In any case, here is another response to the article from one of the leading Evangelical magazine i.e., Christianity Today:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/june-web-only/exodus-international-alan-chambers-apologize-for-exgay-past.html
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/june-web-only/exodus-international-alan-chambers-apologize-for-exgay-past.html
While in Nigeria, I got into a lot of theological debates and arguments with people. It was not debate as such but I used the Socratic method of questioning people for better clarity and forcing them to face their own arguments.
I am sorry to say, and I do not say this out of arrogance but many Christians in Nigeria do not think deeply about their faith and theology in the modern world.They embrace the benefits of modernity but have not intellectual curiosity ot understand its fundamental underpinnings. Fanon raised this issue long ago.
I do not care what one's religion is but if you live in the modern world and you do not see the Tsunami then one has just decided to live in what some characterize as "ignorance is bliss."
I once heard someone talking about the bible in the dean's office at UJ, I waited for him to finish and then I told him that he talked to us if, he was speaking from outside history, he was from another space. We are mortals but he was not. I said so because the did not problematize the fact that as a human being who lives in concrete social and historical reality, he himself was part of the interpretation of the scriptures.
He failed to appreciate the fact that just as he believe the authority of the Bible, there are believers of Judaism who believe he has a terrible misunderstanding of the Torah (i.e., Old Testament), and there are Muslims who believe in the authority of Holy Quran and Hindus who believe in the Baghavat Gita. If he had lived 1500 years ago, in spite of being a good Christian he would not read the Bible the way he is reading it today. But for him, time is meaningless. It is a very simple way of approaching life. I wonder whether such an approach can really lay the foundation of transforming Africa. Of course Africans have the right to choose whether they want to be part of the modern world or not, but even if they choose to opt, it is not going to be an easy ride. But if they decide to be part of it, they need to ask: what are the minimum requirements for them to thrive in it.
For him, the Bible is just the authority. Well, when you live in the modern world, to say that means you see only you living and care less about others who equally see things differently. He wants us to believe him because he is a believer, but should that courtesy not be extended to other believers too? This is pre-modern way of thinking. He feels his beliefs and cosmology is the only one that exists and all others are simply wrong.
I am sorry to say, and I do not say this out of arrogance but many Christians in Nigeria do not think deeply about their faith and theology in the modern world.They embrace the benefits of modernity but have not intellectual curiosity ot understand its fundamental underpinnings. Fanon raised this issue long ago.
I do not care what one's religion is but if you live in the modern world and you do not see the Tsunami then one has just decided to live in what some characterize as "ignorance is bliss."
I once heard someone talking about the bible in the dean's office at UJ, I waited for him to finish and then I told him that he talked to us if, he was speaking from outside history, he was from another space. We are mortals but he was not. I said so because the did not problematize the fact that as a human being who lives in concrete social and historical reality, he himself was part of the interpretation of the scriptures.
He failed to appreciate the fact that just as he believe the authority of the Bible, there are believers of Judaism who believe he has a terrible misunderstanding of the Torah (i.e., Old Testament), and there are Muslims who believe in the authority of Holy Quran and Hindus who believe in the Baghavat Gita. If he had lived 1500 years ago, in spite of being a good Christian he would not read the Bible the way he is reading it today. But for him, time is meaningless. It is a very simple way of approaching life. I wonder whether such an approach can really lay the foundation of transforming Africa. Of course Africans have the right to choose whether they want to be part of the modern world or not, but even if they choose to opt, it is not going to be an easy ride. But if they decide to be part of it, they need to ask: what are the minimum requirements for them to thrive in it.
For him, the Bible is just the authority. Well, when you live in the modern world, to say that means you see only you living and care less about others who equally see things differently. He wants us to believe him because he is a believer, but should that courtesy not be extended to other believers too? This is pre-modern way of thinking. He feels his beliefs and cosmology is the only one that exists and all others are simply wrong.
Again, here is the weblink about Gay Marriage from Christianity Today Magazine:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/june-web-only/exodus-international-alan-chambers-apologize-for-exgay-past.html
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/june-web-only/exodus-international-alan-chambers-apologize-for-exgay-past.html
The idea that if someone is religious they cannot think deeply and critically makes me feel uncomfortable. Life is complex and there is more coming.
As Max Weber said, the future of human beings in the modern world is not a Garden of Eden as Marx predicted, but an Iron Cage becasue of the continuous process of rationalization. Weber's observation scares me more because he argues, and this is particularly uneasy for neoliberals, that we will live in an iron cage becasue of the success of capitalism and not because of its failure. So just as some celebrate the triumph of neoliberal capitalism and see it as leading to a state of Nirvana, Weber is saying, that is exactly why the future of humanity will be a mess. There is no limit to the process of rationalization and no one can tell exactly where we are heading to. Forget about all those guys on Wall Street. They pretend but actually the analysis of 2008 crisis shows that they do not know much as they would want to us to believe. Unfortunately, many of the religious leaders fall in love with neoliberalism and never allowed the spirit of God to alert them about the 2008 mess. These are all empirical facts. And millions of people suffered innocently because of this mess.
The real challenge is going to be the problem of meaning in life. Even if the woman stopped being gay, fornication and adultery is all over in Nigeria. And when I was asked by a student in Jos about gay marriage, I asked him whether he thinks that angels in heaven based on his religion are happy and celebrating when people fornicate or commit adultery because they are using their sexual organs appropriately. The class laughed. The point -- why not equally be angry about other things the Bile and the Quran are against like corruption. Yet we know that religious leaders have become part of the corruption racket in Nigeria.
As Max Weber said, the future of human beings in the modern world is not a Garden of Eden as Marx predicted, but an Iron Cage becasue of the continuous process of rationalization. Weber's observation scares me more because he argues, and this is particularly uneasy for neoliberals, that we will live in an iron cage becasue of the success of capitalism and not because of its failure. So just as some celebrate the triumph of neoliberal capitalism and see it as leading to a state of Nirvana, Weber is saying, that is exactly why the future of humanity will be a mess. There is no limit to the process of rationalization and no one can tell exactly where we are heading to. Forget about all those guys on Wall Street. They pretend but actually the analysis of 2008 crisis shows that they do not know much as they would want to us to believe. Unfortunately, many of the religious leaders fall in love with neoliberalism and never allowed the spirit of God to alert them about the 2008 mess. These are all empirical facts. And millions of people suffered innocently because of this mess.
The real challenge is going to be the problem of meaning in life. Even if the woman stopped being gay, fornication and adultery is all over in Nigeria. And when I was asked by a student in Jos about gay marriage, I asked him whether he thinks that angels in heaven based on his religion are happy and celebrating when people fornicate or commit adultery because they are using their sexual organs appropriately. The class laughed. The point -- why not equally be angry about other things the Bile and the Quran are against like corruption. Yet we know that religious leaders have become part of the corruption racket in Nigeria.
I think talking about gay marriage in Nigeria and many places is a kind of religious therapy. You can commit damn things that are terrible even by the standards of one's faith and yet, have a sense of wholeness for being not gay and when you talk about it, it makes you feel that you are religious some kind of religious icon for defending the truth. Yet they are comfortable with usury, which is biblically sinful i.e., when people charge interest on money, not just high interest. Jesus can save her from gay lifestyle but he is not angry about the level of corruption in Nigeria and how that dehumanized people created in what the Bible describes as God's image. This Jesus is really selective about his concerns today. That is why people will say it is a socially constructed Jesus.
Indeed, II just finished reviewing this documentary which is very informative about the different cultural emphases and understanding of Jesus in history:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Face-Jesus-Art-DVD/dp/B00064678Y
Indeed, II just finished reviewing this documentary which is very informative about the different cultural emphases and understanding of Jesus in history:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Face-Jesus-Art-DVD/dp/B00064678Y
Samuel
On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 12:13 PM, John Mbaku <jmbaku@weber.edu> wrote:
What did Jesus rescue her from?--On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 10:29 AM, 'dayo emmanuel' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:--
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--JOHN MUKUM MBAKU, ESQ.
J.D. (Law), Ph.D. (Economics)
Graduate Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
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Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor of Economics & Willard L. Eccles Professor of Economics and John S. Hinckley Fellow
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Department of Anthropology, Sociology & Reconciliation Studies
Bethel University, 3900 Bethel Drive #24
Saint Paul, MN 55112.
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