Category: Translation

Part 59

7/25/2016

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 59: Conclusion - the Difference Between a Physician and a Clergyman

To acquire understanding at the hands of others is to close the gates of self-enlightenment.
-THE MASTER (as told by Wei Wu Wei)

As defined by Oxford Dictionary, personality cult means "(e)xcessive public admiration for or devotion to a famous person, especially a political leader." Of course personality cult is not limited to the political domain. It's also a widespread phenomenon in religion, sports, and pop culture.

In religion, as discussed in Part 50 (A Self-perpetuating Pyramid Scheme Trickled Down Straight from Heaven), thanks to personality cult, pastors Kenneth Copeland in Texas and Edir Macedo in Brazil, as well as Bishop David Oyedepo in Nigeria (to mention just a few) are able to afford lavish and opulent lifestyles in spite of extreme poverty surrounding them. Hallelujah. If there is any doubt about the financial objectives of modern-day saviors, L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology revealed it a long time ago: "You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion." (All organized religions started as small and unconventional cults.)

From a psychological perspective, the hidden objective does make sense. Scottish writer Iain M. Banks (1954-2013) explained: "Cults and sects and religions tend to be set up by men because they are a power trip. Look at David Koresh of Waco fame. He tried to be a rock star and failed. As a prophet though, he got the rock star life, the sex and drugs and worship, without having to be one." Who wants to be the next Prophet?

In sports and pop culture, personality cult satisfies those who are irrationally addicted to it—be they fans, groupies, even hooligans. In addition to their own fan clubs, almost all well known athletes, sport teams and celebrities have their dedicated websites, Facebook pages, Instagram followers, Twitter feeds and whatnots.

Let's face and admit it: the majority of the human race prefer to be bound to something, anything, rather than nothing. They prefer to be attached to something, rather than nothing. Even worse, they prefer to be exploited and oppressed by something, rather than nothing. While their lips scream for freedom, their souls yearn for handcuffs and shackles.

"Freedom aggravates at least as much as it alleviates frustration," wrote Eric Hoffer in The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (1951). "Freedom of choice places the whole blame of failure on the shoulders of the individual." Then, Hoffer added: "Unless a man has the talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden… We join a mass movement to escape individual responsibility, or, in the words of the ardent young Nazi, "to be free from freedom.""

Humans being humans; they secretly prefer attachment over detachment, bondage over freedom, the Stockholm Syndrome over the Lima Syndrome. To put everything into context and perspective, let's revisit Anglican-priest-turned-to-Eastern-philosopher Alan Watts (1915-1973). In one of his essays, The Relevance of Oriental Philosophy, he invited us to consider the difference between a physician and a clergyman. "The physician wants to get rid of his patients, so he gives them medicine and hopes they will not get hooked on it; the clergyman, on the other hand, is usually forced to make his patients become addicts so that they will continue to pay their dues."

True spirituality should liberate us, and not keep us as hostages. The choice between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome is entirely up to us, because we are both captors and hostages. The Buddha famously encouraged independence, because Buddha's aim was not to save us (then take credit for it); instead, to help us save ourselves. "Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others," he said. The 14th Dalai Lama went even further: "We must conduct research and then accept the results. If they don’t stand up to experimentation, Buddha’s own words must be rejected."

Talking about salvation, even the ultimate savior in the Western world, Jesus of Nazareth, once told Mary Magdalene: "Do not cling to me." (John 20:17). So why do we keep clinging tenaciously on to someone or something?

Since the idea of liberation sounds so appealing to me, this post concludes the 59-part Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome.

Johannes Tan, Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

Part 58

7/18/2016

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 58: Recognizing the Many Biases in our Belief Systems

Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.
-Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

When the far mountains are invisible, the near ones look the higher.
-Henry Thoreau (1817-1862)

As defined in the Oxford Dictionary, to believe means "to accept (something) as true; to feel sure of the truth of." Thus even in the most absolute sense of the word, there seems to be an element of subjectivity in the verb.

Nevertheless, in many corners of the world, men would kill each other on a daily basis merely for what they believe. Last week, for example, the Associated Press reported that nearly a year after a mob in Lucknow, northern India, killed Mohammad Akhlaq, a Muslim man, over rumors that he had slaughtered a cow, his family faces prosecution for alleged cow slaughter following a neighbor's complaint. In other words, slaughtering a cow seems to be a problem, but slaughtering a man is not. As Bertrand Russell once stated: "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts."

And doubt we do, because what we believe should be a work in progress thanks to our many biases. Researchers, scientists, sociologists and psychologists have identified dozens of biases which should be considered to critically self-evaluate our own beliefs: from confirmation bias to group consensus bias, from self-serving bias to false-memory bias. Needless to say, men are motivated only by their self-interest.

Even with the best intentions, how we perceive reality is constrained by our biases and limitations. If there is an illustration that underlines these biases, it must be Rashomon (1950), a Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa. Available on YouTube (or for streaming through Amazon Video for a small fee), Rashomon has always been considered a classic. Winner of an Honorary Oscar in Foreign Language Film category in 1952, it is based on "In a Grove" (1922), a short story by Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927). Such is the influence of the film, that the word 'Rashomon' has become a catchphrase to describe a situation in which the truth cannot be certainly known.

Rashomon aptly shows how humans—being humans—never fail to provide alternative, self-serving and even contradictory narratives of the very same incident. The bandit's story is different than the samurai's story, which is different than the wife's story, which in turn is also different than the woodcutter's story. Who is telling the truth? What really happened, factually speaking? Clearly, each character perceived the same event from their respective perceptions which are clouded by their own biases. Human perception is limited, relative, and even conveniently selective.

Which brings us to the second chapter of Chi Wu Lun (The Equality of All Things) of The Inner Chapters written by Chuang Tzu about 2,400 years ago. Chuang Tzu wrote that the truth can never be proved and only be suggested (as translated by Lin Yutang in My Country and My People):

In an argument between you and me, you think you have got the better of me, and I will not admit your superiority. Then are you really right, and I really wrong? I think I have got the better of you and you will not admit my superiority—then am I really right and you really wrong? Or perhaps we are both right, or perhaps we are both wrong? This you and I cannot know. Thus we are encircled in darkness and who is going to establish the truth? If we let a man who agrees with you establish it, then he already agrees with you, so how could he establish it? If we let one who agrees with me establish it, then he already agrees with me, so how could he establish it? If we let one who disagrees with both of us establish the truth, that he already disagrees with both of us, so how could he establish it? If we let one who agrees with both of us establish the truth, then he already agrees with both of us, so how could he establish it? Thus you and I and other people cannot know the truth, and how can we wait for the other one?

[To be continued.]

Johannes Tan, Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

Part 57.5

7/4/2016

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 57.5: Intermission

To commemorate Independence Day this July 4th, I am going to take a break. The next part will be posted next Monday as usual. Thank you.

Johannes Tan, Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

Part 57

6/27/2016

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 57: The Courage to Accept Outside Influence with Grace and Gratitude

Even in my previous life as a Catholic, I had never been mesmerized by any hymn. Now that I'm a religious skeptic or agnostic or infidel or whatever label is stuck on my forehead, I'm spellbound by Domine Fili unigenite. Composed by Italian composer, violinist, and priest Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), it's sung by yogini Mercedes Bahleda who utilized yoga breathing techniques and lyrical Buddhist chants. The result: a smooth synergy between Catholicism, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

One may not like how Mercedes Bahleda interpreted Domine Fili unigenite, but that's not the point. The point is that this version of Domine Fili unigenite exemplifies how we should believe in what we believe. In other words, how we should become a better and open-minded believer who welcome outside influence and other religions and belief systems.

With grace, gratitude and humility.

To put everything into context and perspective, just last week on June 15, 2016, a famous Sufi singer Amjad Sabri was assassinated by Taliban gunmen in Karachi. Amjad Sabri is known for his qawwalis, which is a form of Sufi devotional music popular in South Asia. It was reported that a splinter faction of the Sunni Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for this targeted killing, claiming that Sabri's qawwalis were "blasphemous."

How Mercedes Bahleda sang Domine Fili unigenite is an example of how people should use religion. On the other hand, how the Sunni Talibans gunned down a fellow Pakistani Sufi singer—due to idiocy, insecurity and holier-than-thou inferiority complex—is an example of how people are being used by religion.

Judge for yourself.

[To be continued.]

Johannes Tan, Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

Part 56

6/20/2016

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 56: Religions' Resistance to Change

Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
-VOLTAIRE (1694-1778)

It’s so hard for humans to accept change. As expressed by French critic and journalist Jean-Baptiste Karr (1808-1890): the more things change, the more they stay the same (plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose).

In essence, even seemingly radical changes do not structurally affect reality other than to cement the status quo. For sure, change interferes with authority—divine or otherwise. Even worse, it challenges authority for it affects control of the establishment over their subjects and weaken the status quo. "If you want to make enemies," Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) once said, "try to change something." Never mind that those who resist change at all costs are usually the beneficiaries of change themselves.

In religion—which derives from the word religare (Latin) and means 'to bind'—the resistance to change happens all the time. As stated in Part 34 (An Unexamined Belief is not Worth Believing), Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad (to name just a few agents of change), were converts themselves and were at once condemned as 'infidels' by the status quo of their times.

Literally and figuratively, stones after stones had been thrown at these religious leaders. The Buddha rebelled against Hinduism and ran away from his father, who was so disappointed by his son's departure and search for enlightenment, that he sent 10,000 messengers to persuade his son's return. Jesus' parents, uncle and aunt were Torah-observant Jews, yet he rebelled against Judaism for which he was eventually crucified. Muhammad rebelled against the tyranny of Meccan tribes who worshiped pagan idols, and was forced to escape from Mecca to Medina in 622 to avoid persecution.

That said, change is clearly inevitable, for the universe, as well as our place in it constantly changes. Contrary to the Church's Middle Ages geocentric tenet in which the Earth is regarded as the center of all celestial bodies, the universe is anything but. To paraphrase Guy Murchie in The Seven Mysteries of Life (1999), planet Earth is orbiting the sun at 18.5 miles per second, while the sun and virtually all visible stars are swinging at 150 miles per second around the Milky Way galaxy, which with a diameter of 100,000 light years, is speeding from other galaxies at thousands of miles per second in an inflating universe..

Yet if we look around there are billions of believers who faithfully cling to every single literal word of their Torahs, Bibles or Korans. An article in The Huffington Post of April 26, 2016 ("Life-Sized Noah’s Ark Replica To Hit The High Seas This Summer") by Nina Golgowski reported that Johan Huibers, a Dutch carpenter, completed the biblical boat in 2012. He planned to move the massive vessel from its port in the Netherlands to Brazil as part of a multi-country 6,000-mile journey to South, Central and North America "to spread the message of the Bible."

Very soon a full-size Noah’s Ark will be featured in the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky. According to its website, the ark was "built according to the dimensions given in the Bible. Spanning 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high, this modern engineering marvel will amaze visitors young and old." Prospective visitors are promised to "experience the pages of the Bible like never before."

Meanwhile, a Quran (9:5) verse states to "(s)lay the idolaters wherever ye find them."

Seriously? In the Voltarian context, when Muhammad was chased away from Mecca to Medina in 622 to avoid persecution by the pagan tribes—those who walk on the well-trodden path—, was he himself not considered as one who showed a new road? It seems that self introspection is a rare commodity.

Thus, can humans for once transcend literal interpretations on whatever is expressed in the Torah, Bible or Quran and search for higher spiritual meanings of what is implied? Can we adapt our worn-out dogmas, creeds, and scriptures to real-world realities? The ability to adapt is critical to our survival. "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent," Charles Darwin wrote, "it is the one most adaptable to change."

[To be continued.]

Johannes Tan, Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

Part 55

6/13/2016

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 55: On Mass Delusion

Science flies you to the moon.
Religion flies you into buildings.
-Victor J. Stenger

Upon exploring the psychological, sociological, biological and geographical reasons on why do we believe in what we believe—as discussed in Parts 6 through 54—the time has come for us to explore on how should we believe.

Of course the answer is entirely up to us; whether we want to have useful and constructive beliefs, or a counter-productive and destructive ones. Whether we want to experience a liberating Lima syndrome or an enslaving Stockholm syndrome. And knowing how self-destructive human beings can be, the answer is not necessarily obvious. This realization itself should be used to analyze our beliefs mercilessly.

For even 'rational' beliefs themselves can actually be nothing more of irrational self-justifications. As once put by English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895), "what we call rational grounds for our beliefs are often extremely irrational attempts to justify our instincts." Surely Huxley knew a thing or two about opposition from irrational believers. In the 19th century, he was known as 'the Darwin's Bulldog' for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution that was fiercely opposed by the religious establishment.

In retrospect, it was not merely that Darwin's evolutionary theory sounded outrageous. It was Darwin's intellectual fearlessness—to explore scientific truth wherever logic and empirical evidence took him—that made the religious establishment trembled in fear and rage.

And tremble they still do. As discussed in Part 53 ("Big Father is Watching Us"), and in spite of compelling empirical evidence proving Darwin's evolutionary theory that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors, certain school districts in the states of Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee still allow teachers the freedom to question scientific theories including evolution. Creationism is alive and well. Of course this pigheaded recalcitrance—to defy scientific facts and to firmly believe in delusions—is nothing new.

"Knowledge is something which you can use," a Sufi proverb states; "Belief is something which uses you." Thus, thanks to scientific knowledge, Neil Armstrong became the first man to land on the moon (1969). Long before that, elevators were invented (1853), then airplanes (1913), and the Internet (1960s).

On the other hand, because of religion, almost 3,000 people died in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, tragically only made possible due to the very same inventions of elevators, airplanes, and the Internet. In fact, as I was ready to schedule this post, news broke out about the June 2016 mass shooting in Orlando, Florida.

Oxford Dictionary defines 'delusion' as "an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder." In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (1974), Robert M. Pirsig offered a more illuminating definition: "When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion, it is called a Religion."

[To be continued.]

Johannes Tan, Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

Part 54

6/6/2016

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 54: Denying Death at All Costs

In Part 53 ("Big Father is Watching Us"), we touched on the curious phenomenon that believers tend to act as accessories to a crime; i.e. the crime of not thinking critically, the crime to let others (translation: prophets) to "think" for themselves. That's probably the reason why religion and democracy do not mix well.

The big giants in liberal democracy--Jefferson, Voltaire, Paine, Franklin, Madison, Lincoln, Gandhi—can be categorized as non-theists, atheists, or at least religious skeptics. The big giants in religion, on the other hand, can be categorized as, well, do I need to say more? Just look at the Middle East, the cradle of the great organized religions, which has been torn by raw tribalism, barbaric persecution, totalitarianism, religious wars and sectarian violence. Still, in spite of everything, why have religions appeal so much to billions of believers?

It's death.

Death's finality makes us truly uncomfortable. Just consider the existence of 101 euphemisms for dead, death and dying in the English language: from "angels carried him/her away" to "awakened to eternal life" to "climbing the stairway to heaven" to "entering the Pearly Gates" to "kicking the bucket" to "meeting his/her maker" to "going to the Happy Hunting Grounds" and of course the most popular one, "passing away." Whether our language shapes the way we think, or our thought process shapes the language we speak, death's finality makes us quite uncomfortable. Hence we resolve the problem by denying death at all costs.

African-American novelist and social critic James Baldwin (1924-1987) described this ultimate Stockholm Syndrome best: "Perhaps the whole root of our trouble, the human trouble, is that we will sacrifice all the beauty of our lives, will imprison ourselves in totems, taboos, crosses, blood sacrifices, steeples, mosques, races, armies, flags, nations, in order to deny the fact of death, the only fact we have."

With the exception of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, almost all organized religions have been quite adept in sugarcoating our mortality. Religions have made death, the most dreadful event in a human's life, more palatable, and to a certain extent even desirable. That's why organized religions tend to glorify and fetishize their martyrs, sometimes even much more so than their prophets. "Men do not accept their prophets and slay them," Russian novelist and philosopher Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) famously wrote, "but they love their martyrs and worship those whom they have tortured to death."

Is this glorification merely a manifestation of escapism? Oxford Dictionary defines escapism as "the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy." The unpleasant reality that has been sugarcoated so well by organized religions is nothing else but death.

We, sentient human beings, justifiably fear death. I do. That's exactly why most organized religions exploit this feeling and promise afterlife in various forms of heaven and paradise. Too many prophets and messiahs have promised to save us from eternal damnation, as long as we follow them, and pay our dues or tithes. Therefore, we heartily embrace religion and become addicted to it in a desperate act of escapism.

We think we can cheat death by bribing God and professing our belief in an afterlife. Yet, as described by Roman emperor philosopher Marcus Aurelius (121-180) in Book 2 of his timeless Meditations, death is nothing but "a process of nature, which only children should be afraid of." In Book 3, Aurelius emphatically compared death to a disembarkation process, in which nobody—not even physicians, rulers, conquerors, philosophers—is immune to it:

"Hippocrates cured many illness—and then fell ill and died. The Chaldaeans predicted the deaths of many others; in due course their own hour arrived. Alexander, Pompey, Caesar—who utterly destroyed so many cities, cut down so many thousand foot and horse in battle—they too departed this life. Heraclitus often told us the world would end in fire. But it was moisture that carried him off; he died smeared with cow shit. Democritus was killed by ordinary vermin, Socrates by the human kind.

You boarded, you set sail, you have made the passage. Time to disembark. If it's for another life, well, there's nowhere without gods on that other side. If to nothingness, then you no longer have to put up with pain and pleasure, or go on dancing attendance on this battered crate, your body—so much inferior to that which serves it. One is mind and spirit, the other earth and garbage."

[To be continued.]

Johannes Tan, Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

Part 53

5/30/2016

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 53: "Big Father is Watching Us"

Without buyers, there won't be sellers. Without demand, there won't be supply. Likewise, without believers, there won't be propagandists or, well, liars.

Propaganda, as discussed in Part 52 (The Power of Propaganda and Thanataphobia), should not be blamed only on its source. To a certain extent, its believers are also responsible because they willingly act as accessories to a crime: the crime of not thinking critically, the crime to let others "think" for themselves. In fact, we can use the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) published in 1949 by English novelist and social critic George Orwell (1903-1950) who warned us about the menaces of totalitarianism, as a cognitive prism.

Whereas the central theme of 1984 is that Big Brother is Watching You, in our current global religious landscape, Big Father is Watching Us. Political totalitarianism, as warned by Orwell, has transcended beyond Airstrip One in which we are all Winston Smiths. The very fact that most of us believe that "Big Father is Watching Us" makes us irresponsible and unaccountable creatures. Cause someone is going to redeem our sins anyway.

On the other hand, freedom from religion, as stated in Part 45 (The Law of Unintended Consequences in the Religious Industrial Complex), demands individual responsibility and accountability. Unfortunately, this sine qua non is a tall order for many. We can no longer comfortably hide behind Biblical or Koranic excuses, saviors, and redemption of any kind. The notions of heavenly rewards and hellish punishments (and twenty-one virgins waiting in paradise) go down the drain. In a religion-free environment, an individual is fully responsible and accountable for his or her own deeds.

Hence the cruel irony: agnostics and atheists tend to take religion much more seriously than theists. At the age of sixteen, British philosopher, logician and mathematician, Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) flatly declared: "(m)y whole religion is this: do every duty, and expect no reward for it, either here or hereafter." Observed another British, physician Jonathan Miller (b. 1934): "In some awful, strange, paradoxical way, atheists tend to take religion more seriously than the practitioners."

The similarities between political totalitarianism (as warned by Orwell) and religious totalitarianism (as we are witnessing today) are striking. Just take one of the slogans in "The Book" that "War Is Peace." Throughout the history of humankind, countless savage wars have been fought in the name of peace and merciful God and all kind of forgiving prophets. Another slogan—"Freedom is Slavery"—speaks volumes about the very core issue of how organized religions have enslaved believers instead of liberating them. But it is the third slogan—"Ignorance is Strength"—that has flawlessly exemplified the parallels between political and religious totalitarianism.

In Christian theology, for example, science and knowledge have had negative connotations. It is not an accident that the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge—not the Tree of Ignorance, mind you—was the cause of the original sin committed by Adam and Eve in the Fall of man as described in Genesis 2-3. Thus the primacy of ignorance over knowledge, and the rest is history.

The Catholic church burned Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician and astrologer Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) at the stake as a heretic. He merely proposed that the stars were just distant suns surrounded by their own exo-planets in a center-less universe that is infinite, made from the same elements, and that matter was composed of intelligent atoms. Indeed the spectacular images sent by the Hubble Space Telescope of the Milky Way, other galaxies and even the most distant MACS0647-JD galaxy (13.3 billion light-years away) prove and confirm that Giordano Bruno was right! The fate of Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) would have been similar, if not for his personal friendship with Pope Urban VIII (1568-1644).

The strength of ignorance continues to this very day. In the states of Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee, laws to give teachers the freedom to question scientific theories including evolution were considered and applied. In the name of Islam, the Taliban and Boko Haram have openly declared war on education, kidnapped schoolgirls and terrorized students. In a video to claim credit for a wanton killing spree at a university in Pakistan, a Taliban commander made it clear: "We will continue to attack schools, colleges and universities across Pakistan as these are the foundations that produce apostates."

We are where we are, because we have been relentlessly bombarded by religious propaganda to worship the Tree of Ignorance instead of that of Knowledge.

[To be continued.]

Johannes Tan, Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

Part 52.5

5/23/2016

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 52.5: Intermission

Due to an out-of-state interpreting assignment and a pressing translation deadline, Part 53 will only be posted next week, on May 30, 2016. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Johannes Tan, Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

Part 52

5/16/2016

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 52: The Power of Propaganda and Thanataphobia

Why do followers of Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church (the "Moonies") cut ties with their families and adopt austere lives? Why did Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh's staunch believers wanted to prove their love and devotion with 365 different Rolls-Royces, so he would have one for every day of the year? Whether we are talking about the blind loyalty and devotion of the followers of the Church of Scientology, Jim Jones' People Temples, or the Hare Krishna Movement, the constant question is: Why?

The power of propaganda.

Oxford Dictionary defines propaganda unflatteringly as "chiefly derogatory information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view." Historically, fascist and totalitarian regimes—from Hitler to Stalin, from Franco to Tojo, from Mao to Suharto, from Mugabe to Kim Jong-un—had embraced propaganda as an indispensable tool to consolidate and legitimize their political power. It's only natural that in the 21st-century we tend to think that propaganda is exclusively utilized within the domain of political science.

Nothing could be further from the truth, because the place of propaganda in religion is actually as central if not more so. As cited in Part 25 (What If Adam had not Eaten an Apple?) the word propaganda derived from an office created by the Catholic Church (Pope Gregory XV) in 1622 called the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Congregation for Propagating the Faith) to suppress the reformation movement. The principles of propaganda, whether applied in the realms of politics or religion, remain the same.

As a matter of fact, it's interesting to observe the similarities between how propaganda flourishes both in politics and religion.

First, almost all propaganda is designed to create fear. As observed by English author and social commentator John Boynton Priestley (1894-1984), heads of governments know too well that fearful citizens are more obedient, easier to govern, will forfeit rights they would otherwise defend, and are less likely to demand a better life. Cult leaders have realized this phenomenon and strategically exploited the fear of their followers for blind loyalty, unquestionable devotion, and more Rolls Royces.

Understand the psychology of thanatophobia, add the inevitable death into the equation, promise believers with eternal salvation and paradise with nineteen virgins, then you'll get the picture. Since most organized religions have claimed different explanations about the afterlife, heaven and hell, it is only natural that most believers have developed a severe case of thanatophobia, which is defined by Webster dictionary as an abnormally great fear of death.

Second, propaganda draws strength and nourishment from a common enemy. In fact, without an enemy, propaganda loses its steam in next to no time. No enemies? No problem. Just create new enemies or scapegoats or boogeymen—real or perceived. While for Hitler it was the Jews, for Stalin it was the counter-revolutionaries. While for Mao it was the reactionaries, for Islamic fundamentalism it is Western lifestyle and education. While for Shiite theocratic rulers in Iran the enemy is the Sunnis, for Sunni theocratic rulers in Saudi Arabia the enemy is the Shiites. After all how would one explain the 1,400-year bloody sectarian violence between the two denominations that is still going on up to date?

Then if it seems as if the 1,400-year sectarian violence is an exercise in futility, it is. Social philosopher Eric Hoffer (1898-1983) explained this phenomenon in The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (1951): "propaganda ... serves more to justify ourselves than to convince others; and the more reason we have to feel guilty, the more fervent our propaganda." After 1,400 years of violence, how many Sunnis have ever been converted into Shiites (and vice versa) anyway?

Third, and this is the most amazing part in my humble opinion, propaganda miraculously converts suicidal inferiority complex into chauvinistic superiority complex. This is by far propaganda's biggest bang for the buck. To compensate for blind loyalty and irrational sacrifices offered unconditionally to a despot, cult leader or holy cause, obedient followers are made to believe in their own superiority and holier-than-thou piety.

As explained by English writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) in Writers and Readers: The Olive Tree and Other Essays (1936): "Dictatorial propaganda demands obedience and even considerable financial and other sacrifices; but by way of compensation it assures the individual that, as a member of a chosen nation, race, or class, he is superior to all other individuals in the world; it dissipates his sense of personal inferiority by investing him with the vicarious glory of the community; it gives him reasons for thinking well of himself; it provides him with enemies whom he may blame for his own short-comings and upon whom he may vent his latent brutality and love of bullying."

Thanatophobia. Blind loyalty of the bullies, by the bullies, and for the bullies. Custom-made common enemies or scapegoats to consolidate power. Inferiority complex coupled with holier-than-thou piety. Those are the building blocks of the propaganda ecosystem that have been effectively used by despots, cult leaders, theocratic rulers, Boko Haram and Islamic State.

[To be continued.]
Johannes Tan, Indonesian Translator & Conference Interpreter

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Part 59

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 59: Conclusion - the Difference Between a Physician and a Clergyman

Part 58

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 58: Recognizing the Many Biases in our Belief Systems

Part 57.5

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 57.5: Intermission

Part 57

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 57: The Courage to Accept Outside Influence with Grace and Gratitude

Part 56

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 56: Religions' Resistance to Change

Part 55

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 55: On Mass Delusion

Part 54

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 54: Denying Death at All Costs

Part 53

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 53: "Big Father is Watching Us"

Part 52.5

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 52.5: Intermission

Part 52

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 52: The Power of Propaganda and Thanataphobia

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Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima SyndromePart 59: Conclusion - the Difference Between a Physician and a Clergyman

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima SyndromePart 58: Recognizing the Many Biases in our Belief Systems

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima SyndromePart 57.5: Intermission

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome Part 57: The Courage to Accept Outside Influence with Grace and Gratitude

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima SyndromePart 56: Religions' Resistance to Change

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima SyndromePart 55: On Mass Delusion

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima SyndromePart 54: Denying Death at All Costs

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima SyndromePart 53: "Big Father is Watching Us"

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima SyndromePart 52.5: Intermission

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima SyndromePart 52: The Power of Propaganda and Thanataphobia

Continuously exploring literal, semantic, idiomatic, contextual, metaphorical, symptomatic, conceptual and metaphysical meanings of everything worth thinking about.

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Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 59: Conclusion - the Difference Between a Physician and a Clergyman

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 58: Recognizing the Many Biases in our Belief Systems

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 57.5: Intermission

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 57: The Courage to Accept Outside Influence with Grace and Gratitude

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 56: Religions' Resistance to Change

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 55: On Mass Delusion

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 54: Denying Death at All Costs

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 53: "Big Father is Watching Us"

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 52.5: Intermission

Between Stockholm Syndrome and Lima Syndrome
Part 52: The Power of Propaganda and Thanataphobia