WHY IS PRESIDENT KERSTI KALJULAID SCARED OF GOD?

The President did not have to bless the church, the church wanted to bless the president, in their own language. This is where bewilderment came.
 

There’s probably no public figure in Estonia who would dare to admit aloud that they have never read even a single part of the five-part handbook about wetland drainage, the most famous literary work in Estonia. I am talking about Truth and Justice by A.H.Tammsaare.

Some of the real Estonians crazy about a written word define the mental capability of a local person through Truth and Justice – an intelligent person has read Truth and Justice, quotes it on a regular basis, and if they are too lazy to recall it, then will crowd with their ten fingers at the online ticket line of Tallinn City Theatre on the first day of each month to look at and/or over the works artistically crafted by Elmo Nüganen on the theatre stage.

Yet the whole world is full of intelligent people who do not care about wetland drainage at all.

If I do not attend church and do not believe in God, this does not mean that there’s no God. God may still exist. If I attend church, this does not mean that I will meet God there and I believe its existence.

From time to time, every Christian is an atheist – we all have denied him in our hearts; and once in a while, every atheist is a Christian – those who have not heard the Gospel, will be judged based on conscience.

“But attending church during national holidays and also during ecclesiastical holidays would not be sincere in the circumstances when the church has not played any role for me during those holidays before,” the President Kersti Kaljulaid wrote to her Facebook wall, and received 3957 likes.

I tolerate the president’s decision, however, I consider this a very bad judgement. For the President shaking hands with the elite has not also been a part of her celebrations of the anniversary of the republic. Then it also would not be sincere to start handshaking, which will definitely be the case on 24 February 2017.

Although participating in this shaking ceremony was not also part of my celebrations of the anniversary of the republic for many years, out of the respect of people who have considered it important, I still have went along with this ritual four times Being entirely devoted and sincere in my love for the country and its leaders.

If the President finds suitable to call the medal-winning athlete and congratulate him (although she/he does not go in for that sports) or the winner of the Eurovision song contest, in spite of not being a singer him/herself (and may have a completely different music taste), it is appropriate for him/her to let the Christian community to bless his/her institution.

The President did not have to bless the church, the church wanted to bless the president, in their own language. This is where bewilderment came. If the president does not understand the language of the church and religion, this does not mean that the president will become insincere if he/she will contact with the speakers of this language or visit them.

There are 6000-7000 languages in the world. No one can be proficient in all of these. Nevertheless, we can still make ourselves understandable to each other. When I visited Japan, I followed everything that was new to me in every temple in complete sincerity. Nor did it came to my head not to support the local traditions in Morocco and Peru.

Which of course does not refer to that the president should become a church addict despite his/her will or make faces, which he/she does not like to do. The president should remain true to oneself. But respect traditions. God gave us a choice between life and death, however he said: choose life. There’s a recommendation, but free choice remains.

Eiki Nestor, the Speaker of Riigikogu repeatedly confirmed during the presidential election campaign that he is an atheist, but this did not bother me at all. Freedom of religion stands for the right to believe or not to believe. Eiki does not believe, I do. We are both democrats.

If we understand homosexuals, we also should be able to understand Christians, I’d like to say that to everyone who observe the checker or chessboard only from the side they are playing. If we stand up for a moment and look at our situation also from the opponent’s side, we see our position (and views) in a much broader sense. We will find even some of the combinations, which we otherwise would not have seen.

A single citizen may or may not like another citizen and their views. However, the head of state has to love and respect equally all law-abiding social groups and their history and traditions. Strongly. Openly. To have an interest towards all citizens.

If I never had been in church, this does not mean that only those who have always been there can and must attend church. Since birth. Traditions can always be created or destroyed. More successful are those who create. Those who destroy, will perish.

Traditions may have very strange reasons. The King of Great Britain Edward VII (reigned 1901-1910) always left the lowest button of his jacket open mainly because he was a large gentleman, nevertheless, today we consider this a part of the etiquette. Because everyone followed him.

Lennart Meri found that church is a central part of Estonian culture and a religious service belongs to the ceremony of presidential inauguration. The question is not whether the president believes that Jesus rose from the dead or not. As Vahur Made, the vice-president of the Estonian School of Diplomacy succinctly noted: the state is not a rational thing. As is not the family. The state must have traditions, regalia. Does not it sound absurd that even nowadays Elisabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom dubs his son or grandson to confer knighthood. But she has done it. If we ask Arvo Pärt about the God’s existence, the answer is that he exists. Does the composer find that attending church is similar to attending the annual meeting of philatelist or sadomasochistic parties like Andrus Kivirähk described. I am afraid not.

According to the census of 2011, 176,776 people in Estonia consider themselves to be orthodox, 108 513 Lutheran, plus about 24,000 people with different confessions. More than 300,000 people. This is very far from them stamps club.