DIALOGUE OF THEOLOGICAL EXCHANGE

DIALOGUE OF THEOLOGICAL EXCHANGE:

BLASPHEMY IN CONTEXT

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

 

The Co-Chairmen of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), His Eminence, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Dr. Samson OlasupoAdeniyi Ayokunle and His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, has said over and over again, that we cannot stop talking. They believe that things would go worse if there is no genuine and frank dialogue between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. No matter the challenges, dialogue has no other alternative. This is the same answer I give to those who are asking if NIREC is working or making impart in promoting peaceful co-existence. We monitor and evaluate the media publications and happily enough, NIREC members have responded with one voice in the form of dialogue of theological exchange on doctrinal issues. 

 

If dialogue of theological exchange guides the actions of believers, Nigeria will not be perceived as a religious war zone. Sincere dialogue with true exposition of the sacred texts can free religion from being used as an instrument of violence. One of the principles of inter-religious dialogue is to accept what unites us and bear in love with the faith of other religions that may contradicts our own. For instance, it is heresy or blasphemy for a Christian to say that Jesus is not the son of God. The Christian is not talking about biological progeny. It is not taken literally. That the Muslim do not accept this does not call for inter-religious conflict. There are many other areas of agreement between Christianity and Islam. Nostra Aetate identifies the following reasons why the Church must engage in dialogue of experts:

• In Hinduism people explore the divine mystery and express it in myth and philosophy; they seek release from the trials of life by asceticism, meditation and recourse to God in confidence and love. 

• Buddhism proposes a way of life in which people can attain a state of perfect liberation and reach supreme illumination, either through their own efforts or with divine help. 

• Muslims worship the one, merciful and almighty God; they endeavour to submit themselves to God’s decrees, venerate Jesus as a prophet, revere the Blessed Virgin and await judgement and the rewards of heaven. 

• Jews are linked by spiritual bonds to the Church which springs from what God brings about in the patriarchs, Moses and the prophets; Israel is the olive tree on which Gentile branches have been grafted; Jews remain very dear to God because God does not take back his gifts and promises to them. 

 

Respect is the hallmark and strong principle of dialogue. Every religion believes in showing respect to elders and legitimate authority. Lack of respect and desecration of Sacred persons and doctrines (beliefs) is abomination in Africa Primal Religions; blasphemy in Judaism, heresy in Christianity, blasphemy in Islam and Sacrilege in many other religions. It is blasphemy and a sacrilege to destroy sacred temples and houses of worship especially Mosque and Church buildings. This is a direct attack on God who dwells in sacred buildings. Most religions recommend that an offender should be reported to the legitimate authority to prescribe the corresponding punishment. Non recommends extra-judicial killing or jungle justice. The judgement of a sinner is the sole responsibility of God Almighty. Lack of proper teaching can lead miscreants to take laws into their hands. Sometimes, the actions of uniformed adherents can give a very badimpression and image of religion. It is believed that it is those whose actions contradicts the teachings of their religions that really insult their true Prophets. Jesus says: “By their fruitsyou will know them” (Matthew 27:20).

 

Some fake and false preachers present a distorted concept of God. History has recorded three categories of prophets: professional, false and true prophets. No wonder, Nigeria Vanguard newspaper reported on Tuesday, 26 June 2012 that “issuance of licenses to preachers will be considered, as that will help guide what the preachers tell their listeners”. This was rejected by those who think that government should not legislate on religion in the nation. Dialogue of theological exchange is also called dialogue of experts. Every field of life necessarily calls for proper training and formation. Religion should not be different. It is necessary for the religious preachers to be well formed in their own religions and the religion of others to prevent religious indoctrination and brainwashing. Adherents need authentic knowledge of their religions and not the whims and caprices of “self-ordained”Pastors and Mallams. 

 

Some Christian and Muslim scholars have rejected extra-judicial killings. To de-radicalize those who have grown with wrong understanding and interpretation of the Holy Bible and the Holy Qur’an is the obligation of the Christian and Islamic Scholars who participate in dialogue of theological exchange. Unfortunately, some of these academic conferences do not reach the grass roots. Another challenge could be the uphill task of convincing somebody whose mind is already formed and made up on some theological and scriptural issues. A brain-washed person could even go out to attack the true leaders and true teachers of his or her religion. Since the tragic incident of Sokoto, this saga has played out in the media. According to the Second Vatican Council (Nostra aetate), Dialogue of theological exchange creates a space for specialists to deepen their understanding of their respective religious heritages, and to appreciate each other’s spiritual values. 

 

According to Saint Pope John Paul II, dialogue of theological exchange is “the treasure of human wisdom and religion”(Fides et Ratio, 31) and “the spiritual riches with which God has endowed the peoples of the world” (Redemptoris Missio, 55). Dialogue is not however reduced to intellectual discourse. The document, “Dialogue and Proclamation” clearly sets out the various forms of dialogue which are interconnected. To make other forms of dialogue effective, those involved even at the grassroots needs some form of scriptural and spiritual formation to be aware of God and the value of the human person. Consequently, any teaching that calls for jungle destruction of life and property cannot come from God. No good parent enjoys the killing of children in the name of the father or mother of the family. 

 

Other forms of dialogue require a thorough grasp of one’s faith hence experts or scholars who are engaged in dialogue of theological exchange need human qualities like humility, respect for others, a knowledge of the cultural and theological background of “the other”, knowledge of anthropology and the language to communicate without offending the listeners. Dialogue of theological exchange is not reduced to conferences. It includes media publications, books and articles in journals. It is also fruitful in formal and informal encounters like sharing a meal as personal friends irrespective of religious, ethnic and political differences. Above all, theological encounters become wonderful if the partners in dialogue can do without prejudices and mutual suspicions. Here, truth and mutual trust must be allowed to prevail. We need a wider horizon outside our individual religions to know that the other person who does not practise our religion is also a member of the household of God, the creator of all that exist. 

 

Rev. Fr. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua is the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) and the Secretary General of the West Africa Inter-Religious Council. 

 

 

SHORT ROAD TO PEACE AND FREEDOM

SHORT ROADS TO PEACE AND FREEDOM

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

 

Since the unfortunate tragedy of May 12, 2022 in Sokoto, I have received messages and calls to question the relevance of inter-religious dialogue in Nigeria. Fortunately, many Muslimscholars have reacted that the action of the killers in Sokoto is not the true teaching of the Holy Quran and therefore does not represent Islam. It is, therefore, easy to conclude that it is a case between government and the suspects who committed the crime of murder. Many people have asked: “How did we get to this level where human life means nothing”? Others have asked: “Where do we go from here”? For others, “How and when did we lose our humanity”? Perhaps, there is hope inour nation. Perhaps, we can fight ignorance with education to reconstruct the road to a new world. Education is a worthy instrument to conquer ignorance. “If you think that education is expensive, try ignorance! Education is imperative in every stage of life. To defeat ignorance is to travel a short road to peaceful co-existence. Freedom of conscience and self-determination call for enlightenment. Education must startfrom the cradle and end in the grave. To stop learning is to stop living. If education starts from the cradle, then what do parents teach their children from infancy? Good parenting is a short road to peace and freedom. 

 

In African context, the child belongs to the community while in the global context, the child belongs to the society. Those who are responsible for child formation must not and must never indoctrinate the child to a point of teaching the child to kill as we recently witnessed in the videos where a religious teacher was telling the youths to kill extra-judicially. The teacher was teaching the youths to take laws into their hands. Children learn first from the parents and the surrounding environment. They acquire language through active demonstration and repetition of sounds. The brain of the child gets adjusted to the sounds in the first six years with the cognitive capacity. A child easily learns the language of his environment with the attendant culture and tradition. If a child grows with wild animals in the jungle, the child could behave like a savage. The environment matters a lot in education.

 

Education inspires the child to aspire for greatness through self-actualization. We need role models in every society. The orientation of children who live in different societies, conditions, situations and environments from birth need teachers who can help the youth to focus on realistic goals and true values. To avoid the tragedy of street children, education is offered free in many countries. This was the case, once upon a time in Nigeria. Every child had the right and opportunity to education which the government could give freely for the sanity and security of the nation. What must be acquired through sound education is the TRUTH that has the power to transform a mortal being into a spiritual being. According to Winston Churchill, the truth is incontrovertible; malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, only truth can make us truly human. Otherwise, we are devoid in a world of anarchy where humans are wolves to fellow human beings. 

 

To produce a healthy society, hope for the future must be assured through a functional system of education. It is those who do not have access to credible human formation that resort to the use of force and power instead of creative relationships. Education enables the mammal in the human person to be controlled and conquered. The fruits of ignorance are crisis, intra-personal conflict, inter-personal conflict, intra-community conflict, inter-community conflict, intra-religious conflict and inter-religious conflicts. No religion forbids education and formation. In the Holy Bible, the Sages counsel: “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). The bible expressed clearly the role of fathers in parenting (Ephesians 3:12-13; cf. Proverbs 23:13). 

 

Every family is happy to see the children grow gracefully and to grow in strength and wisdom. Saint John expressed this sentiment in his third letter (3 John 1:4).  Because Islam values child development, the Holy Quran says, “Kill not your children because of poverty” (Quran 6:151). Islam forbids the institution of street children. A man is like a shepherd of his own family and he is responsible for them (Bukhari and Muslim). The first message to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is Iqra (read) (Al-Alaq 96:1-5).! God teaches the human person what he does not know through human agents. The human agents are not to turn the children into slaves or beggars on the streets. The parents should pay for the education of the children and every parent should give birth to the number of children they can adequately cater for. 

 

The Religious teachers assist the child to grow in vertical relationship with God and horizontal relationship with fellow human beings. If the youths are well trained and formed, they will be conscious of human rights. They will resist those who employ them to fight unjustly and conflict profiteers who finance violence. They will know that peace is a virtue that is deeply entrenched in Christianity and Islam. A well-educated person with a reasonable job would promote nation building because he has something to look up to. An enlightened person in religion and society is aware that it is God who fights for human beings and not the other way round. It is God who protects human beings hence the Holy Prophet of Islam did not order his followers to kill in his name. He taught his followers the value of patience in the face of insults (Surah Al-Muzzamil 73:10; Cf. Surah Qaf, 50:39; Surah Ta Ha 20:130; Surah Ali Imran 3:186). While dying on the cross,“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23,34). Ignorance is akin to a dangerous and chronic cancer. 

 

The Students who killed Debora must have studied religion under ignorant teachers who indoctrinated them with erroneous and subjective interpretations of the sacred texts. They must have forgotten the teaching of the Holy Prophet that, "If anyone kills a person, it would be as if he killed the whole people: and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people" (Qur’an 5:32-33). Thiscalls for religious re-education, de-radicalization and re-orientation to pave a short road to peaceful coexistence and ahealthy society. This calls on every nation to provide educational system that is functional enough to provide the ideal person with admirable content of character. If you train the child well, you develop the nation. 

The essence of education is success and happiness. A young man asked Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher, the secret of Success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met; Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their necks, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The man struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him under water until he started turning blue. The young man struggled hard and finally managed to get up. The first thing he did was to gasp and take a deep breath. Socrates asked, “What did you want the most when you were under the water?” The man replied “Air”. Socrates said: “That’s the most secret to success. When you want success as badly as you want air, you will get it. There is no other secret”. The short road to peace and freedom is the desire to learn and acquire the truth that can create space for freedom where justice will be valued. The easy and short road to peace and freedom is the desire to do the right thing to create a civilized society. 

Rev. Fr. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua is the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) and the Secretary General of the West Africa Inter-Religious Council.