By Segun O’Law
Beyond what you practice, there are many other religions in
the world. Religions tend to be tribal inventions prior to the
super-imposition of Islam, Christianity, Budism, Judaism or
other widely spread religions of the world. Each tribe had its
own unique method or religion of communing with the
divine.

Take in Nigeria for instance, the Yoruba’s had Sango, Ogun,
Oya, Sopona, etc. The Ibo’s have Amadioha and the
Hausa’s had their own before invasion by European
Missionaries and Arab missionaries respectively to the
various regions.

But their sweeping presence, like those of the Europeans
who came with Bible on one hand and gunpowder on the
other, forced traditional religions out of place and replaced
with modern religions, even though apart from civility, there
apparently is no difference in the practice by the old religion
and the new orthodoxy. If at all, the difference is in the fact
that the old encouraged justice and was very effective, while
the new accepts anything and life goes on without justice.
New religion also swept off the traditional custom for
seeming civilization.

In his classic; “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa”, Walter
Rodney exemplified how the Europeans’ desperation to take
over Africa’s resources and wealth caused its capitalists to
introduce and entice the unexposed Africans with
Christianity. Nigeria became the worst for it. In exchange for
the wealthy natural resources of Nigeria, the missionaries
concentrated more on Nigeria, in pretense that it has more
demons that needed to be overcame.

But then, an examination of what Christian practice is all
about still makes one laud the old practice, except for the
need to evolve it into more civility. In the old traditional
practice for instance, a person speaks into cowries, which
represented money at that time, and gives to the herbalist -
just same way Christians speak into money called ‘offering’
and stimulate ‘God’ pursuant to the well explored Malachi
3:10. Apart from that, and even though salvation is said to
be free, Christian worshippers pay for anointing oil, anointed
handkerchiefs, prayer water, special seed, first fruits, tithes
and other new offerings invented on new services -more like
some hidden charges to the expensive ‘salvation’ claimed
to be for free and its sheer enticements. The money is said
to be for God and the maintenance of the church, but it still
baffles why its adherents criticized paying peanuts to
herbalists, as if the shrines do not also deserve
maintenance. Even so, several offering paid in the church
are more than those required in herbalist hut.

Given civilization and politics, members’ offering in
churches are no longer the primary means of income, but
politicians’ visit to the churches due to the large
membership commanded has earned it more income
opportunities. All churches need to do is maintain the large
membership base so politicians can visit. This makes it no
surprise anymore, that prayer points for the nation today,
which used to be that God should punish the rulers who out
of greed have made Nigeria a stagnation, have now changed
to ‘God should lead our leaders right because He is the only
one that can lead them right. They need our prayers”. These
sudden turn in direction of prayers after churches began to
receive the politicians as visitors is not quite a strange
advent. Patronage, it must be said, is responsible as
expedient business strategy. But in days of Ogun and Sango,
selfish politicians die miserably. “They can repent” as
exemplified in a president’s visit to a large congregation
along Lagos-Ibadan expressway, such that genuflection and
laying of hands followed, as justification for a religion over
other religions, it then makes one to be at a loss whether
class subjugation is the crux of the modern religion.

Another aspect of confussion is the claim of heavenly
kingdom and its requirement. Without sentiment, if I were
born in the core North, I’d be a Muslim by birth and would
probably grow up holding the belief firmly against other;
same way if I was born up South and bred the Christian way,
I’d have ‘tendency’ not to see Muslims as believers. The
underlying question therefore is, which religion leads to
heaven or which one is the religion of God? Which of the
religions does God practice?

In Christianity alone, there are increasingly countless
doctrines. The Catholic, the pentecostal, celestial, even
Jehovah’s Witness. All have different principles that will
help you either make heaven or inherit the earth. We have
not even discussed Islam or other religions here.
The other time I checked, I cannot marry from the Jehovah’s
witness because I was not a witness myself, even though
I’m a christian.
These doctrines have, aside from seeking to make followers
for their initiators, have forced disastrous lines of division
among their adherents.

God has ten commandments, which were further
summarized into two by Jesus Christ; love your neighbour
as yourself and love God. For if you love your neighbour, you
will not steal from him, kill him or take his wife etc. That
summarises it all.

Similarly, in Islam, the laws are interpreted as moral codes.
Religion is synonymous with morality! It is a tool for
maintaining social order.
Hence, if I have a good conscience, I’d have complied with
all the recommendations of the Bible and Quran without
fixing mind on it. That way, I’m no different from who you
can call a Muslim or a Christian -by behaviour as outlined in
both Holy books. I’ve practiced all religions without
professing any because they basically preach same thing
which borders on love and morality.

I sum up therefore that conscience is the aggregation of all
religions, both the existing or yet-to-be invented ones.
Ironically though, most people who profess a particular
religion hardly use their conscience. But if it is about
making heaven, which religion, which doctrine, which
denomination truly leads there? There are many and have
varied claims. Or, perhaps, God’s kingdom will meet me
here on earth and there is no heaven according to the
Jehovah’s witnesses. Whether to go to heaven or to inherit
the earth, all boils down to possessing good conduct
towards others. In other words, use my conscience at ball
time. If you can do just at all times, you can please God at
all times. Christians read the same Bible differently to
differentiate their own empires.

But the curious question is; is God a Christian, a Muslim or
does He practice any other religion? Mind that He existed
before the creation of all religions, they were created to suit
different tribes, regions and languages of the world. Even
Jesus was not a Christian! Christianity was created by the
tribe where He mostly was preaching and was accepted
before the religion and its book was translated and
sponsored heavily across the globe. Same thing with Islam.
Consider that if Jesus had started his ministry in Africa, just
as Obatala, Oranmiyan etc were here, the prevailing religion
of the Europeans at the time they came into Africa would
still have swept it away and replaced with whatever they
practiced because they seriously and zealously funded their
own -sentiment apart.
Are you a Christian, Muslim, Shintoist, Budhist, etc or are you
even an atheist or agnostic.
What religious believe do you hold and why?

Segun O’Law is a citizen journalist and culture advocate.
Twitter: @segunOLaw
WWW.9ralife.com