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Let's Talk (January 3, 2016) - The Role of Christianity in African Life

TIME TO RE-THINK RELIGION

This is not an attack on religion, neither is it intended as one.  I am aware that there are those who may wish to attribute unintended motives, and they are welcome to have a field day with their human desire to assert victimhood.  I have no interest in feeding that need. Simply, it is time to rethink religion.  Jesus Christ did not form a religion but he preached redemption, love, forgiveness and social justice - all values which His apostles instructed that all who call themselves Christians ought to abide by. Some Muslims tell me that Mohammed encouraged peaceful coexistence and adherents of Judaism also know that the character of God is defined by love, peace and righteousness.  As we move deeper into the 21st Century, we need a re-examination of what we know and believe if we are to be responsible custodians of a world that was given to us for caretaking.

We live in a world that has more affluence than at any time in human history, yet we have more people scraping for a living than at almost any time in history.  We are much more technologically advanced and yet more blinded and driven by a desire to destroy others by what we know and build.  We are more aware of the importance of religion but are more driven by a need to affiliate ourselves with religious denominations and doctrines.  We deny the possibility that we all serve the same God and, instead, we claim that our God is superior to the one that everyone else serves who does not belong to the religious group with which we affiliate.  

It certainly appears from recent history dating back to the last few decades that the more religious a family or society becomes, the more hate and conflict that evolves in that family or society.  When we look around, we see religious leaders flying around in private jets, and living all-out in the lap of luxury while members of their congregations who finance the lavishness live in penury.  They build schools and universities that most members of their congregations cannot even afford to send their children.  As if that's not enough, they twist the holy books of their religions to extort money and respect from their followers.

Thanks to terrorism built on, and propelled by religious interpretations, our world is much more dangerous than at any time in recent human history.  Even then, we tend to claim that one form of terrorism is justified while another is not.  So, most of us condemn Islamic terrorism while some of us justify acts of terrorism against Planned Parenthood clinics or keep silent when a young white supremacist enters a church and kills black worshippers in what most reasonable people would consider a terrorist attack.  Due to religious beliefs, we condemn law breakers but embrace members of our religion who disobey court orders and claim to do so in the name of the same God who warned us to submit to established authority.  Around the world, politics has become increasingly polarized, and polarizing, either because of religion or because of the belief that some of us are superior to others - a claim which is also often justified by religion.

What are we to do?  I do not claim to have the answers but there are some things that I know.  One is that you could travel the world or even through a little town and you would find that the people that would be the kindest and most loving toward you are not people who practice your religion or any of the major religions that you know.  In many cases, they would be people who do not even adhere to any religious practices but their actions are consistent with what we know to be the character of God's love and goodness.  I also know that God is not the author of confusion.  Therefore, no religious leader or believer who implicitly or explicitly supports any of the conflicts that now prominently destroy families, societies and nations around the world should be considered as a true representative of God.  Finally, I know that God is true and our world is moving farther and farther away from His truth and clinging to religious dogma.  In so doing, we are becoming an increasingly fractured and morally bankrupt people.

We should allow ourselves the space to re-examine our beliefs and actions to see if they actually square with the values of the early leaders of the religions that we are affiliated with, and of the God that we profess to serve.  High chances are that we would find that they do not.  In that case, we must step back and begin our faith journeys afresh.  In a world where religion now appears to be causing more problems than it solves, it is indeed time to re-examine religion.

A MATTER OF EXPEDIENCY

‎Paul Inyang‎ 

December 15 at 12:59pm · Odenton, MD

 

Reports on the recent money matters’ affecting the country has surprised most of us—this writer included. The revelations have come at lightning speed—such that it is hard to verify or even ascertain the sources or its validity. The common denominator in all of this is that a great deal of money has been taken from the treasury and misappropriated, stashed away or simply spent frivolously. I am not sure which one it is but all the same the losers are the citizens—you and I. We have joked about being included or mentioned and made jokes about it but nothing changes the seriousness of the problem. It has maybe served the purpose of denying the incredulity of the situation and kept us collectively from losing our minds. If you are like me—you are left stunned by it all. This after all is the great wealth of a Nation that has been frittered away. This is communal wealth that we will never get back in our life time.

There seems no end to these practices. Many of the people who are on top today are beneficiaries of these same practices that they now profess to want to bring to an end. This writer would have mocked the thought of it but the question is—are there people whose hands have not been dirtied by these sordid practices? Please look at the list of the ministers and name one that has not had a leadership role in our nation and participated actively or tacitly in creating this debacle? Maybe we should presume they are all clean. Now tell me how you prosecute someone if your hands are just as dirty. There are a few quotes that this writer is reminded of— “those who seek equity must do equity”, “those who come to equity must come with clean hands” and "equity follows the law". The enormity of the fraudulent practices is mind boggling. Most of us want to just retreat to our world and pretend it does not exist—it is easier. That is the extent and quagmire this President has to confront. Many of us would like to see draconian tactics utilized to punish the culprits—this writer included. That is our base instinct. Unfortunately for us we all profess to be civilized so we have to choose the democratic route—it must prevail.

This writer said some time ago that President Buhari’s greatest challenge will be that of resisting the temptation of mistaking civilian rule for military rule. When human beings are under stress they resort to what they know and have experienced. He was a military man for most of his life and this is his comfort zone. Most of us would probably be worse as we have those tendencies in us. If the reports we read and see on videos are right—outlandish military tactic are being seen in display. Some of us enjoy this because it quenches some of our thirst to draw blood from people who have mistreated us so badly and taken our birth rights with ignominy. Democracy however requires that we discipline ourselves and utilize due processes. The president himself has stressed this but it is hard for this writer to believe that he the president is not aware of how some of his underlings are prosecuting this war on corruption and proceeding to treat people. This writer stands firmly behind doing so but in the appropriate way. It is easy for him to look the other way. Must government arrest these people in public and brutalize them as they do? If there is a message being sent out—who is the message for? Africans have a habit of mistreating each other in public and our country is no different. Yes, this tactic was utilized by the previous government but we do not have to make the same mistakes. Where does it end? If this is not put in check, we are headed in the wrong direction towards a police state because of our lack of internal restraint and boundary.

If we are trying to stop corrupt practices—we are required to do so utilizing due process—that must be the example we set from the top down. The entire nation is angered by the depth of this issue and we must deal with it appropriately. It is an opportunity to utilize these problems to build and strengthen our institutions—especially those charged with the duty of prosecuting this “war”. If there is a need to change the leadership of these agencies, then we must do it appropriately. This is a gift not a curse and we are obligated to set the right tone for those who will continue do this work long after we are gone. As someone once said— “this is a marathon not a sprint”.

Let's Talk (Nov. 29, 2015): Access To Mental Health Care In Nigeria

LET PEACE REIGN - BY PAUL INYANG

Paul Inyang 

Odenton, MD. USA.                                                   

Nov. 14, 2015                                                  

I am reminded that bad jokes still have a place in the world—they still tickle some funny bone. It may not be mine but someone else sure identifies with it. It is only when they are lacking in sensitivity and taste that we may find fault with it. I am not sure anymore what is happening to the world but I am beginning to lose my sense of humor. It seems that human beings have decided to make the place a hellecious place. I find no humor in all that is happening. So much of what happens today is based on someone’s jaundiced and twisted mind. A mind that has lost all sense of balance and cannot see things for what they are.

Zealotry has become fashionable and it does not matter that it may cause untold pain—still we seek it because it buttresses our own version of the “truth”. There is not a country in the world today that is not tethering on blowing herself up because some overblown ego has decided to hijack the principles that hold it together—again for their own version of the truth. There is no chance that we could consider that the truth may actually be in between what you and I may think and believe. If it is not our heritage, it is our ethnicity, tribal group or our religious inclinations. I have always believed that all religions have some version of the truth, even if my heart stands strong on my own convictions. I, like most people, have a love for my heritage but cannot say it is better than all others.

Can we say that our convictions are so strong that we can destroy the lives of others just because? We have people who are displaced for life and are killed as in the case of last night in Paris—not the only place in the world. No one issue is more important than the other but our obligation continues to grow because there are those of us who do not have enough vision to see that we have opted for self-destruction.

In Nigeria today we have Boko Haram in the North, Niger Delta in the South-South and added to the mix we now have Biafra stoking in the Southeast. Anyone who is looking for war has never experienced it. He or she has not seen enough of the damage yet, but may get to really taste it. Trust me; if you have seen war then violence would not be an option. In a society where fragmentation is the name of the game the “fights” are unending—all driven by bigotry of one kind or the other—yes BIGOTRY. Black folks seem to think that they are immune to the disease but we too have learnt well and practice it in our own tribal circles.

So tread softly my friends; otherwise we may really get what we do not want. Hell they say is reserved for those who have not lived well—at least that’s what the Bible says but trust me there are those who are already in it led by people who spout this horrible stuff. It is our world and we all must live in it. Help someone please.