The devil appeared to a monk disguised as an angel of light, and said to him, 'I am the angel Gabriel, and I have been sent to you.' But the monk said, 'Are you sure you weren't sent to someone else? I am not worthy to have an angel sent to me.' At that the devil vanished.
--The Desert Fathers
Yesterday was my roommate Madison's last day in Ghana. She left early to be at graduation, since she's receiving an award. (fancy schmancy, sitting on stage and all that.) I had tons of work to be doing, but it was Madison's last day, so I spent it with her. After a tiny bit of shopping in Osu, we headed to the beach, where we laid out in the scorching sun, as usual. (At one point I turned to them and said, "Guys. It's December.") While we were there, some white men showed up. We think they were Australian. They had shirts that said, "Church on the Street" on the front and "All About Jesus" on the back. And they had a megaphone. We watched them, slightly confused, wondering how long they'd been in Ghana. They proceeded to ride up and down the beach on horses, shouting things about converting to Jesus through their megaphone.
This is daft. For many many many reasons.
1. Colonialism. White men shouting about Jesus while riding horses on a beach in Africa. Talk about cultural/historical insensitivity.
2. Related: obvious lack of research. If you're going to travel to prostyletize somewhere, please do your research. Colonialism is part of that. But part of that is knowing that Ghana is a country that's 68.8% Christian. And not "Christian" like many American Christians who can leave their religion in a specific building and not have it bother them until they visit on Sundays. Very active, passionate Christians. When we went around on Thanksgiving and said what we were thankful for, every single Ghanaian at the table started with, "I thank God for..." In many ways, you're preaching to the choir here.
3. What are you going to get across to people by screaming at them?
4. Terrible, terrible theology.
And that's the thing that really got me. I got more and more angry because their theological basis was just terrible. The entire basis of their ministry was, "Come to Jesus, he'll fix everything and make you feel better." And I had half a mind to go up to them and quote scriptures, but they were too busy healing people and casting out demons there on the beach.
Jesus is not a "get well immediately" card. God isn't a bandaid. Christ isn't an escape plan. Converting to Christianity is NOT going to make your troubles go away. In fact, it will make them much much worse. Accepting a call to discipleship is accepting the call to lose everything you've ever held close. As my Life of Muhammad professor put it, "When you preach the word of God and you are not attacked, you are not preaching." If you can think for a second that following Christ's call is easy, then you have strayed far from the path. God promises us relief, yes. God gives us hope. But all of that is for the life to come, not this one.
It's false advertising, what these people were doing, really, and it frustrates me endlessly because there are so many people who think that that is what Christianity is. And thus, there are so many people who want nothing to do with the church or even God because of that. That's why it's easier to be openly gay in New York City than openly Christian. People start to assume that's what it is. We shared this story with others in our group at dinner, and some said, "That's why I'm not religious. I know not everyone is like that but I'm so used to seeing and hearing things like that and it makes me sick." Or people will give up on "organized religion" at the very least.
I'm not interested in saving souls. Call me a terrible evangelist, but that's not my goal. I do think it's a pity, though, when people miss out on things that could enrich their own lives and the lives of those around them. I also happen to think that Christianity's true message, which is entirely about love, is an incredible guide for how to live life fully and collaboratively, and that if more people worked to follow that message, in whatever language they translate it to, the world would be much nicer.
I get enormously frustrated, as a Christian, when I encounter these people. I refuse to give up on the church. Yes, the institution. I was raised in the church, I'm deeply connected to various churches, I see value in the church. The church messes up a lot, but it's a human institution. Do I think the church is for everyone? Absolutely not. And it would be easier for me to say, "Forget that," to say, "I don't believe in organized religion," but the fact is, I do, and I'm not going to give that up. It has enriched me as a person far too much for me to abandon ship like that.
But man, do I get frustrated and want to shout, "We're not all like that, you know!"
And it's for reasons like this that humility is a lesson that all religious people need to learn. Without humility, wars are started. Religion can turn sour very quickly if it is not paired with humility. Humility is what would cause these people who I believe had good intentions to be able to come into a foreign land without the idea that everyone needs to be "fixed" and that they're the ones who can do the "fixing".
Some people study hard for a time, then they "graduate" and sink back into the little they have learned.
--The Art Spirit
And it is humility that, even while I stand by my belief that their theology is fundamentally flawed and their execution leaves something to be desired, will help me come to remove personal judgment and know that there is something positive that they do that I can learn from.
Love ALL.
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