Religious crisis in our age is just as messy as the
political one. The West looks at Islam as a growing ground for terrorism; Islam
looks at Christianity as a breeding space for sinfulness, materialism and
atheism. Christians look at atheists as fools with whom no discussion
whatsoever is worth; Atheists generally view religion as the arena of
mediocrity and the proliferation of crisis and war. Christianity suspects Islam
for anti-Semitism, Islam suspects Christianity for aiding Zionism. Even in the
midst of each religion you have multiple fractures, Sunni against Shiites,
Catholics against Protestants etc. Most of these friction and crises come from
stories from our individual bases and stem from the danger of generalisation.
We generalise because we are lazy to verify.
Amidst massive distrusts
between Abrahamic families and huge suspicions about the Western agenda, there
permeates, a sort of egocentric complacency regarding spiritual engagement with
the wider ecosystem. Multitudes in the Western religious sphere who have
ideologically ‘kaferise’, ‘haramise’ and ‘infidelise’ the vast polytheist, pantheist
and atheist world and would rather ostracise them from their perception on
matters of truth rather than risk being tainted with their views.
I have my own little story
to tell to clarify this:
With my Catholic background, I grew
up to regard modern day ‘Born Again’
churches as preys, pests, wolves in sheep clothing and advocates of shallow
forms of Christianity by the propagation of prosperity and a suffering free
life.
Back then during my university
days, I’d often seen these ‘mushroom churches’ (as we call them) lobbying
around the Catholic premises, sometimes holding crusades thereabout, trying to
win Catholics whom they equally perceive as ‘not saved’ ,‘not redeemed’, idol
worshiping Christians.
It was like war, I had often been
outraged by the daringness of these people. In higher Institutions, they would often
sneak into Catholic churches; mix with the congregation with a mission of convincing
Catholics of the erroneous outlook of their beliefs; their access point often
being the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, a Catholic group with Pentecostal
spirituality. I Joined the Charismatic myself, and was only motivated to
remain, not because they practice my kind of spirituality, but to ‘defend
Christ’s sheep from these wolves in sheep clothing’. For me, it was a ‘versus’
and nothing else counted.
But then, along the line, in the
University, something else happened to me. I liked a girl who was Catholic and
was not attending Catholic Church but the interdenominational fellowship of the
university’s Christian Union. Partly in an effort to bring the girl back and
partly out of shear being where she was, I began to attend the University
Christian Union (UCU) prayer group at least once a week. There was nothing
interdenominational about this particular church though, at least from a
Catholic perspective. There was always this round of lengthy prayers that go on
and on, I remember it was in that church I
stabilised my praying 15 decades of rosary (with my hands in my pocket)
Sometimes I do 30 decades before the prayer sessions end, It was always
lengthy, but the girl was my motivation to stay.
That was my first full experience
of Pentecostalism, for until then, there was little or no motivation towards
attending these ‘born again’ churches .Prior to this experience, my knowledge
of this group was limited to the TV, and then I simply switch channels. I had a
better experience with Islam, having had Muslims as relatives, and being raised
together with them, we grew to respect our common point of divergence: The
Divinity of Christ. As a Catholic, I was more at home with our share of calm
orthodoxy compared with the raze and fire brand manners of Pentecostalism.
Trust Pentecostals Christians to
do follow ups on new members, The moment I started attending the UCU, I began
to have visitors from the church and it was during visits like these that there
developed sincere friendships between me and some great Pentecostals who would
go extra miles at helping me out of issues completely outside faith in other to
win me. Pentecostalism is filled with energy to assist and I admire that a lot.
Zeal and energy is what you cannot deny of Pentecostalism.
I wouldn’t have had a balanced
perspective, for instance if I had not ventured into Charism and
Pentecostalism. I would still have become an active Catholic, but an
opinionated one, and one that is completely oblivious of the outer world. Of
course Pentecostalism is loaded with proselytes, there was more than enough
doctrinal frictions between us during those days, and if I had not been
constant in my journey back by
knowing good Priests, making great catholic friends, and studying catholic literatures
, or if I had found an attraction in Pentecostal spirituality, I would either
have been consumed hook, line and sinker into Pentecostalism, or our
relationship would either have been snapped or it wouldn’t have resulted into
that mutual respect that I have with my Pentecostal friends today.
Pentecostalism and Charismatic
have helped deepened my spirituality, I see myself better placed to speak from
either perspectives because I have not simply heard nor read about them , I have
also experienced them and I am able to manage our shared differences with
respect. Though I will say that you need to be steep in what you believe if you
would like to venture, otherwise one would be swept off by the littlest tidal
wave of attractive but unverified emotion, doctrine and ideology. Our journey
to Truth can often take an Israelite (lengthy) turn when we are not adequately
prepared to venture.
It was a struggle but it was worth
the venture, I corrected and purified my Catholicism by contact with
Pentecostalism; I can only hope that my friends who journey forth from the
Pentecostal perspective would also gain from our relationship. If you don’t
want what is mine, I take from what is yours and add to what is mine and become
richer while you still look at yourself as a champion. You are nothing but a
local champion. He who is graced with the art of balancing wins all and
journeys farther. Prejudice does one little favour, but the capacity to journey
forth together in peace, love and humility lies in the mastery of ‘the journey back’ for it stamps the
assurance of truth. We change sincerely what we should because we love truth
and we have to learn to experience this Truth.
From my refined experience, I
vindicated the ‘Born Again’ who says Catholics were not truly converted, I have
actually come across numerous Catholics who follow doctrine without this
personal touch of Christ (Though, a lot has changed and is still changing in
the catholic world of today regarding a lively experience of Christ) just like
my opined perspective of Pentecostalism lacking depth and stopping on the level
of emotion, has also been justified. But my error from both perspectives lies
in generalising, and that can be dangerous.
My journey with Pentecostals has
deepened my personal experience of Christ because this appears to be one of the
most popular dictates of Pentecostalism: experience. Which is true, and this
has helped me a lot. Catholicism, until recently, tends to lean more on the
bend of communal experience than a personal one. While I have seen the great
truth in personal experience, it has in no way diminished my position on the
affectivity and unification of faith which is collegial and I can only hope
that my friends also see this great unity of and communion of saints, both
living and dead. Man is never an island.
This is my story, back to my
point on religion:
Far from being an advocate of Relativism, I see that
Ecumenism, albeit risky, has been and will continue to be the great driver of
the religious outlook of the 21st century, and he who does not journey back , rather than being helped
by its variety, would be swept off by the tidal wave of its complexity and
shall not be able to journey forth in
the ocean of sincere ecumenism.
The Pope once said that the call of faith no more calls for the
discussion of Theology while sipping tea, it is an engagement of love , and
because we shrink from the journey back
we dread journeying forth with our
Abrahamic brethren , much less our Godly brethren. Far from being a rosy
gentleman’s affair, issues relating to truth demands energy and that energy is
love, and love is a verb, it takes place in journeying.
I presently live in an
environment of deep seated scepticism of God, and this has made me value the
more my shared destiny with anyone who does believe in God. I accuse Monotheism
of having the hidden tendency of monopolising God. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it
was said to Horatio: ‘There are more in heaven and earth than exists in your
philosophy’. God is more to and more inclusive than whatever you are thinking
of Him right now. And as we engage (when
we are sincere) we shall find in the most unusual places and faiths, people of truth
who would inspire us to become more faithful and loving.
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Ask of Peter what it must have cost him to eat that ‘rubbish’
Christ proffered to him, he ate and you and I were assimilated into God’s
mystery. Let us go and do likewise.
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