to the point that Christianity must find an answer to the contemporary identity crisis. Pope Benedict XVI, the religious leader of Catholics in the world, has this to say: According to His Eminence, without prayer, any human prospect will become deceptive because without the real God, hopes will turn into despair and they will be tilted towards evasion from the truth. The religious approach never considers the existence of humanity as useless and aimless and tries to achieve mental health for the members of the society by adding to the meaning of life. Religious identity is an important portion of an individuals' identity, which facilitates change. What is now being pursued as the last effort to preserve the safety of family, is to envisage rights and responsibilities which have originated from the mind of humanity which is itself replete with errors. As a result, the envisaged boundaries in the form human rules and laws are clearly lacking and, therefore, are ignored and neglected. However, divinity pursues the principle of retuning to the essence and roots of humanity in moderating the rights-stuffed atmosphere of families and uses the emotion-filled mechanism of ethics. This mechanism relies on individual conscience, highlights the goals of a lofty life in a non-competitive way, and invites men and women to forgive, make sacrifices, and be kind to each other. This way, legal laws are established not based on human interpretations of rights and responsibilities but on heavenly virtues concerning the responsibilities of spouses. Such laws are indeed capable of envisaging an ideal life for a husband and wife. New analysis of sociologists and thinkers are indicative of the fact the collapse of family systems might bring about a fleeting joy and happiness for humans but in the long term and with the satisfaction of material needs and creation of a vacuum for spiritual needs, it will eventuate in nothingness and emptiness in human societies. They call supporting and spreading promiscuity, which has nothing in common with divinity and is only intent on satisfying whatever is related to human desire, sexual freedom. In such a situation where the life of a child is up against the individual freedom of the mother and father, abortion, which is the worst kind of child harassment, becomes justifiable. Thus, millions of children were murdered in a very cruel way and this act )abortion( is now considered legal in many parts of the world. The abortion rate in the world is 26 out of every 100 pregnancies and every year 46 million abortions take place, 26 million of which are done legally I. While homosexuality is considered a great sin in Holy Books, pro-homosexuality activists who have forgotten about the essence and nature of humanity, are shamelessly trying to influence public opinion. In Canada, one of the countries in which homosexuality and same sex marriages are legal, there are about 34 thousand homosexual families which have been registered legally and this trend shows about 0.06 percent of annual growth[1]. AIDS, which was first seen in homosexual groups, was extended to others by the spread of sexual promiscuity and addiction. It has increased thousand fold, and has infected and resulted in the deaths of people. Cultural products, media, universities, and some politicians are trying to prepare the public opinion for the acceptance of homosexuality. Ultimately, divinity will be sacrificed at the altar of fulfillment of women's rights just like many other values. While the existence of God is easily forgotten, thanks to unconditional freedoms, the phenomena of single mothers, absent fathers, spread of sexual diseases, and pornography is on the rise. The alarming statistics from all over the world show the rising number of 15-to-19-year¬old girls who have become pregnant out of marriage. In France alone, the number of births out of wedlock has been higher than that of married couples and this number has seen a 1.7 increase compared to the year before [2] ! With the decline of divinity, indifferences to and evasions from getting married are now seen more than ever. The ever-increasing inclination of youth to use illegal drugs is because they seek emotions in the dangerous areas, which are outside the safe environment of the family. Statistics show that 72% of delinquents grew up without fathers! The ruling culture in many societies dose not have a clear criterion for judgment and no one can really claim what is natural and what is not. Of course, religion has a clear position in these cases and can easily show the right way but, unfortunately, it is not deemed as a reference. In many industrial countries, living out of marital frameworks has become something common and the rocketing increase in the number of single-parent families has become a public concern. Today's era suffers from a vacuum of divinity. That is why relationships based on commitment, love and sincerity have forsaken families and why rearing a healthy generation based on extended relative relations is rejected or not recommended. The sanctity of family and duties of spouses are introduced as limitations and commitment to the members of the family is referred to as slavery. The rule of religious thoughts over the family system is introduced as something hateful and inefficient; one that suffers from discrimination and shortcomings. In the Islamic approach, each and every member of the family relies on religion as a model which shows the direction and as a reference for faith and belief. In this approach, all the human natures are introduced as Godly and truth seeking: "So set thou thy face steadily and truly to the Faith: )establish( God's handiwork according to the pattern on which He has made humankind: no change )let there be( in the work )wrought( by God: that is the standard Religion: but most among humanity understand not. [3]" This God-seeking nature can achieve peace and security by benefiting from the divine guidance and move towards religious and divine perfection and beauty by getting past the unpleasant aspects of a material life. In the Islamic view, the foundation of families consists of the two principles of ethics and rights. When the members of the family get to know these two, the dynamism and stability of family are ensured. In fact, the principle of rights guarantees the dynamism and stability of family and the principle of ethics guarantees the growth of the family and prevents its collapse. | ||
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