dear rose,
thanks for the heartwarming letter. it was very sweet of you to write...i
am really touched[IMAGE].
about dowry, what can we do about it ? law's solution has been exhausted.
what remains is the people's initiative. what else can be done.....[IMAGE]
that's where the jy could make a difference....any takers, guys?
(sorry if i have offended certain masculine sensibilities...of course i
know of quite a few jys who have refused taking dowry...so cool it,
guys!!! no offence meant to our precious jy brothers in Christ! [IMAGE])
lina
II LL.M. student,
The National Law School of India University,
Nagarbhavi,
Bangalore.
>From: rose antony >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: [JOYnet] Reply to
Lina's mail >Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 01:26:11 -0800 (PST) > > dear lina,
>it was a sensible mail. > >and the example u had given was apt. "the
Dowry Prohibition Act , through the concerted efforts of all--both
Christians and non Christians, has become a dead letter law...." So
here's another point on which we should have a discussion on. > >I wonder
if we can do something about the evilish dowry system in our society.
People has taken it a status symbol now. If there's a marriage where
there's no dowry involved, people are really looking down at it. The
attitude is that if there's no dowry then there's something wrong with
the guy mentally or physically. And the worst thing is that the so called
most literate state - 'Kerala' - stands atop among the rest. > >can we do
something about it ? > >Rose > >Chennai. > > Lina Mathew wrote: dear
sheril, > >yes, i certainly do agree with you as a person who believes in
Christ, >and as a human being, too. however,through my previous letter, i
just >wanted to state how law can look at the issue--the balancing of
interests >factor, and why we who believe so stongly on the issue of
anti- abortion >should not get upset if we see apparent indifference from
the legal >system. > > let's all pray that by our concerted efforts, this
barbaric practice of >abortion and the law permitting it becomes a dead
letter law (the Dowry >Prohibition Act , through the concerted efforts of
all--both Christians >and non Christians, has become a dead letter
law....Hence please do >understand that it is not law which can do
anything, but the beliefs and >value systems of the people on which it is
imposed....) if we can rise up >to the challenge of convincing others
that abortion is wrong, let's do it >whole - heartedly and with one
voice. however ,especially because we are >Christians, remember that it
is wrong to impose our views on others , >even though we know are right
and they are wrong....anyway, we can only >say ,'where sin increases,
grace abounds more...' > >we should certainly fight for our rights, but
sometimes when such >fighting is futile, we should be wise enough to
realise this,stop wasting >our time when when we reealise its futility,
and instead direct our >energies towards fighting on a different plane
altogether.('the effectual >prayer of a righteous man has great worth.
elijah was a man lie we are; >he prayed that ift should not rain , and it
did not rain for three years. >then he prayed that it should and it did
rain' ) > > we know that we are the ultimate winners in spiritual
warfare.if the >devil can beguile the minds of the population and confuse
them so that >they exercise their freedom to choose evil which will lead
to their >death, and being the prince of the world, he has power over
those whose >eyes have been blinded to the gospel of Christ and basic
common sense and >human rights or whatever you call it, then of course ,
we have the best >option of attacking the devil on a plane that he has
been defeated long >ago...as Christians, we have failed to realise this
right of ours for a >very long time, hence the devil had been granted a
foothold for >generations to beguile people to exercise their freedom to
practice of >various sins, like abortion, pornography, suicide,
homosexuality, >euthanasia and so on....it's just like what happened to
Eve.God put a >tree in the garden and said do not eat its fruit.why did
God put the tree >in there? why did He not guard the tree wit! h whatever
angels with >spinning spears or swords or whatever , so that Eve could
not eat the >fruit ....? why did he allow the serpent to speak to Eve? if
He was God , >He could have prevented man from falling...understand the
crux of the >matter--that God did not prevent man from exercising his
freedom to >choose evil. > > law can only try to balance the varous
interests. and this balance >tends to tilt towards where the majority
interests lie. hence the passing >of various human rights conventions to
safeguard the minority interests. >i would humbly bring to your notice
that so far no international >convention has been passed granting rights
to the unborn. The Convention >on the Rights of the Child, 1989, mentions
the word 'abortion' but grants >no rights to the unborn child against
getting aborted. without a >consensus on this issue in the international
level, i'm afraid that it >would be too much to expect anything concerted
to come out of our >activities in the legal sphere out here. > >it was
the fault of previous generations of Christians all round the >world that
human beings have been beguiled to pay scant respect to >life,so, now our
task of convincing is very difficult, given the >existing social
practices and literature on these issues which are for >and not against
the the practice of human restraint and the voluntary >curbing of the
freedom to choose what is considered to be bad according >to general
moral standards of most societies and religions.as mentioned, >we have
dissent with regard to the practice of abortion even within our
>Christian communities itself. so, speaking on such issues would be
>misunderstood as religious or moral fanaticism, nothing else. hence,
>let's be practical, face the facts as they now stand , and give the
devil >a stab in the back, by showing him that we are not as powerless as
he >thinks we are, and that we are willing to wage spiritual warfare
against >his wiles and guiles.! ...any takers? > >lina > > don't think
that abortion is condemned only by >catholics or anyother christian
church. it is a moral >issue which society of all origins have to deal
with. >not just a "christian issue". and people, christian >or
non-christiian all have varying opinions on it. >there are huge numbers
of non-christians who are of >the opiinion tthat it should not be
allowed. and many >christians who feel that "the mother has to have the
>right to chose". >i'm sorry i don't know much about law, to talk about
>it, but i thnk that as christians we are accouuntable >for our actions
as well as the actions that we should >have done but we did'nt do. The
outcome of the case >is in God's hands becase ultimately He is in
control. >Whatever the outcome, and however slim the chances >that it
would be in "our" favour, we should fight for >what we believe is right
in God's eyes. I think. and >above all PRAY that His Will be done.with
love in Jesus >sheril > >--- Lina Mathew >wrote: > > i am a law student
doing my postgraduation in > > Bangalore. during the past > > few days, i
happened to receive mails from other > > friends in jy and also > > saw
in the joynet the news on the endeavour to scrap > > the Medical > >
Termination of Pregnancy Act in kerala. > > > > please keep in mind that
even though i am not a > > Catholic(i'm Orthodox), i > > have full
respect towards the Catholic Church as it > > stands today and my > >
statements are not made with a view to disparage any > > organisation , >
> institiutio! n or movement and should not be tried to > > be read
between the > > lines. this is just an opinion from the legal > >
perspective, as a student > > of human rights in the present epoch of
time. > > > > it is my view that the point is that the presence of > >
such an Act gives > > the freedom to choose to individual, which is a > >
symbol of a > > non-restrictive society where the freedom of choice > >
can be freely > > excercised. i doubt whether the Act will be scrapped >
> as such, as the > > scrapping of such an Act would symbolise going back
> > to the Dark Ages > > where the Catholic Church imposed restrictions
in > > all walks of personal > > and spititual life .....even in muslim
countries in > > the present day one > > can find legal systems which mix
religion and > > morals with law. > > > > .however, law is different from
beliefs. law has to > > take into acc! ount a > > variety of beliefs
prevalent in society and attempt > > to strike a just > > balance between
the conflicting interests, be it the > > ideas of various > > religious
groups or atheist groups, or the human > > rights of the fetus or > > the
mother ..... > > > > of course, this does not mean that i, personally, as
> > a Christian > > believer, consent to abortion as a matter of > >
principle .but , as a > > lawyer, i do not think that law should force
people > > to do something which > > is up to their personal freedom to
decide. Even God > > has that attitude > > when He says somewhere in the
Bible,"i have put > > before you two ways, > > blessing(good) and
curse(evil), life and death. > > choose blessing and > > life, if you
will" or words to that effect......in > > essence, He says that > > He is
not restricting your freedom to choose evil, > >! though He would > >
definitely prefer you to choose good. the question > > naturally arises
as to > > why God has done like this...IF He is God, then why > > not
make people > > choose good alone?....the answer lies in that it's > >
because He is a just > > God and He has created man in His likeness and
image > > which includes the > > capicity of full exercise of all rights,
which > > includes the right to > > freedom of choice..! ... that is why
He has made > > such a categorical > > statement as above. > > > > the
remedy lies with us Christians...are we prepared > > to take the > >
commitment of on a personal not committing abortion > > or practicing > >
abortive or anti-fetal activities that snuff out > > life, and on a
community > > level of promoting respect towards the right to life > > of
the unborn > > through outreacha nd educative practises, and also >&g! t;
on the spiritual realm > > of waging war on these elements through
fasting and > > prayer on an > > individual or corporate
basis.......herein lies the > > challenge---to will > > to choose
blessing, rather than snuffing out the > > right to choose curse. > > > >
this is my humble personal opinion on this > > issue....i'm sure to hear
a > > lot of dissent from the religious community with > > regard to this
> > position...whether abortion is tantamount to murder > > is also a
disputed > > issue in law as there are disputing views of various > >
pressure groups as > > to the existence of life as a human being in an >
> embryo and when exactly > > does life as a human being start in a fetus
so as to > > grant it human > > rights...science has not given any
concrete view so > > far as to when life > > as a human being
starts---there are again > > conflicting views on this&n! bsp;, > >
according to each pressure group.it is the > > responsibility of the
lawmaker > > to glean an impartial and truthful opinion as to > > these
issues,which is a > > very difficult and contoversial issue again.....so,
> > a compromise has to > > be struck somewhere. > > > > as law -makers,
it is unfair to favour the views of > > only a particular > > pressure
group or group of individuals. as > > Christians, we cannot impose > >
our views on others just because we know that we are > > right and they
are > > wrong. let's not use the ostrich -which -buries > > -it's -head
-in -the > > -sand approach----much hue and cry will ensue > > as certain
sections of > > society will say that it is better to have legal > >
abortion and save the > > health of the mother than have illegal abortion
and > > let both woman and > > fetus die--these are arguments th! at have
been well > > thrashed out over the > > years and there is no need for me
repeating them.all > > that i can say is > > that law cannot and should
not restrict the > > individual freedom of a > > human being to choose
evil ... > > > > our God is a God of justice , 'who gives rain to > > the
just and the > > unjust', and God has given man, (who is created in > >
His image and > > likeness and endowed with all rights) every right > >
to enjoy total freedom > > --freedom to follow the devil or Him . that is
why > > He did not prevent the > > devil from rebelling, nor does He
prevent the devil > > from trying to > > deceive us....as human beings,
we have every right > > to choose.... please > > choose life and blessing
, if you will, as I wish > > this for you...that is > > all our dear Abba
says, nothing more, nothing less > >! ; ,as He is Ultimate > > Truth and
Ultimate Justice. ...(this is based on the > > theological theory > > on
the jurisprudence of human rights which one of my > > classmates has > >
evolved ....) > > > > so it is up to the moral elements in society to > >
guide the people to > > exercise their freedom of choice in the best > >
possible manner so as to > > bring about individual and social
edification... > > > > so the whole responsibility lies on us-those
chosen > > people of God to > > spread His plea to choose good and not
evil--and on > > us alone....imagine > > the tremendous responsibility
and the personal > > accountability of each one > > of us 'renewed' and
'believers' have towards Him > > ,which cannot be waived > > by any
law... > > > > lina > > >
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