“The God of this great universe is so wonderful. I have read a lot of your books and have followed you on this column for two years before I contacted you over my problems. I trained my wife in the university with my money and she became a graduate and started working in a nice office. Later, when things became bad for me so that I could no longer take care of my responsibilities at home, she left me and was about to be married to another man. Though I suspected she was under manipulation of some evil powers, I revolted and confronted her people who frowned at her behaviour and asked me to take any action to stop her. Being a wife I love, I prayed and prayed for her to come back to her senses but my prayer and that of other men of God did not get any result. My business failed beyond recognition and I knew penury. A few months ago, when I contacted you and informed you of my situation, you asked me to order two bottles of your oil. It became difficult but with perseverance I did as you instructed. After praying with your oil, my wife returned to my house and apologized to me; the man that hypnotized her had an accident and God took care of him.When she came back home, with her position, she assisted me to raise some money that brought me back to my line of business. Today, we are happy once again and business is going on well. The good Lord bless you.”
– Mr. Agu, [email protected]
“The only way I can thank God is to tell you that I have submitted myself to God in totality, to worship him in spirit and in truth. My story you know is a very long one. I was doing very well as a businessman but trusted in the powers of native doctors, they also assisted my business but in 2004 after my marriage, a year later, everything around me changed and I started borrowing to eat. I sold all my properties to bounce back, but the more properties I sold, the worse my case became. All the witch doctors that assisted me in the past were unable to assist me again. Each of them took my money and left me without hope; my wife started misbehaving with men in my presence. In fact, I died the moment I saw unimaginable things around me initiated by my wife. Well, I continued until nothing was left for me to sell; it was then that my wife came back one day with your column and implored me to read. When I read your article, I contacted you immediately and you gave me instructions to order some bottles of your oil and to pray with it. I did as you instructed me through the help of my wife. She did the prayer with me and I noticed remarkable changes in her. Finally, she started praying and changed completely for good. I continued with the prayer you gave to me until 22 days were completed. I’m pleased and delighted to inform you that my life has changed and my business has been restored. Some people confessed to me, including her man friend, as being responsible for my failure, but I have forgiven them all. We are now enjoying the blessings of God around us, courtesy of your good works. God bless you, sir.” (Names and contact withheld as demanded).
Different people would answer these questions differently. The people of the South-East certainly would have a different answer, while the people of South-South and South-West definitely would have a different view in line with their cultural values, orientation and tradition irrespective of Christian faith.
The point here is that one needs to understand the reality in these symbols. The search to further find out if such symbols are still venerated by modern Christians is very necessary and shall further assist us in verifying the psychology behind such conviction.
It is not all traditional symbols that are associated with demonism or Satanism. I am very sure of what I am saying here. I recall my discussion with a professor of Religious Symbolism who is also an ordained reverend in a well-known Pentecostal church who consequently frowned at the illogical-cum-derogatory expression of his general superintendent who at a get together of all the men of God in a seminar or National Council meeting, averred that anyone going to study Traditional Religion in the University as a man of God, would end up a native doctor or being contaminated by evil spirits.
The Religious leader who is also a Research Fellow (PhD student) in Political Science, in line with his thought may end up becoming a politician in Nigerian context-you know what I mean. Following his ignoble ideology, of becoming contaminated by undertaking a particular academic discipline, he may end up becoming worst than one of the South East APC governors by virtue of studying Political Science at PhD level.
Such ignoble expression shows how psychologically perplexed academically disoriented and spiritually bemused some people could be. I know some well educated servants of God in the field of African Traditional Religion (ATR) that are completely free from such ignoble thought of contamination as proposed by the naïve cum misinformed General Superintendent . The academically sound and spiritually filled Professor deeply regretted having such a leader to superintend over him.
An acclaimed preacher of the gospel, whose knowledge is bereft of proper meanings of spiritual symbolism, needs a second touch. The Professor wept for his deficiency and prayed the academic God to open his eyes and guide him rightly. You may wish to ruminate or cogitate on this briefly; if one atomically becomes what one either studies or teaches, it means those who teach criminology are criminals. This is not very correct; I know some Reverend Fathers and good Pentecostal Preachers that studied African Traditional Religion and Culture just for knowledge sake. In fact, a particular deliverance minister once told me that he studied ATR in order to know how to deal with some ancestral demons during deliverance section.
I decided to do a Doctorate Degree (PhD) programme in ATR with reference to symbolism in Igbo Traditional Religion after obtaining my first Doctorate Degree (PhD) in Philosophy of Religion because I needed to understand certain religious symbols and anthropological realities in my Traditional Religion. It has not and will never make me a native doctor (witch doctor). The misguided religious leader should know this and consequently refrain from giving ill advice to those who desire to have proper knowledge.
I remember when a particular course (History of Modern Cults) was assigned to me in one of the Seminaries where I do adjunct lectures, I enjoyed it and it finally aided my search for proper knowledge which snowballed into producing a book on “Comparative Philosophy of the New Age…” The knowledge did not make me a cultist. I must at this point emphasize that one’s ability to receive any manner of teaching with the capacity of deciphering falsehood from truth, makes such a person a matured Christian nurtured and worthy of being fed with bones and not milk. Well, that is by the way for now, back to the main issue on symbolism.
Signs and symbols have inner spiritual cum cosmic values and meanings. Symbol is the language of the soul. Signs and symbols are the language of the dreaming ego. They are armed with supernatural powers to educate humanity with mysteries. The psychology of spiritual symbolism is therefore the nature of symbols and how same affect and relate with us.