Almighty God, His Grace, Allah, Jesus & Satan are just some of the big cheeses vying for attention, appearing on bumper stickers, shop fronts, taxi windows, t-shirts, dresses, shirts & water sachets and praised and worshiped in churches, shrines & mosques throughout the length & breadth of Ghana. I have yet to meet someone who does not practice some religion, and many have tried out a few different ones or have a couple on the go. God is invited to everything – to join us at our Numeracy workshops (we had a Christian prayer, an Islamic prayer, a Baha’i prayer????? and a minutes silence for the atheists at our workshop last week!!!), guide us through our Monday meetings, get us off this tro-tro alive and is even invited to join us for a beer in the evening. He is a very busy busy God indeed in Ghana & I wonder if he has any time left after all that for the rest of the planet.
So when I am inevitably asked what religion I am (not do I practice a religion?), it initially was Christian, but not really practising to “nothing” which I am now. Of course it would be easier to say “something” (though maybe not as you will be missed at the something church) but I’m getting fed up now with the religulousness of the place & I’m not taking it lying down any more. Oh no, I’m armed with ‘The God Delusion’ and I’m out there to liberate some souls.
At the moment I’m working on Simon, an accountant at work. He’s a lovely small man, married with 3 kids, though you would guess he was about 18 and he’s studying further, through a long distance course to climb the accountancy ladder somewhat. So, he’s been having some problems with maths so I offered to help him. He preaches at The Assemblies of God church in Tongo. He would love to travel abroad to work & make some money (as would many) & also to do some evangelising along the way. I’d say that would go down a treat on O’Connell Street alright – the thoughts of the poor fecker standing there in the cold being ignored and harassed by scumbags sends a shiver down my spine. Anyways, you can see I have my work cut out for me. Simon did the junior cert equivalent the same year as me, 1992, but didn’t complete secondary school til 2001 as he had to work hard to pay the fees. He travelled south to work on the farms for 6 years before he had the money for school. He worked from 3:30 in the morning, God knows where he stayed and he tells me it was God who put him through school! He takes no credit. Gods grace did it. So we’ve been having some philosophical conversations round that. I presume he’s also trying to evangelise me somewhat but its been interesting & he’s not actually horrified that I don’t practice. He said as he was leaving the other day that he knew plenty of church goers who are not as good as me! So, we’ll stick at it!!!!
Another question I’m often asked is why I think The West is not so religious & Ghana is. I’m finding that one a tricky one to answer. I guess education is a part of it, but that sounds a bit mean, i.e. you guys just haven’t been schooled. And it can’t be the whole answer either, look at America. Access to the appropriate kinds of information helps as it did for me, but again, look at America. Sometimes I reckon, God was just made obsolete in the West – we don’t need to pray for rain, we will eat anyways. Buses and roads are safer so we don’t need to invite Jesus on the journey. Perhaps here you need to put your faith in something because you can’t have faith in the elements or the breaks on the bus or your school fees being paid. But then again, look at America. They’ve no excuse. So I’m not so sure of the response to that one – I usually turn it on them & ask them what they think – usually not a lot.
So these past few days I have been craving Hitchens, Hawkins & Dawkins, just for a little balance. “Thank God” Michelle brought The God Delusion with her so I am enjoying, plus secretly been enjoying Orbital’s ‘Satan’ really loud on my walkman – feels naughty. Though I have to say, religion does provide a little colour & the sticker on my bedroom door makes me smile – “MY ENEMIES ARE FIGHTING IN VAIN, in Jesus name, amen”.
So when I am inevitably asked what religion I am (not do I practice a religion?), it initially was Christian, but not really practising to “nothing” which I am now. Of course it would be easier to say “something” (though maybe not as you will be missed at the something church) but I’m getting fed up now with the religulousness of the place & I’m not taking it lying down any more. Oh no, I’m armed with ‘The God Delusion’ and I’m out there to liberate some souls.
At the moment I’m working on Simon, an accountant at work. He’s a lovely small man, married with 3 kids, though you would guess he was about 18 and he’s studying further, through a long distance course to climb the accountancy ladder somewhat. So, he’s been having some problems with maths so I offered to help him. He preaches at The Assemblies of God church in Tongo. He would love to travel abroad to work & make some money (as would many) & also to do some evangelising along the way. I’d say that would go down a treat on O’Connell Street alright – the thoughts of the poor fecker standing there in the cold being ignored and harassed by scumbags sends a shiver down my spine. Anyways, you can see I have my work cut out for me. Simon did the junior cert equivalent the same year as me, 1992, but didn’t complete secondary school til 2001 as he had to work hard to pay the fees. He travelled south to work on the farms for 6 years before he had the money for school. He worked from 3:30 in the morning, God knows where he stayed and he tells me it was God who put him through school! He takes no credit. Gods grace did it. So we’ve been having some philosophical conversations round that. I presume he’s also trying to evangelise me somewhat but its been interesting & he’s not actually horrified that I don’t practice. He said as he was leaving the other day that he knew plenty of church goers who are not as good as me! So, we’ll stick at it!!!!
Another question I’m often asked is why I think The West is not so religious & Ghana is. I’m finding that one a tricky one to answer. I guess education is a part of it, but that sounds a bit mean, i.e. you guys just haven’t been schooled. And it can’t be the whole answer either, look at America. Access to the appropriate kinds of information helps as it did for me, but again, look at America. Sometimes I reckon, God was just made obsolete in the West – we don’t need to pray for rain, we will eat anyways. Buses and roads are safer so we don’t need to invite Jesus on the journey. Perhaps here you need to put your faith in something because you can’t have faith in the elements or the breaks on the bus or your school fees being paid. But then again, look at America. They’ve no excuse. So I’m not so sure of the response to that one – I usually turn it on them & ask them what they think – usually not a lot.
So these past few days I have been craving Hitchens, Hawkins & Dawkins, just for a little balance. “Thank God” Michelle brought The God Delusion with her so I am enjoying, plus secretly been enjoying Orbital’s ‘Satan’ really loud on my walkman – feels naughty. Though I have to say, religion does provide a little colour & the sticker on my bedroom door makes me smile – “MY ENEMIES ARE FIGHTING IN VAIN, in Jesus name, amen”.
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