Arts and Life
Our Ancestors! Our Christians!!
By Jarlath Uche Opara
Life is spiritual. Severally I have said it, it may beginning to sound like a broken record, more of a cliche. However, that is what it is.
Between Christianity and traditional religion exists a relationship that defies human understanding.
In the Christian setting, a more analytical interrogation of some of the practices of these two religions would reveal some unique and mind blowing similarities.
Before the advent of Christianity, our forefathers were religious people.
The missionaries called them pegans and idol worshipers. They called them devilish whose ways were not godly. But the question is, were our Ancestors devilish, ungodly and pegan in their ways of worship?
What exactly were they worshiping? What exactly were their code of conducts, principles, values and morals? Did all they did,upheld and professed as traditional worshipers entirely satanic, demonic, inhuman and morally inappropriate?
Was there a place of Chukwu okike in their traditional worship?
What exactly were the roles of the dieties in their religious activities? One of supremacy or subordination? Can one accuse them of idol worship? Because of the presence of carved images during their worship? or it was a case of personification, as seen being practiced by this new generation Christians and the use of religious images of their Papas and Mamas.
The spirit of “Ahianjoku” for instance was responsible for the growth of yarm. Ndi iche( Ancestors) who on daily basis share mutual interaction with the living through libation. There were also the god of justice (Amadioha), the god of knowledge, light and wisdom (Anyanwu), the goddess of the earth (Ala). Can these gods be found in other religions expressed through God’s attributes?
Where possible could those Ancestors be now? Though never heard the gospel of Jesus before they died but believed in fairness, justice, equity, morals and values.The driving force of many of them.
Where would they be, even in their strive to live a life of “live and let live:? Would it be fair to describe them as idol worshipers? Evil and demonic? Because the worshiped the supreme God through the personification of small dieties, which today could be seen as attributes of God ?(Chukwu okike)
Since Christainity is a way of life based on values, morals, godliness, justice fairness, equity etc mirroring the life of Christ, would it be fair to say that our forefathers who lived such lifestyle, though didn’t hear the gospel of Christ were Christians not in name but in lifestyle ?
Even though there were other practices ( killing of twins) they engaged in that didn’t portray godliness?
My conclusion, the religion practiced by our Ancestors which the missionaries branded pegan and fetish wasn’t entirely bad. In every cloud there is silver linings. A lot of good could be drawn from it and a lot of similarities if carefully and closely looked at could be identified in other religions too.
Would it be an exaggeration or a proliferation of lies worth earning one some pebbles to state that, many of our Ancestors lived a more godly lifestyle than many Christians today? Could our Ancestors have had the gumption to do what many Christians do in their place of influence, authority and power? Giving corruption, impunity, immorality etc the oxygen to strive and blossom?
Think about it before you cast your stone against what you may perceive blasphemous.
May be, you may likely see some similarities in what they were accused of doing and what majority of Christians do with their Papas, Mamas etc whose words and images are seen to be more powerful and potent than God himself. The more it changes, the more it seems the same.
What makes one a Christian? Is it nomenclature?Lifestyle? Activities or brokeness? Titles or virtue, values and morals?
When you pray with images, are those images mere personification of who a higher being whose real images can not be grasped by the infantile human mind? but through the image ,one is helped to concentrate and virtualize the Chukwu okike? Or are those images to us the main deal?
Whatever may be your answer could possibly be the reality of our forefathers.
Judge our forefathers kindly, they may afterall be better followers of Chukwu okike than many new generation Christians. A tip of the iceberg, is what is presently happening on social media , where some churches and pastors are mere nightmares to souls that sincerely seek the light and the truth. A jamboree, a cacophony and a mishmash of occultism, fetishism, godism ,witchcraftery etc to produce miracles, signs and wonders in the name of Christianity!
Dr. Jarlath Opara
Jarlathuche@gmail.com