THE COURAGE OF AID WORKERS

Posted by Graham

Earlier this morning I heard Bishop Desmond Tutu on Radio 4 talking about his new book, which has as its theme the innate goodness of man. How refreshing to hear from the Protestant Church such an encouraging message instead of the too frequent emphasis upon sinfulness and wickedness (it was all Eve`s fault,of course;it says so in the Bible !).

Bishop Tutu went on to talk of the courage of aid workers, operating in such dangerous parts of the world such as Darfur and wondered what inspired them to go back to such places again and again at great personal risk. I`ve often thought the same, and it`s too easy to say it`s because of their faith, as some of them, I am sure, have no faith worth speaking of. I do believe, however, it is an example of the `Holy Spirit`, whatever that may be and whatever religion these good people have as their background, working through them and helping to make the world a better place. Such people may not wear their religion on their sleeve, might belong to no one particular denomination or sect, might not even believe in God at all, but kindness is their watchword and they provide hope for the rest of us.

I`m as cynical as the next man but, like Desmond Tutu, I do believe in the goodness of most ordinary people and firmly believe it outweighs the evil in the world which the church is so often keen to talk about