May 2007 - Convictions of faith promote unnecessary fear and suspicion

The Macquarie Dictionary defines faith as (1) confidence or trust in a person or thing, (2) belief which is not based on proof or (3) belief in the doctrines or teachings*. It stands to reason that such a strong belief in a single person or thing that is not based on proof is destined to cause fear and suspicion amongst people.

If for example, we look closely at the third definition, that is, faith being a belief in doctrines or teachings, the concept of faith is boundless. It is natural for humans to fear the unknown, and with the continually rising number of faiths for people choose to follow, it is almost impossible to gain the necessary understanding which is required to set one’s mind at ease and reduce the fear of the unknown.

This is clearly the case in the film Barrett Street where the unknown creates feelings of fear in the film director who investigates a derelict nurses’ home in New Plymouth, New Zealand. The director describes feeling hot and cold and reaches the conclusion that “something is definitely going on here” yet does not have any significant proof that there is anything physically or scientifically wrong with the building. Rumours of séances and practicing of rituals by the occupying nurses up to 40 years ago are still passed from local to local today; yet these concepts are still not understood. Suspicion surrounds the home which may be put to good use if the ill feeling can be detached from the building and the fear overcome.

Similarly, in Chasing, we follow the central character, Guy, on his search for God. Without understanding Guy’s mindset, it is impossible for the other characters to relate to the search. To the other characters, Guy is tending towards crazy, spouting rubbish and infecting those around him. It is Guy’s convictions that create the fear and suspicion in his father that ultimately drives a wedge between them.

Those profiled in the documentary, Australia’s Muslim Women, tell of the their choice to wear their hijab but also of their recent struggle for equality. And while it is a choice to wear their veil, it is one that so clearly separates communities. There are those who don’t understand and those who won’t understand; yet the outcome is the same – fear and suspicion. Fear for the many non-Muslims who struggle to understand the commitment to wearing the hijab and displaying their faith so strongly, and suspicion surrounding the choice of the women to cover their physical features.

Another Turn of the Wheel highlights the irony in one of the highest altitude cities in the world, Lhasa in Tibet. The title refers to a Buddhist prayer wheel, and it is believed that spinning a prayer wheel has the same effect as orally reciting prayers. Whilst Buddhists regard this city as their holy land, the serenity and calm that is Buddhism is unable to alleviate the suffering and fight for freedom of the people of Lhasa.

Another struggle is shown in the shortest of this festival’s selection, Tears. Though silent, the main character Hannah seems to shout her hatred of her present life as a prostitute. We see her shunned by her peers as she attempts to make herself an honest, if not undesirable, living. Hannah’s story is the most touching of this festival, as she is torn between her faith and her fight for survival. Hannah’s faith brings her to fear herself, her lifestyle and her future. So often we hear how one person’s faith affects another, but little do we consider that one’s own faith can harm themselves.

Ultimately we are all people of the same universe, one world. Yet it is our beliefs, our strong and often visible faith, that sets us apart. We are often fearful of something new, and if we are unable to understand, our suspicions grow, feeding our fear.

Faith is complex, unbounded by anything humans have know. It is impossible to understand everyone’s faith, yet the promotion of faith leads to seemingly unconquerable divides.

* Macquarie Concise Dictionary, Fourth Edition 

I may be afraid of the dark; I may also be afraid of my impending visit to the dentist. I might also view all politicians’ promises as a ‘maybe’ or their personal ability to speak the truth with some suspicion. Fear and suspicion, by degree, are experienced by all human beings. Mental ill health may be defined as how much time we spend living in fear and with suspicion. Convictions of faith should offer an antidote to fear.

What causes Kat Kyredis to say “Something’s in there”? She has informed us of a dark history at the hospital where spirits may reside. It is interesting what is believed by all four of the protagonists: Kat the director; the Maori who reminds us of the Mori that was on the gifted land to the Pakeha, white Europeans; the nurses who call on ‘spirits’ through séance and the Chaplain who wishes not to be involved with the bad spirit… all have a premise that there is a ‘spirit-world’. Will these four people’s faith and conviction unsettle you?

Our Tibetan friends invoke help via a protest through the prayer wheels in use at one of their most sacred sites in Tibet. Was a statement being made to the invading forces of the Communist Chinese: “Take our land but you cannot take our belief in prayer away from us”? Should we fear and view with suspicion the Tibetan people because they have convictions of faith?

‘Tears’ invite us into the private world of a young prostitute. Vulnerable, tearful and protected only by her vial of perfume, we journey with her pain and reflect upon her hidden conviction that there has to be more to life. Should we suspect her motive as we see an extravaganza of love outpoured on wooden feet? Will she become a threat to our peaceful, superficial, worn-out and jaded living?

“Mary, Mother of Jesus” Mosque – a safe place for Muslim Women to gather for worship; the Hijab, a covering of choice in a free land called Australia; an ethnic mix of women living, choosing responding to the out-play of Islamaphobia in their lives. Life is full of phobias: homophobia, Christophobia, claustrophobia and phobia-phobia. Perhaps the focus off the phobias may be healthy for all of us as we embrace and love our neighbor.

“We are all chasing something!” says our ‘disco-dance-party-boy’. “Chasing what?” you may well ask. In this timid chase about trust and control, will the windmills of his, or our mind, grind ever so small the grain that may have contained the kernel of faith and conviction to a powder? Will we then cast it to the wind of the changing fad and fashions of political correctness? What’s left? No nourishment or needed fibre for that person seeking faith. No clear convictions that sustain being a good citizen.

All of our short films showed people and their faith connection that acknowledge the existence of spirits, or showed that their convictions led to good behaviors in spite of some bad behavior shown by other people. It has been said, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear… If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar.” (1 John 4: 18a, 19a. NIV).

Let me finish with a quote from the Executive Director of the Australian Muslim Public Affairs Committee, Amir Butler: “Religious communities that buy into political correctness are buying into their own irrelevance…The real key to social cohesion is honest dialogue. A dialogue, unfettered by political correctness, that is based on recognition that we have different ideas.” Herald Sun, June 24, 2003.