Page 36 - IB APR 2017

Opinion
God

is

Dead

that raped his seven-month-old daughter would exhaust efforts to distinguish
early last year or just as of this week, the themselves from the “common brand”.
accused 65-year-old for allegedly raping This is done through rhetorical procla-
his six-year-old grandson. mations, promises and at times, peculiar
For a country that once prides itself on prophetic notions that have easily irked
“Fiji being the way the world should be”, some in the political establishment (i.e
we seem to have lost touch between real- Rosi kei Viti Prophesy).
ity and rhetoric. Whether, political, social However, aside from this, as a Fijian
By Jope Tarai or religious rhetoric, we become seduced you can’t help but wonder, at a time when
by it, denying ourselves of reality. The re- “God” is peddled from every street corner
“GOD is dead, God remains dead and we ality that now prevails is the fundamental and medium in the country, how then can
have killed him”, the enigmatic words question of morals. we make sense of sexual violence cases?
of the German Philosopher – Friedrich Where are they? Those morals? Where How can we reconcile what appears to
Nietzsche. have they gone? Are they still alive? Could be our self-assumed sense of religious
In a predominantly God and rugby ob- it be plausible to argue that with every vibrancy and superiority, with what is
sessed nation like our own, these words case of sexual violence, the morals of our one of the most grotesque acts of evil
are tantamount to blasphemy, heresy and society are slowly killed off? Could we see known to man?
as my late mother would typically retort, this then, as another case is another stab “God” is central in the Fijian mind and
“rebuke it luvequ (my son), rebuke it!” at the beating heart of Fijian morals? venerated as second to none, from the
However, at the risk of being ostra- Therefore, if God is accepted as the pulpit to the rugby pitch. However, we
cised, I would argue that Nietzsche’s source of these morals, then are we not only seem to mention him and bring him
words are relevant if not evident in Fiji seeing the killing of God? With every to life in triumphant victories but lose or
today. Before, the conservative and the passing case of sexual violence? If so slowly kill him in our shameful lows.
religious among you, yell, scream or start then, we are witnessing the killing of God, Perhaps our Fijian society, our minds
praying and “rebuking me”, as I suspect if we haven’t killed him already?! or (dare I say it) our brand of belief has
my late mother would, let me explain. What is fascinating about this, is the become vacuous?
At one point or another we can agree fact that this is happening at a time of It would seem that it has become de-
that most Fijians see ‘God’ as the source, what can be termed as, the period of “Ag- void of introspection but saturated with
the means out of which morals are gressive Evangelism”, where the purvey- superficial commercial demands.
drawn. Attached to this is religion as its ors of the new varieties of the “his holy At times it would seem to make little
organised structure, from which these word” literally look aggressive, scream- difference with the excesses of capitalism,
morals are referenced, studied, recited ing, panting and testing the boundaries within which we struggle to survive.
and praised. “God” in such a regard of one’s eardrums. The debilitated and sordid nature of our
is understood and accepted as being This is no different from their relentless religious variety is arguably most evident
the supreme entity, ever present, ever efforts and ironic methods at reaching out in the recent case of the 54-year-old pas-
powerful, although invisible in homes and preaching to the converted. tor, of the church group called Jezreel Lion
and in whispered conversations. Yet we In addition to this, the mushrooming of of Judah, who was facing charges in rela-
would wonder where our morals have a variety of religious sects, often termed tion to rape and sexual assault.
gone, when we read of the most horren- as “breakways” has proven intriguing if It is fascinating to recall a family mem-
dous cases of sexual violence that seem not confusing. ber once say; “Well the devil comes in all
to “spring eternal” in our print dailies, It’s as if religion has metamorphosed forms, even sometimes in the church as
court system and conversations around into these tentacles of a variety of the well, that’s why we all need to be careful…
the tanoa. same “brand”. ehhh..Tukai?”
Take for instance the 29-year-old father In spite of this, many in these sects I suppose it is easier to defer responsi-

36 Islands Business, April 2017