Failure of the northern fathers

For believers the statement; God works in mysterious ways is used sometimes rather flippantly. Yet anyone who walks with Him long enough in truth and in spirit soon discovers how true this really is. While God’s providence is a regular feature of the true believers life, the amazement that accompanies it never seems to wear out. I have had one of those moments recently.

In my quest to ascertain the means by which man can obtain a maximization of his existence, I have come to the conclusion after over 10 years of research, that the Christian worldview is the only way. My experiment with new age ideas, philosophy and psychology has failed quite woefully. But the Christian worldview had some challenges I was struggling to resolve. Chief among them: its “European face”.

My sojourn through theology and its history brought me face to face with the master theologians of the African continent. The likes of Alexandria’s titan; Origen, Hippo’s maestro; Augustine, Tertullian, Athanasius and their acolytes have made such startlingly profound contributions to the faith; it is shocking some would refer to Christianity as a European religion. Lurking behind the complex veil of African ingenuity, I detected a failure that grieved my heart deeply. As an African, I felt that these theologians had failed us by not undertaking south-bound missions that would have brought the much needed light to the rest of the continent. The Christianity that flourished in the north would have reached the west and south at least a thousand years before the first European ever set foot on the shores of the Atlantic. It is a real tragedy when one considers that, it is about the only commandment Christ handed down before His departure.

 

“And he said unto them, Go ye into the entire world, and preach the gospel to every creature.¹⁶ 

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned”.

- Mark 16:15-16 

It is that command that brought the faith to North Africa and Syria and Persia and later India and China. Men did their duty, why not our African fathers who by their writing alone have showed such dexterity with the word. Have we not failed the Lord? Is the arrival of the Whiteman not a punishment then?

Only yesterday I had resorted to writing an article expressing my thought on this seeming failure. There are too many people claiming that the Christian faith is the white man’s religion and it’s God, the Whiteman’s God. My planned article was going to show them how the faith reached us first before Europe. But then I would have to explain why it did not spread to the rest of the continent. These thoughts had populated my mind when I chanced upon a video on Facebook. It was an Afrocentric complaining about African American Christian Apologists calling them liars. He mentioned names and I went goog-ling. The surprise that waited would solve a problem I have been living with for years. That surprised will change the direction of this article. 

Read part two here >>

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What you think is true

Communication theory has taught us a lot in our time. Yet what they reveal is in fact, human behavior that has gone on since the beginning of time. There is something about man that makes him want to project himself as “good” even when he knows very well that he is nowhere near anything that is beginning to even look like good. Tell him he is fallen and totally depraved and he will have your head for dinner. It is perhaps the Imago Dei that must necessarily seek to value good even when one has no standard definition of what it is.

For those of us who believe, this is a simple matter. But the unbelieving are laboring pointless to produce all kinds of theories to validate the place of good. You only have to juxtapose the theory of evolution and its natural outworking against the many attempts by the likes of Richard Dawkins to find an anchor for morality. I digress!

Imagine that in 1000 years from now; when our civilization has collapsed (I promise you it will), a new generation digs up the information we are producing today. It will include government, corporate and mainstream media propaganda, false claims that go unchallenged, falsified accounting, the half-truths of academic autocracy and of course your lies and fake news on social media. They would think it all true and go on to reconstruct what they will think represent our lives today. Let that guide your understanding of how we think about today as ancient text.

We are learning now that a lot of what we see on the walls of Egypt (for example) and other civilizations are not necessarily accurate representations of what was. They tell stories from their own perspectives. They carved perfect statues of people when in real life; they were pot-bellied deformed lunatics. It wasn't until the Ahkenaten revolution that we got some more accurate representations of the appearance of the rich and powerful. I believe it has something significant to do with his famous theophany (I shall tell that story another day). It was not pretty. Well, when you pay someone to paint a picture of you, you want it to look good. Especially when you want others to think you are a god or the son of one, you will ask the artist to throw in a halo around your head. I get it. Today, you are even photo-shopping your photographs so they look better than you really look. In this era of “image is everything”, we must have very little confidence in autobiographies and narratives crafted to influence us in some direction that favors some and demonizes others.

The Bible stands out in this regard. It is God's story and it is presented exactly as it is/was. David's dirt is presented along with his humility and godliness. Abraham' half-truth about his wife/sister is there with his faithfulness. Jesus and his table-kicking adventure in the temple are there along with his amazing love and salvation. The supposed genocide in Canaan is there for you to criticize and challenge a God you should have known is sovereign.

It is disturbing that we don’t seem to realize that when we say truth, it does not simply mean good things. As we have seen, the non-believing has little trouble falsifying information to satisfy their prideful self –centeredness. This can be said to be a product of his fallen-ess and its attendant lack of a moral anchor only found in Christ. He says;

 

“I am the way, the Truth and the life” - John 14:6

It might be troubling for some to accept that Truth begins with Christ. When we work our way from Him as a starting point, a completely different world begin to unfold. It is the true one. It is a key that solves all of the ancient puzzles with almost no effort. It has taken thousands of years of attempt for some to begin to realize that the answers already exist.

The next time you quote some ancient text to prove something, think again. You don’t know truth until you know Christ. He is the light that brightens all that is true and illuminates and reveals falsity. Start from Christ. See what happens.

K3 osumoo anukwale eh , osane y3h morbor ooo!

 

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About Covenants

The topic of covenants have popped up a few times in our Bible Talks fellowship. Consequently many people have been asking questions about when we are going to discuss it since many people believe they are suffering from all kinds of spiritual setbacks. Finally the wait is over.

On the 5th of August 2020,
we will be hosting an amazing team from the California based
Jesus Mountain Ministries
to discuss the  issue of covenants, generational curses and
everything that comes with it. To follow the discussion we encourage
you download the 5 page document and read ahead. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wcv4lZddAwvSKPoajy8piOSa3NY8RKJe/view?usp=drivesdk

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Ghana's crumbling illusory walls

 The current house cleaning taking place in the Church through the efforts of NET2 TV and Kennedy Agyepong is but one phase of a series of events in a chain that has been growing since 2018. The events are all offshoots of seeds sowed by voices that have in been crying out to the lord concerning the plight of the vulnerable who are the true victims of the nefarious activities of charlatans who are slowly destroying not only the image of the church but also our beloved nation in the process. Those who have been paying attention would remember two significant songs by KODA(ns3m pii) and the more recent offering from Kofi Kinaata(things fall apart). Anybody with a basic understanding of the Bible would see clearly that there is something significantly different about what the Bible teaches and what the “church” has become.

For the 6 years that I was an active part of the charismatic community in Ghana, my struggled has always been with the need to reconcile three things; what was happening around me, the Christianity I knew as a child and the Christ I found in the Bible. I could not find answers to simple question as I work myself towards the expected conformity that my whole system rejected. Can there be a Church 2.0 based on the same Bible that birthed Church 1.0? What does the expression; revelation is progressive really mean? Is it possible that the early Church missed something that the supposed new church has found? I learned as much as I could and observed rather keenly without engaging in the behaviors that I was suspicious of.  

In Beijing, I explored the church to see what I could learn. I was seized by the urge to start talking about the need for change as the church I saw in Beijing was significantly different from the one I knew back home. It dawned on me that the problems I had been harboring were in fact, real. The Church in Beijing was nowhere near perfect. Yet, it showed itself closer to scripture than what I was used to. It appeared as if we read the Bible for our own purposes; never for what God really is saying.

I had written a few books prior to my arrival in Beijing and part of my mission was to print them before I left. Out of nowhere, I was led to write what will later become the first 10 theses of the Ecclesia Africanus Reformanda. It started off as a series of Facebook posts. After weeks of posting I was still having sleepless nights about it. I knew then, that I need to put my thoughts into full writing or I would have no peace. By November 2019, I had completed several drafts. Typical of me it was full of errors as it was raw and unedited. I threw it on amazon and made only two sales. I was sure the Lord had led me to write this little book. Consequently I had to put it at the top of my to-do list.

The Covid-19 pandemic that supposedly originated from Wuhan changed China and a great deal and forced residents into the world's first lock-down of our time. This afforded me the time to dig deeper into my concerns and put the material together, find a printer and have it all printed ready to be shipped to Ghana my motherland without leaving my flat. There was some push-backs and applause in equal measure as I passed the PDF around to fellow ministers for their views. I accepted suggestions and took out some names that some thought might bring me unnecessary hatred from the Charismatic community and end up with no friends at all. Well…I did not have any to start with. I had no idea what was about to happen.

By the time the books arrived in Ghana, the whole nation was alight with the Kennedy Agyepong fire. On Net2 TV, supposed fake pastors have been confessing their abuse of God's people and exposing the people responsible for the abuses that everyone is aware of and seems not to care about. It became clear to me then that, the assignment that God had placed on my heart was a necessary piece in His house-cleaning agenda. The Bible teaches clearly that the cries of the vulnerable reaches God at some point and when it gets too loud, His wrath must locate the perpetrators of evil. The events preceding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Nohaic deluge (Exodus 3:9, Genesis 18:20-21, Genesis 6:11-12) are great examples.

It is important to remember first of all that, the corrupt church did not start with these supposed fake pastors. They are but products of a corrupt church led by those pastors who appear to be beyond criticism. Having influenced the nation for the past 30 years, they have become the shoulders on which the new generations of abusers stand. The reason people fall prey to fake pastors begins with their understanding of the faith and the lack of it. Yet, it is the one thing they have not received from the most trusted voices in the land who in a more covert manner, have exploited the vulnerable more. Consequently, we have believers who are tossed about by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14) wrapped in the name of Jesus and perpetrated by fake-miracle peddlers. This is why any solution to this multi-dimensional conundrum begun with the so-called fathers of the land and their churches from which these false prophets and the confused believers have been produced.

The burden on my heart that led to the writing of Volume 1 of the Ecclesia Africanus Reformanda which comprises of ten propositions that must be considered towards a reformation of God's true Church (a safe haven for the vulnerable and an incubator for informed believers who by default cannot be captivated by false doctrines and the peddling of fake miracles). The timing of all the mentioned events and a few others that I have noticed is a demonstration of the hand of God at work and I am more confident now than ever about what the Lord wants to do about the Church in Africa. The voice of the weak has reached the Lord and His wrath has been provoked. The illusory walls are crumbling.

Koda's nsem pii : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR3JaXIcpW4

Kofi Kinata's things fall apart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTAFC8aAQ5g

Ecclesia Africanus Reformanda is now available in bookshops in Accra. It is also available on amazon https://www.amazon.com/1st-theses-Ecclesia-Africanus-Reformada-ebook/dp/B083J5L66F/ref=sr_1_2dchild=1&keywords=katey+aklie&qid=1592784151&sr=8-2

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All things have passed

Ruins of Ephesus , Photo: https://images.app.goo.gl/9sDvmpB39WAPA2de60

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” - Matthew 24:35

Today, I was captivated by a documentary about Ephesus. Remember the book of Ephesians? It was written as a letter to the Church in Ephesus to address issues born out of the diverse backgrounds of its members. Ephesus was also one of the seven churches of Asia to which Christ wrote a letter through the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation. It is believed that the Gospel of John may have been written here too. The city was the site of two ecumenical Christian Councils

Once a magnificent city under Roman control, it is located in modern day Turkey-- previously the heart of the Byzantine Empire. It may have started as an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia. It gained prominence as a major port city with a respectable status and was the home of the famous temple of Artemis (goddess of fertility) one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Temple attracted pilgrims from all over the world. It was also home to many 14 other gods and their temples including Emperor Ceaser, the impressive Library of Celsus and a 25,000 amphitheater.

Once home to temples that housed the statues of Emperors; Domitian ( Titus Flavius Domitianus 81 to 96) and Augustus(Gaius Octavius Thurinus - 27 BC – 19 August AD), Ephesus one among the important cities of the Empire. It was attacked and nearly destroyed by Goths in 263 and begun to decline. An AD 614 earthquake nearly completely destroyed it. Today it is nothing more than a tourist site.

While scanning through the material about the ancient city, what stood out to me are the industry, prosperity and the moral decadence of its dominant pagan culture. What I found most impressive however, is the public places of convenience.  Truly impressive! I couldn’t help but wonder how such a magnificent city could have been brought to ruins. Why could it not flourish forever? The words of Jesus quickly came to mind:

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” - Matthew 24:35

The statement seemed to have come out of nowhere and appears out of place as Jesus was dealing with a different matter. None of His words will go to waste. I couldn’t help but be reminded of magnificent civilizations such as Greece, Rome,  Egypt, Babylon, Sumeria all of which were ruled by kings who thought themselves gods. They have all fallen and today, their magnificent temples are nothing more than tourist sites. Their god’s now just stones in the ruins.

Persecuted and run under, the Christian faith that was nothing more than a tiny spark in a dark pagan world, have grown and reached the ends of the earth. There are things we take for granted as believers but God continues to show his power over all throughout the ages. Augustus and Domitian were among those who persecuted the church the most. Little did they know that they were watering the tiny seed planted by Christ with the blood of those they martyred. And true to His word, all have passed away while the light of his word has now grown to illuminate the world to its very ends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpJ-IWw5_Mc&t=359s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephesus

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The trouble with self-improvement

“We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. -1 Corinthians 8:1  

The things that supposedly make us better tend to make us seem superior in comparison to others. Superior and inferior cannot exist without each other. A healthier body due to a well-planned diet and the discipline for exercising supposedly makes us look and feel better than the obese.

The more of something we acquire, the more confident we get and the more likely we are to look down on those who do not have it in an equal measure. Education, money and others are just like muscles. As they say; knowledge is power so the more you have the better- ie the more superior. Money is power in the same manner. The PhD holder is intellectually taller/stronger/more capable in comparison to the high school graduate in the same manner the billionaire is financially stronger than the pauper.

For these haves, what they have acquired tends to be the source of their security. They will feel weak without it and because of that they fight hard to hold onto it. Even if they don’t flaunt, they show their muscles when it becomes necessary. At that moment, everyone caves in a give way.

The Bible teaches that knowledge puffs up. It makes a person proud with a sense of superiority. Shockingly this puffing knowledge also includes knowledge about God. Power they say is nothing without control. So that the power we acquire is useful only to the extent to which it is subjected to love. Paul’s point was in reference to food for idols of course; but what can be deduced is the underlying idea of pride that power breeds. Those who acquire must therefore realize that love is their only safety and love is of God. One must be more dependent on God than his personal strength.

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Faith in its fullness

Faith is the force behind every great achievment. Those who do not have it soon find they will die without actually living. Faith is a permanent part of our lives. We know this because it is clear that without it one cannot get from point A to B. All men have faith, just not in its fullness.

Faith is belief. It is fair when the two words are used interchangeably even in a secular context. Everyone believes something. But not many are clear about what it is they believe and to what extent. The Bible’s view, while taken for granted as with everything religious, is quite instructive: it can move mountains. Some may look at this as a metaphor of a sort and they may not be far from the truth. But even then, the spirit behind the expression is a powerful one. If we are to look for the chief proponent of the faith idea, we must end up with the most accomplished human being to ever walk the earth– Jesus himself. 

 

His teaching is loaded with faith and what it can do if one has enough of it. And when men have failed to accomplish, he has attributed it to the lack of it. He posits, that faith is so powerful one only needs a mustard seed helping in order to move mountains. Even if we were to hold on to the metaphor school of thought, this idea still carries an enormous amount of weight. The thought that anything or faith for that matter can move a mountain no matter how big, with a mustard seed size of itself is disturbing and incomprehensible from first level thinking. One is going to have to reason beyond everyday thinking and wonder into the realm of the supernatural. For in the natural, this cannot be.

But faith like its many counterpart is not physical. It is an intangible force whose outworking is only perceivable in the actions and accomplishment of men. In other words, it cannot be seen until men have enough of it to act. It is not surprising them that in Christian thought where the supernatural is the driver behind the natural, faith is held as supreme. So that the natural remains how it is until the supernatural moves it. Those who do not believe do not act and therefore never change anything. 
 
It is followers of Jesus like Paul and James who will clarify this powerful teaching of Christ by which men have change the world and bring it to our understanding. James posits that faith is made perfect in works. Paul pushes for a walk by faith and not sight– in order words making choices by what you believe and not so much what you see. Philosophers and scientist of old and present have proposed that our natural senses are not always honest with us and every human being knows this first hand. Some have even gone as far as denying the existence of themselves and the world as it is. The things you think you see (in the natural) are not necessarily there. The things you do not see (in the supernatural) can be if you believe them enough. For they are manifested through your works that is the result of what you have believed. Those who believe enough must of necessity act or they don’t believe enough. 

This brings us to my most important point, it is true that all men have a measure of faith. For they are not sitting like stones. They act and do things according to their beliefs. How far they go in their works is our only opportunity to measure their level of faith. By this, it will appear that many of us are functioning from a tiny fraction of a mustard seed. Nothing in its 'half-ness' is comparable to its 'fullness'. This is why faith-fullness is key to any kind of success. Too many do not understand that faithfulness is a level of faith. Whatever you are faithful to, you have faith in. What you are faithful to you give your only true possession– your time which in effect is your every existence broken down into units of hours and eons. What you are faithful to, you are devoted to and you make sacrifices to and for. It has no choice but to give you its rewards. But it can only give you what it has so it is wise that you are faithful to the right people or things. One cannot give what one does not have. Those who truly believe (have faith) in a God are truly faithful to him and this is exhibited through their works. Their presence when he calls and their level of sacrifice is the means by which they demonstrate their faith. No one gives their only possession to one who does not exist to them.

Many claim they pursue something, perhaps a dream or even a career. Many may choose a life partner to whom they cannot be faithful. Many simply lack the understanding that the success that they seek is only possible through faith-in-fullness. One cannot have the best relationship with a spouse without faith-in-fullness. One cannot have the best career without faith-in-fullness. For one to be their best at anything, they must have stayed with that thing through thick and thine. He stays and fights even when everyone has deserted and death is imminent. Malcolm Gladwell’s idea that one can only break into the genius level after 10,000 hours of practice is a rare portrait of faithfulness. Men like Bill Gates and John Lennon reached this level through long hours in obscurity. There are some who desire the achievement of the great and yet are not faithful to a cause. They lack the Jesus prescription which in my opinion is above all prescription. Scepticism in any form is a tragedy.
Ref: Luke 17:6 – Jesus, James 2:14-26 – James, 2 Corinthians 5:7 – Paul

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