WHEN WE ABANDON SENSE FOR BRAVADO AND RELIGIOUS ZEAL

So, this blogger goes online and he issues threats for government to stop harassing Muslims or else... ! Making a loose interpretation of the actions by security forces against terrorism to be actions against Muslims and people that practice Islam, the guy loosely and rather carelessly issues what I interpret as instructions for targets to be picked on Christian worship houses for revenge killings. What recklessness for a man his age in the name of faith!!! Our nation has become a nation of paid hands that speak junk and they get paid to do it. It is a nation where confusion reigns and sense is prevailed over.

The Born again Pentecostal church "Balokole" in Uganda do have a couple of weird hallmarks; one of them is that we shout a lot as we worship and pray and many times we go beyond the limits into the privacy and rights of our neighbors in the name of delivering them from the darkness, against their will; in the name of worshipping God, we cast off restraint just as we do neglect respect for our neighbors. How then can we reach them for the gospel? Another hallmark is that we "hear from God" that even when what we heard does not turn out right, we proceed as though nothing wrong ever happened! I have nothing against hearing from God as I believe God still speaks to people even today; but sometimes our own presumptions take the place of God and everything else can stop until “God” is satisfied. If you happen to have lived at a rented one roomed house (Muzigo) with one of ours, you will be lucky if he did not begin a prayer session at 3a.m shouting on the top of his voice. The list can go on and on. Many things get done in the name of God and religion and often these oppose the very theology that they claim to stand on.

This is the challenge we have with people like this blogger. He missed out to address the real issues around religious fanaticism but would rather overly simplify a significantly complex but not complicated matter. The problem with fanaticism is no one has monopoly to it and once that happens the situation is not desirable. History is often forgotten too soon by those that are quick to these modes of fanatic violence - those quick to the deployment of bullying tactics to resolve whatever issues they think they are resolving. A lot of gory stories are told in history of the crusaders as they are of the jihadists of old - there is no need to attempt a repeat of such times. But reckless citizens like these push the envelope in the hope that they will become freedom fighters at the expense of sanity and everyone else freedom. They don’t really care where all this ends up. They don’t even care about their own children. When one is aggrieved it is better to come up with facts and address or challenge status quo with facts; his rant never came up with any except the generic rhetoric that we have all heard one too many times followed in quick succession by threats!

The Baganda have a saying “Omulya mamba abeera omu, navumaganya ekika” translated to mean that one person will breach the code of conduct, but the blame will come to all that sit in fellowship with him; simply put the proverb can be interpreted to mean “one bad apple spoils the bushel” – unfortunately when the well meaning people in the bushel say nothing the loud mouths carry the day. This is not to say that Christians have not been at the helm of atrocities (recall Joseph Kony of the holy spirit movement) – I however would shudder at any Christian cleric or Christian for that matter that came out to defend the wrong acts of Kony. In fact, I recall it was the machine gun preacher, Sam Childers, a former gang biker turned preacher, a Christian, that decided to take up arms against Kony for the sake of saving children from these atrocities.

In spite of the different faiths that we practice, we all need to embrace harmonious living. Your religious leanings whatever they are should not be the cause for other people’s pain and tears. I challenge all leaders in the religious sphere of influence regardless of your faith, reign in your flocks! be responsible with the teachings you fan at the pulpit that you stand in. The challenge with modernity is that lately the pulpit has taken on the online social media dimensions too. But remember the pulpit is a place of building society and not tearing it down; it is a place of demanding responsibility in spite of whatever faith you practice. There is no point in having or practicing a faith that has no value for human life for after all if all the human beings are dead from your teachings, who will be there to listen to you or practice your faith? Matters of faith are matters of conviction; if your faith and the conviction it brews is not strong enough to change a man without killing him, re-examine that faith or its methods of teaching. Conviction means you convince rather than coerce someone to join you in that journey of faith, otherwise it loses its worth for the name.

You will tell me that the ones practicing these methods of violence to achieve an end are aggrieved persons. But one wise man said, "An eye for an eye makes the world blind." If these kinds of violence are not reigned in, if the careless speeches that spur and fan this violence on are not brought to book and as well condemned by society as a whole, then the world will be on fire, and no one will be left to put the fires out.

Let’s say NO to careless speakers in the pulpits and on social media platforms. Let’s walk away from those emotional wreaks that want everyone to follow them to Armageddon. Let’s not tolerate useless speak that will not lead us to any form of development. It is time for Ugandans to render no space for such reckless people who have a will to die at the expense of everyone else. Let’s be on the look out for these careless people that have no value add to our nation. From our national anthem:…United, free for liberty, together we'll always stand. Muslim or Christian or whatever spiritual leaning you have, practice your faith with the understanding that conviction does not call for coercion. Freedom is bought with the price of discipline.