Dele Meiji

In a country where more than fifty percent of the population live below the poverty line, and a low-level civil war over resources is brewing the most pressing concerns amongst legislators and the self-appointed moral guardians of the country is the theoretical threat posed by the small and largely powerless homosexual population. It would be funny if it was not tragic. Despite the ridiculousness of it all we must resist the impulse to ask if there are not more important matters to discuss – because this debate exposes the root of Nigeria’s problem – our inability to live side by side to difference and respect it. I won’t get into debating whether same sex marriage or relationships are valid within Christianity and the Anglican Communion - that is an internal matter for members of the Anglican Church, not one that concerns the greater body politic of Nigeria. However, the archbishop of Nigeria, the Most Reverend Peter J. Akinola has issued a position paper on a bill currently before the Nigerian house of legislators to ‘prohibit the marriage between persons of the same gender, solemnization of same and for other matters related therewith’. In this paper, presented to the Nigerian House of Assembly, the good bishop lays out the Church of Nigeria’s support and disagreements with the bill. It is only right that the church have a voice in the direction of the country – freedom of speech is a value we must cherish and uphold even when we disagree with what is being said. Nevertheless, the arguments the church makes in support of the bill; arguments which are in fact the entire basis for this bill can and should be refuted.

In his preamble, Akinola says ‘the present trend in certain quarters to cast the bible aside and foist on the world a religion that does not have god and the bible at the centre was why...the introduction of this bill at this stage of national development is one of the best things to have happened to this nation’ – expressing his joy that the bill will confirm his position on the internal argument he and others are conducting within Anglican church. He goes on to say that that the bill should be upheld because of a number of biblical passages, citing a number of biblical passages, including Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1 26:27, and First Corinthians 6:9. Well, he’s wrong. Nigeria is a secular country, under the rule of a constitution. The church has a legitimate voice but its concerns and guiding principles cannot be the basis of the laws of the country. Akinola continues in a section entitled ‘Marriage is a creation of god between man and woman’, that since marriage was created by God ‘those who argue for the legalization of this unwholesome practice on the claims of human rights must first of all recognize and respect the right of god to order his creation as he wants it. Human Rights therefore should not infringe on the right of God to remain God!’ It beggars belief that God, and especially the Christian God who reputedly flooded the world to maintain its purity needs defending from a small group of human beings. He maintains homosexuality is a threat to procreation. The truth is that the greatest threat to procreation in Africa and elsewhere is the war and famine rampant throughout the world and in Nigeria – a crisis to which the archbishop speaks too little. Globalisation is held up in Archbishop Akinola’s paper as the root of the degradation of Nigerian youth and ergo the ‘rise’ in homosexuality, linking it with the rise of gay churches and fellowships in the country. Last I checked, however imperfectly, Nigeria’s constitution upholds freedom of religion. If certain groups of people interpret the bible to allow same sex marriage, the bishop can disagree to granting them communion within his church but he has no right to infringe on their freedom of belief or practice. He goes on to say individualism is a western influence that threatens an African sense of community. This is the frequent argument that for Africans to be happy we must all agree, a lie that we know all too well leads to war. A sense of community is not fostered when the leaders of any community call for the extermination of any one group or sanction their persecution. The family which Akinola proclaims to be the nucleus of any society is under great strain and threat in Nigeria by the twin evils of corruption and poverty than any group of homosexuals will ever be. For good measure, the bishop says the legalisation of gay marriage will lead to an increase in male prostitution. It is a logic fallacy that is hard to take seriously. Surely if gay men and women are married they would have little cause to prostitute themselves? The institution of marriage so well practiced by Nigerian men has failed to eradicate female prostitution – in fact, the imbalance in power between men and women in society is at the root of this problem, how then will persecuting and prosecuting a small group of men and women who want to get married and live in peace eradicate any social vices?

To ward off those pesky international human rights activists, the bishop invokes the sovereignty of Nigeria to make laws according to the wishes of its citizens - and the good bishop is right. Nigeria is a sovereign nation which has bound itself to the laws of an international system, one of which is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It entitles everyone to freedom from persecution. It is true Nigeria’s legislators can pass this bill, but in doing so, they will be confirming all the worst impressions of Nigeria and Africa as a place of intolerance, persecution and strife. Lastly, the bishop wheels out the shibboleth of the west’s pernicious influence on Africa including the slave trade, the world bank and IMF programmes and all the horrors of our post-colonial history. Yes, we have to acknowledge that very often the west’s influence on Nigeria has often been malevolent - but it is not westerners entering the National Assembly to protest for their rights; it is Nigerians, gay and proud who are affirming their right to exist. It is ironic that the loudest applauders of their persecution are the Church of Nigeria and Muslim leaders, two institutions established in Nigeria by a colonising western nation and Arab invaders respectively, Now isn’t that unnatural, unprofitable, unhealthy, un-cultural, un-African and un-Nigerian?

Robot  # 1 | 24.03.2009 07:42

Dele Meiji In a country where more than fifty percent of the population live below the poverty line, and a low-level civil war over... is brewing the most pressing concerns amongst legislators and the self-appointed moral guardians of the country is the theoretical threat posed by the small and largely powerless homosexual population. It would be funny if it was not tragic. Despite the ridiculousness of it all we must resist the impulse to ask if there are not more important matters to discuss – because this debate exposes the root of Nigeria’s problem – our inability to live side by side to difference and respect it. I won’t get into debating whether same sex marriage or relationships are valid within Christianity and the Anglican Communion - that is an internal matter for members of the Anglican Church, not one that concern...Read the full article.

a piper too  # 2 | 24.03.2009 09:06

This is the letter I emailed last Sunday week ago to the Nigerian Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola, and copied to the Nigerian Parliament, and also made public for worldwide scrutiny at my newly created blogspot http://wound-wisdom-letters.blogspot.com . To date, I have received no response. And I wonder why, when I too have quoted from the "Good Book" along with other material taken from noted ancient and modern theologians. The message is simple: There is no hate in Love: Parents are for nurture pure and simple. Dear Peter (to his email address per his church website etc)(Sunday 15th March) “We have none of us done our duty as free societies. We have oppressed the poor; we have accepted advertisement in the place of truth; we have given too much power to money; and we have been indifferent to the quality of human character. “The democracy of the future must be a great deal better and cleaner than any which now exists, with more reverence, more discipline, more love of beauty, more joy in life, as well as more social justice and better distribution of wealth, more freedom for the soul and more friendliness between man and man.” “What a long and strange war it is where violence tries to crush truth ! Hard as it may struggle, violence cannot weaken truth, and its efforts only make truth stand out more clearly. Truth, however brightly it may shine, can do nothing to stop violence, and its light only irritates violence even more. When might is ranged against might, the stronger defeats the weaker. When discourse is ranged against discourse, what is true and convincing confounds and dissipates what is based only on vanity and lies. But violence and truth can do nothing, the one against the other. Nevertheless, don’t be fooled by that into thinking that they are at the same level as each other. For there is this extreme difference between them: that violence only has a course marked out for it by God’s command, such that its effects redound to the glory of the truth which it is attacking, while truth subsists eternally, and triumphs in the end over its enemies. Because it is as eternal and powerful as God…. Truth subsists eternally, and triumphs in the end over its enemies.” The words above are not mine of course, but they are appreciated by me; one conscripted to do my “duty” for my country some 40 years ago. And it is still so today. Today, I am blessed – a proud father, loving parent and grandparent, artist, piper, free thinker, poet, and writer…. I am encouraged to read from Islamic sources that "the highest aspect of jihad is to speak the truth in the face of tyranny" (and that “there is no fault in you if you make a mistake, but only in what your heart intended”), but am also aware that forgiveness and generosity must be nurtured from the home outward for the love of truth to thrive and grow in community. This is why I have now written to you, and others of many religious colours and persuasions, and invite you to take a look at my wound-wisdom website to highlight the issue: There is no hate in Love. The website www.wound-wisdom.tk is free to all who seek, and I invite you and others to let me know if anything I have said is not true. It sprang from my concerns about a "growing up issue" described in the "Challenge to Servant-Leaders" section of the site, following my creation of the "Peace and Harmony" artwork, and the insights I had gained from it: that all of us are both male and female inside. The "outside" is merely the wrapping which hides the complexity inside; for we are all uniquely created. If this is the case, male = female, just as black is white, and the end is a new beginning.... And we must honour the inside, as well as the outside. No judgment by an outsider is required. Parents are for nurture, pure and simple, not for whipping and stoning * See Biblical References Below *. I know that I speak to you as one “from the bottom, up”, but I trust that the importance of the loving message encapsulated in the “Peace and Harmony” artwork and attachments will not be lost on you – for each one has a place, in God’s place – even for one at the bottom. I trust if you have read this far that you will give love a chance, and even if I am a stranger, and strange to you, you will journey with me through wound-wisdom to its fruition, Peace and Harmony for all. And in kindness, respond, even if you have some criticisms. I will give each thought, and perhaps modify my approach. I look forward to dialogue, but don't want to get bogged down with dogma. You will notice that I have taken quotations from the Koran and other holy books from different faiths, and from many other sources. All of these speak with one voice: the truth of the Golden Rule is honoured, and that is how we all want it to be.... 1. There is no hate in love: Hate melts in the arms of Love. Parents are for nurture, pure and simple. 2. The “Golden Rule” is common to all religions: 3. “Do not do to others that which you would hate for yourself”, and 4. “Loving your neighbour as yourself” IS 5. “Loving the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength”, as WE 6. Recognize ourselves in all others (ALL people are created equal members of one human family). Long may your love light shine long ! May all of Life's Blessings be Yours, also: Peace to You (as well) May all the blessing, honour and power so freely given to us return to the One God who gave life to us…. I am, Yours sincerely, and faithfully Donald Chalmers, a piper too at “The Intricate Weaving of Something Beautiful” www.wound-wisdom.tk and www.myspace.com/a_piper_too – CONFRONT ♥ CONDEMNATION – In Mosaic law, a woman caught in the act of adultery must be stoned to death. Now, what do you say ? (John 8.5) NB For current readers: This is one of the few things Jesus is reported to have said about marriage. Jesus said: Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone…. (John 8.7) I pass judgment on no one. But if I were to do so, my judgement would be true, because I am not alone in this; for God who sent me is with me (John 8.15,16). What I say is true, because I know where I came from, and where I am going (John 8.14). I am the light of the world (John 8.12); I Am Who I Am (John 8.23,27). I am telling you the truth (John 8.34); the truth will set you free (John 8.31). Stop judging by external standards, and (if you must) judge by true standards (John 7.24)…. And one by one, being convicted by their own conscience, the older ones first, to the last, full of shame, they left (John 8.9). The moral of the story is not changed by my slight repositioning of the text, and is supported by the following texts: Love your neighbour as you love yourself (Luke 10.27). Do this and you will live (Luke 10.28). Loving your neighbour as you love yourself is loving the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength (Luke10.27-28). Do not judge others, and God will not judge you; do not condemn others, and God will not condemn you; forgive others, and God will forgive you. Give to others, and God will give to you (Luke 6.37). And there are many other examples of the Golden Rule, both in the Bible, and in other major religious texts. For example, in the Bible: Leviticus 19.18, Matthew 7.12, Matthew 22.39, Mark 12.31, Luke 6.31, Romans 13.9-10, Galatians 5.14, James 2.8. This is an obviously important theme, and not called “Golden” for nothing, since it (The Φ Rule, or measure of fullness, or ripe maturity), as with “gold” is pure, uncontaminated. There is no hate in Love. This is the message of Love, which is God. Micah, in his Old Testament message has this to say: The Lord has told us what is good. What God requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God (Micah 6.8). Going back in the Old testament even further (Isaiah 54.17): No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and all tongues that rise up against you shall be condemned. This is the heritage of the Lord, and this is the vindication from me (God). Or put differently: No weapon will be able to hurt you; you will have an answer for all who accuse you. I will defend my servants and give them victory. The Lord has spoken. How great is the grace of God (Ephesians 1.7)…. All things are done according to God’s plan and decision (Ephesians 1.11)…. For God completes all things everywhere…. (Ephesians 1.23). Everything that God has created is good; nothing is to be rejected, but everything is to be received with a prayer of thanks (1 Timothy 4.4)…. Watch yourself, and watch your teaching (1 Timothy 4.16). For spiritual exercise is valuable in every way, because it promises life, both for the present, and for the future (1 Timothy 4.8)…. Now, unto God (you are gods ), say and do what is right. Don’t use your power to cheat the poor, and don’t accept bribes. Don’t join with those who plan to commit murder or do other evil things. Then you will be safe; you will be as secure as if you were in a strong fortress. You will have food to eat and water to drink…. (Isaiah 33.15-16). All of the forgoing is not just about you or I, but about us, together – for who among us cannot say: Almighty, Creator, God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known and from whom no secrets are hidden, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts, by the in-spiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love each other as we love you, and worthily reflect and magnify your great, universal, Holy Name, form, being and self…. (based* on Anselm of Canterbury*) Late have we loved you, beauty so old and so new; late have we loved you. And see, you were within; always…. (Augustine*) We watch without willing; we love without willing…. (Valentinus*) But, we may be able to, in some way, to express what we are in no way able to express fully…. (Augustine*) We know we did not make ourselves; we were made by God, who abides for eternity…. That is how it is, when at each moment, we extend our reach, and in a flash of mental energy, attain eternal wisdom, which abides beyond all things…. (Augustine*) Our One Hope (to love, and to be loved, in return) Unites All. May all of life’s blessings and benefits be yours (also)…. Live Love. Love Live. Live Love and you will Live Φ. For further proofs of Love’s Teaching, see www.wound-wisdom.tk May all the blessing, honour and power so freely given to us return to the One God who gave life to us…. ................................................................................................... And I might add, at this time for current readers, that this poem was penned by me in 2003 when I was in a state of shock at having to look after a hitherto unknown child, thrown out of home by so-called "religious" parents, when their "daughter" announced "I am your son". Love, not Hate ! Why Hate when you Rage against Fate ! It's too late to Latch the Gate, turn Tide and Date, Finger the Dyke, Rail against Life… it will Bleed You ! Fools may Heed you, Ape you, and Berate, Hate and Rape you, rather than Fête you ! Shove to Escape you ! Make No Mistake, Don't Hate. LOVE ! LOVE, you Log, 'Cause Life 'twill be better off Without you… Unless YOU Choose to Love ! That’s the Message of Jesus, the Jew, A Better Person than You, who Sees Us, And Believes in Us… 'Tis LOVE…'Tis ! I had already found the following poems which already made perfect sense to me, the first by an unknown poet: If man's* religion cramps his soul *NB "Man" here means "ALL" And takes away his song, Or puts his spirit in a cell…. It's wrong - all wrong! If man's religion frees his soul, His spirit fills with light, And weaves a song into his life…. It's right - all right! This next poem I later discovered was by a young Melbourne artist-performer; in fact an opera singer and educator, Tania de Jong: LIFE’S LESSONS α - Wise Author - Ω Tania de Jong, Melbourne, Australia After a while you learn the difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul. You learn that love isn't leaning, but lending support. You begin to accept your defeats with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child. You decide to build your roads on today, for tomorrows ground is too uncertain. You help someone plant a garden Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. You learn that you have been given the strength to endure, and that you really do have worth. I later went on to protest to religious leaders throughout the world, and to express my rage, by creating my own "www.wound-wisdom.tk" website to highlight the fact that "There is no hate in Love"; and that a parents only duty and responsibility is to nurture and love their child, no matter what. For each one of us is uniquely created both male and female, "inside". And the following composite "amalgum" is extracted from the heart of Nigeria. From this very forum: “A pain that hurts and is so deep (is) Made whole by a kiss: A kiss filled with purpose”; and that “kiss of hurt and pain, Filled her purpose”……; “That which cannot be measured, Is that which is immeasurable”. “Would that one could find such a love, A love that cannot be measured”; “With pleasure. My crown is yours. With all gladness I give:”, “For I am too strong to fear, Too wise to hate, Yet vulnerable to my minds fault”. “This crown will I wear with pride and with dignity, honoured to be thus chosen”; “Provoked by a kiss, I crown you all that you are; (even) Hidden from truth, I crown you”. How easy it is when one’s focus is on Loving, for Truth to appear from diverse sources. From many, we become One. And I thank you ! All ! :2love: :idea: :1love: :kiss: