mercredi 13 mars 2024

Managing Mass Communication

Image result for advertising In today's world, it is unthinkable to run a business without involving oneself into intensive PR (public relation) through all the available outlets. A company needs to have a public face and it needs that face to be recognizable and distinguishable from all other players in the market.

In order to have that lonely voice heard in the competitive market, marketers use advertisement, sales promotion, events & Experiences and Public Relations to position a company and its products/services.

Advertisement: is defined as any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of a product by any identified sponsor. Advertisement is used to disseminate a message for with brand building or for educational purposes. In the early days of my start-up company, we did advertise with the distinct purpose to inform anyone who care to read our messages that there was a new company in town offering translation services.

For an advertisement to have any success, two things need to be kept in mind, first - always remember who is your target market and second what are your buyers motives. These two point helps in keeping the marketer's message clear and on the point.

The next step is based on some common sense steps dubbed the 5 M's when one is building an effective mass communication for a company:

1. Mission; 2. Money; 3. Message; 4. Media; 5. Measurement.

I can relate with these five in retrospect of my first try-out with my start-up company that got suspended pre-covid.

1. Mission: our objective was ill-defined but we knew nevertheless in a foggy way what we wanted to do. And the more we clarified our own objectives, the clearer the message became and the less repetitive and elongated the wording were. By the end of the first year, we understood that without a time limit to accomplish a given objective, that objective would never become a properly defined goal.

2. Money: since our start-up was service oriented (and we chose it by design to avoid big working capitals), we didn't need a big budget for marketing the company and the advertisement came at an especially low cost through the internet.

3. Message: Thee message kept changing and refined as we went on with the business. Somethings that seemed obvious to us at the beginning kind of loss its appeal as we met the resistance and difficulty of the market. We expressed our desire to be able to do everything including translating books in a record time and at an affordable price. But soon, it became clear that we didn't have the staff quality to undergoes these type of projects. So our message started changing and became more realistic per our capacity. We still wanted to be recognized as the best on what we do, hence the need to optimize what we could do well.

4. Media: Advertisement were done using our Facebook page and the social media mostly know in Rwanda called 'Kigali-Life' yahoo group.This spot of the net offered us many opportunity of jobs since it is well attended by foreigners and expatriate always in need of a translation of docs and else.

5. Measurement: this one was the toughest to ascertain. Since our advertisement were done through social media and cold email, we received  sometime positive feedback from those two outlets. But truth to be said, it was a very unpleasant experience as tones of emails were sent on a weekly basis to only receive a handful of potential customers responding and even less a fraction who would buy our services. As i recall my memory, even though it was less expensive to advertise through the social media, the respond didn't add much to our bottom line.

The hardest thing we had to face was to objectively present our services without straying the path of over exaggeration to the point of becoming untruthful. I do hold to corresponding theory about truth, which states that truth is that which correspond to reality. Our messages always strove to maintain that level of authenticity and realism. It came with its cost but this was the ethical price to pay.

Despite the hardship i had to go through with my business and subsequent failure, i am still interested to back to business and apply more of the marketing tools and advertising philosophy that i have learnt since i close/suspended my business. Matter of fact i am working on a couple of projects and advertisement will be at the forefront of its launching when the day comes.

mardi 12 mars 2024

The Future of Christianity: Charismatic Unity and Doctrinal-Moral Dis-Unity

 


1) "what do you think Christianity will look like in the future?"

Christianity is growing and spreading across continents and cultures. We can also note that Christianity in its different facets is fast becoming more charismatic in its expression regardless of which theological obedience a particular Church tradition falls in, Catholic, Protestants, and Orthodox. The statistics shared in the book section 'The New Shape of World Christianity' by Mark Noll bears witness to it, Pentecostals & Charismatics are the fastest growing section of Christianity, far surpassing Evangelicals in all continents in numeric numbers (Millions : Mio) except in Oceania where Evangelicals accounts for 4.4 Million and Pentecostals / charismatic, 4.3 Million (see page 22). In all other continents, traditional Evangelicals Churches are being surpassed by Pentecostals/Charismatic Churches, Africa (69.6 Mio vs 126 Mio); North America (43.2 Mio vs 79.6 Mio); South America (40.3 Mio vs 141.4 Mio); Asia (31.5 Mio vs 134.9 Mio); and Europe (21.5 Mio vs 37.6 Mio).

All protestant's denominations are being swept by the Charismatic phenomenon which was once reserved to the Pentecostal denominations and Catholicism. Even Catholicism that has always had room for the miraculous and supernatural in its doctrinal grid, has undergone a popularization of the Charismatic phenomenon since the 1960's. I therefore think that the Church as a whole will grow more in tune with its historical Charismatic nature. One can only hope that it will also grow closer in unity with each others too.

2) "What will be the major issues and challenges?"

The major issue that Christianity face is division. And this is accentuated by the fact that a growing segment of the Church population is considered to be independent and hence disconnected to their historical origin within the Holy Catholic Church and hence freeing themselves from the bounds of normative doctrinal orthodoxy. This will make dialogue and understanding of each others more difficult as each groups develop their own language to express their faith. Misunderstandings are bound to abound in Christian dialogues if the trend continues and is not rectified.

A typical example is found in the book, "Testing Prayer" by Dr. Candy Brown, (Harvard University Press), in which she noted the following, reflecting a continuous suspicion between Christians which maintain alive the division, even within the pentecostal-charismatic system: 

"Certain Protestant respondents acknowledged that they were healed through the prayers of Catholics while simultaneously revealing an anti- Catholic bias. A woman from Imperatriz noted that “I had a balance disorder from an ear infection. I was very dizzy and could not stand on my feet for too long. I would fall from side to side. One day a Catholic sister prayed for me. I had a lot of faith and independent of her religion I was cured.” From this woman’s perspective, healing did not validate the beliefs of the person praying but instead reflected God’s compassionate response to the faith of the person seeking intercession." (Page 189)

Another issue I see is in the realm of morality. As different ideological influences search to make their peculiar morals or ethical practices enshrines within denominational systems, this will create more factions and defections within the protestants churches and orthodox churches. As for the Catholic Church, having a central head, the Pope, and a living teaching authority (the magisterium of the Church) that preserve the unity of the faith, morals and the revealed tradition, stability is expected to remain within its corridors. Nevertheless, dissenting voices within will continue to trouble the faithful by obscuring the authoritative position of the Church on questions related to morals and else. And this will continue to create discontent among uninformed Catholics and be the cause of possible schismatic behaviors if not formal schismatic acts.

Hence unity is the biggest challenge of Christianity in all its current expression now and in the foreseeable future.

mercredi 31 janvier 2024

A Year In Review: Book Reading List 2023


We finally crossed the year 2023 over to 2024. Last year was an intense year for me on many fronts and I am glad to have survived it. As I have done each year, I have continued my regular weekly Bible studies with the Living Word Association (LWA) which is an inter-denominational association which strive at understanding the Bible and practice its precepts. This year marked an important shift in our bible study protocol. A new study method was introduced that has enriched everybody's learning curve. The method is coined, C.O.C.A. This acronym stands for Context, Observation, Comprehension, Application. Yes, it is easy to remember and even easier to apply. This method was introduced into our local scenery by Father Raphael Manikiza, the Dominican Vicar Provincial of the Provincial Vicariate of Rwanda and Burundi

This method, COCA, was initially introduced in our monthly Bible Study at the Dominican Chapel where I have been honoured to work alongside with Father Raphael and the lay theologian Tigana Birasa as we offered our reflection on the Gospel of Matthew for the Liturgical Year-A to the Community. For 2024, we will continue our study and focus on the Gospel of Mark.

Half a dozen year ago, I went into a quest to better understand my Christian faith as a Catholic and I have come enriched and better for it. After completing the reading of the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I turned to the official teaching documents of Vatican II. I have made a slow inroad this last year, after reading the 4 Dogmatic constitutions (Lumen Gentium, Dei Verbum, Sacrosanctum Concilium and Gaudium et Spes) and read the 3 Declarations of the council Vatican II:

  1. Gravissimum Educationis, it is the Declaration on Christian Education
  2. Dignitatis Humanae, it is the Declaration on Religious Freedom
  3. Nostra Aetate*, it is the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (this one was read the year prior*).
I also started reading the list of Vatican II Decrees. So far, I have read two of them and I am slowly going through the rest:
  1. Apostolicam Actuositatem, it is a Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity
  2. Ad Gentes, it is a Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church
As I said in my last review, "reading what the Church says in its own words is so refreshing and so encouraging and it sounds at time quite different from what people out there says about the Church teaching", I would now add, it is also so different from what some Catholic clergies have said about the Church teaching, 100% different. I remember in the year 2000 and 2001 when I had first read my whole bible systematically from Genesis to Revelation, I was in shock. The initial shock was not what I found but what I didn't found in it. Things I have heard so many times in popular platform, TVs, Radio, Conferences, etc., about what "the bible say's" but were nowhere to be found in the Bible. Neither did I find them in my second reading, nor the third time I read it. It became clear there are many things' people passes for biblical teaching which can't be found in the Bible itself. It is the same with the official Church teachings. I will dare, even challenge, anyone who has an issue with the Catholic Church teachings to first stop and ask themselves, where did I get these views about the Catholic Church teachings? And then after such honest introspection, I invite you to read the Church OFFICIAL teachings for yourself, either doctrinal or moral or social and find out the truth for yourself. You ought it to yourself!

For example, in Gaudium et Spes, I was gladly surprised, two years ago, to see that the Church takes her evangelistic mission seriously to the point of including it into one of its 4 Constitutions. And this aren't a unique occurrence, similar texts can be read in its Declarations and Decrees:
"It is necessary never to lose sight of the fact that the objective of the Church is to evangelize, not to civilize. If it civilizes, it is for the sake of evangelization." - Footnote Part II, Chapter II, No.7. 

In the same effort to strengthen my understanding of Christianity, I completed a Certification course with Harvard Divinity School on "Christianity through Its Scriptures". There are many reasons I pursued such endeavour, and one of them was to get a neutral view about my faith and to be challenged, and it was challenging to say the least. In our introduction, the professor clearly let us know that we would be studying the Christian sacred scriptures from a standpoint of Academia and not from a Devotional starting point. The message was clear, and we found out soon enough that not only we studied the Canonical texts found in our Bibles, but the Academic view of the Christian scriptures included also other early writings not found in the Bible such as the Gnostic writings of the earlier Centuries. We read them and made dissertations about them. Overall, it was a stimulating intellectual experience, and inadvertently despite the exposure to other competing writings presented to us as Scriptures, I came out of it more convinced of the Christian faith as it is articulated in its orthodoxy.

There is one important item that I should add to my list of memorable activities, namely 'The Strength of Witnesses' conference. It was a 3-day Charismatic Conference organized and hosted at the St. Dominique Parish ahead of the Feast of Pentecost and it was animated by our guests, Dr. Thierry Luhandjula, Sister Olivia Jani and Brother Nesbert Muzamba. This was followed by The Philip Course, a 3-day retreat in October 2023 at the Convent of the Dominican Sister, this retreat delved deeper into the meaning of the Christian Life. It was animated by Brother Nesbert Muzamba and Brother Giovanni Valerio Svegliati. These two events have left participants with no voice and deeply moved both emotionally, spiritually and in some cases bodily. We have come out of these events, better Christians, and more committed as Christians. It is hard to properly describe what transpired without causing misunderstanding so I would simply recommend for a better understanding of what was experienced by participants, both Catholic and non-Catholic Christians, please do refer to Encounter Ministries which is the Catholic apostolate which was our inspiration in the design of this charismatic event.

I will end with my yearly tradition which consist in sharing the list of books I read during the previous year. Each book comes with a scoring metric. This scoring doesn't necessarily mean that the book was either perfect or poor. It simply reflects my enthusiasm at the moment of reading it based on the book content and the appeal of the writing style. These are the books that I read in 2023: 

Religious Books

Catholic Authors

  1. "Hostile Witnesses: How the Historic Enemies of the Church Prove Christianity" by Gary Michuta (5/5)
  2. "Introduction to Spiritual Life: Walking the Path of Prayer with Jesus" by Brant Pitre (4/5)
  3. "Supernal Saints: A School of Ministry from the Saints" by Patrick Reis (4.5/5)
Protestant Authors

  1. "Why I Am Still Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today through Prophecies, Dreams, and Visions" by Jack Deere (4/5)
  2. "Why I Am Still Surprised by the Power of the Spirit: Discovering How God Speaks and Heal Today" by Jack Deere (4/5)
  3. "Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? - Four Views" - Edited by Stanley N. Gundry and Wayne A. Grudem (4/5)
  4. "The Case for Miracles: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for the Supernatural" by Lee Strobel (5/5)
  5. "Investigating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ: A New Transdisciplinary Approach" by Andrew Loke (4.5/5)
Non-Religious Books
  1. "Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Healing" by Candy Gunther (Oxford University Press) (5/5)
  2. "Reconciliation Is My Lifestyle: A Life's Lesson on Forgiving and Loving Those Who Have Hated You" by Antoine Rutayisire (5/5)
  3. "Even in Our Darkness: A Story of Beauty in a Broken Life" by Jack Deere (5/5)
Note: These last 3 books can hardly be labelled as religious books even though their authors may be known for their religious convictions.
...

The year 2023 was an intense year both in my workplace and in my family with its share of challenges. My family has known series of illnesses with different degrees of intensity, from major surgery for my boy earlier in the year to a medical trip at the end of the year. Sickness and Illness became a permanent feature of our household from the beginning of the year to the end. So much so that my wife once told me with an aggravated tone that pharmacists in our neighbourhood now know who we are. It is a miracle that with all these health constraints and intense workload in my job, I was able to read this much and done so much in my community. I guess it comes with the territory, I aggressively attacked the kingdom of darkness, and it expectedly struck back. 

Nevertheless, in all these, I praise the Lord that my wife and I never went through this fire alone. The Lord was always there comforting my family during those long sleepless night with kids fighting with uncontrollable fevers, bizarre diseases and those long hours at the hospitals' queues. 
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, stand firm and immovable, devoting yourselves completely to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." - 1 Corinthians15:58

dimanche 1 octobre 2023

Saints et Esprits Ancestraux : Comprendre la Perspective Catholique

Une question pertinente a été soulevée dans un groupe WhatsApp, abordant le sujet de l'intercession des saints tel que compris par l'Église catholique, et les réserves que certains non-catholiques peuvent avoir à ce sujet. Dans les lignes qui suivent, je vais tenter de répondre brièvement à cette question complexe.

..

Question : "Pourquoi l'Église nous défend-elle alors d'invoquer les esprits des défunts alors qu'on récite la litanie des saints ? En quoi le rituel à nos parents défunts au village va-t-il à l'encontre de notre foi chrétienne ?"

Réponse : Je crois que la question a plusieurs composantes :

  • l'invocation des morts
  • l'évocation des morts
  • la litanie des saints
  • les rites envers les ancêtres

Prémier point: l'évocation des morts vs l'invocation des morts

Si nos traductions sont fidèles aux langues originales, je pense que la Bible interdit explicitement l'évocation des morts, mais ne semble pas se prononcer explicitement sur l'invocation des morts.

Ésaïe 8:19 : "Si l'on vous dit : Consultez ceux qui évoquent les morts et ceux qui prédisent l'avenir, qui poussent des sifflements et des soupirs, répondez : Un peuple ne consultera-t-il pas son Dieu ? S'adressera-t-il aux morts en faveur des vivants ?"

Deutéronome 18:10-12 : "Qu'on ne trouve chez toi personne qui fasse passer son fils ou sa fille par le feu, personne qui exerce le métier de devin, d'astrologue, d'augure, de magicien, d'enchanteur, personne qui consulte ceux qui évoquent les esprits ou disent la bonne aventure, personne qui interroge les morts. Car quiconque fait ces choses est en abomination à l'Éternel ; et c'est à cause de ces abominations que l'Éternel, ton Dieu, va chasser ces nations devant toi."

1 Samuel 28:7 : "Et Saül dit à ses serviteurs : Cherchez-moi une femme qui évoque les morts, et j'irai la consulter. Ses serviteurs lui dirent : Voici, à En Dor il y a une femme qui évoque les morts."

Quelques considérations en termes de définition selon le Dictionaire Larousse. Si nous évitons de confondre ces deux verbes, le dialogue interreligieux entre catholiques et protestants deviendra fructueux:

A) Évoquer

  • Faire apparaître des esprits, des démons par des prières, des incantations, des sortilèges : Évoquer les âmes des morts.
  • Rappeler quelque chose au souvenir, en parler : Évoquer des souvenirs de jeunesse.
  • Faire songer à quelque chose, le rappeler : Ces maisons blanches m'évoquaient la Grèce.

Source 1 : https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/%C3%A9voquer/31905

B) Invoquer = appeler à son secours par une prière ; citer en sa faveur."

  • Appeler une puissance surnaturelle à son aide par des prières : Invoquer Dieu, les saints, la Vierge.
  • Solliciter de quelqu'un de plus puissant, par des prières, une aide, l'expression d'un sentiment : Invoquer l'aide de ses alliés.

Source 2 : https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/invoquer/44154

Je propose donc cette vue que l'évocation des morts est explicitement interdite par la foi chrétienne, car c'est ce que les Cananéens étaient coupables de, comme expliqué par la sorcière d'En Dor dans 1 Samuel 28 (La Catéchèse de l'Église Catholique numéro 2116-2117). Elle faisait apparaître les morts comme on le voit avec Samuel, par des probables incantations ou sortilèges pour les consulter en faveur de vivants. C'est ce qu'on appelle également la 'nécromancie'.

Cependant, l'invocation des morts, ou les prières aux saints ne sont pas en soi explicitement interdites dans les Écritures. La litanie des saints, qui a pour but de solliciter leurs prières puissantes, ne tombe pas dans la catégorie de l'évocation des morts, mais probablement dans l'invocation des saints. La question qui reste à savoir est : quels morts pouvons-nous dire sont en position de puissance pour s'allier avec nous dans la prière ? 

Deuxiement: La litany de saints ou l'intercession de Saints

L'histoire de Lazare et du mauvais riche nous montre que le mauvais riche mort n'avait pas pu recevoir une exaucement favorable. Cela pourrait signifier que ces requêtes (ceux des morts impies) sont inefficaces (Luke 16:24-31). Cependant, les morts appelés saints sont des esprits justes qui ont atteint la perfection (Hébreux 12:23), et nous savons que la prière des justes est efficace (Jacques 5:16). Donc, ces derniers peuvent être sollicités pour leur intercession (Apocalypse 5:8).

Troisiement: Culte des ancêtres

C'est pourquoi pour en finir avec la question sur nos ancêtres, comme on ne sait pas qui de nos ancêtres lointains ou proches tombe dans la bonne catégorie (les esprits des morts impie ou les esprit de saints parfait), l'Église nous propose simplement de nous concentrer sur ceux qui ont déjà été reconnus ou canonisés comme saints, comme une mesure de sécurité qu'ils sont dans la présence de Dieu et peuvent intercéder efficacement (La Catéchèse de l'Église Catholique numéro 2683).

vendredi 7 juillet 2023

The Theory of Biological Evolution is Evolving

 For this post, I am going to share a fascinating reflection by Dr. William Lane Craig about the evolution of the Theory of Biological Evolution. I found it to be insightful.

.....

I think one of the most important take-aways for laymen from my study of this subject is the realization that the theory of biological evolution has itself evolved. If we leave aside the theories of Charles Darwin’s predecessors, there are three major stages in evolutionary theory:
Stage I: Darwinism. This was Darwin’s original theory of evolution laid out in his book On the Origin of Species (1859). Darwin’s theory of evolution comprised two fundamental theses: (i) descent with modification of all living organisms from one or a few common ancestors, and (ii) natural selection as the explanatory mechanism for evolutionary change. Darwin’s theory was dead almost upon arrival. While his thesis of common ancestry quickly won the day, for seventy years following the publication of Origin of Species Darwin’s second thesis was widely regarded as explanatorily deficient. Ignorant of Mendel’s genetics, Darwin could provide no account of the sources of the variability of hereditary traits nor how such traits were inherited. It has been justifiably quipped that Darwin’s theory explained the survival of the fittest, but not the arrival of the fittest.
Stage II: The Modern Synthesis. Formulated during the 1930s and 40s, the Modern Synthesis represented the marriage of Darwin’s natural selection and Mendel’s genetics. Its chief contribution was the thesis that hereditary variability arises by random genetic mutations, which, when acted upon by natural selection, can be the source of new and advantageous traits over time. It thereby supplemented Darwin’s theory with a genetic explanation of the source of heritable variations. On this theory new species originated by rather small steps that accumulated over many generations. This theory, sometimes called “Neo-Darwinism,” rapidly became orthodoxy among evolutionary biologists and prevailed almost till the close of the twentieth century.
Stage III: The Extended Evolutionary Synthesis. Proponents of this theory indict the Modern Synthesis for its myopic focus on genetic inheritance as the source of evolutionary change. They contend that new data from adjacent fields such as developmental biology, genomics, epigenetics, ecology, and social science now demand a wider theory. The following diagram illustrates the relation between the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis, the Modern Synthesis, and Darwin’s theory: 
The fact is that the Modern Synthesis did not really offer much by way of explanation of the causes of how organisms change over time. The Modern Synthesis postulated correlations between an organism’s genotype (its genetic makeup) and its phenotype (its observable traits) but not causal mechanisms connecting them. As a result, the Modern Synthesis treated all mechanistic aspects of evolutionary change as a “black-box” and so was unable to explain how organismal change is actualized.
According to Pigliucci and Müller, the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis thus prompts several reforms to the Modern Synthesis:
  • First is gradualism. Because the Modern Synthesis assumed that evolutionary change proceeds via incremental genetic variation, all non-gradualist forms of evolutionary change were excluded. But various new approaches show that non-gradual change is a property of evolutionary processes.

  • Second is externalism. Under the Modern Synthesis the direction of the evolutionary process results exclusively from natural selection. In the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis, organisms themselves are determinants of selectable variation and innovation. Thus, in sharp contrast to claims of the Modern Synthesis, mutations may not be random but actually biased toward the benefit of the host organism in which they occur.

  • Third is “gene-centrism.” The Modern Synthesis’ focus on the gene as the sole agent of variation and unit of inheritance suppressed all calls for more comprehensive attitudes. In the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis, extra-genetic (epigenetic) influences on developing embryos is increasingly emphasized, in contrast to genetic mutations.
J. B. S. Haldane
J. B. S. Haldane
Creationists and proponents of Intelligent Design have long complained about the explanatory deficits of the Modern Synthesis but were uniformly ignored, probably because they were able only to poke holes in the theory without offering a credible alternative. J. B. S. Haldane once remarked that “Theories pass through four stages of acceptance: (i) this is worthless nonsense; (ii) this is an interesting, but perverse, point of view; (iii) this is true, but quite unimportant; (iv) I have always said so.” Today contemporary textbooks already incorporate many of the new insights of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis without noting the explanatory deficiencies of the Modern Synthesis thereby exposed.
It should not be thought that with the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis, the evolution of the theory of evolution has come to an end, and we can breathe a sigh of relief that all is well. No, while the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis served to expose explanatory weaknesses in the heretofore prevailing evolutionary paradigm and so to open new avenues of research, many of the ideas of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis remain unproven, poorly understood, and controversial, so that the quest for a final theory must continue. The evolutionary biologist Eugene Koonin observes that what follows in a “post-Modern” era is not a post-Modern Synthesis but a post-Modern state “characterized by a pluralism of processes and patterns in evolution that defies any straightforward generalization.” He opines that whether the directions currently being pursued in post-Modern research “can be combined in a new evolutionary synthesis in the foreseeable future, is too early to tell. I will venture one confident prediction, though: those celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Origin will see a vastly different landscape of evolutionary biology.”

vendredi 20 janvier 2023

A Year In Review: Book Reading List 2022

The year 2022 is behind us. A new year has now dawned on us. The year 2022 has been filled with joy and pain, but in all these we express our gratitude to God for having been right there with us. Last year also marked a distinctive rite of passage for me to adulthood as I turned 40. I suppose in some way, I still looked at myself as a Young-Adult but I guess there is now no more reason to add any prefix to the word adult.

I have had the continuous opportunity to have my regular weekly Bible studies with the Living Word Association (LWA) which is an inter-denominational association which strive at understanding the Bible and practice its precepts. Since the advent of COVID, we have never been able to transit back to an in-persons gathering, we are still meeting virtually. This format has its share of challenges. But on the up side, we e-meet with people joining us from different regions including someone from a different continent. 

In my quest to better understand my faith, after completing the reading of the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I turned to the official teaching documents of Vatican II. This came at the right time as the Church was celebrating in 2022 the 60th anniversary of the council Vatican II. One milestone I was able to achieve was the reading of the Four Constitutions of Vatican II, namely:

  1. Lumen Gentium which means 'Light of Nations'. It is the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. 
  2. Dei Verbum which means 'The Word of God'. It is the Dogmatic Constitution of Divine Revelation.
  3. Sacrosanctum Concilium which means 'The Sacred Council'. It is the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.
  4. Gaudium et Spes which means 'Joy and Hope'. It is the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World.
Now that I completed the reading of the constitution, I have the foundational understanding by which I will be reading the remaining Vatican II documents for this year which include: 3 Decrees and 9 Declarations. I have already read one declaration, Nostra Aetate, and I will be bulldozing through the remaining ones in due time, God willing. Reading what the Church says in its own words is so refreshing and so encouraging and it sounds at time quite different from what people out there says about the Church teaching. For example in Gaudium et Spes, I was gladly surprise to see the focus that the Church has of its own mission on earth while waiting for the return of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ:
"It is necessary never to lose sight of the fact that the objective of the Church is to evangelize, not to civilize. If it civilizes, it is for the sake of evangelization." - Footnote Part II, Chapter II, No.7. 

Now, back to the purpose of this post. As I do each year, I will be sharing the list of books I read in the year 2022. I have unfortunately been a bit undisciplined in my reading hence I read less book than in previous years, but there is also a human reason to it, I have been quite busy, in-ordinarily busy this year and It took me a bit by surprise. I will do better this year in organizing myself with the help of the Lord and be better focus this time in my priorities. Each book comes with a scoring metric. This scoring doesn't necessarily mean that the book was either perfect or poor. It simply reflects my enthusiasm at the moment of reading it based on the book content and the appeal of the writing style. These are the books that I read in 2022: 

Religious Books

Catholic Authors

1. "The Early Church Was the Catholic Church: The Catholic Witness of the Fathers in Christianity's First Two Centuries" by Joe Heschmeyer - (5/5)

2. "A Mighty Current of Grace: The Story of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal" by Alan Schrek - (5/5)

3. "Overcome By The Spirit: The Extraordinary Phenomenon That Is Happening To Ordinary People" by Francis MacNutt - (5/5)

4. "Deliverance from Evil Spirits: A Practical Manual" by Francis MacNutt - (5/5)

5. "The Healing Reawakening: Reclaiming Our Lost Inheritance" by Francis MacNutt - (4.5/5)

6. "The Practice of Healing Prayer: A How-To Guide For Catholics" by Francis MacNutt - (4/5)

7. "Pope Peter: Defending the Church's Most Distinctive Doctrine in a Time of Crisis" by Joe Heschmeyer - (4/5)

8. "Four More Witnesses In The Early Church: Further Testimony from Christians before Constantine" by Rod Bennet - (3.5/5)

Protestant Authors

9. "Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History" by Rodney Stark - (5/5)

10. "Preparing for the Glory: Getting Ready for the Next Wave of the Holy Spirit Outpouring" by John & Carol Arnott - (4.5/5)

11. "A Study of Effects of Christian Prayer on Pain or Mobility Restrictions from Surgeries involving Implanted Materials" by Randy Clark - (4/5)

12. "Strangers to Fire: When Tradition Trumps Scriptures" by Robert W. Graves - (3.5/5)

13. "Two Paradigms for Divine Healing: Fred F. Bosworth, Kenneth E. Hagin, Agnes Sanford and Francis MacNutt in Dialogue" by Pavel Hejzlar - (3/5)

Non-Religious Book

14. "Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing" by Ryan T. Anderson & Alexandra DeSanctis - (5/5)

....

Overall, the year 2022 was a good year, though not without its share of challenges. See you for the next list in one year time, God willing.

jeudi 6 octobre 2022

My personal healing testimony

Couple of week ago, Michael Lofton from Reason & Theology had requested to his audience to send what they consider credible testimonies of the supernatural they have themselves witnessed not something that was reported to them. I found the invitation attractive and I decided to send him my testimony. I thank him for having given me the opportunity to share my story.  See below what I sent him, I hope you find it encouraging to your faith too and may the Lord Jesus be glorified for it.

......

Dear Lofton,

Greetings. As you requested in your show, please see one of my recent testimonies which I attribute to God's intervention.
 
Recent Testimony:

On the morning of April 7, 2020 - I received instant healing from my left shoulder sharp pain. I had spent the whole night in personal prayer and spiritual education. I watched a lot of Damian Stayne youtube videos and practiced on my shoulder each time he asked people in his audience to check if anything changed. Nothing happened. So I went from videos to videos, watching all the practical healing ministries including videos from the renown Catholic apostolate, Encounter ministries. By the time I reached the morning hours, I was tired and still in pain but not frustrated though. I had already learned about God's sovereignty so I didn't wonder why it didn't happen to me. I thought, maybe it would be for another day. As I was ending my personal night prayers, I decided to watch one more video, however, this time not a video on healing or miracles. Just something simple that I could relate with, maybe some apologetics. 

There was a video by Father Mathias Thelen titled, 'The Power of the Word of God'. I clicked on it expecting the usual reassuring doctrine about the importance of Holy scriptures or Bible study. I was playing a video game on my phone as I was listening to the 6 month old video by Father Thelen's expository preaching (I do not know if the preaching happened 6 months prior to my listening to it or was it posted on youtube 6 months earlier). 

Very quickly I realized that the video was about the Word of God being spoken through the 'word of knowledge' and the power it carries. Midway through his message, Father Thelen announced that 'Encounter ministries' has received an unusual 'anointing' to pray for people who have among other issues, pain in the left shoulder. When I heard that, my ear peaked. I paused my phone's game and became more attentive. Then he added, 'and people almost always get healed'. That's where he got my undivided attention. So he stopped his sermon and asked people in the audience to pray for each other by following his instruction. Since I was alone (my young family was still asleep), I laid my right hand on my left shoulder and followed the instruction. After the prayer, he asked the audience to test if the pain had either gone totally or alleviated to an 80% level. I tested, and my pain was still there! I thought, 'nice try, but I should have known, I tried it all night nothing happened'. So I went back to my phone's game while still listening to the first wave of testimonies from the audience. 

After the testimonies, he asked again that the audience repeat the exercise. I was happy to oblige. I stopped the video game, stood up in front of my laptop, and repeated every word of command he gave, just like the first time. Then he asked the audience to test if their pains were gone. That's when it happened. I moved my arm slowly as usual due to my acquaintance with the pain, but it was there I felt NO pain. I moved it again the second time to do a complete rotation and I felt NOTHING. I stopped, shocked but not sure if I did my rotation incorrectly. I did it again. NO PAIN. Then I kept rotating my arm in all directions searching for that sensation of pain I had become so accustomed to for the past 1 year due to a series of bad decisions I had made when I was doing weightlifting. Still NO PAIN. 

My pain used to be at about level 70% hurt and it was gone leaving me maybe with a level 5% pain. It wasn't a 100% pain removal. But a 5% pain was almost unnoticeable to me given that I was living with a 70% level of pain for a year.

That is how I got healed of my sharp pain on my left shoulder. I have testified it all around me here in Rwanda and some of my Christian friends in the USA and I also tried to pray for other people so that the Lord may heal them. I didn't encounter the same level of success at each turn though but I am glad the Lord was merciful to me. It was my first healing ever. At least one that I can testify without second guessing myself of its authenticity. 

Note: For me this counts as supernatural pain relief. I have maintained my healing since then and I have returned to some level of intense muscle building, but I am more careful now not to make the same bad decision as the first time. 

lundi 10 janvier 2022

A Year In Review: Book Reading List 2021

 

Another year is gone and there is much to be grateful to the Lord despite the many hardship and uncertainties from our world (post?) COVID. On a personal note though, I have been growing both professionally and spiritually. I also discovered a new hobby - the game of Chess thanks to the TV Series 'Queen's Gambit'. 

I have had the continuous pleasure last year to still be part of a Bible study group from the Living Word Association (LWA) which gathers weekly to reflect and share the word of God from the Holy Scripture. One major milestone achievement for the year 2021 was the completion of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). With a group of friends, we set our mind to read the Catechism through and through in a year and I am glad that I was able to finally read it through and learn much about the official Church teaching. The reading led to some surprising discoveries about what the Catholic Church really believes and teach in her own words. It reminded me of the first time I read the Bible through and through, at the end of it as I was closing the book of Revelation I wondered where did some people (or even some preachers) get some of their teachings they attribute to the Bible? I had the same feeling reading the Catechism. I highly recommend people to read for themselves what the Catholic Church says about itself from the source. You might just be gladly surprised as I was.

Following the yearly tradition, I will put below the list of books I read during the year 2021. Among the books, I will omit the Catechism since I have already mentioned it above. Each book come with a scoring. This scoring doesn't necessarily mean that the content was perfect or poor. It reflects simply my enthusiasm at the moment I was reading it based on information content and writing style that I found appealing. These are the books that I read and which have contributed to shape my thoughts in 2021:

I. Religious Books

A) Catholic Authors:

1. "Demonic Foes: My 25 years As A Psychiatrist Investigating Possessions, Diabolic Attacks, and the Paranormal" by Richard Gallager -- (5/5)

2. "Jesus, the Tribulation and the End of the Exile: Restoration Eschatology and the Origin of the Atonement" by Brant Pitre (PhD Thesis) -- (5/5)

3. "Renouvelle Tes Merveilles: Des dons spirituels pour aujourdhui" par Damian Stayne -- (5/5)

4. "Behold Your Mother: A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines" by Tim Staples -- (4.5/5)

5. "Be Healed: A Guide to Encountering the Powerful Love of Jesus in Your Life" by Bob Schuchts -- (4/5)

6. "The Case for Catholicism: Answers to Classic and Contemporary Protestant Objections" by Trent Horn -- (4/5)

7. "Reclaiming Vatican II: What it (Really) Said, What it Means, and How It calls Us to Renew the Church" by Father Blake Britton -- (4/5)

8. "Daughter Zion: Medictations on the Church's Marian Belief" by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) -- (3.5/5)

9. "Personal Prayer: A Guide for Receiving the Father's love" by Father Thomas Acklin and Father Boniface Hocks -- (3.5/5)

B) Protestant Authors:

10. "The Potter's Promise: A Biblical Defense of Traditional Soteriology" by Leighton Flowers -- (4.5/5)

11. "Atonement and the Death of Christ: An Exegetical, Historical, and Philosophical Exploration" by William Lane Craig -- (4.5/5)

12. "Do What Jesus Did: A real-life field guide to healing the sick, routing demons and changing lives forever" by Robby Dawkins -- (4.5/5)

13. "There is More: The Secret to Experiencing God's Power to Change Your Life" by Randy Clark -- (4.5/5)

14. "Marchons par l'Esprit" by Elie et Denis Yapoundjian -- (4/5)

II. NON-Religious Books

15. "The Trouble with Africa: Why Foreign Aid isn't Working" by Robert Calderisi -- (5/5)

16. "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess" by Bobby Fischer, Dr. Stuart Margulies and Donn Mosenfelder -- (5/5)

17. "CHESS 101: Everything a new chess player needs to know" by Dave Schloss -- (4/5)

18. "One Bright Star to Guide Them" by John C. Wright -- (4.5/5)

19. "Business Strategy" by Brian Tracy -- (4/5) 

....

Overall, the year 2021 was filled with surprises both pleasant and unpleasant but we continue pressing forward with God's grace with hope that the year 2022 will be better than its predecessor and filled with favourable divine appointments for all of us.

mercredi 15 septembre 2021

Quéstion de Youtube: L'intercession de Marie et l' origine de l' Eglise Catholique

 Au mois de Janvier 2020, j'ai publier une version amateur repondant en bref au Pasteur Marcello sur ces vues lier à l'Eglise Catholique qui s'intitule, 'Réponse au Pasteur Tunasi sur Marie'. Quelque mois plutard, une personne portant le nom de Clotilde réagit à la video en soulevant une series de questions. Je retranscrit ci-dessous ces questions et mes réponses (avec quelque ajustement de forme) avec l'ésperance que ça pourait aussi aider ceux qui pourront avoir les même questions.

..............

Bonjour Clotilde. Permez moi de répondre aux questions poser dans l'ordre dans laquelle elles furent presenter: 1. "L'eglise primitive ne priais pas Marie" Il est important de comprendre que le mot prier signifie requête et non adoration. En vue de cette clarification, il y' a des évidences historiques qui montrent le contraire de ton assertion et en voici deux exemples qui nous viennent des premiers Chrétiens avant même que la Bible soit canonisé en l'an 393 (AD 393):

a) «Mère de Dieu, [écoute] mes requêtes ; ne nous méprise pas dans l'adversité, mais sauve-nous du danger »(Rylands Papyrus 3 [A.D. 350]).
b) « C'est pourquoi, nous vous prions, la plus excellente des femmes, qui vous glorifiez de la confiance de vos honneurs maternels, de nous garder sans cesse en souvenir. O sainte Mère de Dieu, souvenez-vous de nous, dis-je, qui nous vantons de vous et qui, dans les hymnes d'août, célèbrent la mémoire, qui vivra toujours et ne s'effacera jamais » - (L' Oraison sur Siméon et Anna 14 [A.D. 305]).

On voit bien que les prémiers chrétiens, bien avant même la canonisation de la Bible, demandaient à la sainte Mère, la vierge Marie, d'interceder en leur faveur.

2) "Rome ... la nommée CATHOLIQUE." Prémierement, Il ne faut pas confondre l'Empire Romaine et l'Eglise de Rome. Cette dernière fait reference à l'Eglise du Seigneur qui était à Rome (Romains 1:8, 15). Deuxiement, l'Eglise du Seigneur n'a pas été nommée Catholique par la Rome (les Romains), car le mot Catholique est d'origine Grec (katholikos) et non Latine qui etait la langue romaine. Et le mot 'Catholique' veut simplement dire 'universel', car l'Evangile du Royaume doit atteindre toute les nations, donc son universalité (Mathieu 24:14). Troisièmement et le plus important, la première fois que le mot 'Eglise Catholique' apparait dans un document historique, c'est dans les ecrits de St. Ignace qui fut l'êveque d'Antioche (la Turkie moderne) entre l'année AD 105-107 et non de l'êveque de Rome. St. Ignace fut martyrisé par l'empire Romaine pour sa foi en Christ. Je le cite:

« Partout où apparaît l'évêque, que le peuple soit, de même que partout où est le Christ Jésus, il y a l'église catholique." - Lettre à l'Eglise de Smyrne (daté entre AD. 105-107)

Il est donc faux et incorrect de dire que c'est la Rome qui a donné à l'Eglise du Seigneur le nom de Catholique. Il n'y a aucun fondement historique à celà!

3) A la question: "pourquoi tous les saints que vous prier sont tous des européens. Je n'ai jamais vu de Saints asiatique, américains ou africain." Au fait il y a toujours eu des saints dans tout les continent, inclut le continent Africains et celà depuis pres de 2000 ans. A titre d'exemple, St. Augustin parexample etait un Africain, il vivait à hyppo (l'Algerie moderne).

Tu trouveras même toute une liste des saints qui proviennent d'Afrique dans cette rubrique de Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_de_saints_chr%C3%A9tiens_d%27Afrique_du_Nord

4) A votre derniere remarque: "Une dernière chose: osée :4: 6. Tu me dira sûrement que tu une bible,mais.la lis tu?"

Oui je posede une bible et je fais aussi partie d'un groupe de lecture biblique hebdomadaire et celà depuis bien plus de 5 ans. On a même eu l'occassion de la lire completement en commun de la Genèse à l'Apocalypse une fois, et personnellement j'ai dejà lu ma bible dans son entiereté à 3 reprises. Je peux vous rassurer tres chère qu'il ne me manque ni de la connaissance des saintes Ecritures ni ne suis-je sur le chemin de la destruction et celà grâce à l'Esprit de Verité qui me conduit:

'Quand le consolateur sera venu, l'Esprit de vérité, il vous conduira dans toute la vérité' - Jean 16:13
Merci pour vos questions et remarques.

Que Dieu vous benit.

jeudi 22 juillet 2021

Answering: What If God Was One of Us?

An article was brought to my attention recently by a lady friend of mine. It is titled, 'What if God was one of us?' From a Christian perspective, it is believed that God became one of us. For it was testified by the ancients that God who is, "The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us." - John 1:14 (CEV).

But the author of this article doesn't think in Christian terms, meaning the brotherhood of all men. No, she think in racial terms, she means what if God become an African in particular not a human in general. And not any type of African but the black one as the introductory image at her article suggest.  

I'd like to review some sections of her article and propose alternative ways to assess the situation. Let me start from the beginning of the article and go systematically through her different reflections.

1) Is Christianity Foreign to Africa?

"Moreover, Africa went as far as completely adopting the colonialists’ ways of life and belief systems: Christianity, for example. But there are many issues pertaining to the adoption of foreign religions in Africa, a few of which are examined here."

It is important to note that the author might be oblivious to the point that Christianity has been in Africa for almost 2000 years. It is in no way foreign to Africa historically speaking. Matter of fact, the Holy Bible was first canonized in two African towns, first in the council of Hippo (Algeria) in AD 393 and the same Bible canon was reaffirmed in the council of Carthage (Tunisia) in AD 397. Last I checked, both Algeria and Tunisia are African nations and formal members of the African Union

2) Christian doctrines are no Jokes

"God doesn’t subscribe to the worldly conceptualisation of the divine. In fact, human perceptions of God are merely perspectives conditioned by socio-politico-economical environments. God is neither Christian nor Muslim nor all these things because God is so big and elusive a ‘concept’ that it cannot be entirely grasped by our limited human intellect. That is essentially why religious doctrines end up reflecting the values of the society in which they operate, or from which they were borrowed."

This segment is what could be qualified as an anthropological critique of the major world religions. It is based on this rather simplistic assumption: religion doesn't shape society but rather the reverse is true, human sociological experience such as culture, politic and economy shape religion. And what is the evidence she gives for it? Well, none. No evidence. She simply makes a claim that 'religious doctrines end up reflecting the values of the society' but she gives no concrete example. Which religious doctrines does she have in mind? Which society is she thinking of? We can't tell. But we don't have to imagine what could have been the interaction between religious doctrines and society. History is filled with examples.

In his acclaimed book, "Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World", Tom Holland who is an agnostic writer of ancient history (i.e not a Christian), does take his reader from ancient Palestine to modern day and he points out how Christianity changed the behaviors (ethos) of cultures and ancient powers through the force of its doctrines. Here are just two examples, 

(1) the idea of universal human rights and the equality of every individual was developed not by the philosophers of the Enlightenment but by Christian canon lawyers in the 12th century. And this was based on the doctrine of Genesis and our creation in God’s image which will be emphasized repeatedly in the New Testament doctrinaire. To quote Holland in the chapter titled "Revolution", he said: "That the rich had a duty to give to the poor was, of course, a principle as old as Christianity itself. What no one had thought to argue before, though, was a matching principle: that the poor had an entitlement to the necessities of life. It was – in a formulation increasingly deployed by canon lawyers – a human ‘right’." 

 (2) the idea that every person has a right to his or her own body—and that therefore sex must be completely consensual—was a startling new concept that came into the world through Christianity. To quote a section of his book on the chapter titled "flesh", he writes: "A sexual order rooted in the assumption that any man in a position of power had the right to exploit his inferiors, to use the orifices of a slave or a prostitute to relieve his needs much as he might use a urinal, had been ended. Paul’s insistence that the body of every human being was a holy vessel had triumphed."

It is therefore incorrect to assume that religious doctrines, especially Christian doctrines, are mere reflection of existing socio-cultural phenomena. Au contraire, Christian doctrines were at time so foreign to cultures in which it was preached, and this from Palestine, passing through Greece to Rome. There is a reason those who became Christians were said to have been 'converted'. For religious conversion, the Christian type, is a profound change that goes beyond adherence to a new spirituality. The change also impact one's view of life, death, love, child development and else.

3) Are You Triggered by a 'White' Jesus?

"As a matter of fact, Christianity is a post-Christ religion that appropriated God to itself through civilisation, and, through the years, whitened “God”.  When Christ was taken to the middle east, he was not as white as depicted by Christianity today, for instance. Later, Christ was taken to Greece, which made him white and Greek-speaking. He was then taken to Rome, which made him Latin-speaking. He was then taken to England to allow King Henry VIII to marry as the church of England was renamed; then to Scotland, where he was a Presbyterian; and then to the United States, where he became an Episcopalian."

There is two important points worth being raised here:

The First one is theological in nature. Christianity is not a 'post-Christ religion', whatever that may mean. There is no such thing as 'post Christ' since he is still alive and celebrated as the risen one, hence Anno Domini (AD) and not After Christ, which implies that he still reigns. Christianity is the nomenclature under which the community of believers (i.e disciples) of Christ Jesus are categorized among world religion. Christianity may simply mean - the religion of Christians. And Christians is the name given to the disciples of Christ (Acts 11:26). The Lord Jesus has always had disciples and this during his earthly ministry before his crucifixion (Luke 10:1), during his crucifixion's as witnessed by the presence of St. John at the Cross with other Jesus' female disciples and his blessed mother, Mary (John 19:25); and after his resurrections from the dead (Acts 1:2-3; Acts 11:26). That community of disciples are what later was called Christianity after the event of Pentecost, when the Church was theologically birthed. The community preceded the label 'Christian'. 

Chinese Jesus at His Baptism

The second point is anthropologic in nature. It is easy to sympathize with the comment about the ever changing face of the Lord Jesus Christ depending on which continent one finds oneself. Truth to be told, I have personally grown looking at a dark-brown portrait of Jesus at the cross in the Catholic parish I've attended since my teenage years, that was 25 years ago. When I lived in South Africa for an extended period of 6 years, the portrait was that of a white looking Jesus on the cross. I have seen many depiction of Jesus which reflects a wide rage of nations

Native American Christ Shows Compassion

It is improper to play the race card with the different cultural depiction of Christ. It is rather better to realize that Caucasian Christians have shown a greater preference for a depiction of Christ that look like themselves. African are also doing the same as evidence by the Church I grew up in. So does the Hispanic population and the Asian population. Different communities are simply trying to identify themselves with their savior, hence projecting their cultural preference in their depiction of Christ. I think this is an acceptable practice by different nations as long as it doesn't degenerate into racial competition. The truth is Jesus was neither black, dark-brown, Hispanic, far-east Asian-looking or white historically speaking. Jesus was a Semite living in the near eastern region. His completion must have reflected those of his countrymen. The Lord Jesus portrayal should not become a divisive issue within Jesus' community as it is in the secular community. For in Christianity, "There is neither Jew nor Greek ... for you are all one in Christ Jesus" - Galatians 3:26 

It doesn't matter at the end which depiction of the Lord Jesus is chosen for illustration, for we, Christians, knows what the Lord expect of us in this global brotherhood of believers: "For there is no difference both of Jew and of Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call on Him" - Romans 10:12.

4) Is Christianity Good for Africa? 

"Africa is the only place where Jesus didn’t transform. Why? Africa, as a whole, missed that vital part and adopted an alien concept of God, which propagates other people’s values and interests. It is tragic! The consequences include the denigration of African culture."

As a much needed reminder, the 'concept of God' in Christianity is not alien to Africa, as history demonstrates. Christianity has always been good and valuable to all who where touched by the good news of the Gospel, and Africa is no exception. It is interesting to note that although skepticism has been expressed by the author who seems to believe in what she called the 'concept of God', another author who does disbelieve in the very existence of God, the British atheist Matthew Parris, has shown more optimism of the impact of Christianity in Africa. Matthew Parris penned an interesting article a decade ago and which was published by the TIMES titled, "As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God: Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's biggest problem -the crushing passivity of the people's mindset".

Parris makes this observation: "Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good. I used to avoid this truth by applauding - as you can - the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it."

5) Is the Biblical Message Antithetical to African Heritage?

"Consider this. The bible is written in a way that paints everything associated with African indigenous practices as pagan while promoting Western Judeo-Christian ideologies and beliefs."
First, there is no such thing as a Western Judeo-Christian ideology in the bible. The Bible was written by Jews, not Westerners. The possible exception might have been Luke who simply reported the lives of its Jewish characters, after all Jesus and all his apostles were also Jews who lived in Israel. Whatever misgivings one has with the West, it is irresponsible to import such prejudice in one's reading of the Bible. This is an intellectually irresponsible behavior. 

Second, the Bible is not against nor hostile to African indigenous practices as long as those practices are not in contradiction with divine revelation. The Bible ultimately reveals to us God's only begotten Son as the way, the truth and the life. This means that he is the standard of maturity and perfection God expects of all humanity, and yes, this also includes Africans (Acts 17:24-31).

To put it in the eloquent words of CS Lewis in his book, "Mere Christianity": "if you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all the other religions are simply wrong all through. If you are an atheist you do have to believe that the main point in all the religions of the whole world is simply one huge mistake. If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all these religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of the truth. When I was an atheist I had to try to persuade myself that most of the human race have always been wrong about the question that mattered to them most; when I became a Christian I was able to take a more liberal view. But, of course, being a Christian does mean thinking that where Christianity differs from other religions, Christianity is right and they are wrong. As in arithmetic—there is only one right answer to a sum, and all other answers are wrong: but some of the wrong answers are much nearer being right than others."

6) Christianity, Colonialism: The Eternal Hot Topic

"Christianity justified Africa’s partition and initial colonisation; it was used as a double-edged sword to subjugate the masses while portraying the violent conquest of Africa as a divine mission. The arrogance of colonialism and European Christianity completely disregarded African indigenous knowledge systems and imposed their own systems at the expense of African indigenous religions."

In dealing with the spread of Christianity in Africa in the 19th century, it is important to take an objective look at the data of what really happened. For many, the story goes like this: western powers came to Africa masquerading as religious benefactors in order to rule over its indigenous population and take advantage of its natural resources. 
This is the predominant narrative among Africans even among educated Africans surprisingly. The truth of the matter is that history is filled with nuances, and it is never as white and black as we hear it in cabaret or in movies. In an academic work by Dr. Etim E. Okon, titled "Christian Missions and Colonial Rule in Africa: Objective and Contemporary Analysis", he remarked that African historians still hotly debate the correlation between missions and colonial occupation in Africa. The reason of the debate is due to the complex interactions of foreign actors on Africa land. There were three foreign group of actors who were actively engaged with natives: the missionaries, the traders and the colonial powers. These three actors had different objectives even though they also had at time overlapping interest. Collapsing these three groups into one category is the reason of much misunderstanding and discussions about Christianity roles in Africa's colonialism. For many, to introduce nuances is to ask for more rigorous intellectual effort, and who want to bother with nuances if they can simply judge people by the color of their skins (white) instead of the content of their missions? 

Dr. Okon comments: "Since missionaries, traders and administrators knew they were British residents in Africa with a common interest to protect; they cooperated and united as vital element in the attainment of their set goals. Missionaries in critical times of need, depended on traders for funds, and relied completely on administrators for physical security and protection. That was the logical root for A Gikuyu proverb that says 'There is no Roman priest and a European- both are the same!'"

Dr. Okon continues, "It cannot be denied that Christian missionaries paid the supreme price, at the risk of infection and even death to evangelize Africa, modem Africa owe so much to the sacrifices and resilience of good and dedicated missionaries. Christian missions in nineteenth century Africa represented a positive social force with tremendous vitality for the extension of the good part of European civilization to Africa. Missionaries did so much to redeem the negative image of European conquest and economic exploitation of Africa. It is poor historical thinking to erase the numerous and comprehensive achievements of the missionary enterprise because of human shortcomings and failures."

Here is a distant example that can help understand the situation in a different continent. When I was still in university, I remember reading the story of British missionaries trying to access China with great difficulty due to lack of resources in transportation. Fortunately, they found traders that were willing to accommodate them for their extended long maritime trips. Though missionaries disliked drugs and resisted opium on moral ground: after all drugs damages people physically and socially, they still saw the access the mercantile agents of opium had to China as an opportunity to get an easy access to the Far East in order to preach the Gospel. It looked like a beneficial opportunity at the time until Chinese authority started to link the missionaries with opium traders. After all, they seemed to reason, these missionaries came in the same vessels/boat that brought this destructive substances called 'opium' in China. They must be drug traders. This was a serious miscalculation on the part of British missionaries as they later found out to their horror. It is said that when the British Empire wanted to harmonize their relationship with Imperial China, the Chinese Prince Kung said to Sir Rutherford, British Minister in Beijing, "Take away your opium and your missionaries and you will be welcomed". The damage was done.

Maybe the lesson  for any future missionaries should be, be wise and careful with whom you associate, even if it is just a sheer material association that doesn't bind you in friendship. For your audience and your enemies may not have the charity to sieve through the nuances of who is who in that relationship.  

7) Is Christianity Sufficiently Practical for Africans?

"The question is, why was Africa’s “paganism” exorcised instead of transforming Jesus into its image as had been the practice elsewhere? One possible explanation is that indigenous African religions are mainly heterogeneous, often concerned with carrying out the obligations of the communal aspect of life. A transformed Jesus to African religious reality would have been preoccupied with the communal facets of life." 

First, anything that is opposed to the revealed image of Christ in Holy scriptures (Bible) and which has been authoritatively taught by Church tradition throughout the centuries can not be promoted by Christianity. It is not something particular Christianity has against Africa's 'paganism'. It is its modus operandi everywhere else, in all continents.

Second, Christianity doesn't promote a tailored made Jesus. It invites the world rather to be transformed to the image of Christ has already revealed (Ephesians 4:13). Why would the perfect be transformed into the imperfect, it should be the other way around. And since we recognize that we, mere mortals, are imperfect, it is just logical that we be open to resemble Christ and not vis versa. Although the moral and divine image of Christ doesn't change, Christianity practices nevertheless allows for enculturation which is how Christianity makes use of existing cultural features to vehicle its message.

Third, Christianity is very concerned with carrying out communal obligations of life. This is why missionaries have built schools (education), hospitals (health), got involved in social works as evidenced by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Caritas, Iris Global and else. We can also read in the Bible this exhortation, "Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." - 1 Timothy 5:8 

8) Is African Spirituality more advantageous than Christianity in Design?

"The essence of African indigenous spirituality does not seek to hold or maintain a uniform doctrine; on the contrary, African indigenous religions are dynamic, inclusive, and flexible."

I am not sure of which African spirituality the author is referring since Africans have diverse spiritualties and not one singular spirituality. There is an imprecision in her thinking here. Moreover why consider that having a vague, shifting and imprecise set of doctrine is something desirable? What is relatively malleable and subject to time and human caprices can not stand the test of time, precisely because it lacks that enduring quality of firmness that seems to be so maligned by the author. And this may also explain why 'this spirituality', whatever that might have been, has more or less disappeared for it was not built to last but it is sentenced to fade with time. Why then the complaint?

9) A Rejection of Colonial Education, but Why?

"the occupation of the African mind was essential for colonisation and explains why the decolonisation has been nearly impossible: our memory and minds were the first casualties of colonial education, and, since it has remained unchanged, the mind remains captive. This mental occupation has been as all-encompassing in determining the life of the African but in the opposite direction of African spirituality."

It is not clear what is the indictment the author is raising against the western education receive during colonial time. She doesn't say what it is exactly that keeps her and other African captive about that education. Hence it is difficult to know what is exactly the complaint. Is she complaining to have learned English as a language? Is she complaining to have learned how to Write? Is she complaining to have learned to use a Computer? Or is it that she sees no educational value in the use of standardized pharmaceutical products to relieve pain? It is really unclear what part of western education does she consider as maintaining her and other Africans captive? More importantly, it is not clear either what is she proposing to replace it with.


10) Concluding Word:

The author ends her article by mentioning what Africans are losing by jettisoning the 'ancestral spirituality'. The problem with her concluding words is that there can't be such a thing as an ancestral belief that is being really abandoned given that whatever the ancestors used to believe, that belief can't be the same thing she want us to believe today. This is the logical implication of having an ever shifting and impermanent set of doctrines as she advocated. 

She proposed that this ancestral African 'spirituality' is 'not written', is 'malleable', is 'dynamic', it is 'not uniform'; in brief it can not withstand the test of time. For what is not written will inevitably be changed with time or get lost. And the logical implication of a shifting doctrines is that whatever she sees today as 'THE African spirituality' (whatever that means), it must certainly be radically different from what our ancestors would have regarded as  'The African spirituality' due to the never ending evolution of doctrines through time. In other words, we are not losing anything really, we can't possible lose anything since nothing is supposed to have been preserved intact and uniform from the original spirituality.

I want to propose another way for those who are Christian and non-Christian, here is what is promised by Christ the Lord and which can be gained through a vibrant spiritual experience with Christ:

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest. Place my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest for your souls, because my yoke is pleasant, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30 

"The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly." - John 10:10