Theology of Silence or Mildness .... Not from the Bible ... Not for Me .. In Christianity, the more quiet your are, the more you are respected. At least, you will not be disrespected for being quiet. Christians have read INTO the Bible: “Blessed are the silent in the face of wrongs and misdeeds, for they shall be respected and approved of God”. Having come a long way, I have my own fans (no matter how few), followers and even, I dare say, disciples. Very few of them are on Facebook. I have caused some of these (few) people not a little disquiet by engaging in Christian discourse publicly, sometimes, even privately. When they permit me to talk, they are alarmed at my bold-letter words and my frontal expressions. They wish I could coo like an infant, masking meanings with silhouetted expressions. As I get old, many think I should speak with verbal senility, grandpa’s toothless blubbering or the wordless assents of a worn out mind. They wish I would do so, so that I will fit my age. Obviously, they must be comparing me with the generality of Christians, whether or not of my generation, who have espoused the doctrine that to see evil and say nothing is to be like the Lord. The Lord? That One that thundered at His hearers with words so stark and prickly that both the public and His disciples were often amazed or even offended? To you, my Facebook friends, please listen. I have seen the most graphic, bold-lettered, red-lettered, explicit, unsparing and extreme words and expressions in the Bible; actually, ALL OVER the Bible. Some are so ‘crude’ (I say that with reverence) that I cannot even reproduce them here. The prophets did not speak in susurrus palliative tones. They spoke like thunder both in volume and verbiage. Do you still read your Bible? Do you take what you read seriously? Do you think Bible writers were intolerant extremists or ‘born-again Boko Haram’? Do you think they were damaging the faith by PUBLICLY and in WRITING rebuking wrongs, x-raying motives and denouncing intentions and actions? From Genesis to Revelation, love does not wear the sanctimonious toga or dictamen obfuscations. Love does not always whisper or tranquillize. It often rumbles and roars. Love does not always pamper; it often punctures. Such is the love of God. Such is the love of God expressed through his servants in addressing His children and His servants. This is not to say that love ONLY always thunders or burns. Love softly heals too. God says: I kill and I make alive. And He is still love. About the devastating expression of God’s WORD (mark it, ‘words’) I quote: “For the WORD of God is QUICK [living], and POWERFUL, and SHARPER than any TWOEDGED SWORD, PIERCING even to the DIVIDING ASUNDER of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a DISCERNER of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are NAKED and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” Heb 4:12-13 (Capitals are mine). How could such word turn to stone in my heart? How could freeze my temperament? Such words! I know some people who thought that love meant mildness and numbness. Such was High Priest Eli who did not restrain his sons with required force but rather caressed them with palliatives till they met their doom. Such was the state of things that God declared: “I sought for a man.” There was a church in the Book of Revelation that was accused of being neither cold nor hot. What do you find in Christ’s expression: suppressed or volcanic? Do you still read your Bible? The words of Peter ‘the petrel’, John the Beloved, Paul the icon and of the early Church fathers; are they velvety or grating to the conscience. On the day of Pentecost, Pete accused the Jews of KILLING the messiah in explicit terms. Do you still read your Bible? Did you ever read Jude? Or Second Peter? or Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea, etc? Did you ever read Job dealing with his friends? To sum, up, there is one duty I owe myself: That is to censor my thoughts, my motives and my inspiration. Am I moved by envy, jealousy, hatred and fear? Do I lie? Do I exaggerate? Do I fear God when words boil within me? Do I worship my temperament instead of yielding to the Spirit? If I answer these questions affirmatively, my friends, I will go on. This faith is OUR faith. This work is MY FATHER’S BUSINESS. I may not be a ‘man of God’ to you but being a child of God is enough for me to stake everything for my Father’ business. This Kingdom is my life. I have forsaken the world to follow this Way and I will be there to call out anyone who being in the way with me leads us or anyone astray. The Way remains straight and narrow and we must keep sharp to remain in shape. The only reason I will be silent is if I don’t know or God tells me to be silent even though I know. So help me God. Everest Chukwudi Amaefule, Dirichi Umunna
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 09:25:29 +0000
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