Religion is not Divine, only God is.
Padi mi, how now? I’m excited to have you here again. This piece is purely inspired by what I’ve observed about ‘Religion’ and ‘God’. Many people think they are just in the perfect place; we often fall into the trap of thinking that we were destined to be where we are, worshipping the way we do and living just the way God ‘divinely’ ordained us to be. I think I have an idea of why that may be the case, that’s why we’re here to reason stuff out, together.
Geography and Missionaries
Nigeria always comes to my rescue when I try to pass these kinds of messages. Look at our geographical expression and how the influence of missionaries have shaped the religions of the various territories. The North mostly occupied by Muslims, Christians taking a large chunk of the South while the Middle-belt is simply a ‘confluence area’, a mix of Muslims and Christians. Think about why this is so. Did God really destine this to be? Or could this just be: ‘who come meet us first’?
Faith Distribution
From the Christian perspective, it is even clearer. I schooled in the western region of Nigeria and often struggled to find the footprints of the Catholics there as they were in the Eastern region and up North. Can you now see that the ‘bringers’ of Christianity were not of one congregation? Is it any different from the various Islamic Sects? Simply put, they had already experienced their disputes from ‘the abroad’, we are only receivers of who came to us first. Many of us are simply worshipping the way our parents did, no major shifts, even the minor movements are often not across religious borders.
Decision-able Beings
I think God did not create humans to be zombies. As a Priest friend would say, God took the greatest risk by giving people the power of choice. Hence, we can actually decide where we want to be, how we wish to live and what we do, while on earth. Of course, nature is there to guide, and for believers, His laws have also been documented as Scripture; so we try to adhere as much as we understand them, according to how the preachers present them in the Churches and in the Mosques. Again let’s think, our forefathers made the decisions to go with this one or that one based on the insights they had, the guidance, the slavery, the battles lost and the spiritual victories won.
God in This
Is God really aware of these differences in our methods? I think He is. He watches over us all. He impartially sends His rain and sun on all; on those who belong here or there and also on those who believe in Him or not. I think He appreciates our human limitations in understanding His ways because they are quite different from ours. He accepts us all, even when we have judged who deserves this or that. Nature is strong, impartial, guiding us according to our interactions with each other and with our environment. Where you are is awesome, as long as love is the centre of attraction.
Cheers.
