By Eluwa Chidiebere Chinazu | Biafra Writers
June 25, 2020
Our ancestors were practicing our traditions peacefully, trailing on moral life until the missionaries came with Christianity. Instead of preaching their own gospel, they demonized traditional religion in order to make way for their own.
The bitterest part of it is that, Nollywood film makers, brainwashed to a point of self-destruction, have taken it upon themselves to paint and present our traditions as evil. It is like soldiers fighting for another man's plot, a man that they don't even know well.
What made Christianity (as a culture) better than our traditional religion (culture)? Christianity believes in one supreme God, the traditional religion also believes in Chi-ukwu (the supreme God). Christianity has divine messengers (angels & archangels) with specific functions like, guide of travellers, defender of believers etc. Traditional religion has divine messengers too referred to as "small gods" with specific functions like ensuring fertility, rain, war victory, etc.
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Christianity has the cult of saints whom the believers imitate and pray through. The saints are considered to have lived a worthy life deserving of reward. The Traditional religion has the cult of ancestors whom they imitate and pray through also. They are people who lived good life and died a good death. Of course, evil people are banished from the community. People who died the bad way are thrown into evil forest. This is the process of separating saints from sinners. So that when they call on the ancestors, unworthy spirits will not be included.
Christianity practices the communion of bread (the breaking of bread). Traditional religion practices the communion of kola (the breaking of kola). Both symbolize love sharing.
While excommunication is a form of punishment in Christianity, ostracism is a punishment in Traditional religion. Meanwhile, Christianity accuses traditional religion of witchcraft. Imagine! Magical books and witchcraft works are written in original languages of Christianity – Latin and Greek. Interestingly, traditional religion prohibits witchcraft. In fact, witches leave alone in the middle of the forests or outskirt of the community. They don't commune with the people.
Frankly I am yet to understand the bases on which Christianity accuses traditional religion. Is Christianity better than the traditional religion? Are we to talk about Christian leaders? The source of their magical power? Their moral life? Their spirituality? Or what? Christian history is filled with horrible atrocities. To have Rome as the headquarter of Christianity says it all, for Rome and Italy at large are world’s headquarter of crime.
Obviously, Christianity came with the intention of destroying traditional religion. This is why it channels its energy toward demonizing traditional religion. Our fathers fell to their ploy, we are however waking up.
The Biafra Times
Edited by Nelson Ofokar Yagazie
Publisher: Chijindu Benjamin Ukah
Contact us: [email protected]
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