(Pastors Say Africans Suffer From Ancestral Sin)
Abdulkarim Ali
Kondengui central prison, Yde, LRC.
15/11/2023
Religion makes Africans poor, religion enslaves Africans and religion is a scamming scheme; are claims advanced by peoples of other beliefs systems like atheism, kemitism and the so called African traditionalists. Although these claims sound palatable, proponents of the notions have failed to support their claims with arguments possessing explanatory power, hence creating a bigger hole in a bid to cover a small one. Billions of people have found solace in religion, depend ot it for morality, derived from it their constitutions and rest in it for survival. In this paper, i will argue that the question (is religion good), will be considerable and meaningful if asked in light of etymology and definitions. I opine that the real question should be, Is Religion Evil? “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind” said Albert Eistein. This has caused debates over decades among theits and atheists to win the logical inference on Einstein’s declaration; thus the question, Is Religion Good? I will base my thesis on Christianity with a view on Islam in Africa. Christians and Muslims constitute more than half of the world’s population and their good work are fundamental to today’s civilization in every discipline.
Religion And Its True Teachings
By definition, religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman power or powers, especially a God or gods. Religion basically means to reconnect. It is the human effort to reconnect to its source. How good is it to reconnect to one’s source can never be a subjective question, but an objective one. Every human being inluding atheists belief that life didnt come from nothing. This is why most scientists believe that energy is the inherent source of everthing and thus try to reconnect to energy in continuum. I think that, science is implicitly a religion in its own right. The world’s major religions: Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all teach peace, unity, justice, charity, generosity, education, ties, forgiveness and tolerance; among other things. Matthew chapters 5,6,7 contain multiple teachings about peace which no academia can dispute. Because of the Quran, Muslims condemn the killing of any human being. Quran 5:32 is explicit where it says “who ever kills another except it be for murder or committing mischief in a land, its as though he has killed the entire humanity. And who ever saves another, is as though he has saved the entire humanity. How can religion be bad to any rational thinker? Religion didn’t start with Moses, Jesus or Muhammad (on whom be peace). It is as old as the the first human who ever walked the earth. The ancient world was indeed more religious than today’s. The difference is that religions were not organised and controlled by states as in many cases today. So, i will suggest that some aspects of organised religion may be biased, begot and satirical due to political motivations sponsored by states who use religion as part of their administrative apparatus.
Christianity, Islam and Africans
Christianity is not what Christians do, it is what Christians are supposed to do. By definition, Christianity is the attempt to reconnect to God by following the teachings and deeds of Jesus Christ (on whom be peace). This involves deriving a way of life from the Christian scripture (the new testament) including teachings from the Law, Psalms and Prophets___Jewish Scripture (old testament). It is worth
mentioning that, the New Testament influenced and influences the western civilization to a large extent. State policies are being formulated because of scripture and not despite of scripture. For example; laws on abortion, nuclear arsenals, executions, marriage, divorce, and other central aspects of human rights etc, are informed by dictates of scripture. The problem may be with the construct of the Church. On the one hand, the evolution of the Church throughout Europe, America and Africa account for the malfeasance of Christians today, especially African Christians. On the other hand, the gullibility and naivety of African Christians somehow enslaves them to their Churches, Pastors and Priests. They follow the Church instead of the Christ and follow their pastors and priests instead of the Bible. If a bad driver crashes a brand new Mercedes-Benz, you don’t blame the car, blame the driver. Jesus calls us to action when he says in John 8:32; “then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”. Most Churches and Pastors offer little or nothing to their congregation from the scripture now adays. They offer exactly what witch doctors offer to their desperate clientele (prosperity, wealth, visas and job opportunities). Moreover, like bars, provision stores, textile shops and night clubs pentecostal/neo-pentecostal churches display competitive marketing bill boards with earthly slogans like; the miracle church of Christ, True Prophecy Church, Power and Prosperity ministry, embassy of Jesus, cast and bind ministry etc. Extremely authoritatian and totalitarian doctrinal principles that almost defies their Pastors at the expense of God Himself. It is all about the here and now, not about the there and then (kingdom of God) as Jesus taught; “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”__Matthew 6:33. The consequences of failing to study the Bible is devastating and seems to be the main predicament of Christianity. When you allow the church/pastor to narrate their views to you instead of letting the scripture speak to you predominantly, then misguidance is inevitable. Religion is good in its pure form.
Islam is what Muslims are supposed to do and not what Muslims do. The Quran and the sayings/teachings (sunnah) of Muhammad (peace be on him) are the sources of Islam. By definition, Islam is the submission to the will of God. It is a religion of peace like most other belief systems. Africans however, remain in the pond of religion and Arabs who introduced Islam to them. Notwithstanding, Islam is responsible for the insurmountable goodness and moral values in over 1.8 billion people in the world. Eg Most Muslims don’t imbibe alcohol and other intoxications because of the dictates of the Quran. Dubai, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Qatar and Saudi Arabia among many other countries are functional societies premised on Islamic prisms.
The Deception of The Church and African Pastors (Ancestral Sin)
By the token of time, the Church and its evangelists (Priests and Pastors) have mislead their followers; theologically, historically and ethically. Whether these are mistakes or delibrate ploys, we leave it to God. However it is significant to point out these deceptions for the thoughtful. The most destructive deception propagated by African pastors is that of the ancestral sin. Most African Christians have been made to beleive that, their inability to prosper or succeed in life is due to sin inherited from their ancestry. They are convinced that the sins of their ancestors pursue them and their progeny. Therefore, they must break the curse by cutting ties and separating themselves from their own roots and adapt to the root of their pastors or the Palestinian prophet (Jesus Christ). This is as absurd as saying that, the fruits of a tree can survive without the particular tree and its roots! Did Jesus not say in Matthew 7:16
“You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles”? The notion of ancestral sin is terrific and destructive. Asking folks to abandone their roots is suicidal. What is a tree without its roots? Jesus is a Jew from Palestine. He didn’t ask anyone to cut ties with their roots, he asked believers to follow him, ie, follow his teachings. The colonialists used the notion of ancestral sin to handicap the strength, wisdom and capital of the black people, and are now using African Pastors as proxies for the same systemic suberterfuge. While a British child can boast of knowledge acquired from fifty generations before him, an African child cannot think of any primary source knowledge of 200 years ancestral succession. The Quran teaches in chapter, An Nisa-4:36; “Serve Allah and ascribe no partner to Him. Do good to your parents, to near of kin and to the neighbors who is a stranger, and to the companion by your side and to the wayfarerer and to those whom your right hand posses”.. The heart of the the Turah (the law revealed through Moses) is the Ten Commandments, which constitutes the crucial segment of 613 laws in the Old Testament. Not even the Ten Commandments advocate for the absurd notion of ancestral sin. Without the Ten Commandments the rest of the Old Testament falls apart and so falls the New Testament.
The Ten Commandments Vs The lies of Ancestral Sin
The Bible records that God himself inscribed the Ten Commandments on tablets of stones for Moses (on whom be peace). Moses (peace be on him) destroyed the first inscription because he returned from mount Sinai with the tablets and found the Isralites worshipping a calf they had forged for themselves with gold. God inscribed another one, to demonstrate its inherent importance for humanity and the children of Israel in particular (Exodus 20 and Deuteromy 5).
Exodus 20 details the Ten Commandments unambiguously. These Commandments from God are outlined without any conditions or prerequisites attached to the rulings except for the 5th commandment. The fifth commandment comes with an insurance policy attached to it. Exodus 20:12, instructs us to obey our fathers and mothers so that our days will be long on the land God has given us. This commandment with benefits attached to it is repeated severally in the Bible. Religion instructs us to obey our ancestors before us and those before those before us and on. Christians have been brainwashed to pray through Middle Eastern ancestors like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (on whom be peace) while believing that their own ancestors are evil and useless. This is a complete misreading of scripture merged with anachronistic theological twists. To confirm the Ten Commandments, Jesus says in Matthew 5:17 that, “think not that i have come to abolish the law or the Prophets, i have come to fufill them” (read
Matthew 5:17-20). To be clear, i don’t blame the scam and manipulation by the Church and its missionaries, but i do blame the Christians who primarily don’t study their scripture and hence fail to question their Pastors and Priests! Would they not question the Church if they study the Bible carefully? Martin Luther who died in 1546 CE did well to challenge the papal authority but failed to question the integrity of scripture itself. The concept of ancestral sin is futher debunked by the Prophet Ezekiel; Ezekiel 18:20-21 teaches that, “The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them. But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die”. Nothing could be clearer than this. God is not a man nor the son of man.
Conclusion
The real question should be: what will Africa and the world look like without Religion? The passage of time has demonstrated the weakness and inefficiency of several isms including, commuinism, liberalism, Nazism etc. However, Islam and Christianity continue to stand the tests of time despite efforts to malign especially Islam and endless attempts to corrupt Christianity. They remain cardinal in imparting morality and healing damaged souls, not just in Africa but the world over.
The error critics of Religion make is that of confusing Religion with its followers or practice. The fact of the matter is that religion is being abused by States, politicians and rubbers who pass for pastors, imams and priests. These entities will pass by, but scripture will forever stay. All legal systems in the universe are derived from scripture. Without the concept of Divine command theory (God), morality can’t be adequately defined and right won’t be differentiated from wrong objectively by any ism except with the concept of God. The world, by and large functions around a concept known as the golden rule. Jesus and Muhammad (on whom be peace) centralized and summarized their ministries by saying; “Do to others as you would have them do to you” says Jesus__Luke 6:31. Muhammad (on whom be peace) teaches that; Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others that which you wish for yourself.”__ Hadith 13, 40 an-Nawawi.
We can stop the abnormal use of Religion, but it needs to start with individual reformation. Proper knowledge of our scriptures is the necessary equipment for every believer. “Allah won’t change a people until they change themselves.” Quran 13:11.
Allah Knows Best.
