A THOUGHT FOR NOW - HAS THE PENTECOSTALIC AFRICAN DIASPORA GOT THE RIGHT RELIGIOUS BALANCE? PART 3

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And so it is, that, as I reflect on the stirring hymn I heard on that Sunday morning, I am minded to contemplate on which religion/s appears to be the most 'human-friendly', to be the most given towards bringing happiness and joy into the world of humans, and not seeking to enslave humans to the gods we have imagined and/or created.

 I am led to ponder on which religion or religions, after the adherents have completed their worshipping, is most likely to leave them feeling elated, joyful, happy, at peace with the world, and ready to take on the challenges of the new day?

 And after this contemplation, what conclusion do you think I have arrived at?

Well, I am minded to think that it those religions which allow their adherents to give expression to their ordinary way of life, and to making their gods fit into and enrich their ordinary lives. Probably making their gods live and evolve as they do, instead of them living their lives as someone else has told them 'god' wants them to live.

 Which is what we see taking place in all the countries which have been colonised by Christianity and Islam; the implantation of 'alien religious practices and gods' on local people. Something that has occurred at the cost of supplanting and marginalising local and traditional religions and gods.

 It is therefore not surprising that there are probably no 'pure versions' of any religion. Be it Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, et al. All of them are likely to be influenced, to a greater of lesser extent, by local factors inherent in the local environment within which they originate and are practised. These influences will be even more pronounced in situations where the religion was transplanted, and not originated.

 To be continued.




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