Climate and Compassion -- Change needed!

By Colin Gibson in Articles

We reprint this article which originally appeared as a Connections article, Dec. 13, 2009.

These days all the hot news is coming out of wintry Copenhagen, where the nations have gathered to finally do something about global warming. Even our Prime Minister decided to attend, and now we are hearing that our government was secretly involved in preparing one of the documents which have now been tabled for consideration. In fact, New Zealand might be thought to have a special responsibility of concern for the several small Pacific Island nations which are likely to be obliterated as the seas continue to rise. How would our politicians cope with the spectre of thousands of desperate migrants clamouring to be allowed ashore here? Any better than Australian governments have done to date? We couldn't leave them all on ships, and apart from Stewart Island we haven't much off-shore territory to offer. (What an irony that the principal Australian parking lot for refugees is named Christmas Island.)

Jeanette and I have just returned from a wintry Britain, where the sun dips below the horizon by 3.30pm, and monster gales and floods have lashed Wales and Scotland on the Atlantic coastline. Not much sign of global warming there (though scientists do say that one of the effects of this significant change to our world's climate will be extreme weather events such as gales and floods).

But whatever the outcome of the Copenhagen talks, whatever changes the nations may agree to make in the interests of human survival, there is an even more profound change required if we are to come out of this mess alive. That is, a change in the moral climate of all humankind. And, yes, there is another document which may yet bring about fundamental change if we can agree to abide by it. It is called the Charter of Compassion, and it is the work of Karen Armstrong-yes, the former Catholic nun and scholar who has written 22 books, among them The History of God, The End of Silence: Women and the Priesthood, The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (2000 and The Bible: A Biography.

In February 2008 Armstrong called for a council of Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders to draw up a "charter which would apply shared moral priorities to foster greater global understanding". In November of 2009, she unveiled the Charter for Compassion in Washington, DC and online. We've already put it onto the Dunedin Parish website, and over the last two days I've had the privilege of working with Shirley Murray (fresh from her University of Otago Honorary Doctorate) on Shirley's latest hymn, arising out of the charter. It begins

How does compassion grow?
Her seed is at the heart
of every faith we know:
compassion honours others' place,
dethroning self with willing grace.

But here is the charter (the short version). What do you make of it? What is more important, what will you make of it with your children and their children's children...that is if we still have our heads above the waters of greed and self-interest that now threaten to literally drown our world.

"The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

"It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others-even our enemies-is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

"We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings-even those regarded as enemies.

"We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community".

To which I can only say amen! Now, what can I do to put its noble ideas into practice?

-- by Colin Gibson