TruthBook Religious News Blog

Drawing from a long list of "alternative" medical therapies as diverse as the Atkins diet, acupuncture, homeopathy and prayer, federal health researchers reported Thursday that nearly two out of three Americans were using unconventional approaches to mend their bodies or maintain their health.

When prayer is dropped from the list, the federally funded survey found that 36 percent of Americans over the age of 18 used so-called complementary and alternative medicine.

"What we see is that a sizable percentage of the public puts their personal health into their own hands,'' said Edward Sondik, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, which carried out the survey.

A snapshot of American health care choices in 2002, the survey concluded that 8 percent of the nation's adults visited chiropractors; 5 percent practiced yoga for health; 1.1 percent had acupuncture; and 1.7 percent employed homeopathy.

Therapies such as massage, which are labeled as alternative medicine, are often used by mainstream medical practices, Barrett noted. Hypnosis and "progressive relaxation," also on the survey list, are techniques used by conventional psychotherapists.

The findings are consistent with those of smaller surveys of America's health care preferences, such as the work of Harvard Medical School researcher Dr. David Eisenberg, who has reported the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine in the United States has risen to 42 percent, from 33 percent in 1990.

The federal survey broadened the previous academic work by including prayer in the alternative medicine mix. It found 43 percent of Americans had prayed for their own health during 2002; 24 percent reported that other people had prayed for them; and nearly 10 percent had been in a group that prayed for health.

Dr. William Stewart, medical director for the Institute for Health and Healing at California Pacific Medical Center, said there was a growing body of scientific work suggesting that prayer does have a beneficial healing effect. "Most people who have a cancer diagnosis now engage in some sort of social support activity,'' he said. "If we look at prayer as a support network, it could contribute to the well-being and healing of an individual.''

Stewart said he was concerned that surveys such as this one tended to lump all kinds of alternative medicine practices into one group, without much rationale for doing so. However, he said the larger picture painted by the study showed that "30 percent or more Americans say the spiritual aspects of treatment are important."

"That,'' Stewart concluded, "is a very important and salient consideration for us physicians.''

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Wednesday, May 19, 2004

We believe, but not in church.

A new Home Office report has found that four out of five people in England and Wales say they feel an affiliation with an organised religion. The largest number - 74% - say they are Christians.

However with church attendance on the decline and only 7% of Christians in the UK attending church, the figure seems remarkably high.

Why do so many people who have no formal contact with a religious organisation still claim to believe in some form of higher power?

Hanne Stinson, director of the British Humanist Association, says she thinks many of them are "cultural Christians".

They see themselves as being Christian in the same way as they are British, almost in a tribal way.

"People label themselves with what they were brought up with," said Hanne.

"If they haven't gone to church for 20 years they still put themselves down on official forms as Church of England.

"Even one of our members put himself down as Christian on the census - it's a common reaction of someone who's been brought up Christian."

Ms Stinson blames the way forms such as the census are worded, with a choice of organised religions or "none" on the boxes to be ticked.

"Some people have a vague belief in some sort of deity and they don't like writing 'none'.

"You have to be fairly convinced to write 'none'."

There is an inner aspect to our consciousness which can't be fully explained away in purely material terms

While Dr Cowie said both figures from census-style questions and church attendances are "not very meaningful", a "very clear majority" of people have some spiritual sense.

And that there is evidence that under extreme pressure the number who turn to prayer is even higher than the figures quoted by the Home Office.

The answer to the gaping void between church attendance and people who claim an affiliation with a religion appears to be twofold.

People may tick the Christian/Jewish/Muslim boxes because of their cultural heritage but psychologists say the need to believe in a higher being is almost innate in humans.

"There is an inner aspect to our consciousness which can't be fully explained away in purely material terms," said Dr Les Lancaster, of the School of Psychology Liverpool John Moores University.

"And aspiring to something greater than themselves, for many people does not mean going to a place of organised worship."

The problem of the gulf between faith and active worship seems one peculiarly belonging to established Christian churches.

The Home Office survey shows people want to believe in a supernatural power so why is that failing to fill the pews on Sundays.

"I don't think the structures of the past are answering everyone's needs," said Dr Lancaster.

"They can buy into Buddhism, and Islam is very attractive. It's beliefs that are bound up in institutions that are different.

"Christianity seems to have difficulty incorporating a contemporary view of the world."

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Saturday, May 15, 2004

Studies show faith lessens depression's power

A growing body of scientific evidence about the role of spirituality in mental health, especially in the prevention and treatment of depression, supports centuries of anecdotal evidence.

Several studies have looked at the role of spirituality in preventing depression, but recent studies suggest those who are intrinsically spiritual recover from depression more quickly and have less severe depressive symptoms.

Spirituality has become a more accepted topic for inquiry among secular psychotherapists and psychologists.

"There has been a lot of writing on that lately in more secular, mainstream kinds of publication," says Christopher Wilgers, a psychologist who has a Christian counseling practice. "I've even seen it in popular magazines like Psychology Today and other secular publications."

A study conducted at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill followed 87 people over the age of 60 who were diagnosed with depression after being admitted to the hospital. Patients who scored higher on tests that measured "intrinsic religiosity" recovered from depression faster than those with lower scores, even after other factors were controlled for. Tests measuring "intrinsic religiosity" focus on a person's internal spiritual life, rather than religious activity such as prayer, meditation or attending church.

A review of 147 previous studies, published in 2003 by researchers at Brigham Young University and the University of Miami, found that "religiousness" in people consistently was related to lower levels of depressive symptoms. The association was stronger in studies of people who were under stress because of recent events.

"Depression is rooted in hopelessness, helplessness and meaninglessness," Wilgers says. "(With spirituality) people are able to see there is a purpose in what is happening to them."

However, spirituality alone is often not enough to help someone overcome depression, he says.

"People have work to do. Sometimes they have the hard work of grief to do," Wilgers says. "A lot of people have a biochemical imbalance. ... A lot of people do need medication."

Depression can be both a mental-health and a spiritual problem, says Gen Kelsang Losel, registered teacher at the Heruka Buddhist Center in Fort Collins, Colo.

"We believe that cause of suffering is the uncontrolled mind," Losel says. "If we can come to recognize negative minds and delusion and if we recognize virtuous states of mind, our mind is more peaceful and we are naturally happier," Losel says.

She highlights two recent studies that found areas of the brain associated with good mood and positive feelings are more active in Buddhists who meditate regularly than in the population as a whole.

As positive as spirituality can be for people who are struggling with certain kinds of mental-health issues, for a few people, religious beliefs can act as an obstacle to healing, Wilgers says.

"Some people will come in and think their depression is a spiritual condition when they may have a biochemical imbalance, probably inherited. Some people think it's a character flaw and they just need more faith, when they need some medicinal help," Wilgers says. "With them, I say the road is a harder road. There are definitely times when I think (spirituality or religion) gets in the way."

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Saturday, May 08, 2004

Survey finds 'moral myopia' in advertising industry

Many advertising executives fail see any ethical implications of their work, and if they do see moral problems, they refuse to talk about them, a University of Texas professor has discovered.

And she firmly believes that "see-no-evil, speak-no-evil" attitude permeates much of the corporate world.

"Our thinking is that the problem extends to other industries as well," said Meme Drumwright, chair of the bridging disciplines program in ethics and leadership at the University of Texas at Austin.

Drumwright, associate professor of advertising at UT, and Patrick Murphy, a marketing professor at the University of Notre Dame, interviewed more than 50 advertising practitioners at 29 agencies in eight cities to discover how they perceive ethical issues.

The researchers found most of the people they interviewed suffered from "moral myopia"—a distorted moral vision that keeps ethical issues from coming into focus—and "moral muteness"—an unwillingness to talk about moral concerns.

In an article to be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Advertising, they wrote: "We do not believe that moral myopia or moral muteness is unique to advertising or marketing. Indeed, the recent round of corporate scandals suggests that moral myopia and moral muteness are apparent in many industries. Our data were collected before the Enron debacle, and as we watched it unfold, we saw evidence of rampant moral muteness and moral myopia, which paved the way for serious ethical breaches by people of good and ill intent."

Ethical issues seldom are discussed at either the corporate or individual level in most major-market ad agencies, Drumwright observed. Generally, they are not talked about because they are not seen, her research revealed.

"They don't see the ethical issues unless they are tied to their own self-interests, such as when they think someone is stealing their idea," she said

Drumwright and her colleague concluded advertising executives—and by implication other business people—may be affected by moral myopia to varying degrees.

Some are morally shortsighted, and others may be practically blind to ethical issues, she observed. Often, moral vision is distorted by rationalization.

"A common rationalization we heard was: If it's legal, it must be moral," she said.

Drumwright quoted an agency president who told the interviewers advertising is "one of the most ethical businesses there is (because) it is so regulated. Everything that we do has to go through our lawyers to make sure it's conforming to the law, and then our client's lawyers, and then we have to send it through the networks and their lawyers. … It's really hard to be unethical in this business even if you wanted to."

Rather than seeing legal requirements as the "moral minimum," many advertisers equate legality with morality, setting the bar no higher than what the law demands, she said.

Another problem advertisers face is becoming so immersed in their clients' corporate culture they lose all objectivity.

"Anthropologists refer to this as 'going native,'" Drumwright said. For ad agency representatives, "going native" means becoming so identified with their clients' perspective and product claims they lose the ability to make critical moral judgments. They believe their own lies without recognizing them as such.

Another way advertisers rationalize unethical behavior is by compartmentalizing—"separating work life from personal life," Drumwright said.

She pointed to the example of an ad agency executive who had a young daughter. As a mother, she expressed concern about the potential influence waif-thin models could have on her daughter's concept of beauty and self-esteem. But as an advertising practitioner, she told herself clients have the right to run their businesses the way they want to and project any image they wish.

Other advertising professionals displayed ethical concern by refusing to work for clients representing certain businesses, such as cigarette-makers. But they saw no problem accepting bonus money from their employer if the agency that employed them benefited from cigarette accounts. Drumwright saw that as "a form of compartmentalization."

Research did uncover isolated examples of advertisers with moral vision who were willing to talk to coworkers and clients about ethical concerns, she noted. Some even displayed what he called "moral imagination"—the ability to "think outside the box" to generate moral alternatives beyond simplistic answers.

These individuals differed from their industry peers primarily in one respect: They worked in a corporate culture that valued ethical behavior.

"It matters what kind of organization you are in. The corporate culture and community make a difference," Drumwright said.

She drew several conclusions about how to foster ethics in ad agencies—and by implication, in the general workplace:

- Leaders set the tone. Leading both by word and example, people in authority can create a workplace context where moral imagination can flourish. They also can create systems in the workplace that reward rather than punish workers who "blow the whistle" on unethical conduct.

- Communication fosters good ethics. Researchers found a correlation between high levels of communication in the corporate culture and high levels of ethical sensitivity.

- Community matters. When good habits are cultivated and nurtured in the workplace, ethical behavior becomes the norm rather than the exception.

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Thursday, May 06, 2004

Growing Number Of U.S. Adults Don't Go To Church

A new survey suggests that the number of American adults who don't go to church has risen to 75 million -- more than a-third of the U.S. adult population.

The Barna Research poll defines non-churchgoers as those who haven't attended a worship service -- other than a wedding or funeral, Christmas or Easter -- during the past six months.

The survey found that the unchurched are more likely to be young, male and single than born-again adults.

But the Barna researchers were surprised to find that 17 percent of unchurched adults say they've accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.

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Tuesday, May 04, 2004

What These Ancient Places Can Teach Us Now

When U.S. Army chaplain Steve Munson arrived in southern Iraq last summer, he held an open-air baptism in the ancient city of Ur, where the Bible says Abraham was born. When Lithuanian troops patrol the city of Qurnah, they stop by a small concrete park dotted with olive trees. It is called the Garden of Eden.

The U.S.-led effort to rebuild Iraq is taking place not merely on the landscape of the modern Middle East but also on the most storied, most volatile and most important canvas in the history of humankind.

The land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers—the “Cradle of Civilization”—was known in antiquity as Mesopotamia and gave birth to the earliest empires in history, from Sumer to Babylon. The Garden of Eden was located here, the Tower of Babel was built here, the first alphabet was scripted here, the day was first carved into 24 hours here, and some of the greatest stories ever told were first uttered here, from the epic of Gilgamesh to the saga of Abraham.

And yet, for the last 35 years, these sites have been mostly closed to the West and, in the case of Babylon, crudely reconstructed as a propagandist playground to promote the idea that Saddam Hussein was the new Nebuchadnezzar, the great emperor of antiquity.

In recent years, I have been retracing the Bible through the desert, exploring the link between the past and today. I dreamed of seeing where the Tigris and Euphrates merge. I longed to walk where Abraham first yearned for God. When the fall of Saddam seemed to fling open the door to the past, I knew I must go now.

I set out with photographer Gwendolen Cates, starting in Kuwait. There, we strapped ourselves into a C-130 aircraft and took off for Baghdad, making a corkscrew landing to avoid shoulder-launched missiles. In a war zone, peace is a hotel room with tape on the windows, only one blackout per hour and the occasional rat-tat-tat of gunfire to keep one’s dreams on edge.

The Garden of Eden

The road south from Baghdad is cluttered with the detritus of war: bombed-out bridges, scorched tanks, looted oil tankers. Every few feet is a fruit stand selling the spoils of lifted sanctions: apples, oranges, and bunches and bunches of bananas.

Soon the scenery changes: Women in black veils swarm the roadside, giant portraits of Shia ayatollahs arise. And water appears everywhere—rivers, puddles, canals. We have reached the womb of the world.

The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the great double highway of antiquity, begin in Turkey, pass through Syria, then sprint through Iraq. Around 10,000 years ago, the earliest civilizations tamed these rivers and invented agriculture. Their origin stories suggest that the world was created as land arose from these waters. Genesis echoes this idea with earth emerging from watery chaos.

The Garden of Eden was located here, the Tower of Babel was built here, the first alphabet was scripted here.

The wetlands of southern Iraq evoke this idyllic time; they also evince evil. For millennia, the rivers were filtered by an intricate web of marshes. Saddam drained the marshes to penalize his Shia rivals and to prevent deserters from hiding here during his many wars. Nearly 8000 square miles, the land area of Massachusetts, were reduced to 400. Today, the area is a feeding ground for poverty and crime. We could only travel between 8 a.m. and noon; darkness is ruled by highway pirates.

“Saddam killed a culture that lasted thousands of years,” said Azzam Alwash, a local-born engineer and kayaker who has returned from California as part of a private foundation to help reflood the area. “He destroyed 350,000 lives.”

Alwash named his organization Eden Again to invoke the idea that the original Paradise was here. Was he right? We don’t know. The Bible suggests that the Garden of Eden was located at the confluence of four rivers: the Tigris, the Euphrates and two that are unknown. We turned north from Basra, through an ethereal landscape filled with date palms, water buffalo and straw huts. Not the manicured greenery imagined in European paintings, but still alluring.

The Tigris and Euphrates merge today in the abject town of Qurnah. This confluence is recent, after a 1954 flood redirected the Euphrates. On the banks is a tiny park about the size of an outdoor basketball court. It contains a shrine to Abraham, a few trees, lots of concrete and no grass. Joni Mitchell was right: They paved Paradise.

A swarm of children engulfed us as we arrived. They climbed the trees, squealing, and for the first time during our travels, filled the air with hope. Soon, though, a huddle of men appeared, flashing guns. Another followed. Our guide insisted, “We must go.” Suddenly we were thrust back into the real world of peril. There is no Eden here.

Ur

A few hours west from Qurnah is the city of Nasiriyah, a dusty crossroads with little water and streets dank with poverty. A narrow road leads to the ruins of ancient Ur, the birthplace of recorded thought. The site announces itself with a looming ziggurat, a stepped pyramid built to the sky. Approximately 150 feet wide and 60 feet tall (it once reached 75 feet), the ziggurat was built by the Sumerians in 2013 B.C.E. out of clay and baked bricks, to draw closer to the god of the moon.

For me, Ur held a more personal connection. Genesis 11 suggests that Abraham lived here, and my mother’s family name means House of Abraham. After 9/11, I wrote a book about using Abraham—the shared ancestor of Jews, Christians and Muslims—as a vessel for reconciliation.

Arriving at the base of the ziggurat, I felt a surge of elation that was part relief at reaching here safely and part awe at witnessing the timeless human urge to reach out and touch our gods. I threw off my armor and climbed the 122 steps to the summit.

Some U.S. soldiers had gathered to say farewell after their year at an adjacent base. “There were a lot of times—heat, sandstorms—when life here was pretty demoralizing,” said Capt. Scott Barnett. “To get up at sunrise and see this right outside the back of your tent was a reminder: ‘I think I’ll get with the chaplain tonight and do a little devotional.’”

Chaplain Steve Munson went further. One morning he lined an ammo crate with plastic and held a communal baptism; a soldier played “Amazing Grace” on a saxophone. “It reminded me that God has us here for a purpose,” said Munson.

Standing at the base of the ziggurat, I felt a surge of elation that was part awe at witnessing the timeless human urge to reach out and touch our gods.

The ruins themselves span 30 acres—a warren of royal palaces, shops and tombs. Leonard Woolley excavated Ur in the 1920s, and the remains are partially restored. Dhief Muhsen, the weathered, knowledgeable caretaker, pointed to where a 4000-year-old golden harp had been pulled from the ground.

Of all the people who ever lived in Ur, I asked Muhsen, whom would he most want to meet?

“The person who invented writing,” he said, referring to the Sumerian innovation of scratching cuneiform into soft clay tablets. “Writing is the basis of all things: education, industry, trade.”

“And what would you say?” I asked.

“You served the world. Anytime anyone anywhere sits down to write a letter, they should thank you. They are a child of Iraq.”

Babylon

Several hours north is the crown jewel of Iraqi sites, Babylon, home to the world’s first complete legal text, the Code of Hammurabi, and to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Hanging Gardens. In 586 B.C.E., Nebuchadnezzar burned Jerusalem and exiled the Israelites to this river city.

Modern-day Babylon is different from Ur. For starters, it’s located inside a coalition base, with satellite trucks, mess halls and a buzz of troops. Noting that the Tower of Babel was built here—which resulted in God destroying the building and creating many languages—Major Dezso Kiss of Hungary observed that the soldiers who are now here communicate in one language: English. “The Tower has finally been built,” he said.

Also, Babylon has been restored as a sort of Six Flags Over Hammurabi, with canals, picnic grounds and gift shops with plastic trinkets. Lording above the ruined palaces is the marble palace that Saddam built for himself.

While the crenellated restorations have an empty, Epcot feel to them, the occasional real ruins have enormous power. I walked through the Ishtar gate with John Russell, a bookish, poetic archaeologist from Boston who was advising the Coalition. Russell came to Iraq at personal peril to help mitigate the devastation done by looters to Iraq’s 10,000 ancient sites. Major sites still look like Swiss cheese, he said, with robbers continuing to shovel into the ground, pulling out objects willy-nilly. “Sites that would have taken centuries to excavate, each of which would have rewritten our history books countless times over, are just gone,” he said.

"Sites that would have rewritten our history books countless times are just gone," laments one archaeologist.

“I worry, because we call this the Cradle of Civilization. If we’re civilized, we’re going to find the evidence for that here. If we destroy that, what does that make us?”

“One of the most famous passages of the Bible,” I said, “is ‘By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept.’” His voice cracked: “You can’t fly over hundreds of acres of our past that’s destroyed and not weep.”

The Museum

Compared with the wretchedness in the south, Baghdad is alive with commerce and anxiously making a fresh start. Bombed-out government complexes share streets with shops selling satellite dishes and air conditioners. The pedestal that held Saddam’s statue has been filled with a woman holding a moon—a symbol of freedom.

One emblem of the war’s horror and tentative recovery is the Iraq National Museum. Last April, looters rampaged the central depository of Mesopotamian art. Of the museum’s 170,000 objects, 14,000 were stolen, many in an apparent inside job. “This is not only the heritage of Iraqis,” said Dr. Donny George, the urbane director of the museum. “It is the heritage of humankind.”

Today, more than 5000 looted objects have been recovered. The U.S. and private donors have earmarked millions for reconstruction. George hopes to reopen the museum in two years. Meanwhile, he has regained respect for the resiliency of Iraqis.

“Some leaders believe they make history,” he said. “They’re wrong. People make history. People produce art, songs, writing. And the people are looking for a better future now.”

Nineveh

Our last leg took us north, through the anarchic Sunni triangle, to the mountainous northern region, where plump sheep wander the grass-lined slopes and ravens pluck at fields brimming with vegetables.

"Some leaders believe they make history. But people make history. They produce art, songs, writing."

Here may be the greatest concentration of ancient sites outside Egypt: Hatra, the immense Arabian stronghold from the third century B.C.E.; Nimrud, the Assyrian city famed for its stunning collection of gold jewelry; and Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, built by Sennacherib and reviled in the Bible for destroying Israel. Jonah was sent to denounce Nineveh before he was swallowed by the whale.

Wandering these faded behemoths, with their soaring pasts and crumbled dreams, I was struck by how strongly the pulse of Mesopotamia still throbs through the country—and through me. Life here seems instantly familiar, because we learn about these places in second grade and read about them in the Bible. This is the unspoken secret of the place: It’s more dangerous than it appears on television, but it feels more like home.

In fact, being here filled a gap in my identity that I hadn’t even realized was there: I had finally touched the bedrock of history.

So, what morals did I come away with? First is that political power is fleeting, from that of Nebuchadnezzar to Sennacherib to Saddam. Yet every empire also leaves echoes behind—such as writing or the idea of a garden paradise—that become embedded in the onrush of history.

Second, no civilization has the exclusive claim to truth. To walk in these sites is to appreciate how history is written by winners and losers. The grandeur of Babylon suggests that Nebuchadnezzar was a daring commander and visionary leader, yet the Bible presents him as a villain.

History is so powerful here that even Saddam tried to link himself with the past by carving his initials on every third stone in Hatra—tens of thousands of claims to ownership. Yet soon his name will be etched away and his arrogation erased.

The major lesson of Iraq, I believe, is that different cultures must live side by side.

Finally, the major lesson of Iraq, I believe, is that different cultures must live side by side. The one iconic image that links Sumer, Babylon and Nimrud is the ziggurat, but each one was built to a different god. The Bible casts this structure as the Tower of Babel, a ziggurat that led humans closer to the one God. Babel has long been viewed as a warning: God is so threatened by humans cooperating that he disperses them into many nations.

But wandering these ruins, I suddenly viewed the same story as a plea, and maybe a blessing: God wants there to be many people in the world, living alongside one another, dignified in their difference yet striving toward a future of peace.

How You Can Help

The Emergency Protection for Iraqi Cultural Antiquities Act of 2004 is currently before the U.S. Senate. To express support, contact your Senators or Representative, as well as Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) and Rep. Bill Thomas (R., Calif.).

By Bruce Feiler
Published: April 25, 2004

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Monday, May 03, 2004

Media should have complete freedom to report truthfully - Dalai Lama

When there is a problem, a crisis, the media must show that there is an alternative, says the Dalai Lama. The media should give people confidence that they can change, that they can do better, he said in an interview with the World Association of Newspapers.

WAN: How do you see the role of the media in promoting peace and reconciliation today?

The Dalai Lama: They play a very important role. The world is becoming smaller. When something happens in one part of the world, it will have a repercussion in the world as a whole. This especially concerns fields such as the economy, environment and health as well as phenomena such as Sars or Aids.

Something happens in a remote place, but the danger reaches everywhere. It is today's reality. Therefore people everywhere need to be aware of what is going on everywhere. The world is becoming much smaller and our knowledge and awareness of each other is very essential. The concept of human rights is also becoming universal, and the right to preserve one's culture, which particularly concerns indigenous people.

Then there is also the right of self-determination, which is becoming a universal value.

Under these circumstances I think, again, that the media have an important role to play.

Then, if we look at the democratic system: despite some drawbacks, democracy is the best system.

That people get awareness and hear the truth, is extremely important. In order to promote freedom and democracy, the Press is very important.

However, there is something I always say when I am talking to media people. The media tend to show a lot of interest in the negative, in disasters or tragedies.

This kind of news gets a lot of attention, whereas there is less interest in the value of human compassion.

If a disaster happens in, for example, New Delhi, New York, Paris or Moscow, it is immediately seen as something
important.

However, organisations or relatives take care of thousands and thousands of young children every day. Institutions or individuals take care of old and sick people.

Rural compassion is very, very active. We take these things for granted, so they are not important to the media.

People who regularly read the newspaper or watch television get the impression that humanity is bad. I think that many people live under the impression that the world is getting worse. I do not agree with that.

My feeling is that during the last century, the world has become a much better place.

Humanity is becoming more mature, more experienced. But many people get the opposite impression, because of news reporting.

WAN: Did the world not become a better place partly thanks to the work of the media, because the media "scared" the readers and spectators?

The Dalai Lama: It is true - we must show that there are lots of unhappy things happening. I think it is right to tell people about all the negative things.

But I also think that media people should have "long noses", like elephants. They should look in front of things, on the side, but also behind.

They should see everywhere and provide truthful, honest news. No political motivations should have an influence.

This means that a critical presentation is very necessary. It is highly important to write in a balanced way, and the positive aspect must also show. There is basic humanity, gentleness and human compassion in the world.

When there is a problem, a crisis, the media must show that there is an alternative, there is a method, there is potential. Give people confidence that they can change, that they can do better.

WAN: Should there be any limits to Press freedom?

The Dalai Lama: I think there should be a complete freedom to report truthfully. On another level, media people are an important part of society.

The ultimate goals of the media should not be political or financial, but human.

However, if freedom means not having any limits or any principles, then the question is what use is there to have such a freedom?

Altogether, we should aim for a better world, a happier world with people trying to be friendly, compassionate and peaceful.

Here I think the media have a responsibility. But this does not only concern the media, it concerns every field and every profession: scientists, politicians and businessmen.

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Saturday, May 01, 2004

New brand of comfort

He's the only one who comes into a patient's room to do nothing.

As part of the health care team at The Monroe Clinic, Chaplain Thomas Chopp has no particular agenda when he sees a patient. Instead, he is there to provide support for patients and their families on their terms -- not his.

"I do not bring a religious or personal agenda into the room. I allow the patient to set her or his own agenda to meet their own spiritual or emotional needs," he said.

Typically, Chaplain Tom said, he enters a patient's room for the first time and introduces himself. Unlike other medical professionals who walk through a patient's door, Chaplain Tom is not there to "do" anything -- he simply comes to visit. Many expect him to want to pray with them and often there is an awkward period of silence as the patients realize the chaplain is there to stay awhile.

"Then they'll start to open up," he said. It's particularly rewarding when older patients, who often are dealing with a variety of losses, recall their youth. "They go back to green pastures. They've left their moment of suffering," he said.

What he doesn't do, Chaplain Tom stressed, is preach to patients. He is however happy to accompany patients who wish to journey spiritually.

"We call that 'sacred ground' when a patient allows a chaplain to journey with them," Chaplain Tom said. "When a patient wants to journey, wants to talk, I'm there for them."

He promises not to try to change a patient's faith.

"I don't go in there to try to change their faith -- I'm there to support their faith," he said.

"It's really not about religion," he said. Rather, it is about spirituality and helping the patient's physical and mental well-being.

In their training, clinical chaplains study different faiths and cultures so they can help patients from different backgrounds and honor those traditions.

Still, in faith there's more similarities than differences. "Spirituality has so much in common," he said. "It's rewarding to see what faiths have in common. Each has its doctrinal strength."

Chaplain Tom said it's important for patients to be able to express their guilt or anger without being told they "shouldn't feel that way." Acknowledging their feelings helps the healing process.

"Being honest with your feelings is very freeing," he said.

Regardless of who he is ministering to, one thing is constant: As a chaplain, he is there to provide support and a listening ear. He can't make a person's problems go away -- but he can accompany them on their journey to better health.

"I can't fix them," he said. "Only the Spirit can do that."