‘Imagining’ Heaven And Earth

IN response to comments made in The Namibian (19 November 2010) by Jochen Becker and L Shikongo the following: Let me invite both of them to an African fireplace for story telling.

First, let me invite Jochen Becker to African story telling by stating one’s life and experiences in the struggles against powers and principalities, especially with focus on Europeanised Christianity, Commerce, Civilisation, and Conquest. In this connection I take note that according to Becker I am mainly playing ‘the blame game on colonialism.’ Colonialism is not a ‘blame game’ but an African story told in The Constitution of The Republic of Namibia as follows: The preservation and protection of fundamental rights and freedoms ‘have for so long been denied to the people of Namibia by colonialism, racism and apartheid.’ Out of such colonialisation ‘we the people of Namibia – have finally emerged victorious in our struggle against colonialism, racism and apartheid.’ It is in this mode of story telling that Ziggy Marley sung during Namibian Independence Day about ‘black my story…not his-story…from Cape Town to Addis Ababa…African liberty, give it to me.’
Second, the following statement is misleading, namely that ‘Enlightenment and Darwinism don’t have anything to do with colonialism.’ To the contrary we would miss the point that, with the Enlightenment, a fundamental new element had entered into the issue of relations between people. Whereas in the earlier centuries the essential factor that divided people was religious under the principle of cuius regio, eius religio (the political colonial powers dictated the religion of the colonised) since Enlightenment people were divided according to the levels of civilization (as interpreted in Western Europe). This led to the next criterion of division-ethnicity or race-now interpreted as the matrix out of which civilization (or lack of it) was born. Consequently, the ‘civilized’ Europeans not only felt superior to the ‘uncivilized’ Asians or Africans or South Americans, but also responsible for them. That was the beginning of what historians call ‘white man’s burden.’
Third, I am told by Becker that I am ‘inventing a God for Africans.’ I must confess my ignorance about a God for Europeans or a God for Africans. If there are such gods they ought to be buried in the same grave as apartheid. Furthermore, Becker is confused and does not differentiate ‘identification’ and ‘identity’. As a Christian I am identifying myself with God the Creator, Liberator, and Transformer of post-colonial and post-modern world where people are politically oppressed, economically exploited, and women and children are sexually abused by men. Within the framework of such identification we theologized these sociological categories by agreeing with Karl Marx that ‘the proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains’ [mental slavery]. Concerning God’s identity the following: I am an African and that is my identity but God does not need such African identity because God remains God and that is God’s identity. Once again, God cannot be European or North American but remains God.
Now to L Shikongo’s comments. I am highly appreciative for his penetrative, constructive and critical perspectives. I fully agree ‘that someone does not necessarily need to be inspired by religion to be a revolutionary.’ There are approximations and similarities between religious humanitarianism and of ‘great revolutionaries.’ This is so because one does not have to be a Christian in order to understand the short, beautiful, and powerful phrase ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’ Neither does one have to be a believer to understand responsibility to contribute to the struggle for the liberation of others. This is so because ‘love your neighbour’ is the foundation of human justice (humani juris) and of all liberative praxis. In short, the books of revolutionaries are telling the same story of Jesus about his programmatic statement ‘to let the oppressed go free.’ Such a statement has distinctive socio-politico-economic profiles.
Finally a short comment on ‘imagine there’s no heaven.’ I also like to imagine, while enjoying storytelling around an African fireplace in an atmosphere that is full of humour and laughter. Likewise, while laughing at ourselves we try to seriously theologise our mundane experiences. Thus to paraphrase John Lennon I am imagining that there is a universe consisting of heaven and earth where we shall live as one.

Prof Paul John Isaak
Geneva

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