Skip to main content

Are we evolving too fast for God?

Painting depicting creation of Adam
Image: Wikipedia

I think many would agree that Christianity as a religion has evolved over the years. As we have evolved as people and as societies, so has the way in which we practice religion. One could argue that the core tenets and message of Christianity have remained largely the same since biblical times but the other, somewhat complementary aspects of religion have been influenced by time and culture. The distinction between religion, the faith and religion, the practices, may not always be a clear cut one.

There are a number of issues today that challenge our understanding of scripture and what is acceptable within Christianity. Some are as old as the issue of salvation for non-Christians while some are as contemporary as the ethics of stem cell research and recombinant DNA technology. Is there any wiggle room in interpretation for these matters? Or is God’s word cast in stone? - [pun intended]  

Let us consider the fact that the Israelites in earlier parts of the scripture were regarded as God’s chosen people. Going through the bible from the Old Testament, one got this feeling that the Israelites believed - and many still believe - that they are exclusively God’s own people. I do not possess the theological acumen to be able to illustrate this point succinctly, but what I’m trying to bring out is that later on in the new testament, it was apparent that God calls all people of all races, without favouring one over the other.

Now, against this backdrop - never mind how shaky it may seem - is there a possibility that hot bed issues like stem cell research and same sex relationships can be included in the canon of morally acceptable within Christianity as a religion? Many would reply with an emphatic no, quickly pointing to scripture where such things have been expressly forbidden by God. Is it however a stance worth re- considering?

Christianity has been known to back track or soft-pedal - albeit not exclusively - on some traditional stances based on more cogent interpretations or realizations. Issues such as women wearing trousers, not eating certain type of food and one even as contentious as tithes, that hitherto had biblical backing, have all to varying degrees, been reconsidered in a new light without a compromise of faith. Some may argue that some of these issues are more black and white than others, as they are explicitly proscribed in the bible. It is worthy to note that there are two main commandments from teachings in the New Testament centered on love of God and love of neighbour; can a case really be brought against acts that infringe neither? 

Sometimes, I struggle to reconcile what my faith and teachings thereof, unambiguously forbid on the one hand and on the other, viewing truly decent people who also happen to be queer, as moral anomalies. I consider how stem cell science application can change the lives of so many people but fear where and if we can draw the line. Perhaps there are no straight forward answers, but it is my humble submission that humanity benefits when we put in the effort to try to understand each other better. 

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

African Champion

Image source:punchng.com Stumbling on a news snippet of the most recent interaction between Israel Adesanya and defending UFC middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis, at a pre-fight press conference, it cast my mind back to an earlier  take   on identity. Du Plessis became champion by defeating Sean Strickland whom Adesanya had lost the belt to in 2023. Du Plessis has described himself as the first African UFC champion, side stepping Israel Adesanya, Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman, other previous UFC champions whom he says are only of African decent. Du Plessis, for explication is caucasian South African while the others mentioned are black with Nigerian and Cameroonian heritages. He backs up his claim with the explaining that not only is he born and raised in Africa but he also trains with his team in Africa and has always lived and still lives in Africa. This is in contrast with the others, Israel Adesanya for instance who fights as a New Zealander in the UFC. The tw...
Post a Comment
Read more

#OscarsSoAmerican

Photo: Newswhip The Oscar awards are a global entertainment staple, rewarding many great actors and film practitioners over the years. A number of Nigerians were just elected into its voting board. What does this development portend for us as Nigerians and for our movie industry? The idea for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences started out as an organization to facilitate smoother working relationships within the American movie industry in the 20s. Curiously, it was to be known as the International Academy but that prefix was dropped by the time the academy was officially incorporated.   In more recent times the awards have been dogged by allegations of being too ‘white’, a fact which the academy itself acknowledged and thereafter pledged an era of greater inclusivity by rendering its voting pool more diverse across not just race but also gender, age and relevance. And so consequently, a number of our own veterans here got drafted into the voting academy, but ...
1 comment
Read more

Identity, misappropriation and choice

Image: Fair observer I recently came across an article on Anthony Ekundayo Lennon, a middle aged Irish Caucasian accused of cultural misappropriation and profiting from passing himself off as a mixed race person. The Guardian article offered me a fresh perspective on his story. He had before now seemed to me to be just another ‘Rachel Dolezal’, who was also white but presented herself as a black person. And if you’re wondering how this is even possible, it actually isn’t that difficult to achieve. I’ve always found this concept of what makes a person black or white to be quite interesting. So, on the one end you have white individuals with white parents and white ancestry as far back as they know, identifying and presenting as black people. Rachel was president of a chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), one of the most regarded bodies for civil rights in the US for African Americans. You don’t get to such a position by not being black,...
Post a Comment
Read more