Christmas is around the corner, and this year will see both the birthdays of the Prophet Muhammad and of Jesus Christ side-by-side (i.e. Thursday Dec 24 and Friday Dec 25, respectively) - the founders of two monotheistic or ‘people of the Book’ religions. It is perhaps timely that an article on Christianity - and any significance for or parallels for Islam - be put to writing.

The subject of the Protestant Reformation is chosen not least because the 16th century Protestant Reformation was a major upheaval which and disruptive force in the history of western Christendom that shook the very foundations of the Medieval Church. The impact was to be felt across the spectrum of state and society, and also went beyond its time and space with significant and positive influence.

Some historical background

This unique ‘event’ or ‘moment’ was ignited by the re-discovery of what has come to be known as ‘justification by faith alone’ (otherwise known by its Latin short-hand, sola fide) by the great reformer, Dr Martin Luther. Sola fide in its most basic and fundamental core means the ‘new life’. Now this life was not limited to the so-called ‘spiritual’ but encompasses the whole of human existence.

Contrary to common perception, sola fide was never meant by Luther to be reducible to theological formula. In this Luther anticipated the developments of modernity - political, social, philosophical, economic, scientific, etc. The function of sola fide, then, is as much religious as secular. If ever, the secularism of the West as embodied in the tradition of liberal democracy can be traced to Luther - through the 18th century Enlightenment.

Sola fide therefore is a state of human existence - that is oriented to life in this world and in the world to come. Luther’s concern then was centred around the question of how the Medieval Church could re-connect to the basic forms of humanity that are expressed in what was then known as the estates of life, namely the church (i.e. religious order), society (i.e. social order) and state (i.e. political order).

Luther’s approach was radical to the extreme. He proposed that each estate of life has its own limits, and any transgression would result in tyranny or anarchy (both of which are the same in principle and outcome. One only needs to refer to the modern-day examples of North Korea and IS) - that stifles the full expression of human life.

So at the end of the day, Luther’s overriding preoccupation was to re-humanise to the Church that had become too powerful for its own good and to rid her of the prevailing corruption of the day.

Some radical assertions

In this, Luther re-asserted a bold and striking claim, namely that the estates of life belong to the old kingdom (this world) which is to absolutely distinguished (but not separated) from the new kingdom. The church is the place where both kingdoms overlap and are united (for the time being) without losing the distinction.

This anticipates developments in modern science (which overturned Newtonian physics) as epitomised in the form of quantum mechanics and special relativity. That is, the human being is now no longer ‘seen’ as having a single existence but two different frames of reference - simultaneously.

Just as the nature of light is seen as having the properties of both wave and particle, likewise the human lives his or her existence as both (in the) old and new (kingdoms). This means that the human is reconstituted anew by a quantum leap which is a ‘transition’ from one state to another - with no discernible or empirical observation of the movement itself (like the quantum leap of an electron when emitting an energy from one orbit to another within the atom).

The other similar parallel would be the theoretical possibility of ‘teleportation’ wherein the molecular structure of a human disintegrates in one space-time only to be restructured all over again in another.

And the energy emitted which is operative is complete it and of itself (and hence the term ‘quantum’ in reference to the energy of light in the form of photon). This implies that the position and momentum of the energy is ‘random’ and discontinuous. The electrons which orbit around the nucleus makes a complete cycle - always passing through and therefore returning to same ‘point’ (perhaps reminiscent of Zeno’s Paradox).

Likewise, Luther conceived of ‘progress’ in human existence in the new world in similar manner - that which defies human conception. At the same time, the reconfiguration of the new human can also be likened an incessant flow of electro-magnetic energy - where the magnitude of the wavelength of course refers not to the new human but the light source.

Therefore, physical time and space are no longer absolute (as in Newtonian physics) but relative, i.e. conditioned by human perception (as per Kant). This means that the phenomena alone is knowable but beyond that is unknowable. The parallel or analogy with Luther’s understanding is that the ‘divine will’ (in itself) is inaccessible except as arising from within the experience of humanity.

This means that the ‘divine blueprint’ for life in this world is conditioned by the context-specific and concrete experience of humanity, and develops in tandem with societal progress. The human does not possess a direct and immediate access to the divine will for all time and space but must make use of reason and accumulated wisdom; and hence only by indirect inference appeal to ‘divine sanction’ as a (not the) basis of the political and legal order.

Some policy foundations today

• The absolute distinction (perbezaan) - and not separation (pemisahan) or confusion (percampuran) between religion and politics proposed by Luther as a way to both reform and at the same time conserve the structures of and practices in the three estates of life offers a lesson for the ‘people of the Book’ religions in today’s increasingly plural society, including the context-specific situation of Malaysia. This provides space for cooperation for the common good based on universal values as best exemplified by the partnership amongst PKR, DAP, and Amanah. The parallel in Islam is the distinction between aqidah (creed/ confession) and wadah (vehicle) and not least maqasid syariah. This also means that there is recognition of what is already a truism in everyday life, namely that good works and wisdom are not limited to Islam or Christianity.
• Religious authorities are not infallible, implicitly or explicitly, and should not be above criticism. The Medieval Church - before the Reformation - had transgressed its ‘eschatological’ limits by interfering in politics and harbouring temporal ambitions. This resulted in tyranny and conflict. Likewise today, we see a contextual expression in the Sunni-Shiite conflict that is simply rooted in the same principles. The Islamisation in Malaysia has also resulted in tension within our generally harmonious society. Only the special provisions of the constitution is ‘beyond question’ subject to the supremacy of the latter.

Some concluding thoughts

We live in an increasingly dangerous world fraught with religious and sectarian conflict. This is because the proponents have not come to terms with the reality of the context - which is constantly developing and is multi-dimensional. Any attempt at isolation and imposition are contrary to the nature of life and the inter-connectivity of the seamless web of human society as a whole.

Whatever creed, we are all dependent on one another. There is no place is ‘-isation’ which goes beyond, for example, in our case the spirit and letter of the constitution and the Rukunegara in Malaysia.

The Malay makcik who toils daily at her spot selling nasi lemak is a mask of God (larva Dei) in serving the needs of this creation. And couple that with her implicit or down-to-earth trust in the Creator for her personal needs and you have true (Islamic) piety. Likewise, everyone in society that fulfils his or her role in a particular vocation or calling is in effect doing the will of God.

And so the bottom-line is this - religion is meant for humans to live as human-like as possible in this old, imperfect and passing world. In the end, we are all God’s creatures - taking from and giving to each other and not least, facing common global challenges requiring common policy solutions.

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!