Most of you would be familiar with the short uprising of the monks in Myanmar. Following the episodes closely in the papers everyday, I have many times been moved to the point of tears by the courage of the monks and the cruelty of Myanmar's leaders. These monks have risked their lives for the greater good and I admire them for it, immensely.
However, I have been having trouble reconciling this in a religious light. I thought to myself, as I was watching the violence on television, what happened to the souls of the dead?
In Christianity, we believe that all who do not obey the call of God are doomed to eternity in hell. My first instinctive thought was to regret that we are not able to go to Myanmar and preach to these monks; save the souls of these courageous and good-hearted people who, apart from having devoted their lives to the service of a god they believe in, have grasped the concept of an after-life enough to sacrifice themselves for the well being of Myanmar's citizens. That's something we Christians should strive for.
But then I got to thinking, how great would our preaching to them be? If one of these monks were to accept Christianity, would he be as zealous in his religion as he is now? I don't think it's about the personality. Otherwise we would have as many monks as we have Christian preachers. Somehow, it seems that there is a flaw in our religion, or perhaps in the way we practise it.
In Buddhism, to give up one's secular life for monkhood is revered. Look at how the Thais and the Burmese treat men of the cloth. In the Christian society, however, we don't exactly foster devotion to God. In fact, we don't foster devotion to much. It seems that there really isn't as much meaning in Christianity as there is in the devotion of the monks.
I'm not really sure how to make sense of my thoughts, and I hope to invite others to share their thoughts on this subject. It would help my faith, and perhaps the faith of others out there.
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