I once had a discussion with a friend, who doesn’t want to be a Christian anymore nor a Muslim, but would rather prefer the Ifa religion, but he is reluctant to go ahead with it. I asked him what was holding him back. He replied that there are strict rules that cannot be broken, and when they are broken, there are consequences. I was impressed with that statement because he meant to say he would have preferred that (Ifa religion), but he was scared that if and when he does break some rules, the consequences might be dire, and that, he wasn’t ready or willing to undertake. So, I asked, "What then, do you do?" He said: He goes to church, just so, it does seem like he is not doing anything. I was wowed. This mindset is very common nowadays and the rate keeps growing, people now attend church services or go to the mosque just so they belong, not because they feel the need to, but rather for a sense of belonging. As this is our "sorry" case, in recent times!
As an African, religion has always been our backbone, the fortress which we usually run towards in times of trouble or not, and it has been so exploited that when people see a "religious" person, they assume or are quick to say the person is wasting his or her time. I remember that I left my friend with a few words, some of which he admitted that he never even knew about.
The interesting thing is that my friend is not alone in this struggle. I had another eye-opening conversation with another friend, who admitted to a few facts and later said, "Why don’t people talk about these things" so others would be informed? Well, I replied, we are working on it (but deep down, I could have said to him that it is a scary endeavor.) For those of us seeking the answers to “the whys”, “our whys”, and to even attempt to make it public, is not a task for the faint-hearted.
The fact that people are ignorant of what seems like an open secret, while most of these information is right there in our faces. One of the things I find really intriguing is that Christianity and Islam have the closest, most similar ideologies, yet they are the most conflicting religious sects. The Jews who do not accept the divinity, messianic, and prophethood of Jesus Christ, do not fight both the Christians and even the Muslims as much as the later does!
What then, is causing these issues?
These problems?
Why the killings and the war(s)?
I read and listen to the news, but my understanding of the scriptures and some of the books I have read have allowed me to be able to filter through what is wrong and what is true, those that are pushing an agenda or narratives disguised as news, and those that are there to keep the disunity going, but to what end?
Here, I feel that if only I can do (a little) something about this, even if it is just one person who would read, see, take the time, take it one day at a time, practice, learn and see that there isn't really any need to for the fights especially without the full picture of what is really about to happen except that you and I are too small to stop it (on the larger scale). However, the peace that comes with knowing these things is incomparable.
