Interpreting Religion And The Lies We Tell Ourselves

Like a thief in the night,I will come’,Jesus said. We would never know how right those words are except we cast our minds back as to how the missionaries came with a bible,to teach,steal and destroy. We were naïve and those of us that were not easily swayed by gifts of the white man,the guns easily persuaded. Since 1490 when king Nzinga of kongo now modern day Angola invited the first missionaries to sub- sahara africa till date what has religion brought us?

As christianity forged its way through the atlantic ocean to Africa due to the American and Europeans invention of big ships, the Arabs found a way of riding camels through deserts with Islam on their helm. Its funny how their Geographical location and their means of transportation has almost equally divided Africa into the predominantly muslim north and christian south. Isn’t it weird that this same Africans are now killing in the name of a religion that the missionaries and muslim scholars told them would bring peace and joy?

Coming to modern day Nigeria, a country invented by the british who never really understood the complexity in combining different cultures under one nation,the tale isn’t the same but very similar . For like a thief in the night, the sovereignty of the nation is being questioned especially by Religion. We used to believe religious terrorism was a foreign thing,AL-Qaeda versus the United states,Israel versus Hamas,Somalia versus al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen etc. But in the night came a thief…Boko Haram. All of a sudden,Religion started killing our family,our friends.



It is known world wide that religion has killed more people than drugs have,but in west africa where tribe and place of origin had always commanded more loyalty than religion,Nigeria broke the boundaries. Some will say why blame religion in general?,why not blame the muslims for killing the christians,others will say let us divide Nigeria,we cannot live with the hausas. I think we are missing the main point,muslims are not dying,christians are not dying,it is Nigeria that is dying. Everytime a bomb or gun kills a soul in Nigeria,either for religion or using religion as an excuse,a part of you and I die.



When will we realise that Christianity or Islam in itself cannot kill but when you turn it into a religion that sees itself different from others then it becomes like Karl Max said ‘Opium of the people’ that can be used either constructively to preach peace among its people or as we have experienced in Nigeria,to terrorise the defenceless and kill women and children. When will we take a leaf from the yorubas who see themselves as yoruba first before asking about religion hence the countless inter-religious marriages among them? When will islamic terrorists see that Saudi-arabia, the cradle of islam have one of the closest relationships with the united states and the Holier than thou christians see what Israel,the birth-place of Jesus is doing to their fellow black brothers? When will we realise that killing in the name of religion is one of the most foolish things to do?



When religion said it will bring us peace and happiness,it not only lied to us,it also stole our identity and enslaved our way of reasoning. Or isn’t it in Nigeria where you have christian higher institutions unaffordable for the tithers children that made the church grow? Will you close your eyes to the pastor with 3/4 private jets with no free hospital clinic for the needy? or a orphanage home? Like you I noticed how the high and mighty general overseers of multinational churches kept mute while their sheep were on the street protesting against the injustice the men they blessed as Nigerian rulers chose to instill pain in the populace? I can hear someone say,hey mister! Watch how you talk about a man of God! But I will tell you ‘watch how you steal in the name of God from God’s children’.Please pastor,don’t slap another lady again,she isn’t as strong as you,slap a man your own size. You ‘Mr imam’,that believes a woman’s face should be hidden from other men while you go around seeing other women to add to your collection of wives,hold your religion,thanks but no thanks.

For unlike you,I still believe the gods that our ancestors worshipped were not idols,but a proper representative that was in tune with our culture. I still believe Jesus and Muhammed represent icons of peace and equality for man and woman,unlike you my religion is not as important as my faith in God,my faith in love and my believe in Nigeria.

Unlike you,religion lied to me but I didn’t believe.


http://www.informationnigeria.org/2012/08/opinion-interpreting-religion-and-the-lies-we-tell-ourselves.html

The writer captured the religios essence of africans so well in this article