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Again so many issues competed for attention for discourse today. We could name a few. The first came from a very knowledgeable citizen who wrote in asking me to write what I would do about the country’s security situation if I were to be the president.
It was an interesting question,as soon as I read it I told myself this is fine. We still do it perhaps in January. The other would be the disgrace of using visa issuance as a weapon against our elites by America and other developed countries. When I hear their frequent threats to make entry into their countries very stringent or deny our so idle rich class visa, I weep, the dignity in me takes a bashing as I feel a repulsion. The other one would be about opposition parties and the walk towards a one party state. Is this real? Then finally, the mismanagement of the country’s oil resources using the Akiko Dangote versus Farauk fight as peg. I settled for the topic you are reading and the reason(s) is simple and straight.
Next Thursday is Christmas. It is not Xmas. Those who write the latter come from the growing clan who want to run down the Christian. Christ is recent history and soon well known and well documented but those who pretend they know advance their enterprise by deploying Xmas. In mathematics X stands for the “unknown”. Malcolm X made so much issues out of this knowledge when he changed his name to Malcolm X. He didn’t relate or come to terms with the name the slave masters gave to the father.
We return to the issue, the atmosphere is positively primed again to celebrate with Christmas in honour of the birthday of Jesus Christ. The controversy of the actual date of birth still remains but the adherents say there is nothing sacrosanct about dates,that what is important is the remembrance of the life and time of a personality whose existence on earth successfully changed the face of the world for good. If truth be told no personality in history has recorded the kind of impact and legacy left behind by Jesus Christ.
The world is said to have about six billion people, 2.6 are Christians. Islam has 2.1 billion, Hinduism 1.2 billion, Buddhism 530million , Sikhism 30million and Judaism 15million. The figure shows the impact Jesus left behind.
Religion has been a potent force in world affairs and would remain so. This is because man till tomorrow would remain in search of his true essence. Religion has played vital roles in nation building and in some instances dominated affairs in empires and after that nations. The influence in political affairs became such many began to suggest a separation between the state and religion, it was as of this we began to secularity of the state. Has it worked?
This is a question beyond the scope of this outing what is interest here is Christianity has recorded tremendous impact across the globe and left very deep influence on world politics, economy and social cultures.
Christianity after initial rejection became the cornerstone for building the Roman empire into a formidable entity. Roman Catholic emerged from this politics. Today we have the Vatican as a country with tremendous influence in world affairs. History has it that Christianity urshered the world into the industrial age.
It is said the pilgrims and Puritans strong work ethic with emphasis on education shaped American culture and contributed to the country’s economic growth. It said too Christian abolitionists played very significant roles against slavery in America and across the world. Missions built schoos and hospitals,most of the universities still standing built in eighteenth century and very famous today were built by churches. The question today is are Christians living up to expectations? Have they vied off from the foundation laid by Jesus Christ?
Our title is taken from a book written by Howard Thurman in 1949. He was a well read African American Minister, theologian and Civil Rights activist. He was worried at about the time he wrote over many issues and one of the matters was whether Christianity has assumed something different from what Christ intended it to be. He vehement the rich has taken over what was designed by God to a liberation tool for the poor
The same worry many are expressing in country today. What we have as Christianity does it approximate what Christ did? What was the crux of Christ activity and message? Discipleship or survival and materialism? Is the Christian message diluted? Is there a difference between early Christians and what is prevalent today? Haven’t the rich hijacked the church like Thurman feared and turned it to a tool for oppressing the people? Why the faith be in place and the society still lack men of honour and principles especially in places where it matters most? Are they helping national development?
Truth is like everything we do,the faith has undergone some retooling in the hands of men. Doctrine has veered of considerably from what Christ came to teach. Christ came to retrieve man from sinful state back to the perfect state of a responsible lifestyle. It was a kingdom message and a show of how it is done in heaven which in turn ought to be the pattern on earth, a vassal state.
Christ didn’t tell lies, his message was that all live that way. He didn’t fight or hate anyone he hated wrong attitudes. He didn’t stand with the caste system, every philosophy of segregation he broke. He didn’t see him special in anyway,he mingled with the mighty ,the lowly and displaced. The drunkers,harlots, and wicked tax collectors he called to himself proving that the strong and faith filled has a responsibility to restore the less fortunate and victims of social dislocations. He gave healings , food and raised the dead. He displayed unparalleled compassion,sympathy and empathy.
Our celebration of Christmas is becoming something else. It turning hedonistic, ritualistic, something we must do at certain time of the year and that is it. It become hollow full of “sound signifying nothing”. We celebrate but throw away the lessons. It is about “collective guilt”.
We destroy rather than build. Everyone wants to steal from the public tilt. The difference is opportunity. When it is time for leadership selection we made ourselves articles to be purchased,with pittiance we mortgage the conscience and vote in the wolves. The wolves don’t stay with yams once inside the bane they eat up the products and we begin to cry over calamity that is self inflicted. Murderers every where.
Christ came to say cease from raising contradictions because you will step out of the Creator manual and begin to malfunction and that would be to your great hurt. It is happening to us already. To those who know the slogan or rather the pure message is “Christ is the answer” to all the questions of man on earth. A life without Christ is a life of crisis. May this year’s celebration bring a complete turnaround. This is the prayer.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF US NIGERIANS.
