The three main religions in Ghana are Traditional, Islam and
Christianity with the foreign ones dominating in numbers of adherents.
They even made most of us believed that Traditional religion is
Idolatry. Really? Is idolatry exclusive to Traditional religions or an
inherent indispensable and necessary property of all religions?
Ghanaians see foreign religions especially Christianity as
non-idolatrous. This widespread perception among the populace is a
calculated success of the cultural imperialists who created,
maintained and fossilized them, after narrow-mindedly and speciously
defining what idolatry is to suit themselves. We were made to believe
that idolatry is believing in and using objects such as stones,
rivers, trees among others as having spiritual significance.
If we are to liberate ourselves from this cultural imperialist induced
mental slavery for the betterment of the continent, it must certainly
start with the deceits of foreign religions, led by Christianity. This
article is an effort to show that idolatry is a necessary component of
religion itself. There is no difference in believing that what river
antoi can do and what anoiting water can also. They are both
water,hence matter ignorantly believed to have spiritual powers. If
believing in supposedly spiritual powers of river antoi is idolatry,
so is that of anoiting water. But the cultural imperialist success
would not allow the Ghanaian to see both as idolatry. Only that of
river antoi is idolatry to us. And anoiting water is not.
Religions, of whatever origin and culture, have one thing in common;
they profess believe in Spirits. Despite profession of belief in
Spirit, none of them had ever define what a SPIRIT is. The
encyclopedia of superstition itself; the bible, can not help either.
The definition of what a Spirit is can never be limited to statements
such as "a spirit is not so-so and so". For instance, a Spirit is not
Matter. That would not be a definition but merely telling us what it
is not. NUMBER is not Matter. But I don't think you would agree that
because number is not Matter, it is a Spirit. In other words there so
many known concepts that are obviously not Matter, but no one would
take them either as Spirits. So the ultimate Supreme Being of
religion, which is a Spirit remains undefined, even vaguely.
This absence of concrete definition of what a Spirit is creates a
conceptual problem. It means via religion, man is claiming knowledge
of the existence of the very Being he has no idea of what it is or
even looks like. The Being, if it exist is intrinsically unknowable
and unverifiable, inspite of the fact that religion had become an
indispensable integral aspect of life for the majority, if not
mankind.
The only way then to cope with and fill this vacuum is to rely on the
familiar for the unfamiliar, the known for the unknown and the
verifiable for unverifiable. Whilst keeping in mind that this
representation is but a means to "visualizing" this believed Spirit.
Of course it is slippery, but there is no option.
At this point it is important to indicate that religion is not alone
in using representations in seeking knowledge of and about something.
Science does same and call it MODEL or MODELLING. Philosophy does same
and call it CONCEPTS or CONCEPTUALIZATION. What would religion call
its representation?
This is probably the beginning of the emergence of the acceptance of
images in religion. Images, whether within or without the mind of the
believer, are meant to represent this intrinsically unknowable and
unverifiable Spiritual Being. Collectively, they are called Idols. So
idol is to religion what model is to science and concept is to
philosophy. IDOLATRY is therefore, the representation of the likely
nature and meaning therein, symbolically though, of this believed and
worshipped Spiritual Being.
So here we are with what idolatry is, and clearly it is not exclusive
to religions of Africa origin alone. But a universal property of all
religions. Christianity is idolatry. Islam is idolatry. In fact, the
truth is every religion is idolatry.
It is time to wake up from that pool of meretricious impressions that
Christianity had blindfolded us with, which had been responsible for
many seeing nothing good in the African. To the extent that even in
issues that the Whiteman is just as ignorant as the Blackman, we
believed it is the only the Blackman who is forever wrong.
It is not only believing in blood of animals as the favorite drinks of
this unknowable Spirit that is idolatry, but believing in blood of
human beings as well. Additionally, it is not just idolatrous for only
your African ancestors to use any human being as sacrifice to this
Spirit, but it is also idolatrous for Europeans, Asians, and American
ancestors to do same. Blood is matter. It flows through all humans
beings. It has no spiritual power. Here we reach the full circle
definition of idolatry.
Idolatry is not just the mental or physical representation of the
believed Spirit, but also the infusion of the known...matter, with the
supposedly spiritual powers of the unknown; the Spirit.
Next, we shall look at another fossilized deception and impression of
these foreign religions led by Christianity, which is they are not
systems of superstition unlike traditional religion. Really?
Any form of knowledge-claim that does not reduce or eliminate the
temporary ignorance of mankind is Superstition. The "knowledge
contents" of Traditional, Christian and Islamic religion have not
helped in any way to reduce the temporary ignorance the Ghanaian and
African.
Every religion is idolatry and supersition.
SESHIE, STANLEY
Email: seshiehanku@gmail.com
Whatsapp: 0508951323
