10.10 A new Global Ethics

I honour Hans Küng the Swiss Roman Catholic priest, author and theologian. Due to his radical non conformist views, his commission to teach as part of the Roman Catholic faculty was revoked in 1979.

I quote Professor Küng's words with the following insight into a new Global Ethics for the World:

1. We live in a World and time in which we observe new dangerous tensions and polarisations between believers and non-believers, religious people and agnostics, secularists, between clerics and anti-clericals - not only Russia and Europe, but also in Africa, in North America and in Asia.

   To this challenge I respond. There can be no survival of humanity without a coalition of believers and non-believers in mutual respect!

2. We live in a World and time where humanity is menaced by a 'clash of civilisations', eg. between the Muslim civilisation and the western civilisation. We are threatened not as much by a new World war, but by all sorts of conflicts in a specific country or in a city, a street or a school.

   To this challenge I respond. There will be no peace among the civilisations without peace among the religions!

   But many people will ask: Is it not precisely the religious that often support and inspire hatred, enmity and war? Indeed:

3. We live in a World and time, in which peace in many countries is menaced by all sorts of religious fundamentalism. Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, often simply rooted in social misery in reaction to western secularism and in the desire of a basic orientation in life.

   To this challenge I respond: There will be no peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions!

   But many people will object: Are there not so many dogmatic differences and obstacles between the different faiths, which make real dialogue a naďve illusion? Indeed:

4. We live in a World and time, in which better relations between religions are blocked by all sort of dogmatisms which exist not only in the Roman Catholic Church, but in all churches, religions and ideologies.

   To this challenge I respond: There will be no new World order without a World ethic, a Global Ethic despite dogmatic differences.

The expression "New World Order" has many definitions ranging from New Age pagan to Apocalyptic Christian. My definition, and I suspect Professor Küng's is "a new and better way to behave globally."

I invite all tribal leaders, religious and political, to heed his advice. Aim for new Global Ethics.

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