The Sunday Mail
LAST week, there was an examination of the etymological meaning and historical development of the word “Christian” as an “exalted state of being, awareness and consciousness”.
In the true and primal sense, a “Christian” is one who has discovered and actualises the conscious existence of the indwelling divinity, ie “the kingdom of heaven is within you”.
Such an indwelling divinity is the “Infinite Light” (“Ain Soph”) illuminating one’s mundane activities. This union with the indwelling divinity is the walk of the “narrow path”.
The Western (Greek and Roman) effort merged the possibly historical Yahoshua the Nazarene and a Greek mythical figure called “Iesous” (Jesus) the “Christos” (Christ). “Being Christian” now wrongly means an ardent and fiery follower ofthe Western personality, “Iesous”.
It is an experienced and observable fact that the followership and submissive form of Christianity is widely familiar in Zimbabwe and around the world through conquest. Zimbabwe was once a colony of a Western nation, Britain, a literalist Christian state.
Had Zimbabwe not been colonised by such a Western state, the religious sentiment, practices and outlook would obviously have been radically different.
Christianity still has sustained colonial advantages, protected privileges and the cultural basis in the public life. This raises concerns of unconstitutionality and religious coercion. Domineering, monolithic and discriminatory religious tendencies are not humanistic as they create grounds for hate, discrimination and conflicts.
In a multi-cultural republican constitutional democracy like Zimbabwe, a religious preference should be a domain of personal and private life. Some prominent figures have been used to discriminate against, overshadow and alienate those who are not Christian and the non-religious as if they are not fellow human beings.
How is this done? Christians who are literalists are exclusionary and proselyte in every space available in national events, public media,a religious educational curriculum devoid of a multi-faith and comparative studies approach, assembly prayers in public schools, and in popular culture. Against this background, we need to fairly examine followership Christianity lest there is thick debris that has accumulated interfering with it should be. In its current domineering literalist and historicalised form, Christianity has allowed bigotry, idolatry and superstition to thrive in its name thus permitting theological immaturity, perversion and vulgarity.
Being social reformists that we should be, religion in general and Christianity in particular should not be destroyed but purified of superfluous outgrowths and then regenerated and transformed.
This comes from an inspiration of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan who reconstructed orthodox Judaic theology “so that it remained ever-changing, evolving to meet the needs of people”.
Kaplan called for an emphasis on knowledge over faith, discovery over revelation, and “connection, opportunity and responsibility over commandment.” This is because the Divine should be considered as “a force for the source of meaning, the power within that urges us toward generosity, responsibility, concern and self-fulfillment”.
Therefore, conventional Christianity should not be destroyed but hewn and shaped like a sculptor’s stone by a hand chisel. The hand chisel is used together with a hammer to vigorously but patiently knock off defects and faults to extract the latent or inherent beauty. To hew anything is to curb vices and encourage good dispositions.
The hand chisel symbolises corrective methods while the hammer represents will-power (“ratzon” in Hebrew, Strong’s Concordance #H7522 and “theleo” in Greek, Strong’s Concordance #G2309) and the force of “inner drive to ethical action” or reason-based conscience (“suneidesis” in Greek, Strong’s Concordance #G4893).
Within Christianity,there is a pure core of divine sparks under thick debris or malevolent husks (“kellipot” in Hebrew) or three poisons of life made up of ignorance, self-indulgence and malice.
Religion is in serious need of people of goodwill and integrity to individually and collectively conquer the three poisons, which represent “perverted thought, uncurbed emotions and destructive actions”.
We need to search, discover and actualise the pearls or precious stones in religion in general.
Using “right speech,” this subject will be dealt with truthfully, factually and helpfully. This and other articles are well thought-out and reasoned viewpoints done to engage those who are critically minded, conversational and seek continuous learning.
With humility and confidence, it is a conviction that if there are “Christians” of goodwill, they do not want anyone to exercise docile compliance and gullible submission. This undermines free inquiry and conversations while stifling examination of ordinarily received assumptions.
Followership or “husk” Christianity is one of the organised or institutionalised petitionary religions just like traditional Judaism and Islam.
It is called a petitionary religion because it considers the Divine as a masculine humanoid or human-like craving for human attention and recognition. Followers or adherents are influenced by a high sense of inadequacy, a deep desire to avoid pain and a zealous yearning for an undeserved entitlement.
Transform, not destroy!
Email feedback at [email protected]. You can read more of his articles on www.shingaindoro.blogspot.com and a gallery of previous articles is available on www.sundaymail.co.zw///?author=266
