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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Remember China, Praying for China, and Our Moral Compass is a Who


Today marks the one year anniversary of the worst earthquake to hit China.I was taken by a quote from Chinese Artist AI Wei Wei on his thoughts about the anniversary, (I include his quote at the end of this post,) so I began to do a bit of reading and research and found one of the worst pieces of information I personally have seen regarding a baby, reported to be "a fetus." Read on, but know the next paragraph is graphic, and most of all tragic. Because our moral compass is a WHO and not a law nor contemporary thought as AI has inferred, we can anticipate more of this. (I am still learning how to appropriately connect my sources and adequately credit them, so please give me grace on that,and instruction if you have the know-how.)

Chinese Artist Yu, along with 40 plus avant garde Chinese artists, participated in an exhibit in Shanghai in 2000. One of the many exhibits included Yu's self-portraits entitled "Eating People" by Zhu Yu. "It consisted of a series of photographs of him cooking and eating what is alleged to be a human fetus." (Source-Wikipedia). In response to the public reaction, Mr. Yu stated, "No religion forbids cannibalism. Nor can I find any law which prevents us from eating people. I took advantage of the space between morality and the law and based my work on it". Call it censorship or common sense, the Shanghai police shut the exhibit down before its closing date.

And now for the paradox. Chinese Artist AI was one of the Curators in this particular exhibit. In an interview about censorship he says the following: (May-June 2009 interview by Simon Kirby, from Index on Censorship.) "The basic value of contemporary thought has to be established in China. We need to create a sense of right and wrong; to learn to face ourselves and our history; to discuss what kind of nation and what kind of government we should create. These are essential questions and they need to be addressed. Without this, no solution can ever really reach the real root problem. "

On this the anniversary of the 8.0 Earthquake in China, Artist AI, who maintains an effort to identify the children who were killed in the earthquake, says this:"We have to really re-evaluate the values of life in this society," he said in his studio in Caochangdi outside downtown Beijing. (This photo is a current tally of names so far.)
I see horrid inconsistencies between what Chinese artist AI Wei Wei says he values, and what he condones in his role as curator in the 2000 exhibit in Shanghai. A moral compass is not an established contemporary thought. Rather, it is the very person of Jesus Christ coming on the scene of the human heart, radically uprooting any rights we think we have, and pouring out upon and in us His very presence, transforming us into the new creation that we become through His willing sacrifice of His own sinless life. There is no more profound statement made on the value of human life than the one made by the Author of life Himself. May our own eyes be opened wider, and our hearts absolutely pierced by the sorrow of sin that led Jesus to the cross. May we utter prayers of repentance for ourselves, our carelessness, our waywardness, for China, for the human race that inhabits the world as we now know it. "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin hath left a crimson stain, He washed me white as snow."

12 comments:

Kathy said...

Because of the topic of content, especially the reference to the art exhibit in Shanghai in 2000, I have temporarily enabled comment moderation. Thank you.

Susan said...

This is more than my mind can fathom, much less my heart. This is so terrible. I had no idea humanity could stoop to this low. Thank you for passing along this information, Kathy, that I, for one, had no idea of. God forgive us......how much longer until HE says "enough".
Susan

Kathy said...

Susan, until our world really sees Him we will never see our sin for what it is.

Elizabeth said...

This is heartbreaking. Thank you for bringing it to our attention...I had no idea.

Danny Wright said...

We need to create a sense of right and wrong...without this, no solution can ever really reach the real root problemHe hit the nail on the head here and doesn't even realize it. We is the problem. After centuries of history from which to judge the human condition, still someone will stand up and say we can fix this. Assuming AI was correct in his assessment, if "we" did create out of thin air right and wrong, how does he intend to enforce rightness? Better yet, what would he then call the act of doing wrong? Hint to AI, whatever you do, don't call it sin.

Kathy said...

We, imperfect and fatally flawed, cannot "create" a sense of right and wrong, can we! We have allowed our consciences to be "put to death" as it were.

Nancy said...

Following the actions of the "Exhibit" to natural conclusion is so repulsive that even the Chinese government couldn't permit this assault...My question coming from total abhorrence...Was this photo event authentic or posed specifically to bring the realization of where society is headed without moral absolutes in place?

Mary Lee said...

Al needs Jesus.

Kathy said...

Nancy, that is a good question. Because of the response of the artist who took the photos of himself, Yu, I think he was demonstrating the world of an artist with no moral conscience: " I found the space between morality and the law....". As for AI, I am hoping that he is seeing now, as you said, where things can go without moral absolutes. As Mary Lee has said, he needs Jesus. Not only that, how far away is our own country from such abhorent practices and governing-styles as the nation of China lest we turn from our wicked ways.

My concern is that the paragraph about the art exhibit would distract from the main point: thinking we can create that sense of right and wrong. AI is correct, we need a sense of right and wrong, but the error is thinking it can be created or governed into being. It, as I stated, comes only through finding Jesus.

Kathy said...

Kristy-I think I accidentally deleted your comment about the church and moral/christian issues. My apologies. I'm going to try and retrieve it-my inexperience with comment moderation. : )

Kathy said...

Kristy has left a new comment on your post "Spurgeon on Politics":

Our old church(before election) was devided on this very issue. I believe that the Church body should know where the Church stands on issues, ecspecially on moral and Christian issues. Thank You for posting this.

Kathy here: sorry Kristy, this was the best I could do on retrievel from my email. Blessings friend!

Beth said...

Kathy, when we were talking about this yesterday (how blessed I am to be able to meet and talk with you in person, unlike some who follow your blog) I got off on a tangent and didn’t say everything that I meant to. There were two things that struck me about your post. 1) I read about the horrific practice you refer to about a year ago when I read a book recommended by a psych teacher I was taking a course from. I sent her an email saying that I found that part of the book morally offensive. She replied that she had forgotten about that particular chapter (even though that book is REQUIRED READING for a course she teaches on death every Spring). Then I forgot about it. I didn’t want to think any more about it. I just turned away. I don’t remember praying about it. What a sad response. 2) The exhibit was in 2000 and Al’s comments are from 2009. Couldn’t it be that in the interim Al realized his and his country’s moral bankruptcy?