RE: HOW FOREIGN RELIGIONS RUINED OUR SOCIETIES
oreign religions have ruined our society" so let's revert back to the old ways! This so-called democracy is bad for us, so let's adopt communism instead! The present representatives are not serving our interests, so let's have a national dialog with a different set of representatives (at least in this case we shall keep both groups of reps and pay them both to do the same thing!) The list is endless! It all boils down to the fact that we all seek quick fix to a problem we have not even defined; toss this and grab another that seemed to have once worked in some distant past or in some far away foreign country. It is all in the way we approach problems, and this article, http://www.nigeriaworld.com/articles/2005/jan/122.html, to which I am responding is yet another display of mental laziness!
Did anyone notice that Adeniba, the writer of the article, never once mentioned the name of at least one of the so-called African (?) religions to which he is advocating we should now revert, because back then we were living in splendor! He mouthed the name of God everywhere, but not the religion he is advocating we return to. I was hoping for at least one example.
Adeniba actually embellished who we were and the way things were back then. There is no really need to embellish; it is our history, and I am proud of it. But I'll be damned if I should have to lie about who we are to impress some unknown others! He has a lot of untruth in his article that I can't even begin to refute them all. But the only reason people would embellish their history might be because they feel inferior, inadequate, incomplete or they lack self-esteem. The way he described us in his article made me wonder, if we were that sophisticated politically (even though the only system of government then was monarchy!) and highly advanced (even though were mainly farmers, hunters, potters and folk singers, and we lived in houses of mud or leaves, some of which we still have in our compound in Abeokuta), why was it so easy for the British and the Arabs to convert us? I understand the Arabs used force, but did the British? Well, let me give you my own take and you decide!
From the remnants and the residuals of our history (I am from the junction of Ago-Oko, Ijeun and Oke-Itoku in Abeokuta!), we live in compounds with our extended families. In most families, as in mine, you will find many worshippers of various gods: Sango, Oya, Obatala, Ogun, Esu, Buruku, and some even worship stones, trees, rivers, intersections. The worshippers all have about the same reason for their choice of god to worship.
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The reason for some our Nigerian religions, as I was told, was that some of these gods, like Ogun, Oya, Sango, Obatala and some others, were super humans and great warriors in their life time. We also believe in the Olodumare or Olorun, God the Father to you, the maker of heaven and earth and everything in between. But this Olorun or Olodumare is too powerful to approach/petition directly, so we thought that since these super humans must have been endowed for a reason by Olodumare (some folks have some other stories about this!) they could intercede on our behalf to Olodumare to answer our prayers. Hence the gods of the Yorubas! And Adeniba's so-called instant justice was nothing more than a mob rule! What would you call it when the alleged accused was summarily dealt with without the benefit of the doubt we now know today! And it is not true that all crimes were punished, then or now. People are always willing to intercede on behalf of others, or make it an all-in-the-family affair, and punishments are waived or lessened!
I shall not dwell too much on our history, but let me quickly point out that Adeniba's doctrinal example is that of the Jehovah's Witnesses, and it does not represent the views of Christianity. Christianity is not a religion but a relationship to God the Father through faith in Christ; it is that simple. One does nothing to earn such relationship nor does one have to change one's ways after the so-called salvation. But in order to enjoy God's blessings for one's life in time, one necessarily needs to undergo post-salvation epistemological rehabilitation. Which is another way of saying that, one needs to study/learn the Bible under the teaching ministry of Pastor/Teacher and the filling of Holy Spirit. That is, after salvation, we should begin to execute the Father's protocol plan for our lives, living the Christian way of life!
Even this road to salvation is different in the Christian world, depending on which religion (like Catholicism, Anglicanism, Seventh-Day Adventism, Presbyterianism, Seraphim-Cherubim Movement and so on) you ask. But a simple belief in Christ, a simple faith-response to his salvation call, simply accepting His election is my road and that is what I believe: my salvation comes from simply sending a positive signal to the salvation invitation of Christ. Al I need to do is to respond, "I believe!" and at that moment, I become a partaker of eternal live!
Now, I am sure Adeniba would like to know why in the world would I throw away my ancestors' religions (he did not even name one!) and accept a foreign one. Well, let me illustrate my decision this way.
My ancestors believed they could not approach Olodumare, God the Father directly with their petitions because He is too powerful. So, they asked (make supplications to) these super human beings, Ogun, Sango, Oya, Obatala and so on, to intercede on their behalf. But I was given another option in Christianity. They said that I could actually approach Olodumare, God the Father, directly with my petitions simply by invoking the name of Jesus, the Christ.
Now you tell me, suppose you had to see the head honcho of a major corporation, but you fear he is so inaccessible that your only option was to go through someone else whom you believe have some contact with him. Now suppose someone told you that the head honcho is actually very accessible, that no one would stop you from seeing Him, that you only need to mention one name when you open the door. Which option would you choose: go through someone else or go yourself?
It is true the Jehovah's Witnesses, founded by Charles Taze Russel, believed that God, Jehovah, already has those whom he wished to save and they numbered 144,000, representing the twelve tribes of Israel (12,000 each). That was how Adeniba came about his doctrine of "pre-judgment," a misinterpretation of Revelation Chapter 7. Read more about JW and other religious cults in "The Kingdom of the Cults" by Walter Martin.
Even the JW do not believe that crimes go unpunished here on earth. I do not believe any religion does! So, I am not sure from where Adeniba got his doctrine of "delayed justice." He may be confusing the doctrine of eternal lake of fire at the Supreme Court of Heaven with this "delayed justice." But that does not mean that crimes in time go unpunished. One only needs to check the prisons all over the world!
I have heard and debated with people about the incidence with the drunken Noah and his sons, and how Noah cursed Ham, his son (actually Ham's descendants were cursed!), through whom, they say, all black people were begotten (I have a Bible commentary that said different!). Read the story in Genesis 9 from verse 20. I do not believe blacks were cursed, even though we behave as such some times, and Adeniba is surely exhibiting it!
Should Adeniba question/challenge any new, foreign or local, ideas introduced into our culture? Absolutely, and so should all of us! We should not surrender our faculty of independent judgment. But such challenge and the eventual conclusion should not be biased. That is, we should neither accept not reject a new idea simply because it is foreign, neither should we simply accept it because it is ours! We should judge everything rationally, and if the new idea is adjudged to be inimical to our existence or does not conduce to our advancement or progress, then by all means, we should reject it.
So, how have these foreign religions hurt our culture? Again, please recall that Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship with God the Father through faith in Jesus, the Christ. Now, if some overzealous believers misunderstood or misapplied the doctrines of Christianity, whom should we blame: Christianity or the misguided believer? Just observe your street corner at home and also observe the type of cars parked there. I have been told the best and the most expensive car probably belongs to the pastor! Well, don't blame Christianity for that; blame the gullible congregation who donates money so the pastor could enjoy life while they suffer.
This is the how people have blamed everything on capitalism and democracy. But are they to blame or those who failed to adhere to the rational principles upon which these two systems are based?
Adeniba, like many others, perceived our predicament since independence, and erroneously concluded that these foreign religions are culpable. Another writer, Odi Maduneke, in his article, "The importance of ideology," also erroneously concluded, based on our improper working of our political system, that we should dump it and instead embrace Communism. Let me illustrate what I mean by erroneous conclusion based on faulty premise of improper working of a system.
When the Windows operating system first came out with a mouse, it was a nightmare for most users who have to learn how to work the mouse. I have heard of a user who, after turning on her PC, actually was expecting the mouse to move, as you would a live mouse when tapped. When the electronic mouse would not move even after a few taps, she placed a call to the Call Center to report that her mouse was dead! After a few back-and-forth question-and-answer sessions to ascertain exactly what the problem was (no one expected any user to simply tap a electronic mouse, so no one thought to ask what she did!) You can imagine the expression on the face of the technician when he actually witnessed what the user did. Now, who has a problem: the user or the system? We all have many stories similar to this, but you get the idea! And even when the system has a problem, we simply do not just toss it away and grab another one; we should endeavor to fix it.
Yes, our ancestors had a political/social system that worked for their time, but I would not today it sophisticated or highly advanced (by what/whose standard?). And I do believe that whatever they had back then could be improved upon. Since we are their descendants, it is our duty to improve upon what they left to us, not just to perpetuate it simply because we find ourselves incapable of working a new system. Just as I am against the dark-age Sharia system, I am against perpetuating any system from the past that fails the test of time! I doubt if anyone, even Adeniba, would rather revert back to the old ways of our ancestors!
Any new ideas introduced into our culture should be tested for its benefits, regardless of who introduces it. We should not be a dumping ground; neither should we remain stagnant in the silly interest of maintaining our culture. We should wish to advance our culture by discarding those rituals that are no longer necessary and keeping those that are still beneficial.
But if Adeniba, or anyone else, wishes to return to worshipping our ancestral gods, then by all mean, I wish him well, but to ask everyone to follow suit requires more than " but these are our religions, the religions of our ancestors!"